Anthro 325 Final Essay Prompts

conception in Bali

• the intermingling of male and female souls

• fetus believed to be the reincarnation of an ancestor

pregnancy and birth in Bali

• managed by a balian, a knowledgeable healer with a strong bayu that can ward off evil spirits

• vulnerable time for the reincarnated ancestor in the womb

• make frequent offerings to ancestors and the gods to obtain protection from witches

• make offerings to the four sibling spirits to protect and nourish the fetus

  • present in blood, amniotic fluid, placenta, umbilical cord, and waxy vernix

• dietary restrictions during pregnancy include avoiding “hot foods” which can cause illness and rejecting food from a ritually impure person

fetal personhood in Bali

• children seen as divine and gifts from the gods, they are highly valued and should be treated with respect

• infant’s feet should not touch the ground for the first 210 days (a liminal state between the divine and human world)

• named after 105 days

• the otonan ceremony at 210 days marks the transition from the divine world into the human world as the infant’s feet touch the ground for the first time

  • purpose is purification and provision of spiritual strength

conception in Turkey

• women are the “soil” (vessel for life), men are the “seed” (creators of life)

  • infertility considered the woman’s fault, not the man’s

  • seed determines what the child will be like

• intercourse viewed as unclean happening within the woman, whereas men are outside of it

pregnancy and birth in Turkey

• pregnancies should not be advertised since they are evidence of having had intercourse

• first 40 days are vulnerable and women should avoid menstruating women, bad smells, the cold, and jealous people who could bring evil eye

• pregnant women have strong powers and must avoid new babies to avoid hurting them or making them ill

• birth is not feared and attended to only by women, lead by mother-in-law

  • shameful for any man to see a woman’s genitals

fetal personhood in Turkey

• male fetuses are given souls after 40 days gestation

• female fetuses are given souls after 80 days gestation

• fetus becomes a person once given a name by paternal grandfather

Yurok moontime menstruation taboos

• negative view: menstruation seen as contaminating, poisonous, women must be isolated to avoid polluting family, food, and home

• positive view: menstruation seen as the height of feminine powers, time to contemplate her life purpose and meditate, accumulation of spiritual energy without wasting energy on mundane tasks or distractions from men

  • release of blood purifies woman in preparation for spiritual accomplishment

personhood

the social recognition of a being as a valuable life and member of a community, socially recognized moral status, established at social birth, anchors infant into mortal world, not inherent or natural

C-sections in Turkey

• government began to care about c-section rates in response to a growing Kurdish population, as they believed c-sections would limit Turkish women’s abilities to have multiple children and they did not want to be outnumbered by the Kurds in their own country

  • pronatalism: promoting the reproduction of Turkish population

  • nativism: favoring Turkish births over immigrant/Kurdish births

• government unsucessfully attempted to ban elective c-sections

C-sections of Somali refugees in Kenya

• culturally/religiously important for Somali people to hae many children and a large family

• c-sections are viewed as hinderances to their future ability to have more children and are strongly avoided by birthing women, though sometimes encouraged by male relatives out of concern for the mother’s well-being

• women viewed as stronger and in a more positive light if they are able to deliver vaginally, c-sections regarded with a sense of shame

• choosing a vaginal delivery seen as allowing women to retain autonomy that would be compromised by (often) male physcians who would perform a c-section