Various Cultural Taboos

The word taboo has come from the Polynesian word ‘tabu’ which generally means unacceptable or prohibited. The definition of taboo varies according to region, religion and society. Hence, some practices could be considered taboo in one society, while could be considered merely immoral acts in another: still in some other society it might be considered normal. Also, many taboos are illegal though not all.


1) Cultural Taboos in Malaysia

Let us look on cultural taboos from a few regions around the world, starting from our own country, Malaysia. Too many taboo that has been presented to us, especially when we were children. As a child, I always wondered whether the prohibition is true or plot. Before I reach puberty, I certainly will not be able to know the truth. But as I grew up, I get to know the real deal and almost make it into more 'superstitious'. But I am not sure whether the answer is true or merely hypothetical. Among the common taboo I have heard are as follows:

“Do not point finger towards the rainbow, your finger will be crippled if you do”.
This was one of those most prohibited "action" when i was in younger age. If I ever notice the existence of rainbow out the window, I will soon hide my finger before i would ever had the feeling have a test, whether this cultural taboo do really happens or not. But I think that the prohibition was made because our ancestors used to say that, pointing fingers to something precious is kinda impolite. Thus, you should not point your finger towards the rainbow, or else your finger will be cripple.

Check this out !

 Muz pointing his finger towards the rainbow.

Luckily, nothing happened ! :D

 

"Do not sit on pillow, lest boils infection around the anus”.
It sounds very strange. Perhaps, this one sounds even more simpler to put an experiment on. So, since I was very stubborn, I have dared to give it a try. Without feeling guilty, I begin with a couple of trials. I sat on a pillow several times to accept the alleged curse. But then, it turned out to be a habit, since i found out that it shouldn't be prohibited at all. Months later, I found no boil grow at all! But then I realize now, use pillows to lay the head, not the anus. If we sit on the pillow, pillow will result smelling weird. HAHA

Ok .. This one is one of the famous phrases, often said by most elders. It sounds like this, “girls who are not married should not sing in the kitchen, as feared that their marriage will be delayed ”. Sounds familiar ? You might think this is terrible and obsessive, guess what, I used to believe the same thing, till my sister's marriage. She used to sing while preparing lunch and dinner, or most of her time in kitchen. But, one fine day, she got married happily at last. HAHA. So, as a precaution, many girls afraid to sing in the kitchen. They decided to sing in the toilet instead.

Well, those are cultural taboo used to be practiced or believed in Malaysia. Let us look on the part of the world.

2) Cultural Taboos in China during Chinese New Year

~Nothing should be broken during Chinese New Year. When eating fish, diners must be careful to not break any of the bones.

~Nothing should be cut during Chinese New Year as one’s life could be cut short. Noodles should not be cut and haircuts should be avoided.

~Sharp objects like scissors and knives are avoided during Chinese New Year.

~All windows and doors in the home should be open on New Year’s Eve to send out the old year and welcome the New Year.

~All debts should be paid by Chinese New Year and nothing should be lent on New Year’s day; otherwise, the person will be paying back debts all year.

~Don’t cry on New Year’s Day. If you do, it is said you will cry all year.

~Don’t wash your hair on Chinese New Year Day or you may wash away all your luck.

~When preparing paper dragons for Chinese New Year, It is taboo for women who are menstruating, people in mourning and babies to be near the dragons when the cloth is being pasted to the dragon’s body.


3) Cultural Taboos in India.

~They're not allowed to eat meat because they believe that a person's soul is in the animal. They believe in reincarnation.

~ The most important thing to remember when conducting business in India is that the society is still very hierarchical and follows the caste system. Especially those in rural part of India, they're not allowed to go beyond their limit, or anything prohibited in their caste.

As a conclusion, we agree that there are still a few taboos and superstitious customs still being practiced. But behind the trickery in those forbidden taboos, there are many lessons we can learn from it. But our ancestors education methods were different, they're are not likely to tell accurately about the consequences for a forbidden action. As discussed above, the effects and consequences will be explored slowly, in line with increasing age. In conclusion, taboo and tradition in these societies seems to resemble the teachings of error, but actually could imply a very valuable lesson.


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