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10 Birth Rituals Around The World

Birth is one thing that all human beings share in common, although our birth experiences are all unique. Birth practices, traditions and rituals are all greatly influenced by the society and culture in which we live. There are many birth rituals around the world that are intriguing!

Things that may be completely ‘normal’ in Mexico (for example) may seem strange to those living in Australia. The differences in birth practices in developed countries can, surprisingly, also be startlingly big. For example, around half of all women in Brazil give birth via c-section. In some private hospitals, the rate of c-sections can be as high as 80 percent. In the Netherlands, this number is much closer to 10 percent, which is the rate recommended by the World Health Organization.

It’s not just hospital practices that affect birth across the world – culture and tradition play a significant role. In the US, where pain medication is accepted as a normal part of birth, over half of all women have epidurals during labour. This contrasts with Japan where many women labour without pain relief. There is a traditional Japanese belief that labour pains help to prepare women for motherhood, and that labour pains should be endured.

Here are 10 fascinating modern and ancient birth rituals from around the world that show us just how amazing and diverse birth really is:

Birth Ritual #1: Mexico

The rebozo is a traditional Mexican shawl, which is four or five feet long and made from woven material. Rebozo is a traditional Mexican craft that has been passed down through generations, and it can be used in many ways. As well as making a fetching head scarf, the rebozo was traditionally used during birth. It can be useful during labour, with birth partners using the rebozo to help support the weight of the labouring woman. It can also be used for a technique known as ‘sifting’ which is thought to relax the pelvic muscles during labour, helping the birth to progress. The rebozo is slowly making it’s way into birthing rooms around the world.

Birth Ritual #2: Togo

In this West African country, superstition dictates that labouring women should keep their noise at a minimum. Shouting and loud noises is believed to attract evil spirits, and so women are encouraged to stay as silent as possible during the birth.

Birth Ritual #3: Inuit

In traditional Inuit culture, most women received support from a midwife figure during childbirth. The midwives were local women who had gained experience by attending many births. In Inuit culture, birth is traditionally a calm and relatively peaceful affair. In fact, Inuit midwives used to whisper all of their directions to the labouring women.

Birth Ritual #4: Comanche

The Comanche tribe are an indigenous peoples who once lived in a place known as Comancheria. That land is now split between a number of US states including New Mexico and Colorado. The Comanche are now headquartered in Oklahoma. Traditionally, Comanche women would squat over hot stones during labour. The pain was believed to provide pain relief, and these is some belief that it may also help to prepare the perineum to stretch.

Birth Ritual #5: Pakistan

The Kanash people in Pakistan believe labouring women are unclean. Because of this, mothers-to-be are expected to leave their homes a few days before the baby is due. She moves to a hut known as a Bashleni which is decorated in paintings of animals. Only menstruating women are allowed to visit the Bashleni and assist the woman during birth.

Birth Ritual #6: India

In Bihar, India, it is traditional for women to drink a glass of water if their labour is not progressing. Not cold, refreshing water, but a glass of water in which the mother-in-law had dipped her toe.

Birth Ritual #7: Holland

Homebirths account for around 20 percent of the births in Holland. This means the country is better setup for accommodating homebirths than some other developed countries, like Australia. Even if you plan to birth your baby in a hospital, it is likely that a midwife will visit your home when you go into labour to provide advice about when you need to arrive at the hospital. To anyone who has ever been turned away from a maternity ward whilst in early labour, this probably sounds like a pretty amazing service.

Birth Ritual #8: Korea

In Korea, it is traditional for the mother-in-law to play an active role during the labour. Traditionally, the father-to-be would stay out of the labour room and instead congregate with other male family members awaiting news of the birth.

Birth Ritual #9: Jamaica

After a birth in Jamaica, the placenta and umbilical cord are saved. A special location is then picked out for these to be buried in the ground. Friends or relatives bring a tree with which to mark the burial spot. The young tree will be used to teach the child about the importance of responsibility. As the child grows he is charged with taking care of the tree.

Birth Ritual #10: Ancient Egypt

In Ancient Egypt, menstrual blood was believed to be a good medicine. Following the birth of a child, the blood would be rubbed onto the baby’s skin to protect him from bad spirits.

Cultural educational practices in the preschool educational institution

Cultural educational practices in the preschool educational institution

As part of the implementation of the Federal State Educational Standard for Preschool Education, significant changes and additions have appeared in the program of our Institution, in particular, this is the introduction of such a thing as "cultural practices". The concept of "cultural practices" is based on the problem of the relationship between culture and education, their mutual penetration. Each individual family has certain “cultural practices” that the child absorbs from the moment of birth, and already on their basis, his unique individual life experience is formed, which plays an important role in enriching his cultural experience and subsequent socialization. It should be noted that any cultural practice, whether playful or free, is characterized by two directions of its design in the educational process - it is the initiation of it by children, and cultural practices initiated, organized and directed by adults.
What does the activity of cultural practices in the educational process depend on ?
Previously, all the activity and effectiveness of cultural practices directly depends on the pedagogical culture of the educating adult, who can organize the educational process in such a way that it stimulates the activity and creative initiative of the child, encourages his interest and desire to choose the way of action himself. Let it be even a negative experience of discontent, resentment, jealousy, protest - this is also an important experience. Because without hardship you will not achieve success. Having gone through such an experience, the child will appreciate more the positive life experience of empathy, goodwill, love, friendship and mutual assistance. What exactly a child will practice depends not only on his character, value system, style of life, but also on his further fate as a whole. Among the varieties of cultural practices, there are: manipulation with objects, fantasizing, creative and research activities, experimentation, play. Cultural practices are initially formed in the joint activity of a child with an adult, and then they are already expanded due to his independent actions. Cultural practices are a rich and effective tool for the development of initiative, independence and responsibility of a preschool child, which subsequently contributes to the formation of prerequisites for educational activities. In cultural practices, due to the creation by the teacher of an atmosphere of freedom of choice, creative exchange and self-expression, cooperation between an adult and children, an environment is formed where the child is ready to open himself to the world and the world for himself. This environment provides:
- the possibility of free communication and productive joint activities of children and adults, and also ensures:
- the disclosure of the individuality of the child,
- the creation of a relaxed atmosphere,
- the formation of a sense of collectivism and mutual understanding,
- support for children's initiative and independence;
- development of children's creative activity in the game.

The organization of cultural practices in a preschool institution is predominantly subgroup in nature, includes educational guidelines and requirements that are aimed at ensuring a full life for preschoolers through the organization of play activities as a cultural practice. It is in the game, where Masha pretends to become a mother and takes care of her baby, that she connects various phenomena of life with personal experience, sometimes finding wise and simple solutions to a problem situation. The play activity of preschoolers as a cultural practice helps the child to master social norms, makes them think, teaches them to subordinate their behavior to the moral norms of society, ensures the satisfaction of the actual needs of the child and society by focusing on the potential social opportunities of children. In the process of organizing cultural practice, the teacher models a problem situation, prompts children to find ways to solve it, then the child learns to make his own decisions, based on his knowledge and skills in various activities. And, most importantly, in the process of making a decision, the child not only masters the culture of oral speech, he learns to express his thoughts and desires. Thus, with the help of cultural practices, the systematic implementation of targets is ensured. Cultural practices help children to independently determine what they need at this stage of development, and therefore update the acquired knowledge and methods of action with objects of both the objective world and subjects of interpersonal communication. And, therefore, they contribute to the qualitative preparation of our children for adulthood, for the next stage of development - schooling.

Sincerely yours, teacher - psychologist Anna Semyonovna Kalyuzhnaya

References:
1. Mid.M. "Culture and the world of childhood", M., 1988
2. Bruner Zhd. "Culture of education", M., Education, 2006
3. Krylova N.B. “General and applied cultural studies in solving urgent problems of organization and development of education”, M., Smysl, 2010

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The use of cultural practices to expand the creative possibilities of preschoolers

With the release of the Federal State Educational Standard for Preschool Education, special attention is paid to various types of children's activities and solving the problems of developing independence and creativity among preschoolers. The basis for the implementation of the tasks of the Federal State Educational Standard is the culturological and activity approach in pedagogy. The culturological approach defines education as a way to familiarize a child with the values ​​of world and national culture, develop his creative abilities and inclinations, protect his rights and health. The condition for the implementation of the culturological approach in pedagogy is the dialogue of cultures - the personal culture of the child and the pedagogical culture of the educator, specialist.

The concept of cultural practices has emerged. N.B. Krylova believes that "cultural practices are diverse, based on the current and future interests of the child, types of independent activities, behavior and experience." Cultural practices are situational, autonomous, independent, initiated by an adult or a child himself, the acquisition and repetition of various experiences of communication and interaction with people in various groups, teams, communities and public structures with adults, peers and younger children. This is also the development of a positive life experience of empathy, benevolence and love, friendship, help, care, altruism. As well as the negative experience of discontent, resentment, jealousy, protest, rudeness. From what exactly the child will practice, his character, value system, style of life, and further fate depend.

The leading cultural practice is game practice , which allows creating an event-organized space for the educational activities of children and adults.

Specially organized activities of the educator take place in the first half of the day, and in the second half of the day various cultural practices are organized, focused on the manifestation of independence and creativity in children in various activities. In the process of cultural practices, the educator creates an atmosphere of freedom of choice, self-expression, cooperation between adults and children. Cultural practices are associated with active, independent, multifaceted approbation by each child of new types of activity for him, as well as ways of its implementation and various forms of organization based on individual interests, needs, abilities. We can say that cultural practices are an effective way to solve the most acute problems of modern preschool and primary school education, aimed at positive socialization and flexible individualization.

In their activities, thoughts, feelings, actions, assessments, each child acts as a subject of culture, since to some extent he relies on universal human values ​​- spiritual and moral. Education is designed to help the child not only assimilate the universal human experience as something external, but also help to appropriate, make it internal, so that on the basis of this sociocultural experience he can transform his natural abilities to the possibility of a “second birth” - self-actualization, discovery of his “I” and his own life. way.

A person's cultural practices begin to develop at an early age in the process of meaningful and emotionally comfortable interaction with close adults, then they are enriched - gradually and constantly - in the process of independent activity. To expand the cultural practices of the child, such types and forms of activity are significant as: free manipulation of various objects and materials, observations and experiments, experimentation, own trial and error, search and choice, spontaneous fine art (drawing, modeling, modeling, collage), construction from different materials, research, fantasizing, writing, theatrical games and more. others

A child's practice becomes cultural when it opens up opportunities for his personal initiative, understanding of everyday experience that accumulates gradually, and the creation of his own artifacts, samples and creative products of activity based on mastered cultural norms (since culture is an essential quality of any kind and any form human activity). In cultural practices, children independently, on their own initiative and on the basis of their individual desires, interests, needs, abilities, skills, master the types of activities and behaviors available to them. They act actively, freely, confidently, they are not afraid to take the initiative, justify the choice, express their own opinion, assess the situation or act. In cultural practices, different types of activities quickly replace each other and are freely integrated by children in various combinations (sometimes unexpected for adults).

Cultural practices are also the child's spontaneous accumulation of diverse experiences of communication and productive interaction with peers and children of other ages (younger and older), when children unite in pairs, small or large groups according to their interests. And this is an enrichment of the experience of friendship, mutual assistance, cooperation, empathy, care, empathy. Here are the origins of "hidden" moral education, emotional and volitional development.

Cultural practices are various ways of self-determination and self-realization of a child, based on everyday (ordinary, familiar) and at the same time interesting for him types of independent activities, behavior and experience. The use of cultural practices in modern kindergartens is caused by the need to expand the social and practical components of the content of education to enrich the cultural experience of each child, taking into account his individuality. But for the successful implementation of this idea, a fundamental change in the view of teachers on culture is necessary - the formation of a readiness to see in it the purpose, meaning and main content of education.

1. The most effective form of implementation of cultural practices in the development of a preschooler is project activity , since it allows integrating the content of various practices. In our kindergarten, work in this direction is carried out widely and actively. They were performed jointly with parents, educators and children on various topics. Where the children themselves suggested the theme of the projects. The teacher carefully listened to all the answers, ideas and suggestions of the children. The subject matter was varied. These are “Journey to the Flower Country of the Violet Fairy”, “Visiting a Holiday”, “We are Eco Volunteers”, “Journey into the Past of Clothes”, “Lapbook “Rivers of the Samara Province”, “History of Our City”, etc. The children were fascinated by the work of collecting information, materials for projects.

2. Another work on the implementation of cultural practices can be attributed musical and theatrical, and literary drawing room . When choosing a book, children offer to read and discuss the book they are interested in. After reading, there is a discussion of the content, where the children express their attitude towards the main characters, their actions. The group has book corners “Read it”, “Inquisitive”. Most of all, children show interest in books about animals by V. Bianchi, E. Charushin, children listen to the books of N. Nosov, B. Zhitkov with great interest, they love fairy tales of foreign and Russian writers A. Pushkin, G. Andersen.

3. Joint play of children and teachers (role-playing, directing, dramatization, building and constructive games) are also related and aimed at enriching the content of creative games, mastering the game skills necessary for preschoolers to organize independent play. Children with great interest perform constructions from a soft constructor, Lego constructor, suction cup constructor, block constructor. During construction, they show their creativity and imagination. During this work, children show independence, teamwork, and the ability to negotiate with each other. In the afternoon, children are given the opportunity to independently select material for dramatization games and choose a fairy tale and attributes. Children really like the fairy tale "Teremok", "Turnip". Children show their individuality in the organization of role-playing games "My family", "at the doctor's appointment". "I'm at the supermarket."

4. Situations of communication and the accumulation of positive social and emotional experience are of a problematic nature and include a life problem close to preschool children, in the resolution of which they are directly involved. Such situations can be of a real-practical nature (assistance to kids, elders). In situations of a conditionally verbal nature, the teacher enriches the pupils' ideas about the experience of resolving certain problems, calls the children to a sincere conversation, connects the content of the conversation with the personal experience of preschoolers. In real-practical situations, children gain experience in showing a caring, sympathetic attitude towards people, take part in important matters ("We plant trees on the kindergarten site", "We decorate the kindergarten for the holiday", "Participate in the action to make the city cleaner" , "Feed the birds", etc.). Situations can be planned by the educator in advance, or they can arise in response to events that occur in the group, to help resolve emerging problems.

5. In creative workshop children are allowed to discover their interests in artistic and aesthetic development. They are diverse in their subject matter and content. In our groups there are circles "Magic Thread" where children are engaged in needlework, a circle "Lesovichok", where children are provided with a lot of material to show their creativity. Children perform work from cones, dried leaves, cereals. Also in the creative workshop, children join folk crafts. During the GCD on the topic “Russia is famous for its miracle craftsmen”, the guys learned a lot of information about folk crafts: Khokhloma, Gzhel, Dymka.

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