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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY— PUBLICATION NO. 2 



no remedies are taken for barrenness. Others 

 reported that women speak to the professional 

 midwives, who give them herbal remedies, 

 anoint the abdomen with mountain lion grease, 

 or give stew made of mountain lion meat. 

 However, none of the midwives reported any 

 such practices. 



Despite these attitudes, belief exists that 

 pregnancy can be prevented or abortion caused. 

 It is believed by some that only families of 

 poor economic standing who already have two 

 to four children attempt to use these methods. 

 Others suggest absence of love in the home as a 

 reason ; some women carrying on illicit affairs 

 are believed to practice abortion. A good many 

 people seem to know of the existence of abor- 

 tion and to have knowledge of the herbs used. 

 Consequently attempted abortion probably is 

 more frequent than people wish to admit. The 

 ideal of Cheran is the large family; people 

 prefer not to talk about those who do not share 

 the ideal and some refuse to talk about it. It is 

 also said that the municipal officials are vigilant 

 in punishing such cases, but as the penalty is 

 said to be a fine of $1.00 or $1.50 or a night in 

 jail after recovery, this probably would not be 

 a great deterrent even if the danger of detection 

 were great. 



Four plants are named as being taken to 

 cause abortion. One, artamisa, taken with 

 plenty of salt, was mentioned by one of the 

 midwives. Another admitted to using iris root 

 for this purpose, although generally the mid- 

 wives claim to be opposed to abortion. The two 

 plants most used, however, are riida and 

 gobernadorcillo, kuAsA. It is possible that 

 these are the same plants ; at least descriptions 

 of their use appear to be the same. If they 

 are effective (and local medical men are sharply 

 contradictory in their opinions), many unin- 

 tentional abortions are probably caused, for 

 ruda is a regular remedy for stomach pains. 

 It is not taken, except intentionally, when 

 pregnancy has occurred, as the herb is widely 

 known as producing abortion. The herb is also 

 believed to be helpful to women who have been 

 unable to have children. 



Much the same accounts were given of 

 goheiifuvdorcillo. To have children, the herb 

 is cooked with a tablet of chocolate and taken 

 iust before the menstrual period is expected. 



To cause abortion, the root is mashed to obtain 

 the juice. The latter is strained and taken 

 mixed in a liter of water. Gobernadorcillo is 

 also taken to accelerate the birth if it should 

 be slow. 



One midwife purges barren women with the 

 bulb of the white lily. Two or three bulbs are 

 used ; they are cooked and strained, and the 

 juice given. Three days after the purge, the 

 patient is bathed and "given a sweat" with 

 cooking oil and ground salt rubbed all over the 

 body. This cure is given during the time of 

 menstruation to "clear" the blood. This cures 

 the "coldnesses" of the patient or causes the 

 harmful elements to be discharged. One 

 patient now has four children. Another, barren 

 10 years before treatment, now has two children. 



Involuntary abortions also occur. Pregnant 

 mothers are often fearful of this and sometimes 

 will not go to curers when they are ill for fear 

 they will be given a medicine which will cause 

 abortion. A woman in her eighth month of 

 pregnancy who was suffering fever and spitting 

 blood refused to go to the curer for fear of 

 being given abortive drugs. Drinking is be- 

 lieved to cause many abortions, and heavy work, 

 such as lifting a log while helping to build a 

 fence, is recognized as a possible cause of abor- 

 tion. If the mother "likes something too 

 much," for example, a horse or a kind of food, 

 the child may be born prematurely, but appar- 

 ently may live. Solar eclipses are likewise 

 believed to cause early births. The midwife is 

 sometimes called if abortion is feared. One 

 midwife anoints the coccyx and abdomen with 

 the white of an egg (which has been beaten on 

 the ground) and also with lard and oil. An- 

 other midwife gives the flower of maize, tomato 

 peel, a shoot of verbena, and a potsherd of 

 Guadalajara ware. The potsherd is ground 

 and the whole made into an infusion. This is 

 taken twice and the coccyx and abdomen are 

 rubbed with the white of an egg beaten on the 

 ground. 



Some people believe that the first child takes 

 9 months to mature, while the subsequent chil- 

 dren take only 8 months. While women do not 

 keep exact count of the period between 

 menstruations, they have a pretty accurate idea 

 of the proper interval, and pregnancy is recog- 

 nized when menstruation fails to occur. Lassi- 

 tude, heaviness, and loss of appetite are con- 



