Cambios

This chapter considers beliefs related to the birth of a child and the periods of time immediately before and after it, that is, during a period that runs from the pregnancy to the time before or just after the baptism. Apart from the well-known cravings, there were a good number of ways to guess the sex of the foetus at a time when they did not have the technical means to do so.

An important group of beliefs are those related with the gestation. One of the most widespread were those related with the cravings that the mother experienced during that period. It was traditionally believed that if the desires and whims of a pregnant woman were not met, her child could be affected. According to the people surveyed in some location, if a child was stillborn or with defects, a mark would appear on the skin similar to what the mother had craved. Those marks, in turn, were known as cravings in some locations.