THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
of property and the choice of his wives. An infraction of its laws means exile or death " (D. G. Brinton, Religions of Primitive Peoples, p. 38, New York, 1S97). "In the earliest phases of religion the law is essentially prohibitory. It is in the form of the negative ' thou shalt not.' The taboo extends its ^•eto into every department of primitive life. It forbids the use of certain articles of food or raiment; it hallows the sacred areas; it lays restrictions on marriage; it denounces various actions, often the most trivial and innocent, and thus lays the foundation for the ceremonial law " (idem, p. 108).
The character of the institution is seen in the things it prohibits. (1) The sanctuary, with all its furnishings, vestments and the like, is taboo.
Intrusion renders the intruder, man
1. Things or beast, the property of the god. Taboo. (2) Persons are taboo. A chief may
not be touched nor any of his possessions, while what he touches becomes his — he represents or is deity. Similarly, priests, shamans, attendants are sacred persons. The sick are often taboo and are removed that they may not " infect " the house. Especially taboo is the woman in childbirth (see Defilement and Purification, Ceremonial). A corpse is taboo, and infects all who come into contact with it. (3) Blood is of all things taboo. Sacrificial blood was caught in vessels that it might not infect the ground. Its sacredness in covenants is a matter of history and survives in Christian theology. It was not eaten bysacrificers, but was sacred to deity. By association of ideas things red are taboo. In Africa red earth may not be trodden or red berries eaten. In Japan entrances to holy places and bridges reserved for the Mikado's use are red. (4) A name may be taboo, that of God or of the chief or of the dead. Even the syllables which composed a name may not be used, and new ones have to be employed in their place. Thus the quadrUiteral name of God was not used by the later Jews, and out of a device to avoid it arose the name Jehovah (see Yahweh). (5) The hair and the beard may be taboo. The Naziritic vow of the Hebrews (see Nazirite) is in point, and the sacrifice of the hair is a frequent fact. (6) The totem animal species is taboo to all of the clan. (7) Time may be taboo. This is the origin of the Sabbath, derived from pre- Semitic Babylonians. (8) Whole groups of things may be taboo, as food, or the use of food for a period may be taboo. (9) The paraphernalia of the mysteries are taboo.
A characteristic of taboo is its transmissibility. An article which has become taboo communicates this quality to whatever comes into contact with it, this second to a third, and so on. The same is true of persons (cf. Isa. Ixv. 5, which should read " which say, keep by thyself, come not near to me; for else shall I sanctify thee," i.e.,
2. Charac- make thee taboo). Contact of a perteristics son ceremonially unclean with sacred
of Taboo, vessels was forbidden (cf. Vergil, /Eneid, ii. 717-720 for a fine illustration). Taboo might be communicated in several ways — by touch, as in the preceding cases; or by a look,
as when the African king may not look at a river; or through the ear, as when a man who hears of a death in his family becomes unclean; or through speech, as when a man pronounces the name of a chief. The duration of a taboo varies. It may be perpetual, as of a sanctuary and its appurtenances; or of a chief or other sacred person, during his lifetime. Or it may be temporary, depending upon purgation by ceremonial, or by expiration after a conventional period (as in mourning). Similarly, a taboo may be natural (after a fashion), like that of the sanctuary or chief; or arbitrary, like the taboo of food for a day by Saul (I Sam. xiv. 24 sqq.). The explanation of taboo is that it was connected with the supernatural. Fear of offense of the potent powers which were supposed to exist and of consequent evU to self or kin or possessions seems to be the bottom fact. That a tree in a sacred domain is taboo is easily explained. But it has not been so clear why a newborn babe, a woman in childbirth, a corpse should be taboo. The reason is that under primitive conditions whatever deals with the mysteries of the beginning or end of life has the aspect of awe. Man stands in awe of the mystery of life and death. Taboo involves therefore (1) caution against things holy (for the things' sake) and things unclean (for the person's sake); (2) purification from the contact with holy things so as not mediately to convey holiness to other things (as when the priest washed after exercising his office before putting on his ordinary apparel); (3) purification from contact with the unclean to restore a lost condition of purity.
Some taboos are from their nature fatal. The murder of a clansman or the killing of a totem animal involved either the execution of the culprit or (which amounted to the same thing) his exUe from the clan. In the latter case he was in the position of the masterless man of feudal times, whosoever found him could kill him without fear 3. Penalties of the blood feud (cf. Gen. iv. 14). of Breach An absolute taboo, breach of which of Taboo, was death, is given I Sam. xiv. 24, 44. The basis of this was a rude social utilitarian ethics. Were the offender not punished, the offended spirit might avenge himself on the tribe (cf. I Sam. xxi. 1). But all breaches were not so serious; even primitive man has a sense of proportion. Means of purification were hit upon in accordance with primitive philosophy. The principal agents were water and fire, often accompanied by gifts. In Madagascar a babe is kept in the presence of fire and lifted over or through it when first taken from the house. Many tribes use water or a decoction, some applying it by aspersion. Christian baptism, whether by aspersion or immersion, has a long ancestry. Other means were the touch of a sacred person, as of a chief, a priest, or a child.
The effect of taboo on ethics is profound and farreaching, beyond what has been adduced. So with totemism, especially in inducing fidelity and educing gratitude. On the other hand, suggestion (a subject only just becoming understood) had tremendous power ethically, working along all the lines already suggested. The thought that the