Traditional customs of childbirth

Part II

Many of the indigenous age-old 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 found in the book “Focus on Amerindians” (May 1980), highlights some of these customs; the following are excerpts from her text.

In some indigenous nations, the father is required to spend most of his time caring for his child during this period of confinement, while the mother returns to her work on the farm. Among the Arekunas, the father of a young child should not destroy a wasp’s nest, for this will cause the baby to have sores on his head. Neither should he blow the fire, sharpen a cutlass or do any kind of strenuous work, for this will certainly affect the baby adversely. If the father should blow the fire, blotches will appear all over the skin of his young child. Should he sharpen a cutlass, his child will have blood-shot eyes. Any kind of strenuous work will tend to cause the child to cry constantly.

Similar restrictions are imposed for the other Cariban nations. However, the Arekunas seem to be more ardent followers of these practices. Their period of restriction lasts for three months, while among the Waraus, Patamunas, Akawaios and Makushis, the period of restriction is not more than a month.

There are differences in Arawakan and Cariban birth customs. The Arawakan tribes do not believe that plant spirits are harmful to the soul of the child, and hence, the father may return to hunting after ten days. On his first hunting trip, he takes along a miniature bow and arrow and a sling in which the soul of the child is supposed to recline. He may hunt and eat all species of wild life, but he may not use an axe or fell certain varieties of trees. Also, if he goes fishing, he takes along with him a miniature canoe which serves the same purpose as the bow and arrow.

Both the father and mother of a young Cariban child must avoid attending or even going near a funeral within a year after the child’s birth or the soul of the child will be captured by the spirit of the dead.

Ideally, all these restrictions should be adhered to in order to ensure good health for the child. However, it is an almost impossible task. Therefore, indigenous nations have had to design an alternative way of ensuring that the babies remain unharmed by evil spirits. This is done by magical procedures. The most popular of these magical procedures is “blowing”, or what the Cariban nation calls tareng. The same thing is nobaha in the Warau language. This ritual is normally performed by the piaiman, or wisijatu, but in some tribes the father of the child may also do it. The magical procedures can be divided into three types: magical chanting or “blowing”, magical acts, and magical objects. All three may be used together.

To further explain this let’s say an Akawaio father, after returning from a hunting trip, discovers that his child has fallen ill while he was away. He would immediately attribute this to interference by evil spirits, probably the spirit of a macaw which he had killed while out hunting. In this case, he may decide to perform a magical act to chase the spirit away.

Taking a stone axe, he places it in the fire and heats it there for some time. Then he throws water over the axe, and as the steam rise he passes the sick child over it while continuously repeating a chant which may go like this, “Get cool, get cool, pu-pu, fever go away.” This chanting is known as “blowing” or tareng.

Among the Warau, the parents might take the child to a medicine man. He would, in turn, repeat certain chants while blowing tobacco smoke over the child. He would also anoint the child with oil. This ritual or nobaha was supposed to restore the child to health.

The name given to these birth customs vary among indigenous nations. The Akawaio and Arekuna words are similar even as their cultural practices are. In Akawaio, these practices are called miree padapibee zeeruumang. In Arekuna and Patamuna they are called miree pata pipee eseumang. In Warau they are called etuwara.

These birth customs may seem very strange to non-indigenous people, however many of these ones have certain similar practices. The black band often worn around the wrist of an infant serves the same purpose as do some of these indigenous rituals. On the coast, many believe that the band will “ward off bad-eye”. There is a similar belief held by indigenous nations.