KZBlog

Not another post about medical services but about traditions and superstitions about birth in Kazakhstan. I recently heard that pregnant women are not allowed to eat camel meat because it can make the pregnancy longer. I had never heard that before so I started asking about other beliefs about mothering and children. Of course, I have no idea how widespread these traditions are or how well-followed they are these days, but some of them were pretty interesting.

Instead of camel, traditionally mothers are supposed to eat predator meat–wolf or tiger meat, for example–to ensure that her son is strong and brave, although this is no longer really possible. Rabbit meat is also good because it makes the child fast and nimble, but too much will make him weak. I think they wanted to say that if the child is too nimble, he will run instead of fighting, but I couldn’t swear to that.

Traditionally, if you are visiting the house of a pregnant or nursing woman, you must bring a gift or something bad will happen to the mother or the baby.

One tradition that I know is still followed today by many is that the child is never named before their birth. Giving the child a name can “jinx” or tempt fate to make them die before they are born. Another is that men are not allowed to be present at the birth. But it’s mainly to protect the men who are in danger of being polluted by all the “womanliness” of the birth. Sending out birth announcements or invitations to see a new baby is also a sign of hubris that can lead to your child being struck down by the gods. You shouldn’t talk to much about a birth or make a big deal of visiting a newborn. And of course men can’t visit a house where a baby has been born for ten days.

By custom the baby is not bathed for three days. Some people seem to think that this is once again in case it dies early, and some people thought it was to not wash off its newborn soul. There used to be some kind of traditional bath made from sheep broth and the afterbirth, but no one I was talking to had ever seen it before.

Any traditions I left off? Any one know how many of these traditions are kept up these days?