KO, 



1862 THE PEOPLES OF FORMOSA — ARNOLD 29I 



iDUt shall attend to the bringhig up of her child. As already men- 

 tioned, husband and wife possess equal rights, so that cruelty to a 

 wife is scarcely known. 



Birth 



The customs pertaining to births which are common to all tribes 

 prescribe that the mother giving birth to a child shall herself cut the 

 navel cord with a piece of sharpened bamboo. The baby is then 

 immediately washed with hot or cold water. In ordinary cases, the 

 day following the birth the mother resumes her regular work in the 

 tribe, although for the period of a month following the birth she 

 confines her attention to work indoors. Among some of the tribes 

 special customs pertaining to births obtain. For instance, with the 

 Tsarisen tribes, when a woman is pregnant the husband performs 

 for the wife certain sacred rites, and at the time of the birth of a 

 child the husband ofifers prayers for the expulsion of evil spirits. 

 Dinners celebrating births are given, and to these dinners only mar- 

 ried couples are invited. It appears that in former times the Tai- 

 wan tribes considered giving birth to twins as an ill omen, and the 

 babies (twins) were tied to a tree and allowed to perish. 



Burial 



The customs pertaining to burial of the dead among the tribes 

 throughout the island are as follows : 



1. In case of a death in a family, the members of that family in- 

 dulge in the bitterest lamentations. 



2. The manner of interring the dead is not uniform ; some tribes 

 "bury their dead within their houses, others without. 



3. For a fixed period after the burial ceremonies are completed 

 the members of the family do not leave the inside of the house, while 

 at the same time they divest their bodies of all decorations. 



4. Among the tribes of the Tsarisen, Paiwan, and Puyuma groups 

 mourning dress is worn. The superstition obtains with most of the 

 tribes that the spirit after death requires the personal belongings of 

 the one who died, and for that reason these are buried with the dead 

 body. 



Sickness 



The, most common sickness prevalent among the savage tribes of 

 Formosa is malarial fever. Eye troubles are next in order of fre- 

 quency. Among the northern Atayal tribes there are considerable 

 lung troubles. * * '= As to the cause of sickness, it is generally 

 believed to be punishment inflicted by the spirits of the dead. Among 



