TABOO AND GENETICS 123 



a pregnant wife may not wait upon her husband. 

 (9). In the CaroUne Islands men may not eat 

 with their wives when pregnant, but small boys 

 are allowed to do so. (10). 



The avoidance of the menstruous woman is 

 an even more widespread custom than the 

 shunning of pregnancy, probably because this 

 function was interpreted as a symptom of 

 demonic possession. Primitive man had no 

 reason to know that the phenomenon of men- 

 struation was in any way connected with 

 reproduction. The typical explanation was 

 probably very much like that of the Zoroastrians, 

 who believed that the menses were caused by 

 the evil god Ahriman. A woman during the 

 period was unclean and possessed by that demon. 

 She must be kept confined and apart from the 

 faithful, whom her touch would defile, and from 

 the fire, which her very look would injure. To 

 this day there is in the house of the Parsee a 

 room for the monthly seclusion of the women, 

 bare of all comforts, and from it neither sun, 

 moon, stars, fire, water, nor any human being 

 can be seen. (11). 



All the ancient civilizations had such taboos 

 upon the menstruous woman. According to 

 Pliny, the Romans held that nothing had such 

 marvellous efficacy as, or more deadly qualities 

 than, the menstrual flow. The Arabs thought 

 that a great variety of natural powers attached 



