Part 1 Background building Taboois a ritually sanctioned Taboo prohibition against contact with a thing, a person or an activity. The word itself originated in Polynesia where taboo played an important cultural role, but the concept is universal The use of the word“ taboo” is drawn fron“tapu meaning"not allowed ', and traces back to the year of 1777 and the English explorer Captain James Cook, visiting a place he named "the Friendly Islands(now Tonga).Part 1 Background building Taboo “Taboo” is a ritually sanctioned prohibition against contact with a thing, a person or an activity. The word itself originated in Polynesia, where taboo played an important cultural role, but the concept is universal. The use of the word “taboo” is drawn from “tapu”, meaning “not allowed”, and traces back to the year of 1777 and the English explorer Captain James Cook, visiting a place he named “the Friendly Islands” (now Tonga)