Taboo (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what a taboo is, why they are rejected and various examples. Also, the relationship between taboo and euphemism.

What is a taboo?

a taboo It is a tacit or understood prohibition within a society for moral, religious or traditional reasons, the violation of which can bring real punishment or simply ridicule, social rejection. In many contexts they are considered primitive antecedents of law and rights.

In other words, a taboo is something considered incorrect, misleading or of bad conscience, generally without anyone announcing or explaining it, since a taboo is even better not to mention. In fact, Even mentioning it is already considered a form of violation of the norm. Taboos are usually hidden and shameful contents of a society's culture.

The word “taboo” is of Polynesian origin (Tongan, Samoan or Maori) and in its original context it meant “prohibition”. It was a form of sacred law of the Polynesian peoples, which not only controlled behavior, but prevented even the mention of that which was prohibited, except by priests or shamans, who had the manna or sacred power to pronounce it.

The term was incorporated into Western languages thanks to Captain James Cook (1728-1779) in 1777, along with other exotic terms such as “kangaroo”.

However, taboos existed in almost all ancient societies and continue to exist today, although they respond to moral principles, rather than sacred explanations. In general, taboos can refer to sexual behaviors, eating practices, use of certain words, etc.

Examples of taboo

Some contemporary examples of taboo are the following:

The specific diets imposed by certain religions like food kosher Jewish, prepared through specific rites of bleeding animals and never mixing blood and milk; or diet halal of the Muslims. In both, pork is completely prohibited.
Certain sexual practices considered deviant or aberrant ones such as pedophilia, necrophilia or bestiality. Even prostitution, homosexuality and masturbation, frowned upon for centuries by Christian morality, are nowadays rarely mentioned in society.
The pronunciation of “bad words” It is a fairly generalized taboo, which controls the terms whose use in public is considered to be in good or bad taste.
The rites of pagan or unofficial religions From an ecclesiastical point of view, witchcraft, Santeria, Satanism, etc. are taboo for their faithful and followers. Similarly, cannibalism, incest, and ritual human sacrifice are strongly tabooed behaviors in most human cultures.

Taboo and euphemism

Since taboos are restrictions that also hide what is prohibited in language, that is, they also prohibit talking openly about what is taboo, The use of euphemisms is common to refer to what the taboo hides. That is, instead of using prohibited words or names, others are used to figuratively express the same thing.

A perfect example of this is the way we refer to the sexual organs, a region of the body strongly tabooed in modern societies. Instead of saying “penis”, figurative or allusive terms are used such as “little bird”, “stick”, “pito”, etc.; and the same goes for female genitalia and even breasts.