Magic for birth and childhood

Birth and childhood are surrounded by protection because newborns and mothers are seen as especially vulnerable. Customs include the Indian black dot and kajal, the Turkish blue bead pinned to a baby, the Jewish red thread and the pidyon haben, the Chinese month of confinement, the Ghanaian outdooring, Yoruba naming ceremonies, the Italian cornicello and the Mexican red bracelet. This page looks at what these practices are said to do and what safe care requires.

Protecting mother and child

Many cultures ward off envy, spirits and illness during the early weeks. Mothers rest and are fed special foods, and visitors may be limited. Charms are hung over cradles and pinned to clothes. In many places the child is not named or shown to outsiders until a safe period has passed, and the naming is the moment of acceptance into the community. Families may also hold a feast for neighbours and kin, which spreads the work and the joy.

Naming and welcome

Naming rites place the baby among kin and ancestors. In Ghana the Akan outdooring takes place on the eighth day. In Hindu tradition, the namakarana is held in the first weeks. Muslim families whisper the call to prayer in the child's ear and hold an aqiqah. Jewish families hold a brit milah or a naming ceremony. In many African traditions a child is thought to be an ancestor returned. Parents in several regions tie a knot or a bead on the baby and keep a lamp lit through the first nights.

Midwives and women's knowledge

Midwives hold much of this knowledge, and many are respected elders. Their role has been undermined by medicalisation in some places and valued in others. In colonial and early modern Europe, midwives were sometimes accused of witchcraft. Today, many programmes train traditional birth attendants to work with clinics, because skilled medical care greatly reduces risk. Other customs, such as a month of confinement or the burying of the placenta, are held in many families and also have health consequences that vary from region to region.

Harm and care

Some customs harm: infants taken from care for rituals, twins or disabled children believed to bring misfortune, and, in some places, children accused of being witches. Others have been outlawed or reformed. Anyone with a pregnant or newborn child should seek proper medical care, whatever protective customs a family also keeps. Fathers and relatives share in the rites, and the first outing of the child, the first haircut and the first solid food are all marked in different cultures.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source

Fortuna: Charles Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

Lauma: Raki_Man, CC BY 3.0, source

Penanggalan: Hi I really try my best here, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source

Philippine mythology: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source

Norns: file: James Steakley ; artwork: Gustav Heidenreich, Public domain, source

Changeling: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source

Domovoy: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source

Kami: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Abyzou: Paul Perdirizet (1870-4 juin 1938), Public domain, source

Mae Nak Phra Khanong: Xufanc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source

Anjana: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source

Birth and childhood: practices that mark them