Tag Archives: ECLIPSE

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.

Using a Safety Pin to protect unborn babies during a lunar eclipse

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 54
Occupation: Health Care Executive
Residence: San Diego
Performance Date: 4/18/2020
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Main Piece

Informant: When I was pregnant my mom- you know the news tells you when there is gonna be an eclipse– well she saw that and she told me that I needed to place a safety pin near my stomach inside of my shirt, near my stomach.  

Interviewer: What was this for exactly? 

Informant: It was supposed to be to avoid harming my baby–defects, birth defects. I don’t know of what kind. Maybe a lazy eye? I don’t know. Haha. 

Interviewer: Were eclipses usually known to cause babies harm?

Informant: That’s what they say. I don’t think there is scientific proof on that. My guess is someone had a baby with a deformity and then they blamed it on the eclipse and it spread. I don’t know. I’m just guessing. 

Interviewer: Did you do it? 

Informant: The consequences of not doing it, even as silly as it sounded, was tugging against me. What if something did go wrong? There didn’t seem to be any logic to the request, but it was simple so I did it. My mom was happy that I followed, and there was a sense of protecting my baby and doing it in case something were to happen to her during the eclipse. I had it secured so it wasn’t gonna poke me, haha.

Background

The informant is my mother, a Mexican woman who is first-generation and the oldest of 3, who was born and raised in San Ysidro,CA  a border town just north of Tijuana, Mexico. Influenced by memories and conversations with her great great grandmother, many of her practices, customs, and beliefs were passed down from her maternal side of Mexican customs. Fluent in both English and Spanish, the informant has always felt conflicted about her culture as she wanted to fit in with American customs but wanted to preserve her Mexican heritage and traditions. The informant had her first child when she was 18, and worked her way as a single mother with two kids to attain her Master’s Degree and is now the Executive Vice President at a non-profit health clinic that serves the community she was raised in.

Context

During our interview, we were discussing all of the different experiences with folklore that she experienced when she was pregnant with her kids. She mentioned a safety pin and eclipse in passing, and I asked her to discuss it further as it was my first time hearing about it. 

Analysis

This form of folk protection is very rooted in the belief of superstition and fear of the unknown that expecting mothers can feel when they are carrying. Wanting to do everything to protect the child, the informant listened to the superstitions and how to protect the baby that were passed down to her from her own mother. This shows the flow of pregnancy superstitions via maternal channels, and the spread of cultural premonitions and protecting practices.