A taboo is a strong social prohibition (or ban) relating to any area of human activity or social custom declared as sacred and forbidden; breaking of the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society. The term was borrowed from the Tongan language and appears in many Polynesian cultures. In those cultures, a tabu (or tapu or kapu) often has specific religious associations. It was a word brought back by Captain James Cook in 1777 after a long sea voyage to the South Seas and introduced into the English language.

When an activity or custom is classified as taboo it is forbidden and interdictions are implemented concerning it, such as the ground set apart as a sanctuary for criminals. Some taboo activities or customs are prohibited under law and transgressions may lead to severe penalties. Other taboos result in embarrassment, shame, and rudeness, but critics may oppose a taboo is put in place to avoid disrespect to any given authority, be it legal, moral and religious.

Etymology

Common etymology traces taboo to the Tongan word tapu or the Fijian word tabuA Grammar of Boumaa Fijian, By= Robert M. W. Dixon page 368 meaning "under prohibition", "not allowed", or "forbidden". In its current use in Tonga, the word tapu also means "sacred" or "holy", often in the sense of being restricted or protected by custom or law. In the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga, where the greater portion of the population reside within the capital Nuku'alofa, the word is often appended to the end of "Tonga", making the word "Tongatapu", where local use it as "Sacred South" rather than "forbidden south".

The use of the word taboo drawns from tapu (meaning "not allowed") dates back to 1777 where English explorer, Captain James Cook, visited Tonga, a place he named "the Friendly Islands". Describing the cultural practices of the Tongans, he wrote:

and:

Some Solomon Islanders say that their languages have a word tabu (pronounced "ta-boo") meaning "holy", providing the word association and connection of taboo to sacred as used in the English language today. The word 'tabu' refers to places in the bush where holy spirits reside (usually marked with an object, such as a giant clam shell or stone carving) that should not be touched and are areas that should not be disturbed unless a ceremony is performed.

Examples

Taboos can include dietary restrictions (halal and kosher diets, religious vegetarianism, and the prohibition of cannibalism), restrictions on sexual activities and relationships (sex outside of marriage, adultery, intermarriage, miscegenation, sex between people of the same sex, incest, animal-human sex, adult-child sex, sex with the dead), restrictions of bodily functions (burping, flatulence, restrictions on the use of psychoactive drugs, restrictions on state of genitalia such as circumcision or sex reassignment), exposure of body parts (ankles in the Victorian British Empire, women's faces in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, nudity in the US), and restrictions on the use of offensive language.