Newborn and Naming a Child In the o

Newborn and Naming a Child
In the old days Shan women bore the child by themselves through natural process since there
was no hospital. The mother or a wise woman (untrained but experienced midwife) used to give the
necessary help at an infant’s birth. If labor was slow and difficult the helper gently massage the
abdomen to assist delivery and warm water was given to the mother to drink. The warm water was not
heated on the fire in the usual way but by dropping hot stones into it. This method of boiling the water
was never done in normal circumstances unless the water was to be used for medicinal purposes. The
umbilical cord of the baby was severed by a piece of newly cut bamboo skin, which had been sharpened
for cutting. During the birth the husband did not stay in the room. He was, however, closed at hand to
take care of placenta and umbilical cord after birth. The father first washed placenta and umbilical cord
gently, then rolled them in a banana leaf, placed them with care in a deep hole, which he had been just
dug under the steps of the house and buried the placenta under the earth. It was believed that by doing

34 A Thousand Miles on an Elephant in Shan States by Holt Samuel Hallett, published by W. Blackwood and sons, 1890,
p82
Shan people and their culture 21
this way it was very important for the future health and happiness of the child. It was also important
that the father should wear a smiling face while he was digging the hole and depositing the banana leaf
and its contents. If he, at that time, looked angry, the child would be cursed with a bad temper when
grew up. Burying the afterbirth under the steps of the house was also believed to bring more children to
the family. If a child was born with the umbilical cord rounded his neck it was considered a sign of
great good fortune. They believed that a baby that was born with moles on any part of the body except
under the eye was thought lucky. It was considered fortunate to be born with two thumbs on the same
hand. After the child was born the father and mother sleep in separate rooms for two to three months. A
boy would bring more gladness into the family than a girl, as all Shan believed that a man stands on a
higher stage of existence than woman.35