This document discusses various types of taboos around the world, including definitions, origins, and examples. It covers religious taboos, taboo sex practices, cultural taboos involving rituals, and food taboos. Specific rituals discussed include self-flagellation, spirit possession, fire walking, and scarification. Religious prohibitions and cultural norms around sex, diet, and social behaviors are described for several regions. Taboos in Pakistan are also summarized, such as those relating to dowries, black magic, honor killings, and food restrictions according to Islamic law.

3. Contents
• What is Taboo
– Origin
– Why should we care about
– Breaking of Taboo
– Universal Taboo
• Common Taboo
– Religious Taboo
– Taboo sex
– Cultural Taboo
– Ritual Taboo
– Food Taboo
– Taboo in Pakistan
– Superstitious Taboo

4. . "Breaking a Taboo" is usually considered objectionable by society in general, not merely a subset of a culture.

5. “When anything is forbidden to be eaten, or made use of, they say, that it
is Taboo.”
-James Cook

6. •Usually rooted in moral or cultural
beliefs, a social Taboo tells people what’s
proper behavior and what’s not
•Taboos are important because they help
us get along. Without these rules and
prohibitions, we’d just be a planet of 7
million individuals doing whatever we
wanted

7. Most often, people attempt to
avoid breaking their culture's
Taboos because of the stigma
involved with challenging social
or religious expectations.
However, some people
deliberately break Taboos.
Deliberate Breaking of Taboo

8. No Taboo is presently known to be
Universal…
• Sigmund Freud posited that ”incest” and ”patricide” were the
only two universal Taboos and formed the basis of civilization.
• However, although
– Cannibalism
– In-group murder
– Incest
are Taboo in the majority of societies, modern research has
found exceptions for each and no Taboo is presently known to
be universal.

9. Common Taboos
 Restrictions or ritual regulation of killing and hunting
 Religious Taboo
 Sex and sexual relationships
 Reproduction
Abortion
Infanticide
 Cultural Taboo
 Ritual Taboo
 Food and dining primarily
Cannibalism
Dietary laws

10. Religious Taboo
• A religious Taboo is a
custom adhered to by a
particular religion that
restricts or prohibits a
certain action
• It include various Taboos
regarding dietary
restrictions, sociocultural
Taboos, dress etiquette
etc

11. Self-Flagellation
• Practiced by sect of Roman Catholics- Flagellants
• Banned in 14th century
• In Philippines Filipinos
– marched on roads
– carrying heavy wooden crosses
– whipping their backs until bled
• Believed by devotees to
– cleanse sins, cure illness and even grant wishes
• Currently over 80% of Filipinos practice the Catholic religion

12. Self-Flagellation
• Followers of the Shi’a sect of Islam carry out the ritual
• Every year during the holy month of muharram
• The men whip their bodies with blades attached to chains
• Do not feel the pain apparently

13. Voodoo and Spiritual Possession
• Spirit possession is a term for the belief that animas, demons,
extraterrestrials, gods, or spirits can take control of a human
body
• The concept of spirit possession exists in many religions,
including
– Christianity, Buddhism, Haitian Vodou, Wicca, Hinduism, Islam
and Southeast Asian and African traditions
• Within possession cults, the belief that one is possessed by
spirits is more common among women than men

14. Voodoo and Spiritual Possession
• The spirit lays claim to the body, overcoming the person so
that he or she becomes unconscious
• They remain in this state for three days without food or water,
until finally they are brought back to consciousness after
another set of rituals

16. Taboo sex
• Taboo sex means a kind
of sexual behavior that is
viewed as unnatural,
immoral, and forbidden
• It includes
– Incest, necrophilia,
miscegenation, adultery,
fornication, pedophilia,
homosexuality, intermarriage,
bestiality, masturbation

17. Miscegenation
• Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial
groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, or
procreation.
• The term miscegenation has been used since the 19th century
• Historically, the term has been used in the context of laws
banning interracial marriage and sex, known as anti-
miscegenation laws
• China and Japan also had restrictions on marrying with
peoples whom they considered to be of a different race.

18. Pedophilia
• Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older
adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to
prepubescent children, generally age 11 years or younger
• At present, the exact causes of pedophilia have not been conclusively
established
• Pedophilia was first formally recognized and named in the late 19th
century
• A significant amount of research in the area has taken place since the
1980s
• Although mostly documented in men, there are also women who
exhibit the disorder
• No cure for pedophilia has been developed, but there are therapies
that can reduce the incidence of a person committing child sexual
abuse
• Pedophilia may be correlated with
– several different neurological abnormalities, and often co-exists with other
personality disorders and psychological pathologies

19. STOP
CHILD
ABUSE

21. Ritual Taboo
• Rituals can involve
something as
simple as a silent,
individual prayer,
others—especially
those involving a
larger group—can
be extremely
painful and violent

22. The Sun Dance
• Native Americans are known to perform numerous rituals in
honor of the Earth’s spirits
• Represents the Tree of life
• Pierced with a skewer
• This dance may take several hours before it is completed

23. Dancing With the Dead
• Famadihana, meaning “The Turning of the Bones,” is a
traditional Ritual which takes place in Madagascar
• The participants believe that the faster the body decomposes,
the faster the spirit reaches the afterlife
• Dig up their loved ones, dance with their corpses to live music
around the tomb
• Carried out every two to seven years

24. • The Nine Emperor Gods
Ritual is a Taoist
celebration carried out in
Penang, Malaysia
• Walking barefoot on
burning embers.
• To overcome impurity and
repel evil influences
• Hundreds of devotees walk
over the fire
Fire
Walking

25. Vine jumping
• Popular ritual near the
island Pacific Archipelago
• Bungee jumping
• Gkol- land diving
• To get more blessings

26. Impaling
• The annual Vegetarian Ritual in Phuket, Thailand, is host to a
most extreme ritual
• Intensely masochistic event requires the participants to push
spears, knives, swords, hooks and even guns through their
cheeks
• Protecting them from evil and bringing good luck to the
community

27. Cultural Taboo
• Cultural Taboo is about
particular polynesian
group of people
performing sacred
prohibition which make
them untouchable,
unmentionable

28. Banana-tree marrying Mangliks of India
• Eligible banana tree in India
• Superstitious sort, this
aspect is thought to bring
catastrophic bad luck
• Astrologically afflicted symbolically
marries a banana or pipal tree
• All the bad luck is believed to be
transferred to the bark.

29. Venom-injecting Satere-Mawe tribe of the
Amazon
• Wicker glove, Enraged
ants, Masochistic
tendencies
• Satere-Mawe, who live
along a tributary of the
Brazilian Amazon, test
their mettle by thrusting
• Rooted in tribal
mythology, is
accompanied by
enthusiastic dancing
and singing

30. Frog Wedding
• Severe rain shortage prompted villagers in the Indian state
of West Bengal
• The frog wedding
• An ancient Hindu belief
• The rains have been slow in coming to much of the country

31. Cross-dressing Wodaabe Men of Niger
• The Wodaabe tribe of northern Niger
• During the Gerewol Ritual at the end of the rainy season
• A straight line to preen and smile,
• The winner’s prize? A night of passion with one of the judges.

32. Scarification
• A tribe in Papua New Guinea called Kaningara practices
• To strength connection between them and their environment
• Ritual ceremonies is carried out in Haus Tambaran, or “The
Spirit House
• In Haus Tambaran for two months
• An expert cutter marks their bodies with sharp pieces of
bamboo

33. Wearing a Green Hat is Bad News
• Foreigners might think that a green hat is just like any other
hat, but not in China.
• In China, a "green hat" means
• The most horrible color
• Why does “绿帽子(lǜ màozi)” carry such a
particular meaning in China?

34. Food
taboos

35. “Food and drink taboos are food and
beverages which people abstain from
consuming because of a religious or cultural
prohibition”
 A taboo may be followed by a whole national group or
tribe, by part of a tribe or by certain groups in the society.

36.  Revolve around children.
-if children eat chicken before they learn to speak, they will
never talk.
-Eating half an egg will make the child grow into a thief.
-If children drink milk from a baby bottle will turn them into a
drunkard.
 Many animal meat are taboo.
-frogs
-snails
-iguana
-cats
-dogs

37. Chinese food Taboos

38. Taiwan Food Taboos
 In Taiwan, one should not point with chopsticks, treat
them as toys or use them to stab at food items. But,
more importantly, one should not just stick chopsticks
upright in the rice bowl.
 Ying Yang fish: This fish’s tail half is deep fried while it’s
alive, and the dish is eaten in Taiwan with the head still
fresh and moving.

39. South African food Taboos
 Do put your napkin on your lap upon being seated.
 Crossing knife and fork on the plate indicate that you are
still eating.
 Placing your knife and fork together indicate that you
have finished eating.
 In several African nations earth in the form of clay is
mined and formed into little bars that are sold and eaten.

40. French food Taboos
 In France, never take vine as a gift.
 The French say bon appétit before
starting a meal and you should not start
eating until your hosts do.
 Eating horse is also one of the major food
taboos of the United States and France.
 It is considered rude to rush through a
meal or hurry your order along.
 Never leave the food on your plate as
indicate that you did not enjoy your
meal.

41. Live animals food Taboos
 Live octopus eaten in
Korea when its tentacles
are still moving.
 Oysters: These foods are
consumed throughout the
world while still alive. Live
oysters are much desired in
restaurants around the
world, including in the
United States.

42. Live insects:
-stink
-Bug
-Tarantulas
 In china, Japan, Korea etc
 In some cultures, live insects are eaten in a more
ritualistic fashion
 Others include insects as staples in their diets.

43.  Cats are ceremoniously eaten
in this African nation
during special event saimed at
bringing good luck to a
community.
 In Switzerland, some rural
Swiss communities cook cats
in several meals.

44. Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the practice of
eating the flesh of your own
kind
Cannibalism is one of the most
bizarre taboo and this would be
the last thing on earth that a
human can do to survive. They
believe that the greatest fear
for human beings is the fear of
their own death.

45. More recently, isolated
cases of cannibalism
have cropped up in
Brazil, Germany, India,
Thailand, North Korea,
Pakistan and Africa.

46. Why??
- Sweeter taste.
- The average human adult provides 30 kilograms (66 lb)
of food, including fat, muscle, organs, and skin.
- therapists diagnose cannibals as psychopathic,
meaning they are aware of what they’re doing but lack
the empathy to appreciate the wrongness of their
actions.

47. Taboos in Pakistan

48. Taboos in Pakistan
There are number of taboos in Pakistani society
but we discussed some of major taboos in this
regard which are as follow:
Dowry
Satanic & Black magic
Honor killing (karo kari)
Child marriage (Vani)
Watta Satta
Divorce

49. Dowry
“Dowry is not a Mare Evil
It is a Mother of Many Evils”
 Dreadful and unethical practice.
 Common among:
-the illiterate or uneducated people.
-the rich, educated, cultural (so called).
As in the report, there
were almost 60 cases
of Burning Bride for
not giving dowry.

50. Satanic & Black Magi
 Pakistan is an Islamic state with one of the highest
percentage of Muslims in the world. Pakistan is
plagued with black magic.
 Main cause:
-Jealousy.
 Mental illness and psychological problems are
considered by some to be an encounter with Shaitan.
 The villagers call upon a ”Pir” believed to be
endowed with mystical powers that
can purify contaminated water after severe floods.

51. Child Marriage
 Vani is a cultural custom
found in parts
of Pakistan wherein
young girls are forcibly
married as part of
punishment for a crime
committed by her male
relatives.
 Result of punishment
decided by a council of
tribal elders-jirga.

52. Watta Satta
Watta satta, literally give-take, is a form of bride exchange.
Involves the simultaneous marriage of a brother-sister pair from
two households or involves uncle-niece pairs, cousin pairs.
Establishes the mutual threat across the marriages.
Over 75% marriages involving blood relatives.
90% of the watta satta marriages occurring within the same village,
caste or clan.

53. Divorce

54. Superstition in Pakistan

55. Voodoo

56. Human bones in occult
 There are grave-digging incidents
in Karachi and cemeteries in
different regions of Pakistan
where bones are stolen from the
graves.
 Digging up graves to steal human
bones for use in black magic.
 Occult practices are believed to be
widespread in Pakistan where
religious beliefs, superstitions and
illiteracy play a big role in
everyday life

57. Food Taboos in Pakistan
1. Alcohol: It is banned according to Islamic dietary laws, as are
any foods prepared with alcohol, such as vanilla extract.
2. Birds: Birds that hunt with talons and prey on animals or other
birds cannot be consumed. Birds who eat seeds and vegetables
like chickens and pigeons are halal.
Many food taboos exist in Islamic culture. As Pakistan
is an Islamic country so food taboos are same that of
Islamic dietary laws.

58. 3. Blood: products that
contain blood, or are
made from blood are
forbidden
4. Insects: are haram
foods except for locusts.
5. Other forbidden meats: this
include meat of donkey, mule,
dog, cat, monkey, mouse, rat,
elephant and fanged predators.
Meat cannot be eaten from any
animal that has died by any other
means that Zabihah slaughter.

59. Food Taboos in Pakistan
• Pigs:
Pigs are always haram, proving that similar food
taboos among different cultures often occur. Like
Judaism, Islam has strict laws forbidding pork
products. Islamic dietary law goes beyond kosher
restrictions and explains that a Muslim can’t have
anything to do with a pig.