Routledge Classics contains the very best of Routledge publishing over the past century or so, books that have, by popular consent, become established as classics in their field. Drawing on a fantastic heritage of innovative writing published by Routledge and its associated imprints, this series makes available in attractive, affordable form some of the most important works of modern times. For a complete list of titles visit wwwoutledgeclassics.com Mary Douglas Purity and Danger An analysis of concept of pollution and taboo With a new preface by the author © BQ 2 London and New YorkAN 18 2010 First published 1966 by Routledge & Keyan Paul First published in Routledge Classis 2002 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Miton Paik, Abingdon, Oxon OX4 48N 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 20016, Reprinted 2004, 2006 (ice), 2007 (wee) Routledge ian inpint of he Tolar Fares Growp, an infrme busines © 1966 Mary Douglas Ee Preface to RouledgeCesis Editon @ 2002 Mary Douglas ‘Typeset in Joanna by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk 4 Pinte ad bound in Great Bain by s “International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall. Gal Alig esred. No part ofthis book maybereprimed DUS ‘or repoduced or ule nay fom or by ay ecto tmecharta or other means, now town or keeaer 2001 Invented including photocopying and recording, orn any information storage rretieval system, without Permission in wrting rom the pubishas. British brary Cataloguing in Publiction Data ‘neatalogue record for ths book ie avaabe om the British ibrary Library of Congress Catelogingin Publication ata Dougles, Mary. Punty ‘and danger: an analysis of concepts of pollution and taboo / ‘Mary Douglas; with 2 new preface by the author p-_cm.— (Routledge asses) Original published: London : Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966 Includes bibliographical references and inde. SBN 0-415-28995-5 (all paper) 1. Taboo. 2 Puri, tual Tie. I. Series. GN47.4.D68 2002 390 deny 2002031673 ISBN 10: 0-g1s-28595-5 ISBN 23 978-0-915-28905-5 CONTENTS: AckNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFAce To THE ROUTLEDGE CLASsiCs EDITION Introduction Ritual Uncleanness Secular Defilement ‘The Aborninations of Leviticus Magic and Miracle Primitive Worlds Powers and Dangers External Boundaries Internal Lines ‘The System at War with Itself 10 The System Shattered and Renewed Bintiocrapny Impex 36 3 a "7 14 160 3 196 227ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. I was fist made Interested in pollution behaviour by Professor Srinivas and the late Franz Steiner who each, as Brahmin and Jew, tried in their dally lives to handle problems of ritual cleanness. am grateful to them for making me sensitive to gestures of separation, classifying and cleansing, I next found myself doing fieldwork in a highly pollution-conscious culture in the Congo and discovered in myself a prejudice against piecemeal explan- ations. I count 3s piecemeal any explanations of ritual pollution ‘Which are limited to one kind of dirt oF to one kind of context. My biggest debt for acknowledgement is to the source of this prejudice which forced me to look for a systemic approach. No particular set of classifying symbols can be understood in isolation, but there can be hope of making sense of them in relation to the total structure of classifications in the culeure in question, ‘The seructural approach has been widely disseminated since the early decades of the twentleth century, particularly through the influence of Gestalt psychology. It only made its direct