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Taboo During Pregnancy

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Taboo During Pregnancy
Taboo during pregnancy

Apart for the taboos in daily life, there are also has the taboos for pregnant in Malay culture. These taboos are important for the safety of the pregnant woman and her foetus.

There are several advice and taboos that must be followed by the pregnant woman. For example, they are not allowed to hit and hurt the animal because it is concern that it will cause the baby be handicap. Thus, pregnant women should watch their words while talking, they are forbidden to talk about the illness of somebody else. If she does so, the unborn baby will develop disabilities.

They are prohibited to use abusive language, quarrel, doing slander and fight with others especially with their mother-in-law, because those behaviours are believed to have an effect on the unborn baby, they will suffer difficulties when delivering their babies during childbirth. Malay community also believed that this can prevent pregnant women from having a complicated life in future if they comply with this taboo. In fact, the purpose of this taboo is to create the respect for the elders.

On the other hand, pregnant women are forbidden to go out at dusk to prevent from being disturbed by ghost. They are forbidden to see the moon or sun eclipse because it might make the baby handicap or have dark skin

Pregnant woman is not allowed to soak her clothes overnight as it is afraid her body will be bloated during childbirth. During pregnancy, woman are forbidden to make laugh, insult of other people, because they think that the characters of these people will be found in her new born baby. In addition, pregnant women are also not allowed to put off the embers of any fire as if is afraid her new born baby will have a dark future. Besides, they were also discouraged from going to a funeral or watching anything frightening, strange, so as not to shock the unborn baby.

Besides form the taboo stated earlier, there are also have taboos for husband of a pregnant woman, such as: husband of pregnant women are prohibited to blow flute or any other wind-instrumental, because it is afraid that the child will always cry if their husband play this kind of instrumental. Not only that, they are also forbidden to hit or kill the animal such as snake; because they think that the baby will be handicaps, disability and seems look like the particular animal which their husband had killed or hit those animal before.

About the taboo of food for pregnant women in Malay culture, they are not allowed to eat certain types of food like squids and ray fish. It is believed that these foods may poison the foetus of the baby. Other than that, pineapple and young papaya are also prohibited by pregnant women in Malay community, it is believed to cause miscarriage after eat this kind of fruit.

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