CHAPTER XIV 



DOMESTIC LIFE: PREGNANCY, BIRTH, AND CHILDHOOD 



DESIRE FOR PROGENY 



The desire to fulfill the end of marriage is so strong that it may be said that there is almost 

 rivalry and envy between the young men. Many a time I have heard the remark made that 

 so and so is a-yo-d-yo — a sorry specimen of humanity — because he had no children. If you ask 

 a Man6bo how many children he has he will seldom forget to tell you not only the number that 

 died, but also the number of times that his wife suffered miscarriage, owing to a faulty selection 

 of food, or to the noxious influence of some evil spirits, or to the violation of certain taboos, or 

 to some other cause. 



And thus it is that when the first evidences of motherhood manifest themselves, the husband 

 procures a white or black chicken and after inviting a few friends, holds an informal party in 

 honor of the occasion. I know of one case in which the ritual waving ceremony 1 took place on 

 pregnancy, but it was performed, so the husband told me, because of a conjunction of ill omens, 

 and not because such a ceremony was customary. 



BIRTH AND PREGNANCY TABOOS 



The precautions taken by both husband and wife during pregnancy, as also on the approach 

 of parturition, are evidence of the sacredness with which they guard the dearest hope of their 

 married lives. 



The following pregnancy and birth taboos, verified by the writer, hold with little variation 

 in every part of the Agusan Valley, and several of them are still adhered to by the Bisayas of 

 that region. 2 



The general idea prevailing in the observation of these taboos is one of sympathy by which 

 a certain action, productive of a certain physical effect in one subject may produce by some 

 sympathetic correlation an analogous effect in another. An instance will make this clear. To 

 wear a necklace is an action in itself perfectly innocuous and even beneficial, in so far as it enhances 

 the person of the wearer, but for the Man6bo man and wife such a proceeding at this particular 

 time would produce, by some species of mystic correlation, a binding effect on the child in the 

 hour of parturition, and must accordingly be eschewed. 



These taboos are in force from the time when the young wife announces her condition 

 until the end of that trying period that follows conception. 



TABOOS TO BE OBSERVED BY THE HUSBAND 



1. He must avoid all untoward acts, such as quarreling and haggling. 



2. His demeanor must be quiet; he must avoid noisy and impetuous actions, such as taking 

 part in the capture of a domestic pig. 



3. He must avoid all heavy work, such as the felling of trees, making of canoes, or erection 

 of house posts. 



4. He must not engage in any work connected with rattan, such as tying or splicing. 



5. He must in no case use resin 3 for the purpose of sticking handles or shafts on weapons. 



1 Kii-uab to md-nuk. 



' I find that some of these taboos are observed by the uneducated Tagalogs of Manila and by the peasants of Tayabas Province. 



' S&i-vung or saung. 



Ill 



