Incest Taboo and Social Norms in Bodo Culture: An Analysis of the Raona-Raoni Myth

The myth of Raona and Raoni describes Raona's incestuous desire for his sister, Raoni. This desire is interpreted as an object-cathexis, where Raoni serves as a surrogate for the absent mother. The longing for the mother represents a desire for immediate gratification and a return to a symbiotic state, with coitus and marriage seen as the means for this reunion. This reflects the primary anxiety of separation experienced by a child, transferring the desire for the lost maternal figure onto the sister.

The intricate details and sexual symbolism within the myth are carefully arranged to convey essential social messages. This household tale is frequently recounted by elderly Bodo women to children, serving as a pedagogical tool. It symbolically reinforces threatened kinship norms, emphasizing that a stable home and society depend on adhering to established social and familial regulations. The myth highlights the importance of a healthy family structure and warns against the dangers of a disrupted kinship order.

Through the character of Raoni, the myth portrays women as the central component of the social structure in Bodo society. Women are depicted as the custodians of a healthy and balanced social framework, culturally linked to the hearth and fire. Their prominent role as house-keepers is repeatedly emphasized through sexual fantasy within the narrative. The latent content of this myth, much like the Oedipus myth, governs cultural features and forms the dogmatic backbone of Bodo culture, particularly in preserving the taboo of incest.