Chapter 19 Taboo People: Taboos of Chiefs and Kings

We found that the Japanese emperor's diet was cooked in new utensils and served in new dishes every day.These plates and utensils are ordinary clay products, in order to use them only once and break them or throw them away.And usually break them all the time.For it was believed that the throat and mouth of anyone other than the Emperor himself must have been inflamed and swollen if he had eaten from these sacred utensils.Anyone who wears the clothes worn by the emperor without the permission of the emperor will also suffer from swelling and pain all over the body.In Fiji, there is a term called kanalama, which refers to the disease caused by eating the chief's plate of food and wearing the chief's clothes.The ungodly man's throat and body were swollen, and he died at last.Someone gave me an exquisite mat. It is said that Secombo [the chief of one of the most powerful tribes in the Fiji Islands, who ruled over most of the whole territory around 1805, handed over the Fiji Islands to the British rule in 1874 under the pressure of the colonists. . ]'s eldest son was born on it, so he dared not use it.But there is always a family or a family among the common people who may be spared this danger.I once spoke to Sercompo himself about this. "Oh, yes!" he said, "Come, so-and-so! Come and tickle my back! The man obediently tickled, one of the few pardoned to touch taboos." Such a privilege People in China have a respectful title called Nanduka ni, which means the dirt of the chief.

We can see another aspect of this "god-man" quality from the above-mentioned conceived consequences of wearing or using the utensils of the Emperor of Japan and the chieftain of Fiji.We have already drawn the attention of the reader to this.This kind of god-man is the source of both blessings and disasters.He must not only be protected, but also defended.His divine flesh is so delicate that it causes confusion at the slightest touch, and it seems to be charged with powerful magical or divine power, which will radiate with serious consequences when it is touched.On the contrary, if such a person is isolated from God, it is quite necessary for the safety of others and himself.His magical quality is, in the strictest sense, contaminating; his divinity is fire, capable of blessing when properly controlled, and, if left unchecked, will consume everything that comes into contact with it. everything.Therefore, the slightest violation of its taboo will have disastrous consequences; whoever violates it, like inserting his hand into the holy fire, will immediately wither and perish.

The aborigines of New Zealand have at least as much respect for the divinity of the chiefs as the Tonga people.The chief has the ability of ghosts and gods, which is inherited from his ancestors. Everything he touches can be contaminated. If people touch it carelessly, they will die suddenly.For example, once, when a high chief of great divinity ate leftovers and left them by the roadside, a strong slave passed by, hungry, and ate them without asking why.He was eating when a man next to him was stunned and told him that it was the chief's leftover food. "I knew this man who unfortunately made a mistake. He was a famously brave man, and he was outstanding in all the battles of his family", but "on hearing this unfortunate news, he immediately felt as if his stomach was scratching. He was in excruciating pain, and died towards sunset that day. He was a solid man, young and strong, and if some European freethinker said that this man did not die from the chief's 'dap' (divine power), people would would regard this as ignorance, unable to comprehend even such a clear and direct testimony."This is not the only example.A Maori woman in New Zealand also ate the fruit left over from the chief's meal. When she was told that it was taken from a forbidden place, she exclaimed that the desecrated chief's divinity must be To put her to death.It turned out that the incident happened in the afternoon, and at noon the next day, the woman really died.