Category Archives: Gestation, birth, and infancy

Generally up to the first year.

Indian Child Birth Clothing Belief

Nationality: Indian
Age: 70
Residence: India
Performance Date: 3/23/2021
Primary Language: Hindi (urdu)

Context & Background: 

Indian culture relies heavily on folklore. With so many diverse subcultures within the large country, many examples of folklore can be found getting passed on and creating new oikotypes. The informant, an old lady from Rajasthan (North India) and my late grandfather’s family friend, tells me about childbirth and one of the beliefs. This information got passed down to her from her grandmother. This text is translated from Hindi to English

Performance: (via phone call)

In India, whenever a child is born, for the first few weeks, we make the child wear old, used clothes that have been on the body of other children. We never clothe them in new clothes. The reason for this is because we believe that wearing older clothes gives the child good health, passing on the luck of the previous surviving baby. After the first few weeks, we can go and clothe them however we want, this tradition only goes on for the first few weeks. 

Analysis:

I didn’t really know about this tradition, so I asked my parents if this ever happened to me. They told me that yes, I was given the clothes of my cousin, and my little brother took my clothes. I believe that this tradition and belief exist because child mortality rates were very high in the past. People had a lot of children, there were not any sophisticated medical options for many families, and I know that home births were common with the help of a midwife. The passing on of luck was needed to give hope to the mothers and families, and hence this tradition was probably born.

There Was a Little Girl

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Nationality: American
Age: 79
Occupation: Retired, Former Jeweler
Residence: kelseyville, California
Performance Date: May 1, 2021
Primary Language: English

Background:

My informant in this case is my grandmother, who learned this rhyme from her mother and believes it was learned from her mother before. From what I know, that side of my family hails from Ireland which is likely where the rhyme originated.

Context:

This piece was usually used as a nursery rhyme and as a way for my informant to poke fun at her children in a humorous way. My grandma sings this tune quite often in times of relaxation when joking around is warranted. I specifically remember her performing it to myself and my cousins at family gatherings when we were growing up.

Main Piece:

“There was a little girl that had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. And when she was good, she was very very good, but when she was bad she was horrid!”

Analysis:

This nursery rhyme is an obvious reflection of the extremes of parenting. While parents often claim that bringing a life into the world is the greatest joy that can ever happen to a person, raising children can, at times, seem like a nightmare. In this rhyme, the two sides of that dichotomy are presented in a couplet in order to show that neither can exist without the other.

Confinement for New Mothers

Nationality: Singaporean
Age: 84
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Singapore
Performance Date: 04/12/2021
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: Malay, Hokkein

Context

Confinement is still a common practice in Singapore. It is when a woman who had just given birth must do nothing but rest for at least a month. My grandmother often brings up the lack of her confinement period to reference her now unhealthy state. The interview takes place as I get my grandmother to recount my mother’s confinement period.

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Performance

The following is translated and transcribed from a conversation between me, (M), and my grandmother, the interviewee (I).

M: What did you do when my Ma was pregnant with me?

I: Your mother had to stay at home. She couldn’t leave the house and must stay in bed.

M: Why did she have to do that?

I: After you give birth. A lot of your energy is taken away from you. And you lose a lot of important nutrients. So, you must stay at home and drink herbal drink. It is called zuo yue zi. Your mother had to be at home and lie on the bed for one month.

Translation: Zuo Ye Zi literally means Sitting The Moon, or sitting on the moon. Referring to how mothers who had just given birth must do nothing but sit and rest.

M: Did you also have to do confinement when you gave birth to my mom?

I: At that time I was too poor to afford a confinement lady. And I’m not lucky like your mother, my mother has passed away already so I couldn’t do confinement properly. I only did about ten days for each child then I had to go back to work. That’s why I’m so sick now,  I have very bad immune system. So when your mother gave birth, I made sure that she did at least one month, I wanted her to do more but she didn’t want to. I was already quite lenient with her.

M: What would have been a stricter confinement period?

I: I wouldn’t have let her shower if I could. When you shower you take away all the energy that is helping to rebuild your body. But she insisted on getting to shower, so I let her shower with warm water. And she only drank half of the tea I made for her, she didn’t finish it all. She won’t be very healthy when she is older. But I tried my best.

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Analysis

This is an old wives tale of why women must be pampered and taken care of after they had just given birth. This belief comes from Ancient China where women of rich families had the luxury to stay in bed and care for their health, and in many ways flaunt that they did not need to do any work after they had given birth. Today, many Chinese people in Singapore still believe in confinement, though not to the same extreme extend of the woman never being able to leave the bed, but rather that the woman should be able to just rest at home for a month without doing anything. I think that on a personal level for my grandmother, she uses this belief to explain her sickness right now. Though there are many medical explanations such as her old age, and just generally her immune system perhaps is not as strong as other people her age, she uses the fact that she wasn’t given the proper care when she was a young mother for her illness now. I think this gives her a sense of comfort because she can put the blame on something else, and pinpoint a reason for her illness rather than just accept that in a world of chaos, perhaps she was just unlucky in health. I believe that it is also a way in which she shows care for her daughters. Due to traditional beliefs, a lot of the love and care went to my grandmother’s two sons, and not much to her daughters. And it is perhaps through taking care of her daughters through confinement that she is able to show them that she loves and cares for them deeply.

“Đây Tháng”: Vietnamese Folk Belief on a Baby’s 1st Month

Nationality: Vietnamese-American
Age: 49
Occupation: Nail Technician
Residence: Iowa
Performance Date: 5/1/2021
Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language: English

Main Piece:

A: Baby sinh ra là không có gì– một ngày hai ngày–roi tới một tháng là– giống như là ở Việt Nam, đẻ sinh xong là không được đi đâu hết. Rồi stay inside the house. Until one month. That’s why the mothers– when the baby is one month, it’s like, “oh, he can go out everywhere now.” You know? Like a 21 year-old. Everyone can hold you [when you are one month old].

  • “When the baby is born, there isn’t– by one day then two days– then when it reaches one month– it’s like in Vietnam, when you’re done giving birth you can’t go anywhere. You stay inside the house. Until one month. That’s why the mothers– when the baby is one month, it’s like, “oh, he can go out everywhere now.” You know? Like a 21-year-old. Everyone can hold you [when you are one month old].”

Me: Why do you think people do that?

A: Because, giống như con chưa có được 1 tháng, còn con nhỏ. Nhiều khi người ta hay người kia ôm, người ta binh, rồi, uh, này kia. Dài tháng là– một tháng là– trong một tháng đó là không có ai dừng tới, thăm, hết cả mẹ–  mom and baby– là chỉ inside thôi– inside the house.

  • “Because, it’s like you’re not one month yet, you’re still too young. Often one person or the other person holds you, and they’re sick, and, uh, this and that. Reaching one month is– one month is– in that one month no one can touch the baby, visit, both mother– mom and baby– they can only be inside– inside the house.”

Me: What would happen if someone visited the baby?

A: Some people worry that– if they go to visit you– then they go home and something [bad] happens, then that’s not lucky… And it’s the same for me– I don’t want you to visit me and my baby– if you go home and do something bad, then some bad like the baby’s sick can happen.

Background:

My mother is the one telling me this story. She was born and raised in Vietnam until immigrating to the United States in the 1990s. Being the oldest of three other children, she became familiar with this folk practice when her siblings were born. She explains to me that when she gave birth to me, she held the same beliefs, and thus did not want anyone to visit her or me at least for a month after I was born. My mother tends to take superstitions about luck seriously and accordingly felt strongly about protecting the luck and life of a growing baby.

Context:

This is a transcript of our live conversation. We were in the process of eating dinner when I asked my mom if birthdays are celebrated in Vietnam. She responded no. Instead, certain milestones of a baby’s life are celebrated.

Thoughts:

This is the first I’ve heard of this Vietnamese folk belief. I realize I cannot remember if other members of my extended family also share this belief and practice, as none of my relatives had children around a time I was old enough to notice or understand. However, considering my mothers’ age when her siblings were born, the state of Vietnam was in the midst of war, and afterward, was in the process of rebuilding the country. As my mothers’ and most other Vietnamese families faced food insecurity and lack of access to health services, protecting a baby’s life when it is most vulnerable is an understandable practice. In folk practices pertaining to the life cycle, this particular practice illustrates how a baby does not achieve “personhood” until one month when the baby’s life is more secure. Furthermore, this belief is wrapped in contagious magic. My mother explains this in how it is believed that if a visitor commits bad or unlucky behavior after seeing the baby before one month, then that bad luck will be brought upon the mother and baby, who came in contact with the visitor.

“Thôi nôi”: Vietnamese 1st Birthday Celebration

Nationality: Vietnamese-American
Age: 49
Occupation: Nail Technician
Residence: Iowa
Performance Date: 5/1/2021
Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language: English

Main Piece:

A: It’s like a birthday. Your friends, family [are invited], cook food, give you something like– like baby clothes, toys… but it’s different like, I have to do a tray. I put on scissors… hammer… mirror… cái này là gì– chỉ, everything like on the tray. Then let the baby pick. The first thing the baby picks up, we think, “Oh, in the future, she will do thợ may, thợ cắt tóc, một cái người designer, hay là bác xĩ, này kia đó. 

  • “ It’s like a birthday. Your friends, family [are invited], cook food, give you something like– like baby clothes, toys… but it’s different like, I have to do a tray. I put on scissors… hammer… mirror… what is this– just, everything like on the tray. Then let the baby pick. The first thing the baby picks up, we think, “Oh, in the future, she will be a seamstress, a hairdresser, a designer, or a doctor, this and that.

Me: So what kinds of things are on the tray? You said scissors, thread…

A: Everything you can think of…. But, don’t put anything like– not lucky. 

Me: Did you do this celebration for anyone?

A: You. 

(Dad interjects: You did?

A: Yeah!

D: What did she pick?

A: Nó bóc cái gương với là cái micro. Chac là [our son] không có làm.

  • “She picked up the mirror and a microphone. I don’t think we did one for [our son].”

D: That’s why he’s not going anywhere [we all laugh])

Background:

My mother is the one telling me this story. This is a traditional way of celebrating the baby’s first birthday in Vietnam. Thus my mother, who was born and raised in Vietnam until immigrating to the United States in the 1990s, became familiar with this practice while she was there. She likes this celebration because of the fun of predicting what the baby’s future career will be, however, she does not fully believe in it. She explains to me that when she was younger, before she had me, she believed that these predictions would come true, but now, it is simply a fun activity. 

Context:

This is a transcript of our live conversation. We were in the process of eating dinner when I asked my mom if birthdays are celebrated in Vietnam. She responded no. Instead, certain milestones of a baby’s life are celebrated. She explains the baby’s 1st birthday after explaining how guarded the baby’s first month of life is.

Thoughts:

I had known other cultures in Asia had this celebration of a baby’s first large milestone, such as Korea’s 100-day birthday, where they practice homeopathic magic to predict the baby’s future career, but I did not know that there was something similar in Vietnamese culture. To further explain how this is homeopathic magic, the act of the baby choosing symbols of a career mimics the career the child will have in the future. This is the first time I learned about this celebration. After my parents’ generation immigrated to the United States, I was never old enough to recognize if my cousins’ first birthdays were celebrated in this traditional Vietnamese practice. When one of my cousins had children, at that point, our family celebrated birthdays in the American way, as my mother explained that birthdays aren’t celebrated in Vietnamese culture aside from a baby’s first milestones. Such is a common occurrence in folk practices pertaining to the life cycle, where a baby’s life is more unpredictable in the beginning stages, and thus is celebrated when they pass markers that indicate better chances of survival. Though my mother said she doesn’t believe in the prediction, it is interesting that you could make a case that my selection was pretty accurate (I am a theatre major).