Baba
A Cantonese baby
|
Baba
A Cantonese baby |
| Traditional
practices . I HAVE 21 NEPHEWS and neices who were born in a span of 40 calendar years from the 1920's to the 1960's. The older ones were delivered by a Chinese midwife at home in Penang. Hospitals in those days were taboo, although at that time there was a small maternity hospital with an European female doctor in charge. When my second brother was working for the Kedah Government and lived in Kulim and Sungei Patani some babies were delivered at home by a Malay makcik (midwife). In Penang, those born after the Japanese Occupation were delivered in hospitals because by that time the expectant mother, being educated and quite independent, could make her own choice where and how she liked her baby delivered. Nevertheless, irrespective of where the deliveries took place, my parents strictly adhered to all the traditions and customs for these events. A few months before the estimated time for the baby to arrive, my father would seek out a middle-aged Chinese midwife and book her services. It had always been the same Miss Ng Foong Kheng, an experienced midwife, who would visit the expectant mother and check on her and the baby's condition. Mother would go and find a "pui yuet" (attendant for one month, or in local dialect "orang jaga"). This "pui yuet" would be required to start work one or two weeks ahead of the delivery and help the mother to get ready for her baby's arrival. The time before the baby's birth would be paid at half the amount charged for the month of the baby's birth. At the end of one month after the baby's birth she would be paid the agreed salary, plus a small tip and a pair of red wooden clogs when she left. Her duties would be to look after the new mother, boil water with "tai foong gnai" (castor plant), ginger and sireh leaves daily to wipe her with and then rub medicated oil and massage her; bathe the baby daily and wash clothes and nappies of mother and child. She also cooked all meals daily for the mother, and attended to all her needs. Before the child's birth the mother should :- a) Not lift heavy things, clip anything with scissors; b) Not watch any processions; c) Not shift furniture, especially the bed, in her room, or hammer nails on the wall; d) Not eat mutton, because there is danger the baby would be subjected to epileptic fits; e) Not eat bean sprouts, green bananas and unripe fruits, because they are considered "cooling"; |
| f) Not eat
cold food
nor take cold drinks. In order to keep both mother and baby healthy and well, the following were highly recommended:- a) Take regular steamed chicken soup with herbs. b) Take gingko nuts, bean curd skin and egg flip with honey. This would help maintain the baby's skin smooth and fair. c) Three months prior to baby's arrival, the mother would be served at least twice with a bowl of "sup yee thye poh", a concoction of 12 types of herbs boiled with 3 bowls of water over a charcoal fire until the liquid becomes one bowl. This would ensure the baby continued to be healthy and strong without complications at birth. d) Nearer the estimated date of baby's arrival, a week or so, the mother would be served a bowl of "sup sam thye poh", a concoction of 13 types of herbs hoiled with 3 bowls of water over a charcoal fire until the liquid becomes one bowl. This would help the mother to have an easy and safe delivery. Both these recipes can be bought from any Chinese drug shop. After the baby was born, the mother was served with a big bowl of rice fried with a lot of finely sliced ginger with sesame oil and egg. She was supposed to eat as much as she could "in order to fill up the hollow" now in her belly. Soup was made with finely sliced ginger fried in egg and boiled with water. To quench her thirst she would be given tea made up of fried rice with sliced ginger boiled in water with some red dates. On the 3rd day, two special dishes would be prepared in large quantity:- (1) Black vinegar boiled with pig's foot and lots of old ginger; (2) Chicken with finely sliced ginger, pork and black fungus (Moke Yee) with Chinese rice wine. These would then be distributed to the baby's maternal grandparents and other close relatives to "report:" the birth of the baby to them. From this day onwards, the baby's mother would be given this type of food and more. No prawns or crabs were allowed as they were considered "poisonous". If the baby was breast-fed, fish soup was supplied the mother to ensure her milk would be bountiful for it; if she could take alcohol, port wine or Chinese rice wine would be given her. On the 12th day, the same two dishes of black vinegar, pig's foot.and ginger and chicken with black fungus, ginger and rice wine would be prepared and then distributed to own family members and good friends to announce the birth of the grandchild. Family and friends would come visiting, but the mother and baby were not allowed to come out to meet them. They could only peep into the room to take a look. If the mother wished to step out of her room she had to wrap a big handkerchief or scarf around her head to prevent her head from catching "a cold". Before the end of 30 days, family and friends would come with gifts of jewellery, clothes, silks, toys for the baby and the grandparents would prepare for the great day. They would produce hundreds of red dyed boiled eggs, preserved ginger, roast pork and boiled chicken and distribute these to all family and friends who gave the baby presents. |
| If the grandparents were affluent
enough, a dinner would also be given
to all family and friends. On that occasion, the baby would
make a grand entry to meet the crowd and be admired by all.
From this day onwards, there would be no more taboos for mother and
child and life would go on until the next birth occurred.# Go to the top |
| for Fahmi's prize
winning film Ten Years before Merdeka goto Youtube: 10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka (English/Malay subtitles) Google Video: 10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka (no subtitles) Stage6: 10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka (English/Malay subtitles) |
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| _____________________ The Penang File Issue 65 |