TABOO, or TABU, from tapu, a Polynesian word, denoting an institution which was formerly in existence through out Polynesia and New Zealand, but has now to a large extent disappeared before the spread of Christianity and civiliza tion. The word signifies something set apart, either as consecrated or accursed, the idea of prohibition being conveyed in either case, whence the English word, tabooed, i. e., forbidden. For example, in New Zealand the person of a chief was strictly taboo, and hence might not be touched; while the volcano Tongariro was taboo as being the supposed resi dence of demons, and even to look on it was at one time forbidden. The system seems to have had its origin in a super stitious dread of the unseen powers of evil, and the chiefs, quick to perceive the power which it would place in their hands, appear to have adopted it from remote times as a political engine, the priests readily co-operating with them for the sake of the influence which it gave them likewise. The chiefs were
themselves amenable to the regulations of the taboo, but in a much less degree than their subjects, and possessed a wide discretionary power, which was limited only by precedent, of declaring objects to be taboo. The taboo could be removed only by the person by whom it was im posed, or by one greatly his superior in rank, but courtesy usually kept the latter power in abeyance. So potent was the superstition, that Scherzer states that among the Maories even hostile tribes were in the habit of leaving unharmed all persons and things protected by the taboo. The idols, temples, persons, and names of the king were taboo (or sacred), and almost everything offered in sacrifice was taboo to the use of the gods. The prohibitions and requisitions of the taboo were strictly enforced, and every breach of them punished with death, unless the delinquent had power ful friends who were either priests or chiefs.