Taboo
is a social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion of a
particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or
thing (oxford dictionaries). 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, religious
beliefs and scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered
abhorrent by society.
When an activity or custom is 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.
On the other hand taboos result in embarrassment,
shame,
and rudeness.
Taboos often extend to cover discussion of taboo topics. This can result in disagreeable
or offensive. Marvin Harris,
a leading figure in cultural materialism,
endeavored to explain taboos as a consequence of the ecologic
and economic
conditions of their societies. Taboos challenge one's free speech and
individual rights to express a subject or issue in need to be addressed for the
benefit, not to damage, any given society. So, in this paper, we will discuss
about some taboos in several countries.
In
Indonesia, be offended if Indonesians ask question about your private life. you
should not be offended if Indonesians inquire about your religion, your marital
status or number of children. These are common questions Indonesians ask each
other, too. These topics usually occur during talking. These questions are the
opening conversation to get closer and more familiar to the persons they speak
with. Kiss in greeting in front of public is also taboo in Indonesia. It is not
common in Indonesia to greet each other with a kiss. It is only applicable in
their immediate family. It is acceptable to give small kiss your spouse if
there are other people. However, kissing your spouse or your fiancé
passionately in the presence of others is considered taboo. Kissing your
friends is not common in Indonesian's culture. You must be aware of your touch.
Giving a hug to or putting your arm around your friend of different gender is
uncommon in Indonesian culture. Give, receive, and eat with the left hand. To
give, receive, and eat with the left hand is unacceptable and considered
impolite. The left hand is toilet hand. They usually use their left hand to
cleanse up after urinating or defecating. That is why they consider the left
hand dirty.
In
North America, it is taboo to ask someone their age, particularly a woman, as
the culture values youth and also you should not ask someone what their weight
is. You can comment on someone losing weight (this would be considered a
compliment), but you should not comment on someone gaining weight. Another area
which is considered private and should not be asked about is salary. You can
ask what someone’s job is and what their job title is, but it is considered
impolite to ask how much they are paid. Another taboo is asking them about
their love life. When you get to be close friends with someone, you should also
avoid asking them about their ‘love life’ because it is considered privacy that
should not be known by others people.
The continent of
Africa presents an enormous variety of food taboos. In many parts fresh milk is
avoided by adults, although for the Masai, Fulbe, Nuba and other East African
groups this commodity is thought to represent a particularly wholesome food for
young men and warriors. Observations on food taboos of the inhabitants of
mid-west Nigeria were chosen as they represent a particularly good example of a
people, in which food taboos appear to have been imposed on society mainly to
serve the interests of the 'strongest' section, i.e., the reification of social
hegemonies of the society. In the mid-west state
of Nigeria, meat and eggs are not usually given to children, because parents
believe it will make the children steal. Gizzards and thighs of ducks are eaten
by the elderly; children can only have the lower legs or sometimes the head.
Frequently coconut milk and liver is taboo for children, because it is believed
that "the milk renders them unintelligent, whereas the liver causes
abscesses in their lungs".
In
Japan, The taboo of wearing shoes indoor is a strong one, and should not be
broke. Attempting to step into someone's home will get you yelled at by
everyone around. You should remove your shoes and place them with the rest.
Walking and Eating or drinking is a big taboo, but won't get you yelled at. You
will get many stares and frowns, and will be avoided, however. Eating or
drinking while walking is considered rude. The next is touching things in a
person’s house. When visiting someone’s house, you should not touch anything
such as pictures, tables, and anything. That is considered rude. You should ask
permission first. This also applies for the bathroom. You do not simply use
someone’s bathroom. It is considered a personal and private location. Another
one is you should keep your voice down in public, hence the train is very
quiet. If you are speaking English in a loud voice, Japanese people feel
uncomfortable. You can text on the train, but not converse. Only rude older
people talk on their phones in the train because they don't know how to text because
everyone glares at them.
In
Italy, you should not say ciao to
everyone. You’ll hear ciao being said
all over Italy. It’s an incredibly common greeting throughout the country. But
if you pay closer attention, you’ll see that it’s almost always used among
people who know each other or are in the same peer group. Among foreigners, or
when addressing your teachers and professors, you should use other more formal
greetings. Of course, you won’t be deemed as rude but people will think you are
overly informal if you simply say "ciao" to a shopkeeper.
We
can see that taboos specify what is or is not permissible (De Capua and
Wintergerst, 2004). When we go abroad, we must able to adapt with rules that applied
in various countries. If we cannot do that we will get difficulties in daily
life. People will consider us rude, for example, asking them about their
privacy. Sometime we will be avoided and yelled by them. Thus, we should
tolerant their culture in order to facilitate us to cooperate and communicate
with them.
References
De
Capua, Andrea and Wintergerst, Ann C. 2004. Cross Culture Understanding in the
Language Classroom. USA: The University of Michigan Press.
Oxford
Dictionary.
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/intercultural-indonesia.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091030132843AAsYFwx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2711054/
http://www.thewomaninchina.com/cq-attitudes-taboos-in-west.html
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