Taboos
| Taboos | |
|---|---|
| Moravska State Archive · 1976 | |
| Classification | Culture |
| Status | canon |
| Last updated | 2026-11-03 |
| Archive source | 03 Culture/Taboos.md |
| Length | 622 words (3 min read) |
| Internal links | 3 outgoing, 2 incoming |
| Sources | 3 cited |
Contents
[hide]A taboo is an act that shames the whole line. The state punishes a crime. The street punishes a taboo. The second punishment is slower and longer.
The eight taboos [edit]
| Act | Local term | Why it is taboo | Usual response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell the house of the line | *prodade kashtata* | The house holds the dead and the living | Exclusion from the line |
| Sell inherited land | *prodade dedovinata* | Land is held for the line, not owned | No help in a bad year |
| Strike a mother | *vdigane raka* | The mother is the head of the house | A public beating by the men |
| Refuse salt to a guest | *otkaje solta* | Salt makes a stranger a guest | The guest leaves. The story stays |
| Speak the name of the dead | *vikane imeto* | The name belongs to the grave for 40 days | Family silence for 1 year |
| Whistle on a boat | *svirka na lodkata* | The wind answers a whistle | The whistler leaves the boat |
| Cut a copper icon | *chupene na mednata ikona* | The icon protects the house | Loss of the workshop place |
| Report a kinsman for a private matter | *predatelstvo* | The line settles its own debts | No marriage with that line |
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Warning:
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The taboo and the law
Only two taboos are also crimes. Selling inherited land needs a state permit. Reporting a kinsman is a state duty. The state rewards the second act. The street punishes it. See Dissent and Control.
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Salt [edit]
Salt is the strongest symbol in the culture. A host puts bread and salt on the table for a guest. The guest takes a piece and eats it. The guest is now a person of the house.
A host who refuses salt refuses the peace of the house. The refusal is rare. A refusal means a blood debt or a public shame.
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Notice:
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Coast proverb
"Bread and salt do not ask for a paper."
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The dead and the name [edit]
The family does not speak the name of the dead for 40 days. It says "he" or "she" or "our own". After 40 days the name returns at a meal.
The rule protects the dead from the world. It also protects the living. A name said too early calls the dead back to a house that is not ready.
See Funerary Practices for the full rite.
The house [edit]
The house is the body of the line. The door, the hearth, and the icon are the three parts that must not move.
A family can sell a boat. A family can sell a cart. A family cannot sell the house. The rule holds in the coast and in the interior, with one difference. The coast passes the house to a daughter. The interior passes it to a son who stays.
Shame and repair [edit]
A shame is repaired in four steps.
- A kinsman names the act at a family table.
- The guilty person offers a counter-gift.
- The elder pair sets a period of silence.
- A shared meal ends the period.
The state has no part in this process. The party dislikes the process, because it holds no record. See Hospitality and Gift Rules.
New taboos of the party era [edit]
Three taboos grew after 1944.
- Do not wear a Western label at a family table. The line can be reported.
- Do not sell a state tool. The workshop punishes the seller.
- Do not praise the old kingdom in front of the young. The young repeat it.
These are political taboos, not sacred ones. They fade when the political weather changes.
Sources[edit]
- Oral history J. Cornwell (1974). Oral history transcript, Branishte. Narodna Biblioteka Moravska. NBM-1974-8686. Cited in The eight taboos, The dead and the name. See also Hospitality and Gift Rules.
- Register Narodna Biblioteka Archivist (1972). Parish register extracts, the Kervan range. Archdiocese of Zaligrad. ADR-1972-1388. Cited in The house, Salt. See also Core Values.
- Statistical compendium J. Cornwell (1974). Comecon statistical yearbook, 1976. Comecon Secretariat. COM-1974-9519. Cited in Shame and repair, The dead and the name. See also Dissent and Control.
References[edit]
Documents in the archive that cite or cross-reference Taboos:
- ^ "Core Values". Culture, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.
- ^ "Funerary Practices". Rituals and Calendar, Narodna Biblioteka Moravska, 1976.