Tag Archives: birth

Buddha’s Birth Story – Myth

Text:

This story comes from Burmese Buddhist teachings. My mother learned it from her grandmother.

Before Buddha’s birth, a white elephant came to see his pregnant mother. My mother could not remember the significance of this, but did remember that Buddha was not born naturally – he magically emerged from the side of his mother’s womb. The “natural” way was seen as impure, and this was a sign of his enlightenment. As soon as he was born, he was able to walk. He did not cry or act like a baby. Instead, he walked across a lake to sit by a lotus flower and meditate. 

There are other versions of this story, and the more complete telling involves a dream of Buddha’s mother, Queen Maya. In the dream, the white elephant carries a lotus flower and strikes Maya on her side. Then, Brahmin monks were called to interpret the dream, and advised the king and queen to let their son leave the home so he could become Buddha. If he stayed, he would become a world conqueror.

Context:

My mother heard lots of religious stories from her grandmother. This was the main method that Buddhism was taught to her – from parables about Buddha’s life. My mother is no longer very religious but the morals that she learned from these stories have stuck with her for her whole life. Despite marrying a non-Buddhist, she taught my sister and I how to properly pray and sometimes used examples from Buddhism to teach us how to be good people. My parents wanted us to be exposed to both Christianity and Buddhism so that when we were older we would have a solid foundation if we decided to practice either.

Analysis:

I always found Buddhism interesting because even though there are some deities that vary throughout different types of Buddhism, the main recipient of prayer is someone who was still a human. My mother always emphasized that Buddha was just a human who achieved enlightenment. She made it seem that technically, anyone could become a Buddha. It certainly wouldn’t be easy, but it would be possible. This belief may not be common to all types of Buddhism. Anyways, this origin story seems like it undermines that belief. Buddha had a more “pure” birth than the rest of us so we’re all already all off to a rough start. This story lends Buddha a lot of mythical elements, which I think helps make him a figure worthy of prayer. I also don’t think the point of Buddhism (for most people) is to fully achieve enlightenment, even if that is technically possible – it’s just to follow in Buddha’s example and have a positive impact on the world and people around us.

Miracle During Birth and Visit from an Angel (Memorate)

Text

Informant (talking to daughter): “When you were born, they took you away to check you. They did a scan and they said there were calcifications in your brain. I was really sad and really worried, plus you were premature— you were born early— so you were really tiny, you needed oxygen and all different things. But anyway, when I was in my bed in the hospital, I was crying because I was just sad and I had been worried about you and I was sleeping. In the middle of the night, I felt a smooth whisper of wind go across the side of my left cheek and a Voice said, “Trust and believe.” It woke me up out of my sleep and I was like, ‘Oh my god, oh my god,’ so I rang for the nurse and I said ‘Was somebody here in my room?’ The nurse said ‘No, nobody came into your room we’ve been sitting out here.’ And I said, ’But I heard somebody I heard a voice, I felt them.’ The nurse said this was the cancer ward prior and you’re not the first person who has felt things on this floor. So somebody was there and somebody wanted me to be okay. The next day, they took you in for scans again and the calcifications were gone.”

Context

The Informant is a 48-year-old Black-American woman who is having a conversation with her daughter about the girl’s birth. This story is from the Informant’s personal experience. Informant believes this was an interaction with an angel, rather than a “ghost” or “spirit.”

Analysis

Similar to other memorates I collected, this spiritual experience took place when the Informant was sleeping. The dream space seems to be a common realm for spiritual contact and connection. The Informant’s experience also took place during a significant life event (birth) and time of uncertainty (medical complication). During emotional turmoil, the words “trust and believe” communicate faith and signify guidance. This may be a reason why the Informant classifies the Voice as an “angel” rather than a “ghost “or “spirit.” The reversal of fortune shortly after, when the baby’s medical complications magically resolve, could be another reason why the Informant perceives this as a divine interaction. 

Baby Jesus and the Three Wise Men

Category: Legend/Myth (Myth as it’s sacred to Christianity, but is part of the legend of Jesus)

Text: 

Jesus, the king of Christians, brought Christianity into the world with himself. His mother, Mary, birthed him in a manger and shortly after three wise kings came and gave presents to Mary and baby Jesus as they recognized his future immediately as they are guided by the brightest star.

*for more details read the script below

Context: L is my mom and she taught at a Sunday school that I also attended when I was young. L was born in Mexicali, Mexico and moved the US with her family when she was little. She knows this origin story of Christianity / birth of Jesus from multiple sources: from her parents, from her church, from her peers, from her Sunday school, etc. She sees this story as a beginning of new world order since Christianity with Jesus have just been introduced to the world.

Interpretation: Jesus is the son to the Holy Trinity. Considering the story of Jesus is a huge aspect to Christianity, I’d say this story is sacred enough to be considered a myth. Telling this story shows that the narrator believes in Christianity. The kind house owner show the importance of kindness and hospitality to those of the religion, and so do the wise men with presents. The three men’s wisdom and actions also show the importance of wisdom through reading people and situations well and being prepared by acting upon those readings.

Script:

Me: Yeah, so like what do you think is the most fundamental story in Christianity?

L: Well I’m going to respond to this going back to when I was a Sunday school teacher and around Christmas time, you know how you got to decorate Christmas trees you and put presents under the tree? Well part of Sunday school teaching was this, not side story but leading up to it was the story of the three wise men bringing gifts to the baby Jesus in the manger. So basically the story goes is that Mary, who just had the baby, was looking for a place to rest and they had to go knocking on a bunch of doors, because they had no place to rest, and someone who was very kind opened up and said, ‘I have no room here in the house but I do have this place outside.’ Let’s call it a barn. Right, so, and what they did was they arranged the baby as best they could inside of the manger outside. And there was the three wise men. The three wise men knew that the baby had been born and there was going to be a new king: a king to the Christians. And so the three wise men set out and they said-the myth has it that they went looking, you know, they were guided by this bright light, the brightest light they could see in the sky and that led them to the baby Jesus. And it’s the three wise men who bring you know-the myth and the I forget what it is- 3 so… the three wise men bring these three presents to this, you know, baby who’s not even inside a house, who’s out, you know, in in the elements, who looks like any other poor, I mean even beyond poor, you know, child. Yet these three wise men, and that’s why they’re called wise men, recognize even as the baby Jesus was an infant that he was the king. And that’s why it’s central to Christianity because even as a baby he was recognized, it was known, that he was going to bring in what we now consider Christianity, the thought of you not only having God and the Holy Spirit but that you have Jesus and that’s why you have the Trinity: the father, son, and the Holy Ghost. So that is what I think would be a, some people call it a myth, especially those who are not Christians will say, ‘oh you know that’s that’s a myth.’ That’s our story. So it’s the three wise men and the baby out in the manger. That’s all.

Me: And then where’d you hear it from?

L: Well I taught this as part of Sunday school. I don’t know if you remember, we would always color stuff right? And one of the animals that was always out there would be a lamb among them because that’s the sign of a new world order and you’re outside. But I grew up knowing this because, do you remember that I used to go to Sunday school on my own and then I went to catechism and my parents brought me up. And do you remember your sister’s godmother, [Z]?

Me: Yeah.

L: So she knew the whole story. So I grew up with this from my peers and my parents so this has been going on for generations now.

Me: So your parents taught you the story?

L: My parents and my Sunday school, my church.

Me: Ok, that makes sense.

L: So it’s from my generation of Sunday school teachers, right? And peers to now your generation of attending Sunday school.

Me: Ok. Gracias.

Don’t be Born on Eclipses

Background: The informant is a 50 year old man. He was born in Tecate, Mexico, moving to California when he was young. He grew up with his four siblings and two parents, moving from location to location across California. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California. 

Context: The context was when watching an astronomy show together on a streaming platform. They made a mention of an eclipse.

Text:

UI: Now, one superstition that I grew up with, that I was very well aware of and it’s going to sound completely strange, is that pregnant women should not go outside when there’s an eclipse. If a pregnant woman is outside during the time of an eclipse like that somehow or other, because of the eclipse, that the baby will be born deformed. Now, the thing with the eclipse is that, in actual fact, I don’t really know how it works. I don’t know if it’s because, you know, maybe the rays of the sun get distorted or, you know, I mean look in aztec culture they would look at it [eclipses] when they occurred. During the times of the Aztecs it was sort of like,  the moon is fighting with the sun and and the sun is overcoming the moon, It’s just something I’ve always remembered as a kid.

Me: Who did you hear it from?

UI: I had heard it from my mom. I had heard it from friends.

Me: What about when your wife was pregnant?

UI: There was an eclipse, and after explaining it to her, she understood and stayed inside.

Analysis:

Informant: The informant understands that the superstition may be considered strange by many people, self-aware that the superstition may not be well spread throughout his family. However, it is clear that the informant still believes in superstition to a strong degree.

Mine: The superstition was something new to me. It reveals a few things about Mexican culture. The first is the protective nature over pregnant women and the baby they are carrying. Since women are treated very delicately by this superstition, it would be interesting to see how it compares with other Mexican folkloric ideas. Second, not wanting the women to be exposed during an eclipse so that the baby will not be deformed shows a societal, not just Mexican, belief against children who are not born healthy. It has some negative connotations that a baby with defects is not wanted. However, that is a more modern interpretation of the superstition, and placing it into a past time period, many women used to die during childhood or their children would die when extremely young. Anything would want to be done to protect the child and the mother. If a baby does have deformities, it could ned up hurting the mother or the child might not live for long, which was extremely concerning.

Ways to Induce Labor

Nationality: American
Age: 52
Occupation: Retired Nurse
Residence: Lancaster, CA
Performance Date: April 27, 2021
Primary Language: English

Context: 

My informant, RW, is my mother. She was a labor and delivery nurse in a Dallas hospital in the 1990s. I asked her to tell me if there were any superstitions or rituals she learned working as a nurse. She told me there were lots of different ideas about how to induce labor. This piece was collected during an informal interview at home.

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Main Text:

RW: “I learned a lot of this during my nursing residency at Parkland hospital. And there’s a whole giant hispanic population there, and there’s lots of things they do to induce labor. Well the midwives will tell you that perineal massage with olive oil, or any kind of essential oil will help. Um… you know rose hips, drinking tea with rose hips will induce labor. Um… of course, any time on a full moon, if you’re lucky enough to do that, will help. You know, walking obviously helps. Sex helps. Um… oh nipple massage or stimulation, that helps. And because that actually does make your body produce pitocin, on that one. There’s some things that the hispanic women would do… weird things like laying metal spoons across their belly. Not sure why they thought that would help, but…”

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Analysis:

Working in a labor and delivery unit, it’s not surprising that my mom picked up lots of folk medicine surrounding how to induce labor. As she mentioned, some of it has been scientifically proven. However, there’s also probably an element of wanting to do what you know culturally, or what has been repeated by your own mother. Childbirth can be stressful, and having rituals that your family has said would help may help women to relax and calm down more than any medical effect it may have. This can be shown because, as RW said, many of this practices are associated with a specific culture.