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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



as thoroughly Catholic as any Mexican village. 

 All during the religious persecution of the late 

 1920's, when priests were forbidden to say Mass, 

 and when many churches were closed, Tzintzun- 

 tzan succeeded in hiding a priest who said Mass 

 regularly in private homes, and attended to the 

 spiritual needs of the parishioners. Although a 

 few persons temporarily considered themselves 



communists and actively supported the agrarian 

 movement, the Cristero activities of this period 

 found scant support. Government plans for pro- 

 grams of economic and social reforms probably 

 will succeed only when predicated on the as- 

 sumption that the town is thoroughly Catholic, 

 and changes must not do too great violence to 

 the established religious order. 



THE LIFE CYCLE 



PREGNANCY AND BIRTH 



Child bearing is the accepted lot of the girl 

 who marries, and in the absence of general 

 knowledge of contraceptives, pregnancy is ex- 

 pected within a few months of marriage. Lack 

 of appetite, morning sickness, a persistent bit- 

 ter taste in the mouth and, above all, cessation 

 of the menses, are the common signs. During 

 the fourth month the services of a midwife are 

 sought. She comes to the home of the expectant 

 mother and rubs her abdomen with oil, repeat- 

 ing the treatment in 5 days. Sometimes no furth- 

 er attention is given, and in other cases the 

 midwife comes every 2 weeks until delivery. 

 The latter is preferable, since she should be on 

 the alert for possible breech delivery, which she 

 is said to be able to recognize. If this condition 

 is discovered in the early stages of pregnancy, 

 a good midwife is believed to be able to turn 

 the foetus so that birth occurs in the normal 

 fashion. Tzintzuntzenos share the common Mex- 

 ican belief that a first pregnancy lasts 9 months 

 while subsequent ones last only 8 months. 



A number of restrictions govern the actions 

 of a pregnant woman and, to a lesser degree, 

 tliose about her. Most important is that she not 

 be unhappy or worried, and that her food crav- 

 ings be satisfied. It is the foetus which really 

 is asking for special foods, and if not satisfied 

 it will emerge as a miscarriage. She should 

 avoid venison, on pain of a difficult delivery, 

 must not drink alcoholic beverages, nor eat bre- 

 vas, the season's first figs from a tree. If chiles 

 are eaten after the first 3 months the child will 

 suffer from chinkual (T.), cutaneous erruptions 

 which last several months after birth. If other 

 persons eat in the presence of a pregnant woman 

 without offering her food, the child will be born 

 with its mouth open. 



The woman must avoid falls and frights, not 

 lift heavy objects, and not remain in one posi- 

 tion too long. She must be particularly care- 

 ful not to urinate in the same spot as an animal; 

 this causes the baby to resemble the animal. 

 For families without privies and with roving 

 dogs and burros this would seem to present 

 well-nigh insurmountable difficulties. Bathing 

 should be done every third day, instead of at 

 the usual weekly intervals. A pregnant woman 

 who tries to cure boils or doctor wounds merely 

 makes the sick person worse. She should not 

 hang a thread or string around her neck — a 

 common action in sewing — for fear the umbil- 

 ical cord will strangle the child. For the same 

 reason, the husband should not hang a sash 

 ai-ound his neck. Heated kilns should not be 

 approached closely for fear the heat will injure 

 mother and child. 



The pre-Conquest Mexican belief in the dan- 

 ger of an eclipse to a pregnant woman is mani- 

 fest in the superstition that the eclipse "eats" 

 a part of the child's body, that it is born with 

 a harelip, or lacking a foot or hand. This 

 danger is avoided by wearing a red petticoat 

 or red sash beneath the skirt or by putting a 

 metal object such as a needle or pin in one's 

 clothing close to the body. Since iron was un- 

 known in pre-Conquest Mexico this second 

 precaution appears to be European. 



Women say they prefer girl babies, since 

 when grown they will help around the house; 

 most men express a preference for sons, to 

 help them in the fields or in other chores. Few 

 parents want twins, simply because they mean 

 more work; there is no belief that they are 

 unlucky. Twins are thought to result from care- 

 less food habits: a married woman of child- 

 bearing years should not eat paired fruits, 

 such as mangoes, chayotes, or bananas. The 



