中文系對(duì)外漢語(yǔ)專業(yè)外文文獻(xiàn)翻譯--禁忌的起源

1、<p><b>　　中文5200字</b></p><p><b>　　禁忌的起源</b></p><p><b>　　禁忌和矛盾情感</b></p><p>　　塔布（Taboo）是波里尼西亞的一個(gè)字眼。我們找不到一個(gè)和它意義相近的譯詞，因?yàn)樗硎疽粋€(gè)早已不再被保存的觀念。在古羅馬流行的“

2、Sacer”（被詛咒的、神圣的——譯者注）一詞即和波里尼西亞的“塔布”一詞具有相似的意義。同時(shí)，希臘文字中“Oyos”和希伯來(lái)文字中的“Kadesh”（神秘的滅頂之災(zāi)和不可接近性——譯者注）也可能代表了和“塔布”相似的意義。在美洲的許多民族里以及非洲（馬達(dá)加斯加）以及北亞和中亞中，我們也不難發(fā)現(xiàn)相似的字眼。</p><p>　　“塔布”，就我們的理解，他代表了兩種不同方面的意義。一方面，是“崇高的”、“神圣的”；

3、另一方面，則是“神秘的”、“危險(xiǎn)的”、“禁止的”、“不潔的”。塔布在波里尼西亞的反義詞為“noa”，就是“通俗的”或“通常為可接近的”意思。所以，塔布即意指某種含有被限制或禁止而不可觸摸等性質(zhì)的東西的存在。我們通常所說(shuō)的“神圣的人或物”，在意義上和塔布便有些相同。</p><p>　　塔布所代表的禁忌和宗教或道德上的戒律并不一樣。它們并不建立在神圣的宗教儀式上，而建立在自己本身上。它與道德上的戒律所不同的方面，主

4、要是在于它并沒(méi)有明顯的、可以觀察到的禁忌聲明，同時(shí)，也沒(méi)有 任何說(shuō)明禁忌的理由。塔布，既沒(méi)有理由也不知道它的起源。雖然，它們對(duì)我們來(lái)說(shuō)是一種不理智的，甚至是迷信的，可是，對(duì)于那些在此統(tǒng)治下的人們來(lái)說(shuō)，則成為當(dāng)然的事情。</p><p>　　馮特（wandt，wilhelm）認(rèn)為，塔布的形成比任何神的觀念和宗教信仰的產(chǎn)生還要早，它是人類最遠(yuǎn)古的法律形式。</p><p>　　為了對(duì)解決進(jìn)行精

5、神分析學(xué)方面的研究，我們需對(duì)它進(jìn)行公正的描述。我首先要將《大英百科全書》里關(guān)于禁忌的解釋摘要記錄下來(lái)，它的作者是人類學(xué)家托馬斯（Northcote W.Thomas）。</p><p>　　“嚴(yán)格地講，禁忌僅僅包括：1.屬于人或物的神圣不可侵犯的（或邪惡的）性質(zhì)。2.由這種性質(zhì)所產(chǎn)生的禁忌作用。3.經(jīng)由禁忌作用的破壞而產(chǎn)生的神圣性（或邪惡性）。禁忌在波里尼西亞的反義詞是‘noa’，它的意義就是‘普遍的’或‘通俗的

6、’。”</p><p>　　“就更廣意義上講：各種不同的禁忌都有某些特色：1.經(jīng)由‘瑪那’（mana，一種神秘的力量）依自然的或直接的方式，附在一個(gè)人或物身上所產(chǎn)生的結(jié)果。2.經(jīng)由瑪那以間接的或以傳染的方式（如：后天的，或受僧侶領(lǐng)袖或其他人所注入）而產(chǎn)生的結(jié)果。3.中間的，也就是上述兩種因素同時(shí)存在，就像一位妻子屬于她的丈夫一樣……”塔布這個(gè)詞也可被應(yīng)用到其他儀式上，不過(guò)，要是能通宗教禁制區(qū)分開來(lái)，我們最好避免將

7、它和禁忌相混淆。</p><p>　　“禁忌的目的很多：1.達(dá)到直接禁忌的目的：（1）保護(hù)重要的人物（如領(lǐng)袖、僧侶等），以免于受到傷害。（2）保護(hù)弱小者（如婦女、小孩和通常包括一般民眾）——不受領(lǐng)袖或僧侶的強(qiáng)勁瑪那所傷害。（3）防止以手觸摸或接觸到死人尸體所引起的危險(xiǎn)或誤吃某些食物。（4）保護(hù)或避免有益于生命的重要行為（如生產(chǎn)、成人禮、婚姻和性功能等）收到干擾。（5）保護(hù)一般人不受神鬼的憤怒或其力量所傷害。2.禁

8、忌可以防止一個(gè)人的財(cái)產(chǎn)、工具等被偷竊……”</p><p>　　在早期，破壞禁忌所遭受的懲罰，被一種精神上的或自發(fā)的力量來(lái)控制：即由被破壞的禁忌本身來(lái)執(zhí)行報(bào)復(fù)。稍后，當(dāng)神或鬼的觀念產(chǎn)生以后，禁忌才開始和它們?nèi)诤掀饋?lái)，而懲罰本身也就自動(dòng)地附著在這種神秘的力量上了。正是由于這種觀念的影響，對(duì)破壞者的懲罰才由團(tuán)體來(lái)負(fù)責(zé)執(zhí)行，因?yàn)檫@些破壞者的行為已對(duì)其他族民的安全產(chǎn)生了嚴(yán)重的傷害。因此，對(duì)于人類最早的刑罰體制，我們可以追

9、溯到禁忌時(shí)代。</p><p>　　“觸犯禁忌的人，本身也將成為禁忌……”經(jīng)由觸犯禁忌所產(chǎn)生的危險(xiǎn)可以用贖罪或凈化的方式來(lái)避免。</p><p>　　禁忌的來(lái)源是因?yàn)楦街谌嘶蚬砩砩系囊环N特殊的神奇力量（瑪那），它們能夠利用無(wú)生命的物質(zhì)作為媒介而加以傳播?！氨灰暈榻傻娜嘶蛭锟梢杂脦щ婓w來(lái)加以比喻，他們乃是那種可經(jīng)由接觸而傳遞可怕力量的容納地方，同時(shí)如果被激發(fā)放電的這種生物體本身太脆弱而無(wú)

10、法抗拒這種激發(fā)時(shí)，則將產(chǎn)生破壞作用。觸犯禁忌所產(chǎn)生的后果，一方面要看附于成為禁忌的人或物其神秘力量的大?。涣硪环矫嬉从|犯者所具有的反瑪那力量的大小來(lái)決定。例如，國(guó)王和領(lǐng)袖們具有無(wú)上的權(quán)力，其臣民中有敢于直面相陳者，必死無(wú)疑。但是，大臣或比其他黎民百姓更具瑪那者，則可接近他們而不受傷害。同時(shí)地位更低者也不可冒任何風(fēng)險(xiǎn)地接近這些大臣或高貴者。這種情況可以依照他們身份的遞減而逐漸失去其危險(xiǎn)性……所以，間接的接近也將視擁有它們的人所具有的神秘

11、力量的大小而定。如果他們是領(lǐng)袖或僧侶，則他們將具有較一般人更厲害的力量……”</p><p>　　因此，禁忌的傳遞性可以說(shuō)明一種企圖，那就是嘗試用適當(dāng)?shù)膬艋瘍x式來(lái)消除禁忌。</p><p>　　禁忌有長(zhǎng)久性的，也有暫時(shí)性的。長(zhǎng)久性的禁忌包括冒犯領(lǐng)袖、僧侶或死者尸體及其他具備厲害力量的人或物。暫時(shí)性的禁忌則是冒犯了某一種特殊的環(huán)境情況，例如：女人的月經(jīng)期和分娩期，戰(zhàn)士們?cè)诔稣髑昂?，或者釣魚和

12、狩獵等的特殊活動(dòng)。一種通俗的禁忌（就像天主教的教令）可以被加諸于整個(gè)地區(qū)，而且，也可以持續(xù)某一段長(zhǎng)久的時(shí)間。</p><p>　　如果我對(duì)讀者的感受沒(méi)有判斷錯(cuò)的話，那么我可以很坦然地說(shuō)，盡管他們到現(xiàn)在已聽到了很多關(guān)于禁忌的闡述，可是，我們對(duì)于這個(gè)詞所代表的真正意義和在他們思想中所占有的地位仍是知之甚少。無(wú)可否認(rèn)，這是因?yàn)槲宜鸭馁Y料不夠充分，同時(shí)我也省略了禁忌和迷信之間的關(guān)系、鬼魂的信仰和宗教等問(wèn)題討論的原因。

13、不過(guò)，從另外一個(gè)角度來(lái)說(shuō)，我是怕對(duì)禁忌再展開詳述的話，可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致讀者更大的混亂，因?yàn)槲铱梢院芸隙ǖ卣f(shuō)，這個(gè)詞所代表的論題本身是極其撲所迷離的。</p><p>　　接下來(lái)，我們將開始討論一些原始民族所遵守的禁忌。長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)，有些事物一直被強(qiáng)烈禁止著，可是他們從來(lái)不去考慮其中的原因，或者提出任何懷疑。相反，他們屈服于這種禁忌就像它們都是理所當(dāng)然的事情一樣，同時(shí)深信任何對(duì)禁忌的破壞行為將導(dǎo)致自取懲罰。我們可以從多方面證

14、實(shí)這種觸犯禁忌而遭受懲罰的例子。例如，一位無(wú)辜的觸犯者，他可能僅僅為了食用了被進(jìn)食的動(dòng)物，便陷入極端的精神不安，在預(yù)期死亡的陰影中，他終于因恐懼而死。這些禁忌主要是反對(duì)享樂(lè)和思想上的自由。某些禁忌則常具有智慧上的意義，而且很清楚地指向禁酒、禁貪欲以及名利上的自制等方面。可是，仍有某些禁忌，它們的主題則令人十分費(fèi)解。它們包含了瑣碎的細(xì)節(jié)，使整個(gè)內(nèi)容看起來(lái)就像是一種純粹的慶?；蜃诮虄x式。</p><p>　　在所有這

15、些禁忌的后面都隱藏了一些必須且自然的理論。因?yàn)椋承┤嘶蛭铮ㄈ珙I(lǐng)袖、僧侶或不祥物等）被附上了危險(xiǎn)的力量，而這些危險(xiǎn)的力量竟能如某些傳染性疾病一樣經(jīng)由接觸來(lái)傳遞。我們應(yīng)該注意的是，這些危險(xiǎn)性質(zhì)的力量也扮演了一部分角色。某些人或物具有較其他人更高的力量，而他們的危險(xiǎn)性也與其所帶力量的高低成正比。一個(gè)人觸犯了禁忌中的任何一條時(shí)，他本身即得到那一種成為禁忌的特性，而使自己成為禁忌——就像整個(gè)危險(xiǎn)的電荷都傳導(dǎo)到他身上。這種神秘而危險(xiǎn)的力量幾乎隱藏

16、在所有特殊人物的身上，如國(guó)王、僧侶或初生的嬰孩；也附著在所有特殊的情況，如生理上的月經(jīng)期、青春期或生產(chǎn)期。至于怪誕的事物，如疾病、死亡以及所有經(jīng)由傳染而與這些力量有關(guān)的事情也都附上了這種神秘力量。</p><p>　　“塔布”一詞指代所有作為這一神秘特性的載體或源泉的事物，既可指人，也可指一個(gè)地方、一樣?xùn)|西或者一種短暫的狀態(tài)。它還可以指具有神秘特性的禁忌。最后，這個(gè)詞還具有“神圣的”和“超出尋常的”及“危險(xiǎn)的”、

17、“不潔的”和“怪誕的”等含義。</p><p>　　這個(gè)詞和它所表現(xiàn)的內(nèi)涵，似乎代表了一種遠(yuǎn)超出我們想象范圍外的心理的態(tài)度和思想。但是，當(dāng)我們對(duì)這些原始文化的特質(zhì)和對(duì)鬼神的信仰做一番透徹的研究之后，我們就可以接觸到它們的核心所在了。</p><p>　　此刻，我們不禁要問(wèn)，為什么要這么關(guān)心禁忌之謎呢？我認(rèn)為，并不僅是它本身可以解答出任何心理上的難題，它同時(shí)也具有其他的意義。我們將慢慢地了解

18、到，波里尼西亞蒙昧人的禁忌并不像我們剛開始時(shí)所想象的離我們那么遙遠(yuǎn)。因?yàn)樵谖覀兊娜粘Ｉ钪幸恢痹诎l(fā)揮其作用的道德上和傳統(tǒng)上的禁忌，在本質(zhì)上仍然具有和這些原始禁忌相似的地方。而對(duì)原始禁忌的解釋，可能有助于我們對(duì)自己所謂的那些“神圣誡命”的神秘來(lái)源做出解釋。</p><p>　　因此，我們對(duì)馮特所發(fā)表的有關(guān)禁忌的觀點(diǎn)才能保持高度的興趣，尤其當(dāng)他承諾“對(duì)禁忌觀念的來(lái)源做徹底的追蹤”時(shí)。</p><p

19、>　　馮特形容禁忌為“對(duì)某種物體產(chǎn)生了一種與宗教信仰有關(guān)的畏懼心理的本能”。</p><p>　　馮特接著開始解釋，為什么對(duì)于禁忌本質(zhì)的探討，由澳大利亞土著人的原始情況入手較更進(jìn)化的波里尼西亞土人更為恰當(dāng)。他將澳大利亞土著人的禁忌依照他們對(duì)動(dòng)物、人類或其他東西的影響而分為三種。第一類禁忌是針對(duì)于動(dòng)物的，在本質(zhì)上是禁止捕殺和食用它們，這也是構(gòu)成圖騰崇拜的核心。第二類禁忌是針對(duì)人類而設(shè)的，是一種和前述完全不同的

20、方式。它們一開始就局限于一定的場(chǎng)合。在這些場(chǎng)合中，受禁忌影響的人會(huì)感到自己身在特殊情境之中。就像年輕人在轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)槌赡耆藭r(shí)所舉行的禮儀上，月經(jīng)期間或?qū)⒎置鋾r(shí)的婦女本身，這都成為一種禁忌；同樣的，初生嬰孩、病人，尤其是死人也構(gòu)成了禁忌。一個(gè)人經(jīng)常使用的物體對(duì)其他人來(lái)講將永遠(yuǎn)是一種禁忌：他的衣服、工具或武器，等等。在澳大利亞土著人中，一位男人個(gè)人最嚴(yán)密的事情是他在成年儀式上被賦予的新命名。它是一種禁忌，同時(shí)也必須嚴(yán)加保密。第三類禁忌則是附在樹木

21、、植物、房屋或某一地區(qū)上，通常所附的東西不一定。不過(guò)，它們大部分都依照了同樣一個(gè)規(guī)律，即任何怪異或是能令人恐懼的事物都將成為禁忌的目標(biāo)。</p><p>　　馮特所省略的對(duì)于文化素質(zhì)較高的波里尼西亞和馬來(lái)群島土著人禁忌的討論，其實(shí)也并不深?yuàn)W。這些民族中最明顯的社會(huì)差異是，領(lǐng)袖、國(guó)王和僧侶們常利用一種特殊而有效的也很容易為之附身的禁忌。</p><p>　　可是馮特繼續(xù)討論道，禁忌的本質(zhì)是深

22、藏在這些特權(quán)階層的利益下面：“它們起源于一種最原始且保留最久的本能——對(duì)‘魔鬼’力量的恐懼。”“禁忌只不過(guò)是一種存在于禁忌物體內(nèi)‘對(duì)魔鬼力量的恐懼’之具體化罷了。禁忌可以防止任何放出這種力量和命令的物體產(chǎn)生的作用（因?yàn)樗哂懈綦x作用），若果它們?cè)馐芷茐?，不管是有意或無(wú)意的，則對(duì)于魔鬼的報(bào)復(fù)必須加以躲避或轉(zhuǎn)移?！?lt;/p><p>　　禁忌隨著文化形態(tài)的不斷轉(zhuǎn)變，逐漸形成為一種有它自己特性的力量，同時(shí)也慢慢地遠(yuǎn)離了魔

23、鬼迷信而獨(dú)立。它逐漸發(fā)展成為一種習(xí)慣、傳統(tǒng)，而最后則變成了法律?！半m然，隨著時(shí)間和環(huán)境的轉(zhuǎn)變，對(duì)所有包含于禁忌里的各種力量及其特性造成了很大的轉(zhuǎn)變，可是它們的起源僅僅只有一個(gè)，即：‘當(dāng)心魔鬼的憤怒！’”</p><p>　　馮特讓我們知道，禁忌是一種原始民族對(duì)“魔鬼力量”信仰的變異方式。稍后，他又告訴我們，它們已從這些基礎(chǔ)中自己解救出來(lái)了，可是，因?yàn)樗鼈儽旧碓?jīng)是一種力量（即魔鬼的力量），所以經(jīng)過(guò)一種心靈的保存作

24、用后，在本質(zhì)上仍然保留有這種力量。經(jīng)過(guò)不斷演變之后，它們也就變成了我們的道德準(zhǔn)則和法律的基礎(chǔ)了。雖然這種主張并不曾造成矛盾，可是我認(rèn)為馮特的解釋頗令人失望，相信有許多讀者將會(huì)贊同我的觀點(diǎn)。因?yàn)轳T特的理論實(shí)際上并沒(méi)有真正地追溯到禁忌的原始原因，或者發(fā)掘出它的根源。</p><p>　　“恐懼”或“魔鬼”在心理上并不能被認(rèn)為是最早的東西，也就是說(shuō)一種無(wú)法考證的東西，除非魔鬼的存在是真實(shí)的。可是，我們知道，像上帝一樣，

25、它們都不過(guò)是人類心靈的創(chuàng)造物：它們由某種東西所形成，然后又超越出這種東西（即人類創(chuàng)造了魔鬼，而后又將魔鬼的概念抽離出人世）。</p><p>　　馮特已經(jīng)有了一種關(guān)于禁忌的雙重特性的重要研究了，雖然并不曾清楚地指出它們來(lái)。依照他的說(shuō)法，“神圣的”和“邪惡的”兩種意義在禁忌的原始中并不加以區(qū)別。這些觀念在初期里不具有明顯的特性，它們之所以成為相對(duì)的觀念，只能說(shuō)是在后天形成的了。為禁忌所附身的動(dòng)物、人類或地區(qū)是一種“

26、似魔鬼的”，既不是“神圣的”，也不是后來(lái)所說(shuō)的“邪惡的”。嚴(yán)格地講，這個(gè)處于中立的意義——“似魔鬼的”或“不能觸犯的事物”——已由“禁忌”這個(gè)詞恰當(dāng)?shù)乇磉_(dá)出來(lái)，因?yàn)樗鼜?qiáng)調(diào)出一種“神圣的”或“邪惡的”事物所共同具有的特征：與它們接觸的恐懼。然而，這種重要共同特征的延續(xù)，證明出這兩個(gè)不同的意義在起源上是相同的，它們只不過(guò)是由于后來(lái)的不斷受影響而逐漸分化，最后終于對(duì)立。</p><p>　　根據(jù)馮特的說(shuō)法，這種禁忌的原

27、始特性——相信在某種物體中具有一種“魔鬼的”力量，如果這種物體被觸犯或非法地使用，那么它將對(duì)觸犯者發(fā)出一種魔力（或咒語(yǔ)）作為報(bào)復(fù)——這仍然完全且惟一地保持著“實(shí)體化的恐懼”。這種恐懼尚未分化成它后來(lái)所形成的兩種形式：崇拜和恐懼。</p><p>　　然而，這種分裂是如何發(fā)生的呢？馮特認(rèn)為是這樣的：禁忌的習(xí)俗由魔鬼的領(lǐng)域轉(zhuǎn)換到信仰上帝的領(lǐng)域里?！吧袷サ摹焙汀靶皭旱摹敝g的對(duì)立呼應(yīng)了神話學(xué)中兩個(gè)階段的接替。當(dāng)?shù)诙A段

28、到達(dá)時(shí)，第一個(gè)階段里的思想并不完全消失，而是以一種較劣勢(shì)或?yàn)槿撕鲆暤男螒B(tài)繼續(xù)存在。他說(shuō)，神話學(xué)上的一個(gè)規(guī)律是：為另一更高級(jí)階段所征服和超越的那個(gè)階段，雖然算是過(guò)去了，但是它仍將以低級(jí)的形式與后繼階段并存，這樣原來(lái)的崇拜對(duì)象隨即變成了恐怖的對(duì)象了。</p><p>　　馮特余下的討論是把禁忌的觀念與凈化和犧牲之間的關(guān)系加以闡明。</p><p>　　選自佛洛伊德的《圖騰與禁忌》禁忌和矛盾情感

29、</p><p>　　THE ORIGIN OF THE TABOO</p><p>　　TABOO AND THE AMBIVALENCE OF EMOTIONS</p><p>　　Taboo is a Polynesian word, the translation of which provides difficulties for us beca

30、use we no longer possess the idea which it connotes. It was still current with the ancient Romans: their word “sacer” was the same as the taboo of the Polynesians. The “[Greek]” of the Greeks and the “Kodaush” of the Heb

31、rews must also have signified the same thing which the Polynesians express through their word taboo and what many races in America, Africa (Madagascar), North and Central Asia express through an</p><p>　　For

32、 us the meaning of taboo branches off into two opposite directions. On the one hand it means to us sacred, consecrated: but on the other hand it means, uncanny, dangerous, forbidden, and unclean. The opposite for taboo i

33、s designated in Polynesian by the word noa and signifies something ordinary and generally accessible. Thus something like the concept of reserve inheres in taboo; taboo expresses itself essentially in prohibitions and re

34、strictions. Our combination of “holy dread” would often e</p><p>　　The taboo restrictions are different from religious or moral prohibitions. They are not traced to a commandment of a god but really they the

35、mselves impose their own prohibitions; they are differentiated from moral prohibitions by failing to be included in a system which declares abstinences in general to be necessary and gives reasons for this necessity. The

36、 taboo prohibitions lack all justification and are of unknown origin. Though incomprehensible to us they are taken as a matter of course by </p><p>　　Wundt 1 calls taboo the oldest unwritten code o

37、f law of humanity. It is generally assumed that taboo is older than the gods and goes back to the pre-religious age.</p><p>　　As we are in need of an impartial presentation of the subject of taboo before sub

38、jecting it to psychoanalytic consideration I shall now cite an excerpt from the article “Taboo” in the Encyclopedia Britannica written by the anthropologist Northcote W. Thomas, “Properly speaking taboo includes onl

39、y a) the sacred (or unclean) character of persons or things, b) the kind of prohibition which results from this character, and c) the sanctity (or uncleanliness) which results from a violation of the proh</p><

40、p>　　“Various classes of taboo in the wider sense may be distinguished: 1. natural or direct, the result of ‘mana’ (mysterious power) inherent in a person or thing; 2. communicated or indirect, equally the result of ‘m

41、ana’ but (a) acquired or (b) imposed by a priest, chief or other person; 3. intermediate, where both factors are present, as in the appropriation of a wife to her husband. The term taboo is also applied to ritual prohibi

42、tions of a different nature; but its use in these senses is better </p><p>　　“The objects of taboo are many: 1. direct taboos aim at (a) protection of important persons—chiefs, priests, etc.—and things again

43、st harm; (b) safeguarding of the weak—women, children and common people generally—from the powerful mana (magical influence) of chiefs and priests; (c) providing against the dangers incurred by handling or coming in cont

44、act with corpses, by eating certain food, etc.; (d) guarding the chief acts of life—births, initiation, marriage and sexual functions—against interfer</p><p>　　Other parts of the article may be summarized as

45、 follows. Originally the punishment for the violation of a taboo was probably left to an inner, automatic arrangement. The violated taboo avenged itself. Wherever the taboo was related to ideas of gods and demons an auto

46、matic punishment was expected from the power of the godhead. In other cases, probably as a result of a further development of the idea, society took over the punishment of the offender, whose action has endangered his co

47、mpanions. Thu</p><p>　　“The violation of a taboo makes the offender himself taboo.” The author goes on to say that certain dangers resulting from the violation of a taboo may be exercised through acts of pen

48、ance and ceremonies of purification.</p><p>　　A peculiar power inherent in persons and ghosts, which can be transmitted from them to inanimate objects is regarded as the source of the taboo. This part of the

49、 article reads as follows: “Persons or things which are regarded as taboo may be compared to objects charged with electricity; they are the seat of tremendous power which is transmissible by contact, and may be liberated

50、 with destructive effect if the organisms which provoke its discharge are too weak to resist it; the result of a violat</p><p>　　The fact that a taboo is transmissible has surely given rise to the effort of

51、removing it through expiatory ceremonies.</p><p>　　The author states that there are permanent and temporary taboos. The former comprise priest and chiefs as well as the dead and everything that has belonged

52、to them. Temporary taboos attach themselves to certain conditions such as menstruation and child-bed, the status of the warrior before and after the expedition, the activities of fishing and of the chase, and similar act

53、ivities. A general taboo may also be imposed upon a large district like an ecclesiastical interdict, and may then last for y</p><p>　　If I judge my readers’ impressions correctly I dare say that after hearin

54、g all that was said about taboo they are far from knowing what to understand by it and where to store it in their minds. This is surely due to the insufficient information I have given and to the omission of all discussi

55、ons concerning the relation of taboo to superstition, to belief in the soul, and to religion. On the other hand, I fear that a more detailed description of what is known about taboo would be still more confu</p>&

56、lt;p>　　However, the term “taboo” includes all persons localities, objects and temporary conditions which are carriers or sources of this mysterious attribute. The prohibition derived from this attribute is also design

57、ated as taboo, and lastly taboo, in the literal sense, includes everything that is sacred, above the ordinary, and at the same time dangerous, unclean and mysterious.</p><p>　　Both this word and the system c

58、orresponding to it express a fragment of psychic life which really is not comprehensible to us. And indeed it would seem that no understanding of it could be possible without entering into the study of the belief in spir

59、its and demons which is so characteristic of these low grades of culture.</p><p>　　Now why should we take any interest at all in the riddle of taboo? Not only, I think, because every psychological problem is

60、 well worth the effort of investigation for its own sake, but for other reasons as well. It may be surmised that the taboo of Polynesian savages is after all not so remote from us as we were at first inclined to believe;

61、 the moral and customary prohibitions which we ourselves obey may have some essential relation to this primitive taboo the explanation of which may in the e</p><p>　　We are therefore inclined to listen with

62、keen expectations when an investigator like W. Wundt gives his interpretation of taboo, especially as he promises to “go back to the very roots of the taboo concepts.”</p><p>　　Wundt states that the idea of

63、taboo “includes all customs which express dread of particular objects connected with cultic ideas or of actions having reference to them.”</p><p>　　On another occasion he says: “In accordance with the genera

64、l sense of the word we understand by taboo every prohibition laid down in customs or manners or in expressly formulated laws, not to touch an object or to take it for one’s own use, or to make use of certain proscribed w

65、ords…” Accordingly there would not be a single race or stage of culture which had escaped the injurious effects of taboo.</p><p>　　Wundt then shows why he finds it more practical to study the nature of taboo

66、 in the primitive states of Australian savages rather than in the higher culture of the Polynesian races. In the case of the Australians he divides taboo prohibitions into three classes according as they concern animals,

67、 persons or other objects. The animal taboo, which consists essentially of the taboo against killing and eating, forms the nucleus of Totemism. 6 The taboo of the second class, which has human beings for </p

68、><p>　　Wundt himself has to acknowledge that the changes which taboo undergoes in the richer culture of the Polynesians and in the Malayan Archipelago are not very profound. The greater social differentiation o

69、f these races manifests itself in the fact that chiefs, kings and priests exercise an especially effective taboo and are themselves exposed to the strongest taboo compulsion.</p><p>　　But the real sources of

70、 taboo lie deeper than in the interests of the privileged classes: “They begin where the most primitive and at the same time the most enduring human impulses have their origin, namely, in the fear of the effect of d

71、emonic powers.” “The taboo, which originally was nothing more than the objectified fear of the demonic power thought to be concealed in the tabooed object, forbids the irritation of this power and demands the placat

72、ion of the demon whenever the taboo has been kn</p><p>　　The taboo then gradually became an autonomous power which has detached itself from demonism. It becomes the compulsion of custom and tradition and fin

73、ally of the law. “But the commandment concealed behind taboo prohibitions which differ materially according to place and time, had originally the meaning: Beware of the wrath of the demons.”</p><p>　　Wundt t

74、herefore teaches that taboo is the expression and evolution of the belief of primitive races in demonic powers, and that later taboo has dissociated itself from this origin and has remained a power simply because it was

75、one by virtue of a kind of a psychic persistence and in this manner it became the root of our customs and laws. As little as one can object to the first part of this statement I feel, however, that I am only voicing the

76、impression of many of my readers if I call Wundt’s ex</p><p>　　Wundt also expresses a number of important though not altogether clear opinions about the double meaning of taboo. According to him the division

77、 between sacred and unclean does not yet exist in the first primitive stages of taboo. For this reason these conceptions entirely lack the significance which they could only acquire later on when they came to be contrast

78、ed. The animal, person, or place on which there is a taboo is demonic, that is, not sacred and therefore not yet, in the later sense, un</p><p>　　The belief associated with the original taboo, according to w

79、hich a demonic power concealed in the object avenges the touching of it or its forbidden use by bewitching the offender was still an entirely objectified fear. This had not yet separated into the two forms which it assum

80、ed at a more developed stage, namely, awe and aversion.</p><p>　　How did this separation come about? According to Wundt, this was done through the transference of taboo prohibitions from the sphere of demons

81、 to that of theistic conceptions. The antithesis of sacred and unclean coincides with the succession of two mythological stages the first of which did not entirely disappear when the second was reached but continued in a

82、 state of greatly lowered esteem which gradually turned into contempt. It is a general law in mythology that a preceding stage, just becau</p><p>　　Wundt’s further elucidations refer to the relation of taboo