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THE PEOPLE
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PREGNANCY AND CHILD BIRTH
The prospect of a baby in the offing for a newly wed bride is
greeted with enthusiasm both by her parents and at her husbands.
A woman without a child is an imperfect and immature woman and
is looked upon as ominous. No Hindu woman is happy if within
a reasonable period after marriage, she does not become enceinte
But when happy omens of a coming child are noticed, there is joy
in the family and every one desires that the first arrival should be
a male babe. For this purpose the sacrament of pumsavana was
devised while the young wife was in the third or fourth month of
pregnancy. But whether because it has been found ineffective or
unnecessary it has fallen into disuse. The prospective mother's
longing, dohale as they are called, are fondly noticed and promptly
satisfied by the elderly members of the husband's family. If a child
is born with some birthmarks or congenital defects, they are ascribed
to non-fulfilment of the longings. It is customary for a newly wed
to go to her parents for the first confinement. All arrangements including the engagement of a midwife known to the family are made. She looks after the young mother for ten days after delivery.
All rural communities are particular about the fifth or sixth day worship as they are believed to be full of danger to the new born. The belief is that convulsive seizures and most other forms of disease are the work of spirits and they can be warded off only by worship-ping the Mothers Fifth and Sixth. The elderly women of the house are particular about keeping a lamp constantly burning in the confinement room and the mother is never left alone during the ten days. On the fifth day of child-birth, friends and relatives are asked for a dinner. In the name of the Pancavi a betel-nut, a sword or sickle are placed on a pat and sandal-paste and flowers are offered. The mother bows before the goddess with the child in her arms and prays her to protect the child from evil spirits. On the sixth day, a blank sheet of paper and a reed pen and ink are placed on a pat and Satvai or Mother Sixth is worshipped as on the previous day and a, few friends are treated to a feast.
During the ten days, the mother is considered untouchable and only the midwife touches her. The family observes suher for the period as sutak is observed in the case of a death. On the 11th day mother and baby are given a purificatory bath, their clothes are washed and the whole house is cleaned. The male members of the house-hold then put on new sacred threads. The midwife is presented with a lugade, bodice cloth and some money as her fee. The mother is cleansed from impurity by spraying tulsi water over her.
Of late, with the practice of sending expectant mothers to maternity and nursing homes, many of the old practices have become moribund. On the 12th day, is the naming ceremony of the child. Women friends and relatives are invited for the purpose. They bring presents, the musicians play, the baby is put in the cradle and the christening is gone through. This ceremony is called barse. The lobes of the child's ears are pierced by a gold thread, generally by a goldsmith. If the boy is subject to a vow, his right nostril is also pierced and a gold ring put there. Cudakarma or first hair-cut was also a samskara, performed traditionally after a male child was two or three years old, but it has now died out.
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