Taboos
Introduction
A culture as a sociological construct is a complex phenomenon. It takes time and conscious effort to be able to understand a particular culture. It is even more difficult if one wants willfully to assimilate some elements of that culture into his native one.
As a complex reality, culture consists of many elements. Some of these elements are essential to the very nature of that culture and without them such a culture would not have taken the shape it has now.
In the context of African studies, the researcher believes that the notion of taboos has been an essential element of African religion and culture. He reckons that taboos do not only constitute a part of African cultural heritage but also provide a good explanation of that heritage.
Justification
The researcher decided to focus on taboo in African culture from a general point of view. He believes that taboos are an essential concept in African culture and that to understand them will enable him to infer better its psychological, religious and social consequences.
Purpose
The purpose of this work is to explore a concept of taboos in Africa. It will be done by defining taboos, providing examples and the way they can be categorized. A special attention will be given to the the role of taboo in maintaining social structures of African society.
Methodology.
This research is an ethnographic investigation that is interested not so much about studying people but rather in learning from people. Such an investigation takes place in order to understand the way people process their experiences (Spradley, 1979, p. 3) or “to get inside their heads”(Spradley, 1980, p. 10).
The researcher chose a qualitative approach in designing the survey. Due to the very nature of this particular research with its topic, a non-probability approach to sampling was taken. Within that approach, a purposive/judgmental way of sampling was decided upon. Russell (1994, p. 95) says that: “In judgment sampling, you decide the purpose you want an informant (or a community) to serve and you go out to find one… Purposive samples emerge from your experience in ethnographic research. You learn in the field, as you go along, to select the units of analysis…that will provide the information you need”.
Methods of collecting data
Once the researcher has decided upon his topic, he created a questionnaire containing open-ended questions. This questionnaire was used by him during interviews with the participants of his research. The questions were formulated in a way that their meaning was supposed to be easy to understand to the respondents in order to avoid ambiguity (Russell, 1994, p.268-269). The questionnaire was a starting point of a semi-structured interview taking place with participants concerning various aspects related to taboos as well as other cultural practices as suggested by Prof Katola and personal interest of the researcher and his field assistant.
During each interview, notes were taken by the researcher and his field assistant. In all cases, the permission was asked and given by the respondents to do it.
Methods of interpreting data
Taking into account the nature of ethnographic research, a qualitative way of collecting data and the intended method of presentation of finding, the researcher chose content analysis methods to interpret data. When applying that method, “the task of the researcher is to come up with a set of categories and then to proceed to count the number of instances that fall into each of those categories. What is important is the fact that those categories must be sufficiently precise to enable other researchers to arrive at the same results when examining the text” (Dominik, 2007, p. 53).
The respondents
The researcher focused on interviewing people from various African communities Kenya: Kikuyu, Samburu, Kisii, Luhya, Luo in Kenya, Akan from Ivory Coast, Bantadu from DRC. All respondents were adults, most of them of advanced age. The respondents were selected because of their tribal affiliation, gender, age and an assumption that they would be able to share with the researcher their cultural knowledge about taboos. Languages used were: English, Swahili and in some instances French.
Ethical issues
At the beginning of each interview, the respondents were informed about the aims of this research, the way in which data collected was going to be used for writing this assignment and were asked for permission for the researcher to take notes during the interview. They were assured that they would not be personally identified in the final paper.
The limitations of the research
This research does not aim at providing particular examples of taboos within a given community. Its objective is to explore the role of taboos within African culture. Such an exploration is based on a very limited number of respondents.
In the final part of the work, some generalizations will be made that may not necessarily apply to some African communities.
Assumptions
It was assumed that the information provided by the respondents were true and that it reflected certain beliefs, not only of that particular person, but also of his or her community.
Another assumption made at the very beginning of the research was that the respondents were familiar with the concept of taboos and were able and willing to provide relevant information.
Field research findings
African culture
The respondents described African culture as a way of living (cf. App. #, no. 1, 2), whereby some practices (cf. App. #, no. 1, 6) such as marriage (cf. App. #, no. 3, 4) were important. Virtues of discipline (cf. App. #, no. 3), solidarity (cf. App. #, no. 2) and hospitality (cf. App. #, no. 1) played a crucial role. Respect for God (cf. App. #, no. 1, 5, 7), elders (cf. App. #, no. 2) and age-mates (cf. App. #, no. 4) were highly valued. Life (cf. App. #, no. 7), wealth (cf. App. #, no. 7) and children (cf. App. #, no. 5) were essential for the well-being of people. Within such a culture there were clear rules of interacting with each other (cf. App. #, no. 3).
Defining taboo
One respondent defined taboo as a “prohibition about social life in general, concerning religion, social life in order to keep peace and harmony and to avoid curse from ancestors or spirits like sickness or famine” (cf. App. #, no. 1). Others added that a taboo was “thing that you should not do in front of people” (cf. App. #, no. 6), “kufanya kitu kibaya, siyo vizuri kufanya hivi”(to do the bad thing, it is not good to do it) (cf. App. #, no. 5). Some stressed more the social dimension of it saying that it is “a law that is strictly prohibited in a given community” (cf. App. #, no. 3), “a kind of rule established for the sake of respect of elders and well-being of the society” (cf. App. #, no. 2) and “a system of prohibitions against the community, God and spirits...against acts that may offend the community” (cf. App. #, no. 9).
Taboos may be somehow ambiguous. They may involve a prohibition of certain activities that are not directly spelled out in the formulation of a taboo. E.g.among the Luhya community there is a taboo against shaking hand with one's mother-in-law. What was implied in such a taboo was avoidance of any close contact with mother-in-law, which would involve such activities as sitting next to her or embracing her. What was insinuated in that taboo was commonly understood by the members of the tribe (cf. App. #, no. 9). Taboos served as the foundation for laws that were most specific and universal.
There was a hierarchy of taboos. Even though all of them were not supposed to be broken, some were more important to be kept. The bigger the penalty to be involved if a taboo was broken, the more important that taboo was (cf. App. #, no. 10). Those taboos punishable by death or bareness would be at the top of that hierarchy (cf. App. #, no. 1, 9, 10).
Formulation of taboos
Taboos have been formulated a very long time ago by the forefathers (cf. App. #, no. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). At that time, people were close to God and the forefathers were talking with God (cf. App. #, no. 6). Taboo were an expression of God's will (cf. App. #, no. 4, 5, 6) and people are instruments to implement that will in the world (cf. App. #, no. 4).
Learning about taboos
People learn about taboos as children (cf. App. #, no. 3) from their parents (cf. App. #, no. 6) and grandparents (cf. App. #, no. 7, 8). The learning process takes place during communal ceremonies (cf. App. #, no. 4), during initiation period (cf. App. #, no. 1, 3, 4, 6, 9) and when arranging for bridewealth (cf. App. #, no. 4). It also happens during day-to-day activities, when one is about to do something that is prohibited (cf. App. #, no. 1, 9) and in special institutions such as Miasmu (cf. App. #, no. 10).
Types of taboos
The respondents provided a wide variety of taboos. Since the examples came from various communities, they may be, somehow, contradictory. Here are some examples of various taboos classified by the researcher using four categories mentioned by Magesa who quoted Webster (Magesa, 1997, p. 75):
- taboos about people: women are not to sit with men (cf. App. #, no. 3), not respecting elders (cf. App. #, no. 5), son-in-law is not supposed to greet his mother-in-law (cf. App. #, no. 3), daughter-in-law is not supposed to enter the bedroom of her father-in-law (cf. App. #, no. 4), youngsters are not supposed to drink alcohol (cf. App. #, no. 3, 7);
- taboos about acts: stealing (cf. App. #, no. 1, 2, 6, 7), getting married without having had a ceremony of 'second birth' (cf. App. #, no. 5), cheating others (cf. App. #, no. 6), incest (cf. App. #, no. 2), adult children having sex before the funeral of their recently deceased parents (cf. App. #, no. 10)
- taboos about things: placenta (cf. App. #, no. 6), eating certain food (cf. App. #, no. 6), raising cows of certain color (cf. App. #, no. 4), sitting on cooking stones (cf. App. #, no. 10)
- taboos about situations: looking at one's sister bathing (cf. App. #, no. 1), referring to genitals directly (cf. App. #, no. 2), a younger wife planting or harvesting before the first wife (cf. App. #, no. 10).
Agents of punishment
One person argued that such a punishment, to a large extent, came from human mind. One will feel guilty of having broken a taboo and that guilt would cause him to lose appetite, might be a reason of some bad things happening to that person, and eventually might cause death of that person (cf. App. #, no. 10). That fear and guilt, affecting an individual on a psychosomatic level, would also negatively affect others.
Sanctions for breaking a taboo
Various taboos involved a variety of forms of punishment depending upon the gravity of the offence. They included: death of the person who broke a taboo (cf. App. #, no. 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), or his relatives (cf. App. #, no. 8, 9), expulsion from the community (cf. App. #, no. 5, 9), sickness (cf. App. #, no. 1, 7), e.g.becoming mad which affected the person himself/herself or his relatives (cf. App. #, no. 1, 10), fine (cf. App. #, no. 3, 6, 7) such as a goat (cf. App. #, no. 4), a cow (cf. App. #, no. 4), or a sheep (cf. App. #, no. 4), dissolution of marriage (cf. App. #, no. 2, 3), corporal punishment (cf. App. #, no. 3, 6, 7), curse (cf. App. #, no. 4, 5, 6, 8), a warning (cf. App. #, no. 6). On a personal level it produced in an individual feelings of fear and guilt (cf. App. #, no. 10).
Those punishments, to a small or big degree, always had an impact on the community. Sometimes a community was directly punished because of breaking of taboos by individuals (cf. App. #, no. 2), e.g.through famine (cf. App. #, no. 1). Within the community the family of the one who broke it could be severely punished, e.g.children born of incest would die (cf. App. #, no. 2, 9). Breaking of a taboo concerning stealing could results in the offenders' children becoming thieves (cf. App. #, no. 2). In general, breaking of any taboo had a negative impact on the family and the community (cf. App. #, no. 1, 4, 9).
Some respondents believed that there was an automatic punishment related to breaking of a taboo (cf. App. #, no. 6, 9). One person claimed that ignorance of breaking of a small taboo did not result in an automatic punishment since, according to her, a lot of power of a taboo was connected to the feelings of fear and guilt. If one did not know about a taboo, or as in her case, consciously avoided learning about the taboos coming from the tribe of her husband, the feelings of guilt and fear would not arise. Nevertheless, she provided an example of the power of curse related to breaking of taboos (cf. App. #, no. 10).
Restoration of order
All respondents believed that the disorder that followed the breaking of a taboo could be averted by performing certain activities. In that regard, the damage caused by a person due to a breaking of a taboo was neither final nor irreparable. Ancestors, who seemed to be most involved in taboos, could be appeased. The rituals in such a process could often involve killing of an animal such as goat (cf. App. #, no. 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10) or a cow (cf. App. #, no. 6). Libations could be made to venerate ancestors (cf. App. #, no. 7). Fines and corporal punishment could be used as means of restoring order (cf. App. #, no. 3, 6). Asking for forgiveness (cf. App. #, no. 5) and public declaration that one would not break a particular taboo any more were also practiced (cf. App. #, no. 5, 6). In case one was accused of breaking it, and he did not do it, he could also take an oath swearing that he had not broke it (cf. App. #, no. 10).
The role of taboos in the traditional and contemporary society
People reckoned that taboos played a significant and positive role in the traditional African society (cf. App. #, no. 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10). They provided a set of rules serving as a moral guidance or a law in the community (cf. App. #, no. 1, 2, 3, 5,9). If followed, keeping taboos ensured that peace and security were present in the community (cf. App. #, no. 2, 3, 4, 7, 9) because bad things were not taking place (cf. App. #, no. 4, 6). Taboos were protecting the social hierarchy in the society (cf. App. #, no. 10). They were helping in upbringing of children (cf. App. #, no. 4) and provided rules for marriage (cf. App. #, no. 4). If one was known to keep taboos, it also served as a means of social advancement (cf. App. #, no. 4). They were a means of social control (cf. App. #, no. 10) and without them there would be chaos (cf. App. #, no. 9). Keeping of taboos ensured the good harmony between the visible and the invisible world. People seemed to be aware that behind prohibitions laid the true meaning of taboos – preserving harmony and well-being in and of the community (cf. App. #, no. 10).
In the contemporary society, according to the respondents, taboos play an important role. The impact they exercise, however, seems to have diminished in comparison with a traditional African society. It is due to influence of Christianity that, to a certain extent, took over the role played by taboos (cf. App. #, no. 5) and to the present style of life where people from many various tribes live together in contrast to the traditional set up whereby people of one tribe used to live in one area (cf. App. #, no. 6). This weakening of the impact of taboos on daily life is also due to, mainly oral way of transmitting them from one generation to another. As a result people living in towns tend to know less about taboos because they are away from what would be considered their ancestral land and from the elders who played an important role in teaching about taboos (cf. App. #, no. 10).
One person from a Luo community claimed that some taboos, eg.concerning wife inheritance are not kept as they used to be. It is due to modern education and the awareness of the danger of transmitting HIV/AIDS- if a wife is inherited whose husband died because of AIDS, then probably she would be infected as well and transmit it to the one who would inherit her (cf. App. #, no. 10). Within this context, keeping of a taboo could mean, due to the danger of HIV/AIDS, an ultimate extermination of the society.
Taboos, as such, could be removed, though they could be modified to suit the present situation (cf. App. #, no. 9). Such an informal process of a modification of a taboo could take place during some community gatherings such as a funeral. Some 'small taboos' could be ignored since they were no more relevant to the modern conditions of life (cf. App. #, no. 9, 10).
If people kept taboos, some of the difficult situations such as post election violence in Kenya, inter-tribal fighting, lack of security, drinking problems (cf. App. #, no. 5, 6) would not be experienced in contemporary Africa.
Taboos that respondents would be particularly afraid of breaking would involve: not respecting elders (cf. App. #, no. 1, 3), committing an act of incest and stealing (cf. App. #, no. 2, 4), committing adultery (cf. App. #, no. 4), being quarrelsome (cf. App. #, no. 6) and those which would involved punishment by death or bareness (cf. App. #, no. 10).
Literature review
The word taboo derives from the Tongan 'tabu' and is related to the more general Polynesian word, 'tapu, and the Hawaiian 'kapu'. Literally it means 'marked off', 'off-limits' (Holden, 2000, p. IX). Holden claims that taboos are not a feature of 'primitive' societies' as it was assumed sometime ago by some anthropologists but is a characteristic of any society. Durkheim calls taboos a “phenomenon that is universal” (Durkheim, 1963, p. 70).
Radcliffe-Brown (quoted in Steiner, 1956, p.119) talks about taboos in terms of ritual avoidance which closely connected with a ritual prohibition. “Ritual prohibition ...a rule of behaviour which is associated with a belief that an infraction will result in an undesirable change of ritual status of is conceived in many different ways in different societies, but everywhere there is the idea that it involves the likelihood of some minor or major misfortune which will befall the person concerned”.
He goes on saying that “so far as ritual avoidances are concerned the reasons for them may vary from a very vague idea that some sort of misfortune or ill luck, not defined as to its kind, is likely to befall anyone who fails to observe the taboo, to a belief that non-observance will produce some quite specific and undesirable result” (Radcliffe-Brown quoted in Steiner, p. 123). Taboos contain within them a certain quality of danger that will befall on those who break a taboo (Ahn, 2003).
Steiner (1956, p. 21) concludes that “taboo is concerned (1) with all the social mechanisms of obedience which have ritual significance; (2) with specific and restrictive behaviour in dangerous situations. One might say that taboo deals with the sociology of danger itself, for it is also concerned (3) with the protection of individuals who are in danger, and (4) with the protection of the society from those endangered - and therefore dangerous – persons”.
Webster (quoted in Magesa, 1997, p.75) describes taboos in similar terms to the above mentioned authors emphasising that they represent “a system of prohibitions with regard to certain persons, things, acts or situation. The objects considered as taboo are perceived to contain within them a certain assumed danger that always has repercussions against anyone who transgresses them”. That danger may not be well defined nor perceived immediately by senses. However the consequences of that danger will always affect the one who broke a taboo.
Steiner sees taboos as means to an end (1956, p. 47). Such an end, the raison d'etre of taboos, would be seen in maintaining harmony between God and spirits (invisible world) and human beings and the rest of creation (visible world). This harmony would be ruled “by moral order instituted and sanctioned by God and channeled through the ancestors of any given community. This order is preserved by tradition and, if followed, has the power or force to sustain the existence and operation of the universe, ensuring a bountiful life for humanity” (Magesa, 1997, p. 72). To preserve that harmony is the duty of a human being, which determines his character and influences the quality of life of a community and the universe itself. Taboos are then seen as a “moral ambience... or moral codes that are intended to serve harmony and the order of the existence of the universe (Ibid, p. 76). Taboos clarify which attitudes and behaviours are not acceptable because they do not assure the continuation of life in its fullness, do not enhance the quality of life of the community and do not preserve the social code of behaving. Hence, breaking of a taboo endangers life and is seen as bad and wrong because it interrupts peace and harmony. It puts everybody and everything in danger. The punishment for breaking of a taboo could come from God, divinities, ancestors or spirits (Scanlan, 2003). This dangerous situation could be normalized or reconciled through a specific ritual ( Andemariam, 2001, p.4)
Parinder (1969, p. 69) sees a clear connection between taboos and ancestors. Ancestors are the ones who founded the clan and gave it its rules and taboos. However, it is God who is considered the final authority. A taboo is an offense against ancestors and Supreme Being (Fisher, 1998, p. 108). Parrinder also speaks about some practices used by Christians to show that they were openly challenging traditional African beliefs, including taboos (1969, p. 95).
Parrinder (1966), Mbiti (1969), Fisher (1998), Andemariam (2001), Ahn (2003), Scanlan (2003) talked about various taboos, from different communities throughout Africa, which are related to many aspects of life such as: birth, marriage, death, etc.
Class notes review
Prof Katola emphasized that in order to understand people, it is necessary to understand their culture. He quoted the definition of culture as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, moral law, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society” (Tylor quoted in Ayisi, 1972, p. I). In case of African culture, it is a culture that can be more easily described than defined.
African culture consists of six basic components: beliefs, values, norms, symbols, language and technology. Within that culture social groupings, like tribes, play a very significant role. The features of such groupings are: common language, geographic location, common history, common social organization and common religious system.
Within African culture the community plays a dominant role. One is defined as belonging to a given community and a person gets his identity from the community - 'he is because they (community) are'.
African culture sees the world as consisting of two inseparable and interconnected realities: the visible dimension and the invisible one. Both dimensions influence each other: God, ancestors and spirits directly or indirectly affect the visible world, and people through rituals exercise influence on the spiritual beings. As such African culture is inseparable from African Traditional Religion. African religion would have four core beliefs: belief in God, in ancestors, in spirits and the practice of magic and medicine.
African worldview is a cyclical in nature - life continues and the world after death is not to be longed for, since it is not much different from this one. As Mbiti puts it “For the majority of African peoples, the hereafter is only a continuation of life more or less as it is in its human form” (Mbiti, 1969, p. 161). The quality of this life would influence one's status after death. Hence, it was important to lead a good life, to be a good member of the community because it would help in having a better quality of life after death. Maintaining social rules was then of utmost importance, in this life and for the next – it ensured blessing from God and the ancestors in this life which would affect one's status after death as well.
Taboos, understood as unwritten laws restraining people from breaking social norms, were used to preserve harmony in the society and the good relationship with spiritual beings. Since the normal state of life was the state of harmony, anything disturbing it, such as unexpected death, sickness, disaster could be interpreted as resulting from breaking of some moral laws, especially taboos.
Putting it together
The researcher believes that the information he got from his respondents confirm what he found in books and learned from prof. Katola. The only difference that was found concerned one respondent (cf. App. #, no. 10) who brought in a psychological dimension of taboos attributing a lot of their powers to human mind and the way it operates. However, after some questioning and deeper exploration what that person meant, it became clear to the researcher that the person herself did not attribute all the power of punishment related to the breaking of a taboo only to human mind. She was a firm believer in keeping taboos breaking of which would affect the community and result in death and exert influence on fertility.
If the researcher was to draw some main, general conclusions, based on his field research among people of various tribes, literature and class notes review, he would generalize (being well aware of the limitations of such a generalization) about the significance of taboos in the African society that:
- Taboos were a common feature found in a number of African societies;
- They are an expression of interconnectedness of two inseparable dimension in the African worldview: the visible world and the invisible one. That interconnectedness can also be seen as interdependence whereby the quality of life of the ancestors and of people depended on each other's actions;
- They are an expression and a means of perpetuating what was considered as the most important features in African culture: preservation of life and well being of people. Life and its quality was seen as crucial and the society applied a variety of methods to preserve it and transmit it, including taboos;
- Taboos showed the communal dimensions of one's actions. In the culture where one was defined by belonging to a community and where the community was far more important than its individual members, one's actions affected that community. Taboos were helping people to recognize their own importance – if one could affect the community, in this case, negatively, he was not unimportant. To a certain extend, the researcher would call taboos 'self-esteem-enhancing beliefs';
- Taboos helped people to realize that an improper behaviour would always have consequences for them, the community and the nature;
- Taboos were an expression of a quite sophisticated moral system ruling the life in the community and the life of an individual. Even though formulated as 'negative' principles stressing 'do not...' and teaching people about what was not acceptable in the community, by implication, they were also pointing out to the actions that were supposed to be done. By preventing people from doing wrong things, they were helping them to focus on what was encouraged in the community;
- Taboos were an expression of the 'natural law' – a general set of rules commonly understood by all human beings. Similarities among various tribes concerning prohibitions against such acts as incest, murder, stealing show the common ground of various taboos. Often formulated in a way that implied more than their original wording, they were helping people to exercise their common sense and moral responsibility in interpreting them and applying them to various situations;
- Taboos were used to convey moral values to especially to children. They could be described as 'teaching aids' when explaining some moral principles to them. When one lacked an intellectual ability to impart the importance of some moral principles, taboos were a useful way of transmitting the same value from a different perspective. Those values, worded as taboos, were expressed at various occasions such as circumcision, marriage negotiations and funeral rites. It was an effective system of preserving and transmitting moral values, keeping in mind that traditional African cultural was an oral one;
- In a society where there was no police, taboos served as a guardian of moral values. To a certain extend, they were better than modern law enforcing agencies, because, in most cases, breaking of a taboo was associated with an automatic punishment – one did not have to be caught to be punished;
- Through taboos one was made aware that an improper action, as defined by the society one was a member of, would result in negatively affecting the harmony of the person concerned, the family and the society at large. Transgressing it would also result in punishment. It was a way of teaching people that each action entails consequences. Such consequences/punishment was usually automatic, personal (creating feelings of fear and guilt), affecting, in one way or another the family and the community. That punishment could also be administered by the community;
- Taboos aimed at preserving harmony. However breaking them was not irreversible. As such taboos point out to wisdom of those who created them, who were aware of human frailty. There seems to have always been a way of avoiding the grave consequences of breaking of a taboo and of re-connecting harmony that was damaged. Taboos, hence, were not an end in themselves but rather a means of expressing fundamental values of harmony, peace and life. If it is was not enough to prevent people from breaking it or if broken unintentionally, the community had a way dealing with it in a way that was enhancing the quality of life.
The researcher believes that taboos have played an important role in the traditional African society and keep to exercise its influence on the modern society as well. They helped people to preserve moral rules that were helping them, as individuals and as communities, to live a peaceful and harmonious life. Though formulated in forms of 'don'ts' and sometimes being ambiguous, they enabled people to maintain the moral order and hierarchy in the society.
In the contemporary society, which in a number of aspects is quite different from the traditional one, there is a need to enforce taboos or to come up with an alternative way that will promote traditional values.
Bibliography
Ahn, J,B-K. (2003). “Sexual taboos and morality among the Agikuyu people of Kenya”. In Katola, M (Ed). MIASMU Research Integration Papers to Moral Teaching and Practices of African Religion. Jan-Apr semester.
Andemariam, M. (2001). “Place of taboos in Gikuyu morality”. In Magesa, L. (Ed). MIASMU Research Integration Papers to Moral Teaching and Practices of African Religion. August session.
Ayisi, O.E. (1972). African culture. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers.
Dominik, W. (2007). What is Christian counselling within spiritual/religious paradigm, unpublished MA thesis, Manchester University.
Durkheim, E. (1963). Incest: The nature and the origin of the taboo. New York: Lyle Stuart.
Fisher, R.B. (1997). West African Religious Traditions. New York: Maryknoll.
Holden, L. (2000). Encyclopedia of Taboos. Oxford: ABC CLIO Ltd.
Mbiti, J.S. (1969). African religions and philosophy.Nairobi: West African Publishers.
Parrinder, G. (1969). Religion in Africa. New York: Praeger Publishers.
Russell, H.B. (1994). Research methods in anthropology. Qualitative and quantitative approaches. London: Sage Publications
Scanlan, R. (2003). “The concept of taboos in African society with reference to the Kikuyu of Kenya”. In Getui, M (Ed). MIASMU Research Integration Papers to African Culture: An overview. Jan-Apr semester.
Spradley, P.J. (1979). Ethnographic interview. Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
Spradley, P.J. (1980). Participant Observation. Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
Steiner, F. (1956). Taboo. London: Cohen &West Ltd.
Interviews
1-2. 01.06.2008. Langata. Two men were interviewed: one from Ivory Coast and one from the Democratic Republic of Congo. They belong to Alladgan and Bantandu tribes respectively. African culture was described by them as a way of living, socializing, where respect for the elders and solidarity were very important. Taboo-a kind of rule established for the sake of well-being of the society. Various taboos were mentioned: genitals cannot be referred by name, taboo against incest, seeing nakedness of one’s parents. If a taboo is broken, there is punishment including sickness and death. It is the ancestors who punish when a taboo is broken.
3. 02.06.2008. Lenana. A 58 year old Mkisii man was interviewed. He defined taboo as a law that has to be strictly preserved in a particular community. Taboos are transmitted from one generation to the other by the parents who are especially interested to them to their children for their sake and the sake of the well-being of the community. For taboos that are broken there are ways of putting things in order. Penalty for breaking them may include a corporal punishment, especially when it is a child breaking a taboo or a goat or a sheep in case of adults. The interviewee believes that if taboos were kept, there would be no conflicts between communities, since there are taboos which aim at preserving peace within a community and between communities.
4. 03.06.2008. Hardy. A married man from Luhya community was interviewed. He defined taboos as ‘behaviours of any given clan or tribe,…something you cannot do’. For him taboos also referred to things which one was supposed to do within a community. Taboos are expressions of God’s will, of which people are instruments. Taboos come to us from those who lived before. Some taboos: a circumcised young man is not supposed to be in the kitchen, a married man is not supposed to greet his mother-in-law until the dowry is paid. Taboos are transmitted by the parents, during circumcision rites, when paying a dowry. Breaking of taboos is connected with punishment decided upon by an elder. If a punishment is not respected, a curse may follow that will affect the entire family.
5. 07.06.2008. Kuwinda. A 76 year old Kikuyu lady was interviewed. According to her taboos had to do with doing bad things. Those taboos were formulated by the forefathers. Among ways taboos were working, she referred to one in which a person from whom something had been stolen, went to a special person in the village who would announce it to all in the village and call the thief to return the thing. If the thing was not returned, the thief would die. If a thief shared a stolen thing (e.g stolen bananas) with others, that person/s would also die. A person, especially a young person breaking taboos, could be thrown out from the family in front of the clan. Women who broke taboo were treated less seriously – people would avoid social contact with them as a punishment. Sometimes, a punishment, they would have to cook a lot of food that would cost a lot of money.
6. 07.06.2008. Bogani Road. A 40 year old Samburu, father of 7, was interviewed. He defined taboo as ‘a thing which should not be done in front of the people’. Taboos were formed long time ago, directly by the forefathers, at the time when God was close to people. The forefathers learned those taboos from God. There is a curse attached to breaking of a taboo. The power behind the curse was directly related to the power of the ancestors, who were supported by God. There was always a way to restore peace caused by a broken taboo: by the means of the warning delivered by the elders, a public declaration during a meal during which one called on God as his witness, that he will not do it again. If a fine was involved, it was usually so big that people would remember the importance of keeping a taboo. Taboos were helping people to live in peace by preventing them from doing bad things. If they had been kept, we would not have had post election violence a few months ago in Kenya.
7. 09.06.2008. Langata. A 56 year old Kikuyu lady was interviewed. According to her, God, life and wealth were important elements related to African culture. Taboos were defined as ‘doing a bad thing’. Behind each taboo there was a reason for its existence. Taboo were ancient. The lady has provided us with a few examples of taboos related to good manners and sexuality. Grandparents and elders were the ones who taught others about taboos. Beatings, imprisonment, fines and sickness were some of the sanctions attached to breaking of a taboo. Some punishments were either automatic or had to administered by the elders. Taboos were helpful in the life of the community, ensuring that there was peace and that good life continued.
8. Bomas of Kenya. A 50 year old Mkamba man was interviewed. He referred to taboos as things that are forbidden. Taboos came, ultimately, from God through the medium of ancestors. Taboo, like rape, concern the whole tribe; other taboos are for the family living in one 'boma' (compound). People learn about taboos from the elders, at the initiation, from some books and when somebody does something wrong and is reprimanded by the members of the community. Sanctions for breaking a taboo were: e.g.curse, giving to the person offended, as in a case of rape, what that person asked for. For all the taboos there was a way of restoring harmony that was destroyed/weakened by breaking of it.
9. 14.06.08. Ngong. A 30 year old Luhya man was interviewed. Taboos, according to him, were a system of prohibitions against the community, God and spirits; against acts that may offend the community. Taboos, ultimately, aim at perpetuating life, preserving harmony; they are the moral code of the community. Taboos may be ambiguous and imply not committing some other acts that are not directly stated in a formulation of a taboo. There is a hierarchy of taboos, that can be defined by the amount of punishment when a taboo is broken – the bigger the punishment involved, the bigger the taboo. All taboos can be rectified by doing certain rituals/things. They are kept today though they may have been somehow modified to accommodate present situation. They constitute a positive element in the life of the community - without them there would be chaos. A certain 'relaxation' when it comes to keeping them today fosters various problems in the society.
10. 16.06.2000. Tangaza College. A 30 year old Luo lady was interviewed. She defined taboos as prohibitions which are related to consequences that one must face if he goes against them. Those heavy penalties concerned not only an individual but also the community. The person claimed that to a large extend punishment had to do with the feelings of fear and guilt attached to breaking of a taboo though there was an underlying force as well behind them. Fear and guilt were influencing an individual even to the extend that one could die which would be interpreted by the community in terms of punishment for breaking it. Some taboos such as wife inheritance, sitting on the cooking stones, setting up a new house are not followed as closely as before due to the influence of education. Some, e.g.wife inheritance, if kept, can contribute to spreading of AIDS. Taboos whose breaking results in death and affects the reproductive system are kept closely.