Episode 171 The Taboo in your fantasy world - a podcast by Jeffery W. Ingram

from 2017-04-23T16:00

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Today’s Topic How I failed at understanding taboos until I started researching this episode

I always overthought what a taboo was. I focused on the idea that taboos are these forbidden ideas, but how do you create them. How do these ideas form in a culture? Some, like murder, seem to be universal. However, others will be very culturally specific. Some taboos seem to be old cultural norms.

Wait, you are saying that some taboos use to be considered cultural norms

Yes, and this is the secret that made me realize the true pattern needed to create cultural taboos. They are much more simple than forbidden acts in a culture.

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The secret pattern to create taboos original to a fantasy culture

The truth in all of the research I have done is most taboos are really things as small as impolite and end in the death of people break them. And they seem to form up in 4 categories:

The negatives to important cultural norms
Extra holy acts
Reactions to changes in religion
State embracing cultural outrage

Wiki has a great place to start looking at taboos.

Taboos should be easy

You had done all the hard work when you created the history, cultural norms, the state, and the religions of your fantasy world. Join Michael and Jeffery in this podcast episode at they look at the wonderful world of taboos.

Podcast Show Flow

Shout out to undercroft group (Jennifer B.) for the suggestion
Taboo is created when cultures believe certain acts are too sacred or accursed
- Really just forbidden customs
From cultural beliefs, Religion, or State
- Links from the past shared experience
- Misunderstanding of the natural world
- Deal with risk
- Sometimes replacing existing norms
Consequences
- From impolite to death
Freud’s universal taboos
- Incest and patricide or matricide
Common Taboos
- Sex Insect, necrophilia, interracial marriage, adultery (More so for woman), pedophilia
- Food
- No eating of sacred cows, kosher diet
- Murder
Neat taboos
- Don’t hog the butter knife in Sweden
- Kissing on the lips (only part of courtship in NA or Euro)
- Not seeing or speaking to betroth until marriage (Afghan)