Olbrechts] the swimmer MANUSCRIPT 123 



As soon as the parturient feels the first pangs of pain the women 

 who are to attend to her are summoned; they give her straightway a 

 warm infusion of the barks of t'aya' ina'Ge-° eli, {Prunus serotina 

 Ehr. (?), a variety of wild cherry). 



This is probably the time when, in former times, the woman 

 repaired to the menstruation lodge, the o*'si, where she remained 

 until 12 or 24 days after delivery. Now, however, the whole opera- 

 tion takes place in the cabin. All the children and the male inmates, 

 save the husband if he cares to stay, have to leave the cabin (the 

 cabins, as a rule, boast only of one room). If the husband or a medi- 

 cine man stay they have to keep behind the patient. 



At this time a medicine man or a medicine woman who has been 

 warned a few days previously to keep ready is summoned; he or she 

 comes, and sees to it that everything is all right; that all the pre- 

 cautions are taken, that the assistants are in attendance, that the 

 necessary simples are at hand, etc. He or she, if necessary, may go 

 out and collect the barks and roots needed. 



The practitioner then walks out, stands at the eastern comer of 

 the cabin and recites a conjuration, calling upon the child to "jump 

 down"; the child is addressed as *i'tsi;-'Dzo°, "thou Httle boy." 



He then slowly walks to the north-side corner of the house and 

 repeats the formula, addressing the child as 'i'Ge*'yif'Dzo°, "thou 

 little girl." 



Then walking on to the west-side corner, the boy is again called 

 upon, and at the south side, the girl. 



He or she may then walk home, if satisfied that there is an old 

 woman present who can deal with the case and who knows the formu- 

 las that may further be needed. Should this not be the fact, they 

 stay imtil after parturition. Plate 12, a, shows the medicine woman 

 who went through this ceremony at the birth we witnessed. 



If it is deemed necessary, the house may be circumambulated once 

 more, this time to ward off the activity of witches. 



Attention has already been drawn to the belief that witches are 

 especially active against individuals who are too weak to resist, and 

 it is believed that they consider both the infant at birth and the 

 woman after parturition as particularly easy prey. (See p. 33.) 



The position taken by the parturient may differ considerably in 

 different cases. One or two of these positions are undoubtedly 

 acquired from the whites. 



(1) The woman lies down until symptoms indicate that delivery 

 is approaching. She is then taken under the axillae by one or two of 

 the attending women, and raised to her feet, reclining backward in 

 a slanting position; her feet are wide apart, and her legs stretched 

 open. A third woman stands in front, stooping and ready to take 

 hold of the child when it comes. If matters do not seem to progress, 



