WHOLE VOL. ARAUCANIAN CHILD LIFE — HILGER 239 



woman, and her friends. Machi (shaman) are not present, unless the 

 woman or baby becomes sick. 



Formerly midwifery was practiced by women only, unless the 

 family was too poor to pay the fee asked for, in which case the 

 husband of the woman delivered the child. There is no set fee for 

 delivery ; generally none is asked for. Today, in Alepue area, several 

 middle-aged men can be called upon to deliver a woman. 



For several days preceding delivery, the woman drinks a specific 

 herbal decoction. No remedy to alleviate labor pains was known to 

 my informants ; Cooper mentions one as being used in recent times. 



A woman kneels in giving birth, bracing herself by gripping two 

 upright poles or clutching a rope suspended from rafters. The mid- 

 wife assists delivery by pressure on the woman's abdomen. In a 

 difficult delivery, a midwife, an expert in such cases, is called upon. 

 If she fails to deliver the baby, it is believed an evil spirit prevents the 

 birth and the machi is hired to perform a machitun. Stillbirths occur. 

 Parents give thanks to God, once the child is born, and ask Him to 

 help the child to live and grow to maturity. Following delivery the 

 mother drinks an herbal decoction. 



The baby's birth is not announced or celebrated. Nor is the mother 

 or baby fumigated. Usually the family and those who assisted at the 

 birth partake of a substantial meal of lamb or mutton following a 

 birth. 



The navel cord is cut by an assisting woman, who also attends to 

 the navel. Formerly the cord was always saved, and usually is today ; 

 disposition of it differed in different areas. If being gagged does not 

 cause the woman to expel the placenta, she is made to vomit. 

 Secundines, including placenta, were always buried in the ruka for- 

 merly ; occasionally, in more recent times, they are buried outside the 

 ruka. No informant knew of a child born with a caul. 



To prevent blindness, a child's eyes are treated with the sap of a 

 specific plant. The closing of the fontanels is believed to be related 

 to physical and mental development. To keep winds from blowing 

 through fontanels, the baby's head was formerly covered with soft 

 moss ; today, a cap is used. 



To make certain that the child's face will be round — a trait con- 

 sidered beautiful and true Araucanian — the mother massages and 

 shapes the baby's head and face. A low hairline on the forehead, an 

 Araucanian trait, is not desired ; hairs are pulled out to heighten it. 



Following delivery the mother rests quietly for about two hours 

 after which she walks to the family bathing place — lake, river, or 

 ocean — and there wades directly into deep water. Occasionally, the 



