124 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 99 



if they think they acted upon "a false alarm," the woman who raised 

 the patient sits down on a chair, and gently lets the woman down to 

 the floor in a sitting position; the patient's back is supported by the 

 seated attendant's legs. 



(2) The parturient kneels on the ground, her legs wide open; she 

 clutches the back of a chair. The attendants assist her a posteriori. 



(3) The woman sits on the lap of her husband, who sits on a chair 

 and holds his arms around his wife's waist. 



(4) Parturition while lying down is almost unknown. 

 Whatever the position may be, the woman is always completely 



dressed. This does not interfere so much with the operation as one 

 might think, as undergarments are all but unknown by the majority 

 of the people. The dress is merely tucked up when deemed necessary. 



The women arrange among themselves what particular part of 

 the work will be performed by each of them. 



The woman who first takes hold of the chUd, and who as a rule is 

 tacitly agreed upon as the one in charge, is supposed to care for the 

 chUd throughout the operation. 



The woman standing by her side binds and cuts the navel string, 

 while the two other women look after the parturient. 



The one who stands in front of the patient, ready to catch the 

 child, usually has a cloth spread out on her hands. Sometimes, 

 instead of actually taking the child from the mother it is allowed 

 to fall, with a most unhealthy sounding thud, on a cloth spread out 

 on the floor; a few handfuls of dry leaves may be put under the cloth 

 to mitigate the child's fall. 



Prior to cutting the navel string, the blood is driven from the pla- 

 centa toward the child, by running thumb and index along the funic- 

 ulus; it is then bound off, about 2 centimeters from the child, and 

 cut about 4 centimeters from its body. An odd end of string or 

 yarn or a thin strip of calico is used for this. The cutting is now 

 done with scissors. 



Both as a prophylactic and as a therapeutic measure, a species of 

 fungus, no.kwt.'si i;Dt*'GiDo''' (6^eas^er, puffball), is put on the navel 

 and left on it until the withered remains of the funiculus fall off. 



v^Dfy9*'°Dair, navel. 



i;*''DfyQ*'°Data', navel string (attached to child), 



y^Dfy9*'''Dat9*no'i, navel string (severed from child). 



No particular belief relating to the fontanel, nor any special treat- 

 ment referring to it, were noticed. 



Nor does there seem to exist any lore pertaining to children born 

 with a caul. 



The child is washed off with warm water and rolled in any piece 

 of cloth that may be available, and the woman who attends to it 

 squats down near the fire with it, her duties being now practically 

 completed. 



