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from notes archived at Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawai'i |
Category: | Birth(1) | Topic: | Pregnancy | Consultant: | ||
Pregnant women call upon their 'aitu to make birth slow or quick as they wanted it. | ||||||
Category: | Birth(2) | Topic: | Pregnancy | Consultant: | Undisclosed | |
Pregnant Women: Pregnant women counted moons. |
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Category: | Birth(3) | Topic: | Pregnancy | Consultant: | ||
When a woman was about to be confined, she was smeared with turmeric, covered up to keep her warm and fed with coconut of a certain sort. | ||||||
Category: | Birth(4) | Topic: | Pregnancy Tabus | Consultant: | Maria | |
The la'oag are spirits or 'atua who come to take the souls of, or harm, pregnant women. They come at the middle of the day or about sunset. At noon it was forbidden pregnant women to sleep in the house and at sunset they must not go walking alone. If a woman dies in childbirth, she became one of the la'oag. Pregnant women were in general kept apart because they might bring the la'oag into a group of women with whom they sat, or bring the influence of a malicious sort to any undertaking. Most of the time they had to stay in their houses. |
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Category: | Birth(5) | Topic: | Abortion | Consultant: | Fred Kaad | |
Abortion was sometimes performed by inserting into the vagina a tubular stick which held in it a thin sharp pointed probe. The tubular stick was inserted into the mouth of the womb and the probe was pushed through to pierce the foetus. This was a very thin and sharp piece, and so guarded from injuring the woman by the tube. A native woman denied this as being a Rotuman method and called it half-caste fashion. There were also medicines to start a miscarriage. The rimi, or fungus on coconut bark, was one of 3 elements. |
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Category: | Birth(6) | Topic: | Barrenness | Consultant: | Maria | |
Barren women were thought to have been cursed by their grandparents from having children. This belief is very strong today. Couples who quarreled very often were made childless by the 'atua of their ancestors for their poor behaviour. | ||||||
Category: | Birth(7) | Topic: | Birth Rites | Consultant: | Maria |
An expectant mother was attended by a female majau and her two apprentices. They were the midwives to all Rotuman women. A woman could not have her family attend, nor her husband. Her husband's attention would look very bad, and it would appear that he had no family. The majau determined the position the mother should take for delivery. Some women lie down on their backs, but usually they sit up in the lap of an attendant, with their legs spread apart. The woman's back was against the abdomen of the attendant, and both faced the majau. The woman kept her knees up, and the attendant held her under the arms to pull up. The majau sat to receive the child. If the birth seemed delayed she massaged the woman's abdomen to bring the child down. Only light foods were given the mother before the birth. No meat, papai, or 'ifi. Only small amounts of yam and taro. The woman was forbidden hard work, but today it does not appear a very stringent order. Women are fishing, washing clothes, cooking and housekeeping apparently up to the day of delivery. After giving birth the woman is fed on soft foods and kept in bed five days. Women are fed the milk of the coconut to stimulate more breast milk. There appear to be no tabus on a woman in this condition or fear of spirits attacking her. The baby is given coconut milk immediately after birth, to act as a laxative. There was no deformation of the baby's head or nose. Any deformities from birth would be massaged to straighten them. The nose was held and stopped, then released so that the breath would clear out any clots. This was in no way an attempt to shape it, as stated by Jakopi [see below]. The cord was buried outside the doorway, where everyone would walk and press it down firmly in the ground. This would make the child strong. The cord was first tied twice and then severed between the knots with a bamboo knife. |
'ifi = Tahitian chesnut
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Category: | Birth(8) | Topic: | Birth Rites | Consultant: | |
Asute (or majau) was the name of the nurse to women at childbirth. She was not a relation, but had a more or less professional standing in the community. No men were allowed to be present, but the mother of the girl assists. There appear to be no tabus in connection with delivery. The delivery was behind a screen in the house. Other members of the family might sit on the opposite side. Mrs. Carew said that the actual father always was at the birth of a child. He may not have witnessed it, however. |
Mrs. Carew was wife of the Resident Commissioner, William Carew | ||||
Category: | Birth(9) | Topic: | Birth Rites | Consultant: | Undisclosed | |
When a woman's birth pains came on, all the people came in the house and crowd around her. The name of this crowding is looking at pain ('io ru). They would cast lots as to when and who would assist the woman. The person chosen would kneel down and sit to rohoa, to hold her up in her arms. | ||||||
Category: | Birth(10) | Topic: | Birth Rites | Consultant: | |
When a woman is about to deliver a child, a midwife is called in, and with the mother of the girl and the husband attend her. One woman sits on the floor with her legs stretched out straight. The pregnant woman sits in her lap and from the description delivers the child over the side of the leg of the first woman. A mixture of kauta, hibiscus, and rau puka mixed with water are given to the woman to help along the delivery. Also the abdomen is massaged and the child pushed down. The sitting of the mother on the midwife's? lap is called palafa. The husband is there to bring things that the two women may call for. He also digs a hole in the ground and buries the after-birth. The umbilical cord is cut off and put in a native gourd with mena and is kept in the house. |
mena = turmeric | ||||
Category: | Birth(11) | Topic: | Birth Rites | Consultant: | |
A woman is attended when giving birth to a child by a midwife and perhaps more assistants and her husband. When the child is born it may have its nose clotted with blood and matter. This the midwife must lick it off. She then takes the child outside the house and tosses it up in the air to Tagaroa. This will keep the child from having frights in the future. The baby is first given some coconut oil (probably grated coconut with it too) inside a piece of tapa to suck. Then it is put to the mother's breasts. Later it is given säe = a variety of banana which grows perfectly erect, not hanging over. This säe must be picked just as it matures and is then cooked. When it is overripe, it is used for fekei, or pudding. The next food the child gets is niu varvari. This coconut is chewed. Then china bananas are given it, but these are a recent introduction. After the delivery the mother must lie absolutely still for ten days. She lies on her back with her legs together and her arms crossed. This is to allow the vulva to come back into shape properly, and to keep her breasts from sagging so that one will not become larger than the other. After the birth she is immediately smeared with mena or turmeric and covered over with soft tapa. She is stuffed with all kinds of native food. Charlie has seen a woman take four good sized coconuts and other food shortly after a birth. When she is to eat, she is lifted very carefully under the arms to a sitting position and then someone sits back-to-back with her while she eats. |
säe = banana type with upright bunches (mountain plantain, Musa troglodytarum) niu varvari = a young coconut | ||||
Category: | Birth(12) | Topic: | Birth Rites | Consultant: | ||
When the child was born the baby was smeared with Rotuman oil and then they would scrape coconut and bring the squeezed milk for the child. This was a laxative for the child. Then it was put to suckle. | ||||||
Category: | Birth(13) | Topic: | Birth Rites | Consultant: | ||
If a boy is born he is tossed up to the sky with a prayer that he may be strong and brave in war. He is tossed by members of the mother's family, with great shouts by all those around. Tossed to Tagate Iroa who was predicted by Tagaroa. The first child was born in the wife's house only because her family were the ones to minister to her. | ||||||
Category: | Birth(14) | Topic: | First Born | Consultant: | Undisclosed |
As soon as a first son is born they run outside and toss it in the air and say "give him to Tagroa that he may become fortunate, strong and be a fighting man." When the first child was to be born, they would do some weaving. The parents of the man and the parents of the woman would weave two things: mafuaga (name of mat). And the birth would be celebrated in this way. The two mafuaga, mats and food would be gathered, two white mats and one floor mat. At the end of the oj'aki feast they call out the number of mats and amount of food. Call out speech is given on the first day and feasting ends then. If not called till the fifth day, feasting ends then, otherwise on the tenth day. |
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Category: | Birth(15) | Topic: | First Born | Consultant: | Undisclosed | |
All relatives of parents would gather and cry out, "I shall speak about this first born child." Five to ten days (first born child called oj'aki). Length of feast if not singing out on the first day to end it, 5th day to end, then ten days feasting otherwise. | ||||||
Category: | Birth(16) | Topic: | First born | Consultant: | Michele | |
The first child is looked upon with some importance. He is called the le'ne oj'aki. Both families bring presents of mats to the baby, and there is a feast afterwards. This only happens for the first child. When he grows up he will lead the children of the family and have charge of all the land they inherit. |
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Category: | Birth(17) | Topic: | Paternity | Consultant: | |
At the birth of a child the real father always attends. The woman attendant always says "If this be the real father, let the birth be easy". A difficult delivery means the man is not the real father. | |||||
Category: | Birth(18) | Topic: | Prematurity | Consultant: | |
An uarepa is a prematurely born child, "one whose bones in the head are not joined", or a miscarriage. The souls of such children have a particular dwelling place. From time to time they covered their heads with something white and would move along slowly and when anyone saw them or did anything to them, they would just lie on the ground, and appear like the glow of rotten wood (there often appears in rotten wood a phosphorescent centipede). The lower surface of the uarepa was just a mass of children's legs. Le'e lau is the term for a prematurely born child. | uarepa = spirit type | ||||
Category: | Birth(19) | Topic: | Twins | Consultant: | Rosarima |
When twins were born, they were taken immediately to the sau "to be praised", and then they were taken to their house where they must be kept until they were able to walk. At the death of one, the live twin was laid across the threshold of the house and the dead one was carried over him, to take away the bad luck and allow the other to live a long time. (It may be that the Rotumans thought that twins were one, and what affected one would affect the other. Whatever had killed one might be in the other, but the passing over of the dead body might carry or attract this influence away and allow the one left behind to live on safely. Some such unity is obvious also in the twin's marriage ceremony.) In the marriage only one was considered married, though both sat with the second party of the ceremony. |
see twins at marriage and twins at burial | ||||
Category: | Birth(20) | Topic: | Naming | Consultant: | ||
A child receives its first name from a godfather or godmother at the parents' request. This name can be taken away by the godparent because of a quarrel etc. with the parent. Superstitious fear will cause the parent to give the child another name. | ||||||
Category: | Birth(21) | Topic: | Naming | Consultant: | Michele |
Godfather If the sigoa did not like the way the child was cared for or became angry at the parents, he could withdraw his name from the child. The parents could also change the name of the child. The sigoa held the power to curse the child. This power is called ha'a. Ha'a The father's sister had a special power to curse the brother's child, but the grandmother's curse was worst. The curse was usually to prevent the children from having any descendants. |
sigoa = namesake | ||||
Category: | Birth(22) | Topic: | Hair cutting | Consultant: | |
After the baby's hair has grown long enough to cut, there is a great feast in which white mats and presents are brought to the child. The hair is cut off for both boys and girls. The marriage lock may or may not be left to grow at this time. If it is cut off now, it will be left to grow at a later cutting. |
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Category: | Birth(23) | Topic: | Hair cutting | Consultant: | |
After the first hair cutting, in which the lock may be left or cut and allowed to grow later, a lock over one of the temples or from the scalp is allowed to grow down to or just below the shoulders. This is kept until the boy is married when it is cut. | cutting the lock at marriage = 'öf sope | ||||
Category: | Birth(24) | Topic: | Head deformation | Consultant: | ||
According to Catherine there was no attempt made in Rotuma to give the child's head a deformed or even symmetrical shape. In Tonga, Futuna and Uvea she said it was different. There they bound the butt of a coconut frond around the head so that it would be a round, well-shaped, head. This was put over the forehead to keep the child from rolling its head on one side or the other (This would also tend to make the back flat.) To make the back of the head flat the butt was tied across the occiput (Source of her information on other islands unknown.). As soon as a child was born they pulled the tip of its nose out to make it long and high. They did not want a flattened nose. There was no practice of bleaching young girls before marriage. |
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Category: | Birth(25) | Topic: | Head deformation | Consultant: | ||
The head of a baby is always shaped by flattening the sides and especially the occiput. The flat back of the head is considered beautiful. After some telling of shaping the head, Jakopi said that the head was not shaped by the hands but laying the baby's head on one side and then the other. | ||||||
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