bamboo; and it is here that the delivery takes place, but in the
ordinary dwellings there is no specified location.

The patient is in a kneeling or squatting position with her hands on a
rope or bamboo rod, which is suspended from a rafter about the height
of her shoulders. [53] She draws on this, while one or more old women,
skilled in matters pertaining to childbirth, knead 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.