Introduction-E

Pregnant woman were told not to drink right from a soup bowl; if they did, the
baby would come out dark skinned. Pregnant women were also told to untie everything
that was tied up so that they would be more dilated when the baby was ready to come
out. Women were told not to wear tight pants while pregnant so that they would have
an easier delivery. Pregnant women were told not to chew candle wax during their
pregnancy so the baby would not be covered with a white coating when it was born.
They were not allowed to scratch their tummies so that stretch marks wouldn’t be as
noticeable.
Elisapee mentioned they were told that they should never eat raw meat, only
cooked. Pregnant women were told to get up as soon as they woke up and go out to look
at the sun so that they would have a fast delivery. When called outside or asked to go to
someone, they should do so right away so that they would have a speedy delivery.
There was a taboo about looking out the window or partly completing an exit, turning
back and forth, going out while you were pregnant. Elisapee’s sister-in-law always
seemed to test the theory about this and so she would partly exit a dwelling and she
looked out of a window while she was pregnant. When her sister-in-law went into labor
she had a very hard time. The baby seemed to be just looking out at them. The lady was
in labor overnight. She then realized that you have to always observe taboos. People
also believed the weather would go bad if taboos weren’t followed.
When the whalers came, a lot of Inuit woman got pregnant, even though they were
married. Pauloosie said that some of the men would send their wives off to the ship to
trade sex for tobacco.
There was also a rule that a mother should not go out visiting too much or too long
if she had a child. Elisapee also said that she was told not to soften a skin with her feet
while pregnant. The only thing you could do was stretch the skin. Saullu says she never
had to observe those rules. Sewing had been a big part of her life, so nothing but Sunday
has stopped her from sewing.
Both Elisapee and Saullu got married early at the age of fifteen. Neither one wanted
to marry the man that was chosen for them. Still, they got married. The only difference
was that Elisapee and her husband, over the summer that they met, got to be close
friends.
Elisapee’s mother had no patience when teaching her to sew; but Elisapee never
gave up and it did not bother her that her mother was not being understanding. She was
determined to learn how to sew. When she was teaching her children to sew, she did not
realize that she was also being impatient. She did not do this on purpose. Saullu’s
mother acted the same way, but Saullu was also persistent in learning how to sew.
Saullu talked about old-fashioned midwifery. She and her husband did a lot of it
together. Saullu would explain what she would have to do when the placenta would get
stuck. She would put her forearm in and feel for a hard spot and pull it out. She had to
Essays – Rules for Women 133