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Birthing Traditions Still Practiced Today In Some African Tribes

Birthing Traditions Still Practiced Today In Some African Tribes

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When you think of the sterile hospital rooms, drugs and enormous medical staff involved in some urban hospital maternity wards, you’ll gain a lot of respect for the women of these African tribes. These birthing traditions are still practiced today in some African tribes.

Source: Africantribesuws.wordpress.com, Spiritualbirth.net

Flickr.com
Flickr.com

 

A mother’s help

In the Kenyan tribe Samburu, a pregnant woman lives with the father of the child until giving birth. After having the child, the mother moves in with her mother for several years. The idea behind it is that, after having a baby, a woman has “made an error” and isn’t allowed to see or speak to her husband for a while.

Namibian_Bushmen_Girls (1)

Giving birth gets respect

Among the San of Southern Africa who live in the Kalahari desert, when a woman gives birth she earns status and social recognition.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

Cleaning the cord

In the Umtata tribe of the Eastern Cape, friends and family of the pregnant woman prepare a cleansing substance of ash, sugar and a certain poisonous fruit. This substance is used to essentially clean the umbilical cord when it’s cut.

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

Smoking out the fear

The Umtata tribe practices the sifudu tradition, burning a pungent leaf and turning the baby over the smoke of the fire. The tradition is meant to ensure the baby will never be afraid of anything as an adult.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

 

Painting away the evil

After performing Sifudu, some women of the Umtata tribe covers their babies in a white substance called ingceke collected from a riverbank. The substance is mixed with a strong-smelling wood meant to scare off evil spirits.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

Caesareans are looked down upon

In many Congolese tribes, having a caesarean is seen as a failure on the woman’s part. Many Congolese women do deliver babies in a hospital, but often opt out of cesareans.

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

The name is the identity

In some Congolese tribes, a baby is not viewed as a whole person until he or she is named. A popular naming method includes a Christian first name followed by two Congolese traditional names.

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

The mother’s side chooses the name

Often in Congolese tribes, either the mother, or the mother’s sister or brother chooses the baby’s name.

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

Birth as a strength builder

Among the !Kung — a small nomadic group that lives in Botswana, Namibia and Angola — women are not supposed to seek any sort of pain relief during childbirth. They’re taught to endure the pain without showing fear. Many even give birth in a squatting position without assistance.

Nomadicmatt.com
Nomadicmatt.com

 

Moods transfer into birth

Among the San, it is believed that the thoughts, emotions and experiences a woman has during pregnancy will affect her experience in labor and the birth of her child. For this reason, pregnant women usually carry on their normal life and duties, with the belief this will render them strong and energized for labor.

Pixabay.com
Pixabay.com

 

Learning by observing

Among the San, young girls are encouraged to watch other women give birth so they conquer their fears around the experience. There is an unspoken understanding that the girls are not to speak of their fears about childbirth.

Acacia tree. Photo: seedsforafrica.co.za

Burying the placenta

San women of Southern Africa often bite the umbilical cord and bury it before walking back into their village. The idea is that it is the mother’s duty to return the cord to Mother Nature.