taboo - the bizzare perspective of our society

8/7/2019 Taboo - The bizzare perspective of our society

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The Bizarre Perspective of our Society


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A taboo is a strong socialprohibition rel ating to any are a of huma n ac tivity or so cia l cu sto m tha t is sac red and forbidden based on moral judgment and so m eti m es even religiousbeliefs .

Taboo is derived fro mTong an word tapu m e aning under prohibition .

Wha t is a Taboo ?


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O ur Selection of some Taboos


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In every so ciety there are peo ple wh o live on the fringe and mu st suffer the conseq uen ces . Som e ch oose to be outsiders, but ot hers are for ced to be .

In Ne pa l, leprosy sufferers are shu nned and confined to colonies be cau se of their dise ase .

In Indi a, rat ca tch ers are des pised

be cau se of the ver m in they pu rsue .

And in Austr alia , huma n scavengers feed on the food their city thro ws awa y.

The Ou tsiders


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Cannib alism is the ac t or prac tice of huma ns e ating the fles h of ot her huma n beings .

The re asons for ca nnib alism: sanctions by a cu ltura l nor m , extre m e f am ine or hu nger, ins anity or so cia l devi ancy.

UAF Flight 571 c rashed into the Andes in 1972 , the survivors resorted to

e ating the de ce ased during their 72days in the m ount ains .

In Pak istan, two brot hers were arrested for e ating huma n cor pses

stolen fro m graves .

C annib a lism Ea ting the D ead


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In Ger ma ny, friends kidn ap the bride and h ide her so m ewh ere . Then the groo m ha s to go and se a rch for her .

The commu nity of T idong, in Sand aka n, Sabah , p ro h ibit a ne w ly ma rried coup le fro m going to the ba th roo m a t a ll for 3days and 3 nig h ts .

Before a w edding in Scotl and, friends and f am ily th ro w nasty th ings on the bride like

eggs, sauc es, mu d, fea thers and anyt h ing tha t is just nasty to get covered w ith.

The Dau r peo p le mak e the bride and groo m fina lize the wedding da te by killing alittle baby ch ick wh ile they hold a k nife

toget her .

Unusua l Ma rriage C usto m s


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Everyone dies, bu t everyone de a ls w ith de a th differently .C u ltu re, religion, and so ciety ha ve a la rge impac t on the

tr adition of laying the de pa rted to etern a l rest .

In Ne pa l, a body is bu rned beside a sac red river .

In Ger ma ny, huma n bodies a re so m eti m es pu t on pu blic dis p lay.

Beyond the Graves


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Ment awa i wom en in Suma tr a file theirteeth to sha rp p oints, just to loo kgood!

Chinese m en and wom en ha ving their

legs surgically lengthened to mak e the m taller.

Foot binding wa s a cu sto m p rac ticed on young girls and wom en for

app roxi ma tely one thousand ye ars in C hina.

Corneal tattooing is the prac tice of tattooing the corne a of the huma n

eye .

Extre m e Body Modifi ca tions


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D urian s sm ell evo kes re ac tions of intense disg ust, and ha s been des cribed vario usly as rotten onions, turpentine and even gym so cks!

Fugu is let ha lly poisono us due to its tetrodotoxin . ch efs wh o ha ve qua lified thro ugh rigoro us tr aining are a llowed to de a l with the fish.

Hk arl : Icelandi c deli cac y tha t is basica lly sha rk tha t is buried for 6wee ks to rot then e aten .

Very fe w p eo ple cu sto ma rily e at the

placenta after the baby's birt h

Biza rre Foods & C u isines


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Wha t one so ciety vie ws as a nor ma l wa y to gro w up a not her ma y not .

In Bolivia , m ining involves ch ildren for ca rrying ma teri a l, loading tipp ers or even

p lanting dyn am ites!

Ne pa lese ch oose a four-ye a r-old girl ane w living goddess of Ne pa l, to spend her ch ildhood revered as the so urce of p ros perity for the m ount a in kingdo m.

Shia Mu slim u tilize cha ins with sha rpm et a l to scourge their bodies in refle ction of their sorro w a nd grief .

One-Step-Ahead Kids


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Ma ny so cieties ha ve rit ua ls t ha t ma rk the pa ssage fro m one pha se of life to anot her, bu t in so m e cu ltures they ca n be ph ysica l, pa inf u l or even de adly.

On a re m ote Island in the South Pac ificboys leap h e adfirst fro m a 70 -ft ta ll to wer in an initi a tion rit ua l t ha t could kill the m.

Then, in Papua N e w Gu ine a , a yo ung girl ta ttoos her f ac e before ma rri age as pa rt of her tr ansition to woma nhood .

in West Africa , a 70 -ye a r-old ma n pa rti cipa tes in a bloodletting cere m ony .

Extre m e Ritua ls


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M isfits a re peo p le wh o live ou tside of their cu ltu ra l nor m s. Som e a re born into tha t sit ua tion, wh ile ot hers see k it

An Austr a lian ma n convin ced h is righ t leg didn't belong on h is body, so he deliber a tely froze it beyond re covery, for cing do ctors to ampu ta te .

Bedeys a re not included in Bangl ades h s list of voters, be cau se as no ma ds they don t

ha ve a land tax certifi ca te and don t belong to any loca l govern m ent body .

Art hu r Boyt is an anima l lover and ent hu siasti c conserv a tionist, bu t one loo kin h is freezer wou ld mak e you th ink

ot her w ise .

M isfits


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Activities wh ich w ould not so long ago ha ve been a so urce of private sham e and e m barrassm ent are, tha nks to the glories of the cyber- age, openly and pro udly ack no wledged .

A dis app e aring taboo often suggests develo ping awa reness .

Gener ally, any gro up of 'victim s' or 'ac tivists' ha s a taboo are a of res ponsibility tha t they ch oose to ignore .

Wh en our awa reness expa nds, we ca n st a rt to dis ca rd so m e of the taboos tha t we ha ve outgro wn.

The worst taboo we f ac e is our rel uc tance to cha llenge our m ost dee ply-held opinions or pre judices .

Do we wa nt a so ciety w ithou t taboos ?


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The End

taboo - the bizzare perspective of our society

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