310 - 26.8.26 - 10: Tapu and Franksenstein's Island
In many cultures, before the advent of colonialism, the idea of tapu was a very important part of the rites and rituals of everyday life. A common one which still exists today is that Muslims and Jewish people do not eat pork and Hindus do not eat beef. But there were other tapus. Certain places were sacred. Places where our ancestors would inhabit. Where the faery lived and protected. In Ireland, till today, farmers will not cut down fairy trees and holy wells are still revered and recognised with rags, often tied on faery trees. I will never forget the subprime collapse of the Irish economy taking place after the government went ahead and built a highway through the ancient land of Tara. It took Ireland seven years to recover from it. It is still recovering from it today. Tapus exist for a reason. That reason may be lost in the mists of time and then rebranded by those who think they know better as 'superstition'. But we should think of tapus as boundaries - sacred boundaries...