Symposium
Chair: Judy S. DeLoache
Discussant: Jerome S. Bruner
Do babies have the devil in them, or are they divine? Should parents talk to their infants, or is it a waste of valuabletime? Do babies need a daily bath--or two or three daily baths? Should a feverish baby be given aspirin or an amulet? This symposium will provide answers to these questions. In fact,it will provide several different, sometimes contradictory, answers toeach one. The primary goal of this set of four papers is to callattention to the vast diversity in how parents around the world go aboutcaring for their infants and raising them to become members of theirparticular society. We will emphasize how these cultural differences in caretakingpractices are related to differences in belief systems. To a greatextent, parents' decisions about how to treat their offspring are based ondeeply held beliefs and lay theories. This is true regardless of whetherthe decisions are singular, momentous ones, such as choosing a name anddetermining what religious rituals should be performed for anewborn; infrequent but still important matters, such as treating a sickbaby; or mundane practices, such as bathing, feeding, and painting designson a baby. The symposium will consist of four presentations, followed byintegrative comments from a discussant. Each presentation will focus on adifferent non-Western society--two in Africa, one in Southeast Asia, andone in Australia. Two of the presenters are anthropologists, two aredevelopmental psychologists, and the discussant is a developmentalpsychologist known for cross-cultural work in language and cognitivedevelopment. The descriptions of the infant care practices of three ofthe societies are based on syntheses of numerous published ethnographicaccounts of those societies; the fourth is based on the presenter's ownethnographic field research (among of the Beng of Ivory Coast). These four societies all follow very different childrearingagendas from what is commonly practiced in contemporary Westernsocieties. There are both commonalities and differences among the fourcultures in their beliefs and practices. For example, in all of them,newborns are considered to be reincarnated beings (ancestors or gods), andthey all stress the need to protect infants from dangerous evilspirits. However, the nature of the relation between the baby and theancestor or god he or she embodies is very different across the fourgroups, as are the childrearing practices based on thoserelations. Similarly, the prescriptions for protecting one's infantagainst evil spirits are quite different. All the societies employ manypractices to instill desirable traits in their children, but thepersonality characteristics that are considered desirable and how they areencouraged differ substantially. This symposium involves a rather unusual format for ICIS, but wethink it is important for developmental scientists to appreciate fully themyriad differences in the worlds that babies experience from birth invirtually every aspect of their daily lives. Our developmental theoriesmust be compatible with this diversity.
Details of individual items:
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In the West African nation of Cte d'Ivoire, if a Beng woman ishaving difficulty in childbirth, a diviner may appeal to spirits to callthe newborn by its preferred name from the afterlife, in order to coax thebaby out of the womb. But once emerged from the birth canal, the'newborn' has still not been born into this life but remains fully in the'afterlife' to which all people go once they die. To lure the baby intothis life, an old woman will sit by the newborn day and night rubbing anherbal mixture on the umbilical stump, to hasten drying it out. Only whenthe remnant of the umbilical cord drops off does the newborn begin toleave the afterlife and enter this life. That slow process may take fourto five years to complete. During that time, the infant and young childis vulnerable, tacking back and forth between the afterlife and this life,all too frequently deciding to remain in the afterlife. As the foregoing suggests, the Beng view of infants and infantdesires is dramatically different from the ideas that underlie commonWestern child-rearing practices. These conceptions have far-reachingconsequences for the ways that Beng parents and other caretakers raiseinfants. Although historical, economic, and political factors also comeinto play in explaining Beng infant care, I will focus here on the centralrole that religious beliefs play in early childrearing decisions andpractices. This paper illustrates the point that infant care practicesthat appear decidedly 'other' make sense when approached from anindigenous perspective--from the local world view of the infant's place inthe cosmos. The Beng are one of the smallest of approximately 60 ethnic groupsin Cte d'Ivoire (or Ivory Coast). The vast majority of Beng people stilllive in relatively small, farming villages. Until recently, most Bengengaged in religious practices oriented around spirits of their ancestorsas well as local spirits that were connected to a mystically powerfulEarth and Sky. Today, most Beng who have endorsed either Christianity orIslam continue to practice at least some components of their traditionalreligion, while only a few have completely converted. Religion is especially critical in shaping how Beng parents andothers engage with infants, as rich spiritual beliefs pervade much ofdaily infant care. Grandmothers and diviners play especially importantroles as advisors to new mothers. Grandmothers routinely show young womenthe important skills they will need in successful parenting, especiallyhow to administer chili pepper enemas to infants twice every day, how tobathe infants twice every day, what medicines to administer to sickbabies, and how to attach assorted items of jewelry to infants (evennewborns). Diviners provide more explicit guidance in the spiritualcosmology that underlies these daily practices, frequently urging mothersto buy jewelry and other treats for their infants that will remind thebabies of the life they were recently leading elsewhere, in the afterlife.
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The Warlpiri constitute one of at least 500 Aboriginal groups livingin Australia. Located primarily in settlements in the Central Desert ofAustralia's Northern Territory, they have historically been semi-nomadic,moving within loose boundaries throughout the desert according tofluctuations in weather and the availability of food and water. Today,some Warlpiri live a relatively 'modern' lifestyle in the cities, but mostdwell on the 'fringe,' living in small towns that evolved from governmentsettlements and missions. Religion and ritual, which permeate all aspectsof Warlpiri daily life, revolve around the concept of Jukurrpa, or theDreaming, an unspecified time that is simultaneously in the past and thepresent. All adults participate in many ceremonies to sustain and besustained by their ancestors from this time (Dussart, in press). Some Warlpiri have tried to return to a life in the 'settle-downcountry' in the desert, and to bring their own children 'into being' in amore Aboriginal way. The essential elements of 'borning' (Carter, et al.,1987; Nathan, 1987), or the Aboriginal way of coming into being, are verydifferent from the childbirth ideals imposed upon Aborigines by whitecolonialists over the past few centuries. Thus, a Warlpiri mother'spreparations would be quite different from those of a woman of Europeandescent. As part of the borning process, one must acknowledge thespiritual conception of the child in addition to the biological. Insteadof having a sonogram, a pregnant Warlpiri woman would likely try todetermine which conception spirit, or kurruwalpa, entered her body to makeher pregnant and give her child a spiritual identity. She would be advisedto avoid traveling in land inhabited by dangerous ancestral forces(Dussart, 1988), and be sure to avoid hurting any type of animal that islinked to her baby's spirit (Bell, 1983). In cases when advice is similar across cultures, the explanationsoffered can be quite different: A mother in the Western world is advisedto avoid fish and eggs because they are likely to be contaminated withbacteria (Eisenberg, Mukoff, & Hathaway, 1991), whereas the Warlpiri avoidthe same foods during pregnancy because they are too 'strong' (Meggitt,1965). A Warlpiri woman would also avoid strong foods such as emu andrabbit-bandicoot, as well as meat from animals with spiked body parts, suchas anteater or possum. It is very important that a Warlpiri baby is delivered directly ontothe ground, as the earth contains the spirits and life force that sustainthe Warlpiri people (Jackson, 1995). Upon her child's birth a mother wouldbe sure to 'smoke' her baby over smoking acacia leaves to give the infantstrength, and prepare a necklace of hair string and part of the umbilicalcord for her baby (Dussart, 1988). The father typically draws stripes withred ochre on the baby to encourage growth. Clearly, many of a Warlpiri mother's actions are very different from amodern, western standard. Yet, they also reflect the cultural beliefs ofthe parents and the community and help the child to become a valued memberof the society. Both the Warlpiri and 'white-fellah' mothers have theirchildren's interest and health in mind.
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This paper explores how religious beliefs and childrearing beliefs and practices are closely related in Bali, one of the approximately 6,000 populated islands of Indonesia. Although Indonesia is overwhelmingly Muslim, 95% of the population of Bali practices Balinese Hinduism. This version of Hinduism has been influenced both by Buddhism and by indigenous religious practices, such as ancestor worship and the giving of offerings to local spirits. The central tenets of Balinese Hinduism include the beliefs that every act has consequences and that one's soul is reincarnated after each death until a perfect life is attained and one's soul is unified with god (Jensen & Suryani, 1992). Playing a central role in Balinese daily life, religion has profoundly influenced many childrearing practices. A pregnant woman and her husband take several precautions to ensure the pregnancy is problem-free. For example, since the Balinese believe that for every positive force in the world, there is a counter-balancing evil force (Eisman, 1989), expectant parents are especially careful to make frequent offerings to their ancestors and gods in order to obtain protection for their unborn child from evil spirits. Expectant Balinese parents often hope for a boy, because sons and grandsons will one day be responsible for performing the cremation ceremony and purification rituals that allow the soul to be liberated upon death. A son is also necessary to maintain the house shrines to the ancestors and to carry on the family line (Lansing, 1995; Wiener, 1999). At birth, a newborn infant is considered divine, closer to the world of gods than to the human world. Having just arrived from heaven, an infant is treated as a celestial being. The infant is literally held high, as gods and members of higher rank are always elevated relative to their inferiors. In fact, for the first several months of a baby's life, the infant is never put down on the ground or floor, which is considered too profane for a god (Hobart, Ramseyer, & Leemann, 1996; Jensen & Suryani, 1992). The infant is carried at all times until the otonan ceremony, which marks the child's departure from the divine world into the human world. The infant is purified and given a cap to protect the fontanel and prevent evil spirits from entering (Eisman, 1989). At this point, the infant's feet are placed on the ground for the first time, acknowledging the child's full entry into the human world. Balinese parents believe that their child's character is their responsibility Ð the infant's temperament is manageable and shapeable (Wiener, 1999; Wikan, 1990). A spiritual healer can determine which ancestor's soul is reincarnated in the child and make recommendations about the ancestors' wishes for this lifetime. For example, parents may need to make offerings to protect against an ancestor's greed. In addition, a spiritual healer can determine what the child's day of birth and the spiritual forces associated with that day reveal about the child's characteristics and temperament. Through appropriately directed prayers and offerings, a parent may be able to change the child's undesirable characteristics. Take together, these and other childrearing practices illustrate that in order to understand Balinese parenting, an understanding of Balinese religious beliefs is essential.
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The Fulani are one of the largest ethnic groups in WestAfrica. Numbering about 10 million, they are distributed across a broadeast-west belt of savannah on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, withthe largest population being in Northern Nigeria. Traditionally, theFulani were nomadic cattle herders who travelled with their herds insearch of water and grazing land, relying on their cattle for their everyneed. In the colonial period, however, many Fulani groups were forced tosettle and take up farming. Most Fulani today are semi-sedentary andparticipate in a mixed economy of cattle hereding and agriculture. Mostidentify themselves as Muslims, but they have retained many of theirtraditional religious beliefs, including the power of ancestors, spirits,and witchcraft. These beliefs are evident in Fulani infant carepractices. When a Fulani infant emerges from the womb, the baby's head mustcome in contact with the ground. Not only does this ensure that the earthwill be welcoming to the new child, but it helps establish a powerfulconnection between the infant and his or her new home. Fulani parentsbelieve that if this initial contact with the earth is not made, theirchild will be prone to leave them later in life. Because babies are delicate and desirable little creatures, theyare commonly taken from this world by spirits. To protect her infant fromgreedy spirits, a Fulani mother may acquire iron bracelets to put on thebaby's wrists, or she may use rude and offputting names to make the babyseem less appealing. Fulani infants are not yet persons until they are officiallynamed. At the naming ceremony held seven days after birth, the Imamwhispers the infant's name into the right ear so the baby will know who heor she is, and God will take note of the newcomer. Fulani parents devote a great deal of effort to encouraging thedevelopment of the most valued traits of Fulani personhood and identitythat are summed up by the term 'Pulaaku,' or 'Fulani-ness.' Pulaakuincludes desirable physical traits. In an effort to ensure that herinfant meets Fulani standard of beauty, a mother spends hours bathing thenew baby with an herbal mixture, pressing its nose between her thumb andindex finger to make it thin and attractive, molding the head to be asround as possible, and stretching the infant's limbs. Pulaaku alsoincludes psychological traits, such as being modest and in control ofone's desires and emotions. Being a good Fulani also means being a goodMuslim. The role of Fulani parents, therefore, involves activelyencouraging the development of religious identity. These and other examples illustrate the intricate relation betweenthe spiritual beliefs and cultural values of the Fulani and some of thechildrearing practices they employ to promote these values and beliefs intheir children.