nead and press down on
the abdomen, and finally remove the child. The naval cord is cut with
a bamboo knife, [54] and is tied with bark cloth. Should the delivery
be hard, a pig will be killed beneath the house, and its blood and
flesh offered to the spirits, in order to gain their aid.

If the child is apparently still-born, the midwife places a Chinese
dish close to its ear, and strikes against it several times with a
lead sinker. If this fails to gain a response, the body is wrapped
in a cloth, and is soon buried beneath the house. There is no belief
here, as is common in many other parts of the Philippines, that the
spirits of unborn or still-born children form the chief recruits for
the army of evil spirits.

The after-birth is placed in a small jar together with bamboo leaves,
"so that the child will grow like that lusty plant," and is then
intrusted to an old man, usually a relative. He must exercise the
greatest care in his mission, for should he squint, while the jar is in
his possession, the child will be likewise afflicted. If it is desired
that the infant shall become a great hunter, the jar is hung in the
jungle; if he is to be an expert swimmer and a successful fisherman,
it is placed in the river; but ill fortune is in store for the baby
if the pot is buried, for he will always be afraid to climb a tree
or to ascend a mountain.

These close ties between the infant and the after-birth are
easily comprehended by a people who also believe in the close
relationship between a person and any object recently handled by him
(cf. p. 305). In general it is thought that the after-birth soon
disappears and no longer influences the child; yet certain of the
folk-tales reflect a firm conviction that a group of spirits, known
as _alan_, sometimes take the placenta, and transform it into a real
child, who is then more powerful than ordinary mortals. [55]

Immediately following the birth the father constructs a shallow bamboo
framework (_baitken_), [56] which he fills with ashes, and places in
the room close to the mother. On this a fire is kept burning constantly
for twenty-nine days [57] For this fire he must carefully prepare each
stick of wood, for should it have rough places on it, the baby would
have lumps on its head. A double explanation is offered for this fire;
firstly, "to keep the mother warm;" secondly, as a protection against
evil spirits. The idea of protection is evidently the original and
dominant on