Examples of taboo: from ancient origins to the present

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

It seems to many that modern society is devoid of taboos. Nothing is true, everything is permitted. Are there any topics that cause people's rejection and indignation? Have new bans appeared that did not exist before? What are examples of taboos in modern society?

Traditional taboo meaning

Taboo means a strict ban on any action, as it is considered sacred or carries a curse. This is something that belongs to the gods, inaccessible to mere mortals.

Scientists took the term from the Polynesian culture, but the system itself was observed among all peoples in one form or another.

At a later stage in the development of society, prohibitions were associated with superstitions and omens. Such restrictions were especially common among the peasantry. So, it was impossible to pronounce the names of diseases aloud, so as not to bring them on yourself.

Taboo in Polynesia

The inhabitants of the islands have created a system of norms and restrictions to protect what is sacred to them. Under the ban were totems, things in temples, some birds, animals, plants, waters of sacred rivers. Something you couldn't touch, ohsay something, eat something.

Prohibitions extended to those who have a direct connection with the gods. Everything that the leader touched became his property. Be it the house he entered or any valuable item.

Ordinary people had no right to look into the eyes of the local nobility. Under fear of a curse, it was impossible to argue with these "deputies of the gods."

When the local population saw that the Europeans freely broke their taboos, and no heavenly punishment followed, many Polynesians began to break their taboos.

Modern understanding of taboo

Today, the word "taboo" no longer has a sacred meaning and can be considered as any prohibition, the violation of which is harmful to society. Although exactly what harm is not always clear.

Because taboos are the result of the development of society, they can easily change over time. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a taboo against smoking for women. Now we can only shrug our shoulders when we hear about such a ban.

According to Freud, a taboo becomes a prohibition after it has been broken. The psychoanalyst argued that a person in the subconscious always has a desire to break the prohibitions and surrender to natural instincts. An example of a taboo in this sense is incest. In the animal world, this is a common thing, but in humans it has been strictly forbidden since ancient times.

Examples of taboos that in modern society are perceived as something ordinary or at least not shocking:

• sex life;
• nude;
• human functionsorganism;
• killing a person.

The development of the media has made many topics acceptable. So, talk about sex since the 60s has firmly entered everyday life. Naked bodies flash on the screens, intimate nuances are discussed on the talk show.

Examples of taboos that have lost relevance are pre-marital sex and single mothers. Unlike past centuries, these realities do not cause condemnation from anyone.

The taboo on murder still exists. But during wars, its violation is justified and encouraged.

Also, people may have personal taboos, depending on the character, upbringing and life circumstances. Even a modern girl herself can establish a taboo for sex before marriage. And someone will blush deeply, listening to anecdotes from the category of “outhouse humor.”

Anything that causes fear or disgust is an example of the taboo of social norms. We don't want to talk about AIDS and turn our backs on dirty ragged beggars.

Two examples of taboos in contemporary culture

1. "Dance of the bees" very quickly spread all over the Internet and caused a storm of public indignation. The fact is that underage girls performed an erotic dance in ambiguous costumes on the stage of the House of Culture. Even the authorities intervened. The taboo on child pornography worked here.

2. Director Kirill Serebrennikov received public complaints for "obscene language and pornography on stage." And this also entailed the intervention of the authorities. And if in films these realities have long been considered the norm,then taboos still persist in the theater.

Taboo topics and words

"In the hanged man's house they don't talk about the rope" - this proverb suggests that you should not talk about things that can cause a violent reaction from others. Such topics can be fatal or venereal disease, intimate details of life.

But the speaker always decides for himself whether to observe a taboo or to break it. It may be necessary or uttered with the intent of provocation, but the entire responsibility lies with the author of the statement.

Foul language can be taken lightly in a bar. But if you decide to make a toast out of it for a friend's wedding, then they are unlikely to let you finish.

Modern swearing largely consists of words that used to be sacred. So his taboo was originally sacred.

Surviving historical taboos

• In Yakutia, a small group of Evenks are forbidden to kill wolves, as they are considered totem animals.
• The Buryats have a taboo associated with space and magic. The mountains are considered holy and women are not allowed to climb the highest of them. After all, women personify the energy of the earth, and men - the sky. So there are forbidden places for them, according to this logic.
• Bushmen don't speak out the names of the dead.
• This people also have food taboos. Because of poverty, there was a ban on throwing away food. Because of the cowardice of the jackal, it is forbidden to eat his heart.
• One moreAn interesting Bushmen taboo is marriage to a woman named after the groom's mother or sister. Such relationships are considered incest.
• In India and Africa, you can't pass something with your left hand, as it is considered unclean.
• Wagner was Hitler's favorite composer and this music was often played in the concentration camps. Which gave rise to an unspoken taboo among Jews on Wagner's compositions.
• In France for more than a hundred years there has been a ban on kissing on the platform. This is due to the fact that the loving French often missed their trains. Now they are no longer fined for this, but the taboo has remained.
• In many countries there is a ban on names. Public indignation is caused by people who bear the names of Lucifer, Hitler, Cain, Judas.
• Strict countries can fine you for kissing in public and even put you in jail.

Taboo in modern society has lost its ancient sacred meaning, now it is more connected with morality and morality. And although there is a lot of talk about the absence of any prohibitions, nevertheless, people do not often walk down the street naked, and children do not swear in front of their teachers. The modern punishment for violations is public censure, sometimes imprisonment and fines. But as you know, rules are made to be broken…