The Bizarre Perspective of our Society

What is a Taboo?

• A taboo is a strong social

prohibition relating to any
area of human activity or
social custom that is sacred
and forbidden based on
moral judgment and
sometimes even religious
beliefs.

• ‘Taboo’ is derived from

Tongan word ‘tapu’ meaning
under prohibition.
Our Selection of some Taboos
 The Outsiders
 In every society there are people who
live on the fringe and must suffer the
consequences. Some choose to be
outsiders, but others are forced to be.

 In Nepal, leprosy sufferers are

shunned and confined to colonies
because of their disease.

 In India, rat catchers are despised

because of the vermin they pursue.

 And in Australia, human scavengers

feed on the food their city throws
away.
 Cannibalism – Eating the ‘Dead’
 Cannibalism is the act or practice of
humans eating the flesh of other human
beings.

 The reasons for cannibalism: sanctions

by a cultural norm, extreme famine or
hunger, insanity or social deviancy.

 UAF Flight 571 crashed into the Andes in

1972, the survivors resorted to eating
the deceased during their 72 days in the
mountains.

 In Pakistan, two brothers were arrested

for eating human corpses stolen from
graves.
 Unusual Marriage Customs
 In Germany, friends kidnap the bride and
hide her somewhere. Then the groom has
to go and search for her.

 The community of Tidong, in Sandakan,

Sabah, prohibit a newly married couple
from going to the bathroom at all for 3 days
and 3 nights.

 Before a wedding in Scotland, friends and

family throw nasty things on the bride like
eggs, sauces, mud, feathers and anything
that is just nasty to get covered with.

 The Daur people make the bride and groom

finalize the wedding date by killing a little
baby chick while they hold a knife together.
 Beyond the Graves
 Everyone dies, but everyone
deals with death differently.
Culture, religion, and society
have a large impact on the
tradition of laying the departed
to eternal rest.

 In Nepal, a body is burned beside

a sacred river.

 In Germany, human bodies are

sometimes put on public display.
 Extreme Body Modifications
 Mentawai women in Sumatra file their
teeth to sharp points, just to look good!

 Chinese men and women having their

legs surgically lengthened to make
them taller.

 Foot binding was a custom practiced on

young girls and women for
approximately one thousand years in
China.

 Corneal tattooing is the practice of

tattooing the cornea of the human eye.
 Bizarre Foods & Cuisines
 Durian’s smell evokes reactions of
intense disgust, and has been described
variously as rotten onions, turpentine
and even gym socks!

 Fugu is lethally poisonous due to its

tetrodotoxin. chefs who have qualified
through rigorous training are allowed to
deal with the fish.

 Hákarl: Icelandic delicacy that is

basically shark that is buried for 6 weeks
to rot then eaten.

 Very few people customarily eat the

placenta after the baby's birth
 ‘One-Step-Ahead’ Kids
 What one society views as a normal way
to grow up another may not.

 In Bolivia, mining involves children for

carrying material, loading tippers or even
planting dynamites!

 Nepalese choose a four-year-old girl a

new living goddess of Nepal, to spend
her childhood revered as the source of
prosperity for the mountain kingdom.

 Shia Muslim utilize chains with sharp

metal to scourge their bodies in
reflection of their sorrow and grief.
 Extreme Rituals
 Many societies have rituals that mark
the passage from one phase of life to
another, but in some cultures they can
be physical, painful or even deadly.

 On a remote Island in the South Pacific

boys leap headfirst from a 70-ft tall
tower in an initiation ritual that could kill
them.

 Then, in Papua New Guinea, a young girl

tattoos her face before marriage as part
of her transition to womanhood.

 in West Africa, a 70-year-old man

participates in a bloodletting ceremony.
 Misfits
 Misfits are people who live outside of their
cultural norms. Some are born into that
situation, while others seek it

 An Australian man convinced his right leg

didn't belong on his body, so he deliberately
froze it beyond recovery, forcing doctors to
amputate.

 Bedeys are not included in Bangladesh’s list

of voters, because as nomads they don’t
have a land tax certificate and don’t belong
to any local government body.

 Arthur Boyt is an animal lover and

enthusiastic conservationist, but one look in
his freezer would make you think otherwise.
 Do we want a society without taboos?
 Activities which would not so long ago have been a source of private
shame and embarrassment are, thanks to the glories of the cyber-age,
openly and proudly acknowledged.

 A disappearing taboo often suggests developing awareness.

 Generally, any group of 'victims' or 'activists' has a taboo area of

responsibility that they choose to ignore.

 When our awareness expands, we can start to discard some of the taboos
that we have outgrown.

 The worst taboo we face is our reluctance to challenge our most deeply-
held opinions or prejudices.
The End