I. MEANING OF TABU Literally an adjective, meaning "marked off" (perhaps from the Polynesian ta=mark, pu=exceedingly), tabu implies that cer tain persons or things are unsafe for casual contact or use in ordinary life, "not to be lightly approached" (Codrington, The Melanesians, p. 188) because of supernatural penalties which would thereby be incurred. There is always some occult, magico religious significance present. Another Polynesian word, mana (q.v.), expresses conveniently its positive aspect. Mana implies the mysteriously-efficient, transferable force recognized in all remarkable, impressive, wonder-working things as well as in strik ing human personalities. "Negatively, the supernatural is tabu, not to be lightly approached because (positively) it is mana instinct with a power above the ordinary." Thus, for the Ila speaking peoples of northern Rhodesia, we are told, vaguely defined forces pervade all things, neutral in themselves, but avail able for those who have "the secret of manipulation." These forces, however, "are dangerous things to interfere with. They are tonda (tabu). For an ordinary person, under ordinary cir cumstances, to interfere with them is forbidden; it is dangerous to himself and the community. By saying certain things, doing certain actions and eating certain foods, he may liberate these energies with fatal results to himself and his neighbours. Per sons in certain conditions and things put to certain uses, come into intimate contact with these forces and are therefore tonda." (Smith and Dale, Ila-speaking Peoples of N. Rhodesia, ii. 83.) Tabu may be either ( 1) inherent or (2) imposed.
(i.) Inherent Tabu.—Some things or conditions are intrin sically tabu, and infringement of their character brings its own penalty without external aid. Such inherent tabus are those asso ciated permanently with women, the sick, the dead, strangers or temporarily with women in childbirth or warriors on campaign. Here inherent energy is discharged on all who break the tabu.
(2.) Imposed Tabu.—A common thing may become tabu through the action of a god, priest, king or chief, and the sanc tion of the restriction is his own power for avenging its violation. Thus, when Cook wanted to set up an observatory in the Sand wich islands, the priests tabued the place for him by setting up wands. Persons and things, places and times could be tabued.
The power of imposing a tabu was a characteristically Polynesian prerogative, bound up with the theocratic powers of a prince or noble, which probably attained the highest development in New Zealand. The noble or chief, partaking of the divine essence of which he was the incarnation, was able to communicate his con tagious holiness so that the objects in question could not be appro priated by anyone but a superior in rank. He might stop traffic on a river or cause great inconvenience to his people by tabuing a forest. This was generally done by putting up a pole with a bunch of rags or leaves or by erecting some corresponding notice board. On the other hand, just as the priest or chief could impose the tabu, he could also remove it. Thus, at Hawaii in 1819, King Rihoriho at one stroke abrogated the laws of tabu, though only to make way for le tabu, the British Sunday.
However, these two aspects of tabu are considerably involved, for religion makes common cause with law and government, result ing in a theocratic system of controls, spiritual injunction backed by temporal power.
(3.) Derivative Tabus.—A third class of tabus arises from the contagiousness of tabu. It is transmitted by contact and the person or thing thus tabued becomes a new source of infection. Sometimes the infection may be removed by ritual means, such as an ablution. Sometimes it is too deeply ingrained to be removed. To discriminate between "things tabu," the primary sources of such contagion and "things tabued," in which tabu infection is derivative, is not always easy, since tabus as primarily matters of custom form part of the social inheritance. Thus, the clothing and discarded food of the king derive the tabu quality from his person. Further, not only what he touches, but what he sees also becomes tabu.