(no subject)
SONG OF THE CHILD
There is a tribe in East Africa in which the birthday of a child is not counted from the day of its physical birth nor even the day of conception. From this tribe, the birthday is the first time a child is a thought in its mother’s mind.
Aware of her intention to conceive a child with a particular father, the mother goes off to sit alone under a tree. There she sits and listens until she can hear the song of the child she hopes to conceive. Once she has heard it, she returns to her village and teaches it to the father so that they can sing it together as they make love - inviting the child to join them.
After the child is conceived, she sings to the baby in the womb. Then she teaches the song to the old women and midwives of the village so that throughout the labor and at the miraculous moment of birth itself, the child is greeted with its song.
After the birth, all the villagers learn the song of their new member and, later, sing it to the child when it falls or hurts itself. It is sung at times of triumph, or in rituals and initiations. This song becomes a part of the marriage ceremony when the child is grown. And, at the end of life, his or her loved ones will gather around the deathbed and sing this song for the last time
There is a tribe in East Africa in which the birthday of a child is not counted from the day of its physical birth nor even the day of conception. From this tribe, the birthday is the first time a child is a thought in its mother’s mind.
Aware of her intention to conceive a child with a particular father, the mother goes off to sit alone under a tree. There she sits and listens until she can hear the song of the child she hopes to conceive. Once she has heard it, she returns to her village and teaches it to the father so that they can sing it together as they make love - inviting the child to join them.
After the child is conceived, she sings to the baby in the womb. Then she teaches the song to the old women and midwives of the village so that throughout the labor and at the miraculous moment of birth itself, the child is greeted with its song.
After the birth, all the villagers learn the song of their new member and, later, sing it to the child when it falls or hurts itself. It is sung at times of triumph, or in rituals and initiations. This song becomes a part of the marriage ceremony when the child is grown. And, at the end of life, his or her loved ones will gather around the deathbed and sing this song for the last time