Tapu

Also: taboo, kapu

Tapu is a Polynesian concept of sacredness and restriction, from which the English word taboo is derived. A person, place or thing that is tapu is set apart, under the protection of the gods, and must be treated with care. A chief, a burial ground, a newborn child or a carver at work could be tapu. The opposite is noa, ordinary, and a ritual such as a karakia or a meal can lift tapu. The idea still shapes behaviour in Maori and Pacific communities: rules about food, the head, the dead and sacred sites. In Hawaii the equivalent is kapu, and signs on sacred sites carry the word.

Region: Oceania

See also

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