Protect Your Baby 101

Oftentimes things in the Philippines seem so modern, and lets be honest they are. Our country director came to visit last week and over a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches, iced tea and sun chips she told us about her own Peace Corps experience. She served twenty years ago in Mauritania. Her experience included an hour walk every day to water, living with a host family in a small hut with no front door, traveling with camels, and storing water in a goat's skin.

I guess we were expecting two years in a traditional culture with deep customs. So sometimes it feels a little discouraging to walk around and see corner stores filled with candy, chips and coke, hear the latest American top-20 songs and ride around in nice cars and buses. Of course these conveniences make things easier in many ways. They can also make it feel that what remained of the local culture has been swept away with technology, convenience and the disease of consumerism.
That's why I love talking with the teachers at my school. Really talking with them. Recently there was discussion of giving birth and becoming a mom. I asked the teachers what kind of things they do here when children are born and the initial response was nothing special. But then people started sharing their stories. The one woman who works in our canteen gave birth to two of her children by herself in her house. Another (young 20-something teacher) told about a problem she had because she tried bathing a few days after giving birth, rather than the traditional 8 days. All the teachers agreed that the baby's umbilical cord should be kept and hidden somewhere safe; usually it is put in the roof, but one young teacher said her son's is in the kitchen cupboard. They also said they keep the baby's first nail clippings (possibly in an envelope in their purse) and hair from his/her first hair cut (yup we do that in the State's too).

Another "must" for babies is the contra-bati. This is usually a bracelet worn on the wrist or a small red pillow pinned to the baby's shirt. It is to deflect compliments lest someone/something evil hears and tries to harm the baby. A lot of families will not cut their child's hair until his first birthday. No one seemed to know why this is done, except that it is bad luck if one does cut it.Mira, one of my co-teachers with her son. He is wearing a contra-bati on his wrist. Most of the ones in our area have orange and black beads. You can buy them at the market from old women who come from the mountains. They also sell an assortment of herbal medicines. Another teacher's daughter. She has the contra-bati on her wrist and also in the form of the red pillow.Ten month old Gian with his long long hair. His family said it looked like a chicken's comb because his mom craved chicken heads during her pregnancy.A little guy and his mom at a mangrove planting. Some kids have the sting earrings in their ears. Haven't asked yet what they are for, but I will soon.