Changing Customs and Rituals in Childbirth and Child-rearing

Chapter 4

CHANGES IN CUSTOMS AND RITUALS IN THE HUMAN LIFE CYCLE BEFORE AND AFTER THE RENOVATION

Customs and rituals that are central to the human life cycle are among the most profound expressions of ethnic cultural identity, have lasting vitality, and are slow to change.

In this thesis, we focus on studying and evaluating customs and rituals in the human life cycle on four main contents: Customs and rituals in childbirth and child rearing; customs and rituals in weddings; customs and rituals in initiation ceremonies and customs and rituals in funerals .

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4.1. Changes in customs and rituals in childbirth and child-rearing

4.1.1. Customs and rituals in childbirth and child-rearing before Renovation

Similar to many ethnic groups in Vietnam and other groups in the Dao ethnic group, the Dao Quan Trang people attach great importance to childbirth. They believe that one of the important criteria for a woman is to know how to give birth. Due to the importance of childbirth, many customs and rituals related to this matter have been formed in life.

* In the care and protection of the fetus

Taking care of and protecting the fetus, in addition to protecting the mother, is also very important for the development of the fetus and the child born later. During pregnancy, women often receive attention and thoughtful care from family members, especially the husband. They often give delicious and nutritious foods such as meat, fish, sticky rice, etc. to the pregnant woman with the hope that the pregnant woman and the fetus will be healthy. During this time, the woman still lives and does all the daily work like other women, only resting or doing light work when tired. When the pregnant woman is sick, the family often uses some folk remedies for treatment. In case the medicine does not work for a long time, the family will prepare some offerings to worship the ancestors or hold a soul calling ceremony.

Pregnant women often have to abstain from many things from daily activities to eating and drinking: In daily activities, they often do not "have sex" with their husbands for fear of harming the fetus in their womb; do not sew or embroider in the house because they believe that doing that work will give birth to many daughters. Every time they go outside, even in the shade, they must wear a hat or else

The Jade Emperor will punish those who see "dirty people" for causing miscarriages; avoid touching seeds for fear that they will not grow; avoid stepping over ropes tied to cows for fear of difficult births. In eating, they avoid eating animals that have been bitten by tigers; do not eat hawk meat; do not eat pupae, frog meat, snake meat... During the time the wife is pregnant, the husband must also follow some taboos such as not killing, not beating snakes, not driving stakes, not pulling ropes in the opposite direction (pulling from the top), and not carrying the dead to bury.

Thus, the customs and rituals in traditional pregnancy care of the Dao Quan Trang people are mainly based on folk knowledge and experience, which is a combination of daily activities, eating, using medicine with performing worship rituals... Taboos do not only stop at pregnant women but also at family members, especially the husband. All of these are with the wish for the pregnant woman and fetus to be healthy. The fact that pregnant women have to perform many taboos will significantly affect their daily life. In particular, abstaining too much in eating and drinking in already difficult economic conditions will affect the nutritional regime of pregnant women and fetuses, leading to many children being born malnourished, and women often suffering from postpartum problems.

* During childbirth

When a woman shows signs of labor, the family often lights a fire near where the woman is giving birth - this fire is maintained for a period of time depending on the weather but at least a few days. In addition to warming the body, helping blood circulation, and repelling insects, lighting a fire also has the spiritual meaning of warding off evil spirits.

The Dao Quan Trang people have the custom of giving birth sitting down and right where the couple sleeps. They abstain from giving birth in someone else's house, even the woman's parents' house - except in the case of being a son-in-law. When giving birth, the woman usually sits on a bed or a chair, her whole body is covered with a blanket and a cushion is placed underneath to receive the child. Normally, the woman does the work herself, if there is any difficulty, she will need the help of her husband, mother or another woman, regardless of the case, the father-in-law and the husband's brothers are not allowed to come near the place of birth. If the case of labor (labor pain) lasts a long time but still does not give birth, some remedies and "tricks" are used to treat the child.

Folklore techniques were applied and eventually a ceremony had to be held.

When the baby is born, they use bamboo sticks or scissors to cut the umbilical cord, and the baby's umbilical cord and placenta are buried in the forest. After cutting the umbilical cord, the baby is bathed and wrapped in diapers to lie next to the mother. The mother is put to bed and given a bowl of medicine made from some leaves. If she feels hungry, she is given rice immediately.

During the confinement period, mothers are taken care of very carefully. They are often fed the best food that the family has, such as lean pork, turmeric-fried chicken, sticky rice, soybeans, eggs, etc., and especially soups made from traditional herbs found in the forest. Eating nutritious foods and bathing with traditional remedies helps women quickly recover their health and produce more milk for their children. During this time, mothers should abstain from eating sour foods (pickles, oranges, lemons), fish, and foods that have been stored for a long time for fear that their children will have diarrhea. They should also abstain from fats and watery vegetables (cabbage).

When someone gives birth in the house, the family hangs (or sticks) a bunch of leaves outside the stairs as a sign. That sign, on the one hand, is to warn outsiders, especially strangers, not to enter the house and cause bad influence on the child. On the other hand, for outsiders, especially the shaman who is preparing for the coming-of-age ceremony or the vegetarian ceremony, they know and should not enter for fear of “bad luck”.

During the confinement period, due to the concept of “uncleanness”, mothers usually only stay in their own room, and if they carry their children, they can only stay around the kitchen (the kitchen is near the couple’s sleeping area). They are not allowed to carry their children near the altar and the living room, are not allowed to go to the wine cellar, are not allowed to pick vegetables… and especially mothers are often not allowed to go to anyone’s house because they believe that it will cause “bad luck” for that house and they are afraid that their ancestors will laugh at them and bring disaster to the child. However, for women who give birth to their second child or more, if their family has few workers, they only rest for about ten days (depending on their health) before they start doing housework again, even going to the fields or the fields. They also pay attention to maintaining their health because they are afraid that illness will be a burden to the family and sometimes they have to organize expensive worship ceremonies.

* In raising children

Newborn babies are mainly breastfed in the first months. Depending on the mother's milk supply, the baby may be fed sooner or later. Babies are often bathed in green tea leaves or other types of leaves.

Three days after birth, the family holds a small ceremony to inform the ancestors and pray for their continued blessing on the child. During this ceremony, the child

Children are also given names – the child’s name does not match that of family members and relatives. However, when the child is young, people rarely call him by his real name but usually call him in order. Later, when the family has the means, they will hold a name-changing ceremony. The time of the name-changing ceremony depends on each family, but it must be done before the coming-of-age ceremony (the name must be changed before the coming-of-age ceremony can be held).

When a child is 30 days old, the family will hold a full month ceremony for the child. Depending on the family's circumstances, the full month ceremony can be held on a large or small scale. Usually, the family will invite grandparents and relatives such as aunts, uncles, or some friends of the parents to come to congratulate.

From the full moon day, the child's space is no longer limited to the room but is often brought to the outside rooms, taken out to play and begin to integrate with everyone. From here, the child begins to enter the process of socialization.

Children grow up in the family in the loving arms of grandparents, parents and other relatives. Every day, they are passed on ethnic cultural values, ethical values, and skills in working and earning a living to integrate into the ethnic community.

4.1.2. Changes in customs and rituals in childbirth and child-rearing

Since the Doi Moi (Renovation) period, the Dao Quan Trang people in Tan Huong commune, Yen Binh district, Yen Bai province still attach great importance to the issue of childbirth, still consider childbirth as the happiness of women in particular, of couples and families in general. However, customs, practices and rituals in this matter have changed a lot compared to tradition.

* Change in concept

Nowadays, the concept of “many children, many assets”, “each child, each fortune”, has not received the approval of many couples, especially young couples. If in the past, families often had 5 to 6 children or even 10 children, now, families only have 2 to 3 children and many couples only have 2 children. They have become aware of the difficulties and hardships of having many children such as lack of land for production, difficulties in developing the family economy, in raising and investing in education. The concept of having a son is now somewhat more open. However, this is still a burden for many couples but mainly comes from psychological factors (wanting to have a son to continue the family lineage, to be equal to friends). The following opinions have shown us more clearly this.

“In the past, our family often wanted to have many children, but now

The children are different now, they are afraid that having many children will be hard, and it is really hard, there are no fields or fields to work on." (BVT, male, 65 years old).

“Now we only have two children. If we have more children, we won't have anything to feed them and we still have to send them to school” (TTS, female, 23 years old).

“I would be fine with any child, but I still prefer a son. Without a son, I would be annoyed if my friends teased me when I went out.” (Đ.VB, male, 32 years old).

The notion of “dirtiness” and “unluckiness” for women during pregnancy and confinement is no longer as heavy as it used to be. Families and communities are also aware that women need the most care and attention during pregnancy and childbirth. Currently, pregnant women receive regular prenatal checkups at the commune health station. Although there are still cases of home birth, the vast majority of them go to the health station. Due to good medical care during pregnancy and childbirth, the infant mortality rate has decreased significantly.

* Change the taboos

Nowadays, the taboos of women and their families during pregnancy and childbirth still exist but have changed significantly. To ensure the health and nutrition of pregnant women and fetuses, pregnant women still live normally as usual. When there are unusual symptoms, they will go to medical facilities for examination. Taboos in eating and drinking are mainly prescribed by medical staff, doctors and health care documents. Unreasonable taboos in childbirth such as not contacting strangers, not going near the altar, not going to the place where alcohol is brewed... have been limited and mainly focus on the psychological aspect, meaning that when the elderly tell them to abstain, they also abstain from some things for peace of mind, but in reality, many people no longer believe in those taboos. In the past, women only gave birth in the couple's bedroom, but today, they choose medical stations as the place to give birth (where there are conditions to handle problems in childbirth scientifically) to avoid risks, especially difficult births. Here are some opinions on this issue extracted from in-depth interviews.

“In the past, women had to abstain from many things during pregnancy and childbirth, but now many of them have been eliminated. They abstain according to the instructions of medical staff.” (LTM, female, 48 years old).

“I also have some taboos and some things I don’t. My grandmother and mother also said that I have to abstain from certain things. I don’t really believe it, but sometimes I abstain to make sure that my grandmother and mother are comfortable.” (BTP, female, 32 years old).

“We are regularly trained in reproductive health care, the

She (the nurse) also gave us documents to read. I still followed what the elders mentioned, but if it was too unreasonable, I stopped." (BTS, female, 26 years old).

“In the past, Dao women mainly gave birth in the room, which was hot and unhygienic. Now it is different, there are still cases of women giving birth at home but they ask nurses to help. The majority of women give birth at the health station, especially those giving birth for the first time.” (HTM, female, 48 years old - commune health station).

* Transforming rituals

In the past, taking care of pregnant women and giving birth and raising children had a characteristic that the family organized many ceremonies. These ceremonies are still performed by many families today, but there have been changes. The ceremonies are often simplified in terms of method, offerings, time, and who performs them. For example, in the naming ceremony when the child is three days old, the family only prepares a small offering (a stick of boiled pork or a chicken), then the father (or grandfather) of the child lights incense on the altar to inform the ancestors, hoping that the ancestors will bless and protect the family. With these ceremonies, the family does not have to invite a shaman anymore. Or in the case of a woman giving birth at home, if there is any danger, the family often organizes to take the mother to a medical facility for emergency care immediately, and if there is a ceremony, it is also held after that.

Thus, it can be seen that, up to now, the customs and rituals in childbirth and child-rearing of the Dao Quan Trang people in Tan Huong commune have undergone many changes, which are reflected in aspects from concepts, performing rituals to taboos. The changes take place in the following trend: Outdated and backward concepts are gradually eliminated; unreasonable taboos that affect the health and nutrition of pregnant women, fetuses, mothers and children are no longer performed; costly and superstitious rituals have been limited.

The strong change in customs and rituals in childbirth and child-rearing towards progress stems from many causes, including the following main causes: First, it is the success of the "Movement for the whole people to unite to build a new cultural life" , implementing the "New Lifestyle". This movement is aimed at all subjects, ethnic groups including the Dao Quan Trang community. The people have absorbed and changed their awareness and behavior in childbirth and child-rearing. Second, it is due to the strong development of the medical network. In addition to state medical facilities, the area currently has

both private health facilities. The health network has contributed greatly to health care for the people in general and reproductive health care in particular.

4.2. Changes in customs and rituals in the coming-of-age ceremony

The coming-of-age ceremony is an important ritual in the life of a Dao ethnic man. This ritual is performed in all Dao groups, however, each group has certain differences in the concept and method of performing the ritual. It can be said that the coming-of-age ceremony is a unique cultural activity of the Dao people in general and of the Dao Quan Trang group in particular. Therefore, we will focus on evaluating this content in more detail than other content.

4.2.1. Customs and rituals in the coming-of-age ceremony before Renovation

The Cap Sac ( co phe or plowing ) ceremony of the Dao Quan Trang group (also known as Lap Tich or Lap Tinh) is the naming ceremony. According to tradition, most males from 10 years old and up must undergo this ceremony (this Dao group does not perform the Cap Sac ceremony for people under 10 years old).

According to the concept of the Dao Quan Trang people in Tan Huong commune, Yen Binh district, Yen Bai province, a son must go through this ritual to be recognized by the community as an adult and have a position in the family, clan and community and they can participate in religious and belief activities. Specifically, in the family, they are prepared for the ceremony, can burn incense on the altar, can read the book to choose the date when carrying out important tasks, can receive guests, go to funerals... For the community, a person who has been granted a title can participate in rituals related to farming and animal husbandry and especially only after going through this ritual can he work as a shaman, teacher and doctor. The Dao Quan Trang people here also believe that a son who has gone through the title ceremony will be protected by the underworld soldiers and blessed by gods and ancestors. Furthermore, they believe that only those who have undergone this ritual can understand the customs of the community and can distinguish right from wrong. As for those who have not undergone this ritual, they are still considered “children” and are not allowed to participate in family and community rituals (not allowed to worship ancestors, only allowed to take on service work, especially when they die, they are not allowed to do vegetarian food and thus cannot return to their ancestors). Because of such beliefs, performing the coming-of-age ceremony is not only the wish but also the goal that must be achieved by all Dao Quan Trang men.

Having a coming of age ceremony is the wish of every family, but not everyone can afford it because it is quite expensive. To perform this ceremony, the family of the person receiving the ceremony often has to prepare many things such as food, wine, make ceremonial clothes for the person receiving the ceremony, choose a date, and invite a teacher. The preparation time can take up to a year and sometimes they even have to ask for help from relatives.

Before the coming of age ceremony, the person receiving the ordination must undergo a name change ceremony. According to the Dao Quan Trang people's belief, if they do not have a dharma name (negative name), they will never be ordained. The name change ceremony is held in the years when the person receiving the ordination is at an even age (10, 12, 14, etc.). To perform the name change ceremony, the family must go to the shaman's house to ask him to look at the book. Based on the date, month, and year of birth of the person receiving the ordination, the shaman will choose the day and month to perform the name change.

The name-changing ceremony is held at the recipient's home under the leadership of a shaman. After the shaman finishes reading the prayers to inform the ancestors and gods, the shaman guides the family to write down the names to choose. The shaman chooses a name, the recipient's father chooses a name, and the recipient's mother chooses a name. All three names are written on a piece of paper and placed on a winnowing basket and shaken back and forth. The name that falls to the ground three times will be chosen as the new name for the recipient. The chosen name must not coincide with the dharma name (sounding name) of people in the same family and clan. After the name-changing ceremony, the shaman will choose a date to perform the coming-of-age ceremony. When a suitable date is chosen, the whole family and the shaman will prepare for the coming-of-age ceremony.

Once the family has decided to hold the ordination ceremony for their child and has chosen a teacher, before the ceremony day, the family must take the ordination candidate to meet the teacher. The ordination candidate goes to the teacher’s house to worship the saints and Buddhas and perform the ceremony to accept the teacher. From now on, the ordination candidate must call the teacher “master” and the ordination candidate is called “young monk” by the teacher. Also on the day of accepting the teacher, the teacher will write a “written contract”, this “written contract” stipulates that the student must obey all arrangements of the teacher and the teacher is responsible for teaching and completing all procedures for the ordination candidate. This “written contract” is cut in half, the teacher keeps one half and the family of the ordination candidate keeps the other half.

The Coming of Age Ceremony of the Dao Quan Trang people in Tan Huong commune, Yen Binh district, Yen Bai province is usually held in the first and last months of the year (according to the lunar calendar) right at the recipient's house. The Coming of Age Ceremony is usually conducted according to the following process:

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