Sociolinguistic viewed cultural norm in terms of taboo to create boundaries and it was agreed upon by the community although it was not written down. Karo people who had cultural awareness belived that language taboos should be avoided for peaceful coexistence in society. This research was aimed to reveal the meaning of Taboo in Karo tribe. This research employed a descriptive qualitative method, was to obtain the description of Karo taboo cultures. The sample of this study was in the village of Padang Bulan Selayang, District of Medan Selayang, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The results showed that taboo in direct communication for three types of relationships or for six people, namely between ?mami? (daughter-in-law) with ?kela? (son-in-law), ?bengkila? (male-in-law) with ?permain? (daughter-in-law), and ?turangku? (husband of husband's sister/brother) with ?turangku? (wife of wife's brother/sister) in the form of rebu walking (Rebu Perdalan), rebu face to face (Rebu Sia-alan), rebu one seat (Rebu sada Amak), and rebu shake hands (Rebu Rebu La banci Sisalamen). The meaning of taboo classified into damaging kinship ethics, violate politeness, severing ties of friendship, and degrading culture and ancestors.

taboo

karo tribe

sociolinguistic