The work continues a series of articles devoted to the study of Mari taboos. Prohibitions in the descriptions of certain rites were recorded in ethnographic research and travel notes of the XIXth cen-tury. By the end of the XXth century, taboos as a separate genre of folklore were not allocated se-quentially in Mari folklore. Most researchers attributed taboo to superstition and considered them as part of religious beliefs. In separate headings Mari taboos are presented in the writings of T. Yevseyev, V. Vasilyev, N. Popov. To some extent, the existing gap in the study of taboo filled by the works of the author of this article. The study determined the genre specificity, revealed similarities and differences with other minor genres of Mari folklore – superstitions, beliefs, as well as connections are established within the system of prohibitions. Taboos feature a harmony of composition, brevity. This contributes to their accessibility, durability assimilation. A clear explanation of the reasons for the existence of the prohibition or the consequences of its violation provides stability of the taboo. In addition, the inclusion of a taboo in myths, fairy tales, songs, true stories, personal stories seen as features of the functioning and stability of the reasons for the prohibitions.