104 SEX-LORE 



mencement of labour, she just goes aside, attends to 

 herself, and then catches up with the rest of the tribe 

 and continues to the march, as if nothing has hap- 

 pened. The savage women must be hardier than 

 those of civilized races; otherwise they could not 

 survive, if they did not go through childbirth so 

 easily. As the other members of the tribe cannot 

 linger in their journeys, the women, if not strong 

 enough, would be left behind and die of starvation. 

 Amongst primitive agricultural tribes a woman work- 

 ing in the fields will on the first signs of childbirth 

 calmly go under some neighbouring tree, bring the 

 child into the world, bite or break the navel cord off, 

 then bathe herself and the child in the nearest river, 

 and start work again, leaving the babe under the 

 shelter of the tree. 



Beliefs and superstitions about childbirth arc 

 very prevalent, and are similar to those in connection 

 with other sex functions. A woman just after child- 

 birth is considered impure, and is therefore injurious 

 to those around her. Hence many primitive tribes 

 have special lying-in huts in which the woman must 

 stay during her confinement, and for certain pre- 

 scribed periods after it. In many cases the period 

 enforced lasts longer after the birth of a girl than 

 that of a boy, showing thereby, as in many other in- 

 stances, the inferior value attached to the female sex. 

 As a rule, purifications of various kinds have to be 

 undergone before the mother is once more allowed 

 to mix with the other people. In many tribes the 

 man is forbidden to go near his wife during the 

 lying-in, as he might lose his strength if he did so. 

 This period lasts generally until the navel cord has 



