TABOO SIGNIFIANT

TABOO
The word taboo is a ban or an inhibition resulting from social custom or emotional aversion. It means don’t
Isaac told Jacob, my son do not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Gen. 28:1
It has become a taboo for Jacob to go down to the Canaanite for marriage. You must not and anything out of this is violation and disobedience.
Before I will go deep into the chapters, I will like to open your eyes to the deep meaning of the word taboo”. Taboo means
Excluded
forbidden from use
do not mention
Do not violate.
According to Captain James Cook, the term taboo. In a journal entry from 1777, Cook says this word ‘’ has a very comprehensive meaning; but, in general, signifies that a thing is forbidden… When anything is forbidden to be eat, or made use of, they say, that it is a taboo.’’
So even though similar words occur in other Polynesian languages, the form taboo from Tongan tabu is the one we have borrowed. The Tongans used tabu as an adjective. Cook, besides borrowing the word into English, also made it into a noun referring to the prohibition itself and a verb meaning ‘’ to make someone or something taboo’’.
From its origin in Polynesia the word ‘taboo’ has traveled as widely as Cook himself and is now used throughout the English-speaking world.
God instructed Jeremiah to gather all the Rechabites in a house, He (God) knows that their father (Jonadad) have forbidden them to take wine.



CATEGORIES OF TABOO
Taboo can be categorized in different ways:

  • FAMILY/ GENERATIONAL TABOO:

Every family on the earth have their own taboo ,no matter whom you are ,either you are a pastor ,bishop ,general overseer , deacons , evangelist etc , there is a taboo in your family/generation that is in operation. And this taboo due to the evils that our forefathers committed has been affecting a lot of life. If you go to some family, the female there are forbidden in eaten some kind of meat. Ask them why are they not eating it? They will tell you that our fathers told us that the animal helps them and none of their daughters must eat the animal. Some family, it is all their children. And if any of their children dare it, and eat the animal will face the consequences, it may either be the nose of the child will cut and decay or some their body will be scratching them until they will be given an antibiotics.
Even as a Christian, when you got born again, you must break yourself loose from all these taboo. It reminds me of a story about a particular brother who is praying for marital breakthrough and the Lord release his future partner to him , but there is a taboo operating in his family that none of them marry good wife, and as the brother is about to hold the sister in his revelation , a personality appear and said ‘’it is not possible, see in your generation they all married witch, so your own will not be excepted and another sister was given to the brother and that good sister was asked to go back and a witch sister was given to the brother in exchange.
Pray these prayers with holy madness in your spirit:
Every generational taboo affecting my life die in the name of Jesus
Every yoke of taboo in my life break.
Beloveth, taboo is one of the most dangerous things affecting most Christians. You can be born again, if you do not break yourself loose from all these taboo, it is a tragedy. That is why some people today claim to be born again, but, what they are not eating in their family, should try and eat them they will still be affected-you need to ask yourself why? Because, they haven’t release themselves from taboos.
Assuming Jonadad commanded or told his sons and daughters to be drinking wine, who would have told them not to drink wine. Even no prophet would be able to influence them and tell them to do so. If an earthly father could told his sons do not and, God sent His prophet to them and they know that this man is a prophet, they still stand on the word of their father. They all know that wine is a taboo to them, if we are to die let us die, but we are not ready to drink wine.
‘’But they said ,we will drink no wine; for Jonadad the son of Rechab our father commanded us saying ,ye shall drink no wine , neither ye , nor your sons for ever:’’.
From this chapter and verse we can conclude that this is a generational or family taboo.

  • INDIVIDUAL/PERSONAL TABOO

‘’Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.’’(Judges 13:4-5)
As we have generational or family taboo likewise we have ‘personal taboo’. From the two verses above, we can see that the taboo is restricted to the mother of Samson and even to Samson in particular. It has become a taboo to Samson’s mother, I beg you please do not take wine even strong drink, do not even take anything that is unclean. And she obeyed because it has become a taboo for her to drink wine, if she is ready birth to the Nazarite. The angel is even telling the mother that this child, no razor shall come on his head, it has become a taboo to Samson that no razor shall come on his head .It is a personal taboo. Some people ,when they eat some food they feel like vomiting and it has become part of them and they will conclude within themselves and say ‘’I am no more eating this thing ‘’.I have see some people that do not eat some fish, but just ask them why ? It is personal to them .So by this we can conclude and say it is a personal taboo.

  • GEOGRAPHICAL/SOCIETAL TABOO  

As we have generational taboo, personal taboo, so also we have geographical or societal taboo.
‘’Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. ‘’ (1 King 11:2)
God instructed the Israelites not to go after the daughter of pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians and even the Hittites. It have been or become taboo for them (Israelites)’’do not go to them for marriage. Why? Because they will turn your heart to serve their gods. We can say, it is a taboo to them which they must not try to violate.
In some society today, they must not kill snake. If you dare try to kill any of the snakes, because snakes will be entry into their rooms, seating room, kitchen etc, and the snakes will not harm them. Even the snakes will be moving on their streets and no vehicle or motorcycle must cross them. Paradventure, you go to that town as a stranger, you must also obey and follow the tradition that guide the society that is you must not kill their snakes. And these have become a societal taboo that even strangers must obey. Consciously or unconsciously, if a person kills any snake in that kind of society, the person will bury the snake like normal human burial. The person will do it inform of party ,he/she will buy coffin   and will make some rituals etc, before the burial is being perform. Even till today some society are still in this kind of bondage (taboo).
In Nigeria today, findings revealed that many communities across the country abstain from eating some foods for various reasons part of which include upholding the ancestral beliefs of their forefathers. For instance, in Asaba the capital of Delta state, the sale and eating of Ogbono is considered a taboo. Why is Ogbono soup a taboo to them, because their mother goddess, Onishe uses it for spiritual purification? In their local parlance is known as “ife-ahu”. If you check the mouth of the River Niger you will find that it is the sacred abode of the deity, Onishe. She is the spiritual mother who holds the destiny of Asaba people. Big Ogbono trees line up both sides to the groove of the mother goddess. The mystery behind these trees is the belief that for the past 250 years, neither the leaves nor the Ogbono seeds have ever fallen on the ground. If a person from Asaba should try to eat Ogbono soup, the mouth or part of the person’s face will be swollen. Even there will be more danger like death. Another place is in some part of Agbor, an Igbo speaking part of the state, the people forbid eating ram. Not only do they forbid it, it was learnt that they must not stay close to where it is being cooked. And if violated the tongue will be pushed out and the person will be taken back home to appease the gods of the land before he become well again. Even in Orokpo, an Urhobo community located in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, the people do not hunt nor eat the meat of lynx, and in their local parlance they called it “Awawa”. If any member of the community should eat of the meat of this animal, he will develop severe and throbbing pains in the part of his body which corresponds to the part of the animal that he ate. So if it is the leg part of the animal that the person ate, he will have severe unexplained pain in his legs. He will only get cured only by presenting himself to the priest of the deity who would tell him the sacrifices that he would do to appease the gods, and if not, it may lead to death. I am a Christian is not a yardstick, until you break yourself lose from it. In Igbo land, Nnewi in Anambra state, killing and eating of Ewi (bush rat) is forbidden. Their forefathers pass it to them that Ewi played a great role in saving the founders of Nnewi during wars. Also in Ehime Mbano area of Imo state, rearing and eating of dog meat is said to be against the culture of the people. In Ishan land of Edo state, it is forbidden to sit on a yam. In Obanliku, a suburb of Cross Rivers State, the consumption of snakes is highly prohibited. Obanliku people don’t eat snake, because history has it that there was a time their forefathers were having a social gathering where they treated themselves to a good time. In the course of dancing, a snake was said to have jumped down from a tree and joined them in dancing. This made them to begin to see the creature as something that should be preserved. In Ijero of Ekiti State, it is belief before that people were not allowed to sell any roasted things like yam, maize etc, but now they have being doing so.
If we look at the chapter that we have read in 1 Kings 11:2 Solomon try to violate it and truly they turned his heart to their gods, and is even one of those thing that kill Solomon. The Israelites must not go to them; there must not be any relationship at all, because it is forbidden.
So as a child of God ,the society you hails from ,there is in one way or the other a taboo in operation ,beware, and pray against it very well.

posted by Jumerry

1 Comments

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post