Pregnancy and Birth, Body and Soul

Abstract

As soon as a girl has given the wedding-sago, baj-naki, to a young man, she is looked upon as his wife. Every time she has her monthly period she must inform her husband and on those days both must abstain from eating fish and the man from smoking tobacco. The akiaq says, “Woman, when you bake fresh sago, make it known if you have your menstruation. If you do not tell your husband, he will beat you. Your husband might eat fish and smoke; if he wishes, he is allowed to smoke sago fibres (the filter in his pipe).” The woman is not allowed to go fishing in the swamps because her blood might drive away the fish. If a wife does not inform her husband about her menstrual period, he will take it so ill that he will beat her up, because he is put to shame in front of the other women who certainly know about his wife’s menstruation. The akiaq continues, “Men, if you divide fish while your wife has her monthly period, your legs will swell. When you work, your eye will no longer be steady, you will get weak and become very thin. Observe the abstinence.”