taboos

A taboo is a prohibition against certain actions, objects, or discussions that a culture or group regards as sacred, dangerous, or morally improper. The term originates from the Polynesian word tabu or tapu, meaning forbidden; it entered English through explorers in the 18th–19th centuries.

Taboos function to regulate behavior, maintain group cohesion, and mark boundaries between insiders and outsiders. They can operate through religious law, social norms, or informal expectations. Violations may invite sanctions, ranging from shame to formal penalties, and in some contexts require cleansing rites.

Common types include sexual taboos (incest, extramarital relations), dietary taboos (pork in Islam and Judaism, beef in Hinduism), language taboos (profanity or discussing death in certain situations), and ritual taboos surrounding death, contamination, or sacred persons. Taboo topics may be avoided in everyday conversation, such as politics or religion in some settings.

Taboos vary widely across cultures and history and are often reinforced by religious doctrine, laws, or social expectations. They can change over time, and some taboos become less strict as societies liberalize, while others endure for centuries.

In anthropology and sociology, taboos are studied as a lens into how groups define sacredness, purity, and danger, as well as how power and identity are organized through prohibitions.