Transpersonal Psychology
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Something that is taboo is so powerful that it must be approached only with the proper attitude and training, or not at all. The concept of taboo derives from the Tongan tapu or the Fijian tabu. In both cultures it carries a double meaning: it refers to what is both sacred and forbidden. That is, it indicates that which is so powerful that it is dangerous unless treated the right way, or by the right person, under the right circumstances. In original usage, taboo could refer to certain foods, to bodies of the deceased, to the resting places of powerful spirits, to tribal rulers and to warriors who have slain others, and often to women’s menstrual periods, as well as even mentioning some of the above in conversation (Frazer, 1990). Thus we see that it can apply to words, objects, actions and concepts (including metaphysical actors such as divinities), and also that there is a temporal aspect, for instance in some warrior cultures we find a taboo on sex, but only before battle. In many religious traditions, the complex mythopoeic indications combined in the term taboo have been differentiated into the categories of sacred, protected, holy, ritual, and sin. Social usage indicates that a taboo action or conversation is likely to cause shame or embarrassment within a given social group. This is likely only part of the story, since most taboo subjects that are not abhorrent carry an edge of allure or even excitement in the right circumstances, bringing the concept closer to the Tongan sense. Furthermore there are relatively few things that appear to be repugnant in all societies, these being confined to corpses and incest (and even here there is some disagreement). So most things that are taboo in one group or society are not taboo in another, showing that something about the dynamic of the taboo must be more important than the particular item, topic, or action (Durkheim, 1912). Evolutionary biologists suggest that taboos originated from a hardwired repulsion of disease vectors (in the case
of the dead) or social bonding habits (in the case of patricide), however this explanation does little to explain the multiplicity and richness of the concept as it is found in practice or in its religious formulation (Pinker, 1997). Sigmund Freud noticed a similarity between obsessive states and the descriptions of taboo. This connection shows that taboos can be understood as ‘‘a psychological condition that prevails in the unconscious’’ and states that the only two ‘‘universal’’ taboos are that of incest and patricide which formed the eventual basis of modern society. This conception is not far from the biological, and again does not account for the liminal quality of the concept. Freud continues with his classic statement about taboo, one which has helped shape a generation of understanding: "
Taboos, we must suppose, are prohibitions of primeval antiquity which were at some time externally imposed upon a generation of primitive men; they must, that is to say, no doubt have been impressed on them violently by the previous generat
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