American Indian Healing Arts by E. Barrie Kavasch

Author:E. Barrie Kavasch [Kavasch, E. Barrie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-80506-5
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2013-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

The Paiute Childbirth Ritual

Men play a significant part in childbirth in many tribes. The San Juan Paiute are among the most traditional of the ten modern Paiute groups in Arizona and Utah. Despite the fact that today many babies are born in hospitals, the first childbirth is still an important rite of passage for young men and women in the San Juan community. It is the symbolic counterpart of the woman’s menarche ritual (see Chapter 3). Each of these time-honored practices marks a major turning point in the life cycle.

In this tribe, a pregnant woman observes certain taboos during her preparations for childbirth, and for a period following the birth of her first child. Her husband must also abide by these prohibitions. Neither can take any meat, salt, or cold water for thirty days following the birth, and they may only touch their hair and faces with a scratching stick; they cannot use their hands. The task of training the new father falls to the kinship networks. His wife’s family instructs him by giving him specific tasks, which begin with running east each morning toward the sunrise and running west each evening toward the sunset.

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