Final answer:
Von-Furer Haimendorf suggests that specialist positions in society are protected by taboos, which are cultural prohibitions that ensure the stability of these positions by preventing behaviors that could harm their sanctity.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Von-Furer Haimendorf, specialist positions in societies are often precarious and are protected by various taboos. These taboos serve to maintain social order by ensuring that certain positions are held in high regard and not subjected to actions or behaviors that could undermine their status.
The role of taboos in society has been extensively analyzed by anthropologists like Mary Douglas. In her landmark work Purity and Danger (1966), Douglas explored how cultures use the concept of purity to define and protect the sacred aspects of their social and religious lives. She argued that taboos often center around things considered "matter out of place," which are objects or behaviors that do not fit conventional categories and therefore threaten the social fabric.
Similarly, Sigmund Freud’s work, Totem and Taboo, suggests that religious beliefs provide rules or restrictions, like taboos, that suppress antisocial instincts. Freud proposed that such belief systems were essential to regulate interactions with objects and relationships crucial to societal harmony.