CHERAN: a sierra TARASCAN village — BEALS 



169 



According to Rendon, women in Mestizo 

 Chilchota observe no special diet before delivery. 

 Births are attended by midwives, who charge 

 $2. A mixture of egg and flower is sometimes 

 rubbed on the abdomen to lessen labor pains if 

 these are severe. Massage and irrigations with 

 water and soap are used to accelerate birth. 

 After delivery the diet is based on chocolate 

 and atole. After a few days, chicken broth and 

 chicken are added but beef and beans are not 

 eaten for 72 days. The atole is called piifkua 

 and is made of maize cooked without lime, 

 ground on the metate, and cooked in water 

 without sugar. If there are hemorrhages the 

 patient is given rubbed (shredded?) parsley in 

 water. The mother stays in bed for a week. 

 On the eighth day she bathes. 



Rendon reports a mild couvade in La Caiiada 

 pueblos. The mother does not eat salt after 

 the birth, eats atole of the same type as at 

 Chilchota, and cooked greens. The fathers stay 

 in the house several days without working. 



INFANCY 



When the birth is in kneeling position, as is 

 most common, a mat and clean cloth are placed 

 on the floor to receive the child. The cord is 

 not cut until the afterbirth is delivered. If 

 this is slow, the mother's knees are massaged. 

 The cord is then tied with thread and cut with 

 scissors (a knife may not be used) . According 

 to some the cord is cut about a span length 

 from the umbilicus (thumb to forefinger with 

 both extended). Others say this is the length 

 for girls and that the length for boys is a cnarto 

 (this cannot mean a quarter as most are 

 agreed that the length for a boy is greater than 

 for a girl). Some families ask that the cord 

 be cut longer "so the child will relax easily." 

 Cotton is applied, sometimes preceded by 

 anointment with oil, and a band fastened about 

 the abdomen. Some say if this is not done the 

 boys would not have strength and the girls 

 would be "goers," andulantes, that is, they 

 would probably have affairs with men. Some 

 wipe out the child's eyes with cotton, and others 

 drop a little lemon juice in the eyes. Some 

 oppose this and do nothing unless a gummy 

 secretion appears, when the eyes are treated 

 with flowers of Castile and San Juan. 



The child is then wiped off with a clean cloth 

 and oiled but not bathed. Clothing prepared 

 in advance is put on the child. It is said that 

 the midwife tells parents in advance whether to 

 prepare clothing for a boy or a girl and that 

 they seldom make a mistake. But as no differ- 

 ence could be found in the clothing and, indeed, 

 the child is usually wrapped just in some clean 

 rags, the statement has little significance. 

 Sometimes the child is given tea of Castile 

 roses or a bit of edible oil, but most midwives 

 thought nothing should be given the first day. 



The child is nursed the second day. Rarely 

 does the mother not have milk. Should this 

 happen, the aid of some nursing mother is 

 sought or the child is given cow or goat milk. 

 The latter is not diluted, but it is boiled before 

 using, often being flavored with a bit of yerba 

 buena or cinnamon. Special drinks are given 

 the mother to induce milk flow if it is inade- 

 quate. Brews of flaxseed ( ?) were mentioned. 



The afterbirth is buried, sometimes beside 

 the fireplace, sometimes under it. If this is not 

 done, it is believed the mother would become 

 "cold," but one midwife stated the cord is 

 preserved and used for remedies. The cord of 

 Agustin Rangel's father was taken to the shrine 

 of the Virgin of Guadalupe at Tepeyac and left. 



Midwives continue to visit the house to attend 

 to the mother and child. The bandage over 

 the umbilicus is removed every 2 or 3 days. 

 The cord drops off between the second and 

 eighth days (the longer period apparently 

 being unusual) . The umbilicus is then anointed 

 with iodine or powder made from tules. 

 Sometimes small hernias are cured with a small 

 ball of sosa (an herb) or a green tomato. 

 Hernias result from carelessness or "coldness." 

 Infections of the umbilicus result from care- 

 lessness in bathing the child. One midwife 

 reported curing them with face powder ! 



The child is normally bathed by the midwife 

 on the third, sixth, and ninth days (according 

 to one midwife, immediately after birth also 

 "if that is the custom of the house"). Warm 

 water is used for the bath. 



Some idea that children resemble parents 

 seems to be prevalent and to be attributed to 

 hereditary mechanisms (although in this in- 

 formants may have been sophisticated). An 

 instance cited was that of a man with a very 



