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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



zote are given to cleanse the alimentary tract. 

 Normal births are said to take a couple of 

 hours, and difficult deliveries a day or a night 

 or longer. In such cases it is becoming increas- 

 ingly common to send for a doctor in Patzcuaro. 



Treatment of new-born babies is fairly uni- 

 form. The umbilical cord is measured ofl three 

 or four fingers and cut with scissors, tied with 

 thread, rubbed with onion, burned with a 

 candle, and annointed with burned tules and 

 tallow. A special pad with a hole for the 

 stump is placed over the navel and a sash tied 

 to hold everything in place until the stump 

 drops ofl" after 3 or 4 days. Oiling of the navel 

 continues for 3 weeks and a tight sash is used 

 for 3 months to minimize danger of rupture. 

 New-born babies occasionally are washed with 

 warm water and soap, but oiling is more com- 

 mon. In any event, the midwife opens the mouth 

 and pushes up on the hard palate to strengthen 

 the mollera to avoid possible illness from this 

 cause. 



Potters bury the afterbirth in the firebox of 

 the kiln. Other families follow the older Ta- 

 rascan custom of burying it under the paran- 

 giuis (T. ), the three stones of the hearth. 

 Through contagious magic the heat prevents 

 the child irom catching cold or having a chill. 

 But the disposition of the afterbirth is much 

 more than a simple superstition. In a sense it 

 represents a link in the chain tliat emotionally 

 binds the individual to his home and his land. 

 A house becomes a home to a new wife when 

 the first placenta is buried, and as others fol- 

 low the bond grows stronger and stronger. Do- 

 na Andrea reminisces about her 40 years in 

 the same house and patio. They have been hap- 

 py years and she has much for which to be 

 thankful. Coming as a stranger from Quiroga 

 she had to adjust herself to the ways of a small- 

 er and more primitive community, to leave her 

 family to live with that of her husband. Now, 

 there is no one who is more a part of Tzintzun- 

 tzan than she. In an expansive gesture she 

 sweeps her hand toward the kiln, "Why, the 

 placentas of all of my children are buried in 

 that very spot." Yes, this is her home. Some 

 questions have a way of backfiring. "And what 

 do you do with the placenta in your country?" 

 Mary, who is quizzing, is momentarily struck 

 speechless. But Dona Andrea, never one to let 



conversation lag 5 seconds, continues, "I under- 

 stand they just flush it down the toilet. Is that 

 right?" And Dona Andrea thinks she under- 

 stands why the gringos have so little attach- 

 ment to their homes that they willingly come 

 to live in a strange country. 



The umbilical stump of boys is saved for 

 several possible uses. That of the first-born is 

 valued for its medicinal properties; dried and 

 boiled, it is good for many kinds of internal 

 disorders, and particularly the empache or com- 

 plications believed to result when a new father 

 insists on his sexual privileges with the mother 

 before the expiration of 40 days. Such stumps 

 sold to curanderas are said to be worth up to S5. 

 Stumps buried with chayote seeds are believed 

 to cause the vine to produce abundantly. In 

 former days muleteers carried their stump with 

 them to the tierra caliente on their first trip, 

 burying it under a tree in a town where they 

 hoped to come regularly to sell pottery. This 

 act, it is said, was believed to ensure good sales 

 and protect one from illness in that town. Per- 

 haps, in view of the foregoing data, it was 

 thought that in this way a little bit of home 

 could be carried to a distant village. Often the 

 stump is buried in the coffin with a young 

 child. 



Immediately after birth the mother is given 

 a sprig of mint to eat and a cup of water to 

 drink. Many women are said to be able to nurse 

 before the birth of their child, in which case 

 the baby is given to the mother as soon as it 

 has been wrapped in cloths. If the breasts have 

 not yet filled the baby is allowed to nurse to 

 stimulate the flow of milk, and is given drops 

 of honey as nourishment. Formerly a sala- 

 mander, the achoke {T.), was boiled and fed the 

 mother to increase her milk. In recent years 

 this animal has all but disappeared from the 

 lake and alole of chickpeas has been substitut- 

 ed. In recent years, with the advent of the 

 highway and the nearness of doctors, some 

 children have been raised on formulas. Food 

 for the mother consists of light meals of choc- 

 olate, cliampurrado {aiole made with choco- 

 late instead of water), coff"ee and milk, spaghet- 

 ti-type soups, bread, and tortillas. Broth of the 

 meat of the female of cattle and chickens is 

 given (but not of the male). Theoretically 

 only "hot" foods are given, though in practice 



