The Motifs of Taboos and Their Functions in Traditional Czech Prosaic Folklore

The article analyses motifs of taboos contained in traditional folk tales and legends recorded in the Czech lands, and focusses on functions that these motifs exercise in relation to the social reality of that time and the narrative itself. Folklore studies include many theories related to the approach to taboo. Some of them perceive prosaic folklore as a space in which it is possible to break taboos and express anxieties that cannot be talked about in everyday life. According to others, folklore taboos correspond to those in force in society and cannot be broken with impunity. Thus, taboos in folklore material, like those in socio-cultural reality, reflect society’s relationship to tabooed phenomena, and some of them change over time, in dependence on the social and cultural development. Traditional narratives illustrate the function of tabooed elements as these were established by institutionalized religion (e.g. sinful behaviour) and folk belief (e.g. motifs associated with demonic beings); in some cases they are also supported by the legal system (e.g. murder). They affect everyday life, but they are also linked to the liminal states of an individual (most often with puerperal women and children). The taboo, or at least the punishment for breaking it, often retains its supernatural character, which implies the frequent association of taboo motifs with demonic beings.