Traditional customs of childbirth

Part 1

Many of the age-old indigenous postnatal customs are fading due to new technologies and urbanization. However, research done on these customs still make for a good read, and may even encourage youths of today to learn more about their heritage.
Phyllis Jordan’s “Amerindians customs after birth”, a chapter in the book “Focus on Amerindians” (May 1980), highlights some of these customs; the following are excerpts from her text.
Indigenous postnatal customs include practices by both the mother and the father of the newborn infant. Europeans have labelled these customs couvade or “male child-bed”. Couvade comes from a French word couver meaning “to brood on the nest”.
Some European researchers found it strange for the man to be so intimately involved in the birth of his child, and failed to note that the woman is also similarly involved. Hence the name “male child-bed” came about.
Indigenous people, of course, make no such distinction since the woman is equally responsible, or possibly even more so in some nations, for the health of her child during the postnatal period.
These practices are rooted in a belief of all indigenous people that the soul of a child is dependent upon its parents for some time; dependent to such an extent that at times the soul of the child even follows the parents around. It is during these times that the soul may be harmed by evil spirits, should the parents not take certain precautions.
These precautions vary among indigenous nations, and may be divided into two types: dietary and non-dietary.
For dietary restrictions, the young mother of the Akawaio, Arekuna, Patamona and Makushi nations may eat no sweet foods for it is believed that this will cause postnatal bleeding to continue much longer than is normal. She is also advised to use only warm liquids, usually a cassava drink known as ekikumazak in the Arekuna language and eegii iik’tosak in the Akawaio language. Pepper is forbidden. These restrictions continue for roughly a week.
It seems that all Amerindian women with young children are forbidden to eat large species of fish and game. They should only eat the smaller varieties of fish, animals and birds. The Warau woman may eat neither unscaled fish nor pirai (perai, piranha). It is felt that should the mother eat the large species, the spirits of these will crush the soul of the child, which is not yet strong enough to defend itself.
The dietary restrictions seem to be less stringent for the fathers of young children. The Arekuna man, for example, is subject to no dietary restrictions at all. However, when there are restrictions, they are fewer and of a shorter duration than those for women.
The non-dietary restrictions dictate that all indigenous women go through a period of confinement. The length of this period varies from nation to nation. The Waiwai mother, who has just given birth to a male child, may not spin cotton or weave aprons, since this will cause baby boys’ genitals to be bound up, thug causing difficulty in urinating.
Arekuna and Akawaio women, do not bathe their babies until they are one month old. After this, they bathe the baby constantly during the day and night for eight months. This bathing is believed to increase the growth rate of the child.
A one-month period of solitude for the mother is also observed, during which time she is allowed to speak and to be spoken to only very softly. This is to ensure that the baby grows into an obedient, well-tempered person. During this time, also, the infant’s faeces are collected in the house to avoid it being eaten by lizards. Should it be eaten, the infant may develop the bad habit of sticking out his tongue the way a lizard does.
Cariban, as well as Warau, women with newborn infants must cover their heads when going into the open. The Cariban women believe this head covering will prevent evil spirits from seeing them, whereas the Warau women believe this prevents the baby from contracting a cold. Cariban women also believe that young mothers should at all times use footwear of some sort so that they do not step on evil spirits with their bare feet.
During the first few weeks after giving birth, the mother may not go to the farm. This period varies from two weeks to one month. However, the Arawakan mother spends a distinctly longer period, nearly one year, at home with the baby, since in the Arawak’s belief, plant spirits are supposed to be harmful to the child’s health, in the same way that animal spirits are harmful in the Cariban belief.
The indigenous father of a young child, particularly if he is of a Cariban nation, suffers severe restrictions in hunting and fishing. It is believed that the former activity will cause the child to be exhausted, since the father exhausts himself when out hunting. Moreover, the spirits of the large game he kills will inevitably overpower the spirit of his young child and cause it to fall ill and die.
Fishing, it is believed, will cause the child to have convulsions in the same manner that the fish does when pulled out of the water. (TO BE CONTINUED)