Némethy Endre, Takács Lajos szerk.: Néprajzi Közlemények 5. évfolyam, 3-4. szám (Budapest, 1960)
Kresz Mária: A kisbuba és anyja Nyárszón
Iress.M.: The infant and it a Bother in the Tillage of Brárasó. - The article is a detail from a larger study dealing vith the education of peasant children in a Tillage of Transylvania the material having been collected between 1941 and 1943. (Sec note 1.) Though it is held that "do not pray for rain or children, as God grants that anyhow" - recently certain hirthcontrol is practised and most families have hut 2-4 children. Beliefs regarding the sex of the child and the behaviour of the pregnant vornan are discussed, as veil as the customs of the birth itself, the behaviour during the six weeks whilst the mother is considered impure. These six weeks the infant is also considered to be in danger and may be exchanged for a changling, in which case several superstitions are known to change it back. The christening (the village is protestant,) is a larger or smaller ceremony according to whether the child is a first-born or a later arrival, and there may be as many godparent s as 10-15. The feast after the christening is ^onetimes similar to a small wedding, rhymes are recited as each dish is served, money and presents are collected for the child and the midwife, and sometimes there is dancing to the music of a gyp ay-band. Por several weeks after the birth, each godmother and relative woman brings presents of food to the mother in child-bed, a pot or two of broth and sauce,a basket of pastry either stacked high, or covered vith a cloth woven for the occasion,or else just a dishful, according to the grade of relationship. Of the dangers which may befall the infant, first the evil eye is discussed, and various illnesses. Interesting are the beliefs attached to nursing, as the milk of one woman may be "taken away" by another who has none, or contrarywise, may be "given" by one who has bountiful.Similar beliefs are attached to sleep and sleeplessness too. The child is nursed until at least a year old, but other food,formerly chewed by the mother,- is also fed after the first six weeks. A detailed description is given of how the baby is bathed (twice a day during the first six weeks), but the way it is swaddled is omitted as that was published earlier. (See note 1/b.) Tarions types of cradles are shown and the way the infant is bound into the cradle. The babe in always rocked to sleep and lullabies are sung. To learn to stand and to walk, stools with a hole and a sort of round-about are used. The way small children are nicknamed is described, srs well as the special words and expressions of children's language,nursery rhymes and games.
