Chapter 64 Between heaven and earth: Teenage girls must be quarantined during menarche

It is worth noting that in many parts of the world girls must observe either of the aforementioned two taboos (i.e., not touching the ground, not seeing the sun), or both, when menstruation begins.For example, once menstruation begins, black Luango girls are kept in separate huts, with no part of their bodies allowed to touch the ground.The Zulu people in South Africa and the girls of their tribes, whether they are walking, collecting firewood, or working in the fields, as long as there are signs of menstrual cramps, they will immediately run to the river and hide in the reeds, so that men will not see them. .He also covered his head tightly with the cloak that was worn on his body to prevent the sun from shining on his head.At the same time, I tried to curl my body into a ball as much as possible, shrinking like being sunburned, and I didn't go home until after dark, and hid in a hut for a while.Girls of the Avakonde tribe at the northern end of Lake Niassa [between Malawi and Mozambique in southeastern Africa] have to live with several female companions in a darkened house after their first menstruation in isolation.The floor of the house is covered with dry banana leaves, and lighting is not allowed.The house is called "The House of Awasungu", which means "The Heartless Girl".

Girls on New Ireland [an island in the Bismarck archipelago in northern New Britain] were confined for four or five years in cage-like huts, out of the sun and without their feet touching the ground.An eyewitness described this custom as follows: "I heard from a teacher that there is a strange custom for girls here, so I asked the chief to lead me to the house where they lived to see them. The hut is about 25 Feet long, in the midst of reeds and bamboo, a bale of hay hanging at the entrance signifies that this is a strictly 'forbidden' place. Inside the house there are three cone-shaped structures, about seven or eight feet high, with a base circumference of about 10 to 12 feet, About four feet from the ground, it tapers gradually until it becomes conical at the apex. The three small cages are densely woven of the broad leaves of the dew tree, so that they are impenetrable to light and drafts. There is an opening with a double-layered door woven from coconut trees and dew leaves. About three feet above the ground is a shelf made of bamboo, which is equivalent to the floor. It is said that there are three girls living in each small cage, and each of them is at least Had to live in a cage for four to five years without ever leaving the house. I could hardly believe what was being said, it was too horrible to be real. I said to the chief I wanted to see what it was like inside the cage , look at the girls in there too, I'm going to give them some little beads as a gift. He said no man should see them except their relatives, it's taboo. But, I think, I say give beads Giving them this, did some persuasion, and he finally went to the old woman who guarded and opened the door. While we waited, we heard the girls inside talking to the chief in disapproving tones, as if Disagreeing with something or being afraid of something. After a while, the old lady finally came. She certainly wasn't a pleasant jailer or guardian. She didn't seem to be doing the chief any favors. Let's see the girls She gave us a bad look. But the chief asked her to open the door, which she had to do. The girls peeped out at us from inside, and when they were asked to let us see, they all held out their hands for beads. I sat on purpose At a place a little farther away from the cage, I hold the beads in my hands and stretch them out to them. I want to use this to lure them to come outside more, so that I can take a closer look at what it looks like inside the cage. I do this Another difficulty arose, because the girls were not allowed to set foot on the ground during the confinement here. They wanted to get the beads, so the old woman had to go outside and bring in some wood and bamboo pieces to spread on the ground, and then went to help the girls one by one. I walked over to me on the splints of wood to get the beads I held in my hand. This way we could look inside the cage she was in. Before I could put my head in the cage, it was hot and suffocating. Inside the cage It was clean, nothing but a few short bamboo tubes to catch the water. The bamboo pedestal was only big enough for a girl to sit or lie curled up on. With the cage door closed, it must be dark or rather dark inside. Girl Never allowed out of cage. Only bathed once a day in a plate or tub placed next to the cage. They said they sweated a lot. They were kept in the cage from a very young age until they were big girls. Let them out. At this time there is a great wedding feast for each of the girls. One of the girls I saw was about fourteen or fifteen years old, and the chief told us that she had lived in the cage for five years.Will be picked up soon.The other two girls are about 8 and 10 years old and will have to live in the cage for a few more years. "

In the Kabaddi area of ​​British New Guinea, "the chief's daughter has to stay at home as soon as she is twelve or thirteen years old, and she is not allowed to go out for any reason. The house she lives in is tightly covered, and the sun is not allowed to shine on the house." In northern New Guinea Among the Yabin and Bukaoya, two neighboring tribes on the coast, a girl is required to stay in her boudoir for five or six weeks at the time of menstruation; So she was given a wooden plinth to sit on; her feet were not to touch the ground, and if she had to leave the house for a while, she had to wrap herself tightly in a mat and tie two coconuts under her feet with cane. Shell walkway.The Autanong people in Borneo locked their 8- or 10-year-old girls in a small room or secret room at home and kept them away from outsiders for a long time.This chamber, like the rest of the house, was built on piles high above the ground.There is only one small window in the room, facing a very lonely place.The girl lived inside, almost completely in darkness.Never leave the house under any pretext, not even the most urgent need.During her confinement, her relatives were not allowed to see her, and only a female slave waited on her.The period of confinement was usually seven years, during which time the girls were alone and entertained only by weaving mats or doing other handicrafts.Due to the long-term lack of exercise had a great impact on her development and growth, when she was released from the small room as an adult, her face was pale and her skin was sallow.Only then can she see the sun, the earth, running water, green trees and flowers, as if she has just been reborn.A great feast was held especially for her, and a slave was killed to smear her with blood.On Seram, girls used to lock themselves in dark huts when they were menstruating.On Yap Island in the Caroline Islands, if a little girl walks on the avenue and suddenly has her first period, she must ask someone to use a coconut shell as a cushion instead of sitting directly on the ground.Then they go home and shut themselves up for a few days in a hut some distance from their parents, and then move into a house for menstruating women to sleep for 100 days.

On the island of Mabuyag in the Torres Strait, when a little girl reaches adulthood and shows her first signs of menstruation, the family piles firewood in a circle in a dark corner and asks her to wear shoulder straps, armlets, and anklets. , leg ornaments, collar, and shell ornaments on both ears, chest and back, squatting in the firewood circle, only her head can be seen.This way of isolation for three months, they are not allowed to be exposed to the sun during the day, and they can sneak out for activities at night, and at the same time, let the family members clean up the firewood circle.She is not allowed to eat with her hands, but must be fed by one or two elderly women who serve her specially, such as her nurse.If turtle eggs are being laid, turtle eggs should not be eaten.Any vegetable can be eaten.During the quarantine, no man, not even her father, was allowed in the house where she lived.If her father saw her during this time, it would be bad luck. If he went fishing, he would catch nothing, and even the fishing boat would run aground or be smashed by the wind and waves.When the three-month quarantine period expired, the girl was carried by two bridesmaids to Danshui Bay without touching the ground, and at the same time, she was escorted by women of her own tribe.When they arrived at the beach in the bay, they took off the girl's clothes and decorations, and two bridesmaids supported her and walked unsteadily into the water together, soaking her in the water.Then all the women splashed water on her and the two bridesmaids who carried her.Finally, when they got ashore, one bridesmaid piled up a pile of grass for the girl to squat on, and the other bridesmaid ran to the edge of the reef to catch a crab, tore off the claws, and hurried back.At this time, a fire was lit on the beach, and the claws were roasted on the fire, and then fed to the girl.After eating, the girl was dressed again, and all the women marched back to the village in a single file, with the girl in the middle of the procession, supported by two wet nurses.The nurse's husband came out to fetch her, took her to a nurse's house, and invited everyone to dinner, while the girl had to eat by herself as usual.Dancing after dinner, mainly girls, dancing with her husband who took care of her two aunts during the quarantine.

It is said that girls in the Yarraconnor tribe on the Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland live alone for a month or six weeks when they reach puberty, and only women can see her, and no men can see her.She lives in a hut or shed specially built for her. She lies on her back on the floor all day without seeing the sun. She has to close her eyes at sunset and open them after the sun goes down.It is said that if this is not the case, the girl's nose will be infected.During that period, any food that grew in salt water could not be eaten, otherwise they would be bitten to death by snakes.An old woman took care of her, fed her vegetable roots, yams, and water.Some Australian tribes used to bury girls who died during menarche deep in the ground, perhaps to keep the sun out.The California Indians believed that when a girl had her first period she had supernatural powers, and that it wasn't all defiled and harmful.But they still thought it was more evil, so they not only separated her from her family and society, but also tried to isolate her from the world.One of the commandments taken against her was not to look at her.She had to keep her head down, not looking at the outside world or the sun.Some tribes simply covered her with a blanket.Many of these customs resemble those prevailing along the North Atlantic coast, for example, a girl is not allowed to put her hands over her head, nor let her hands touch her head, and there is a special tool for scratching her head.Sometimes, she is not allowed to eat anything on her own except feeding.In the Qingnook Indians along the coast of Washington State, the chief's daughter had to stay at home for five days when she reached adulthood and had her first menstruation, without seeing people or the sky, or picking berries.It is believed that if she looks at the sky, the weather will be bad;She went in and out through another door of the house, and went to take a bath in a river bend far away from the village.She had to fast for several days and not eat fresh food for many days.

The Att or Nootka Indians of Vancouver Island [an island of British Columbia off the southwestern coast of Canada] placed girls who had reached puberty and had their first menstruation "in a place like a porch in their homes, with mats close together. It is densely covered, like a cage, neither the sun nor the fire can be seen. The girl has to live in it for several days, only given water to drink, not food. The longer the girl lives in the cage , the more honorable the girl's parents are. If the girl catches fire or the sun during this first trial, it is a lifelong humiliation."In the place where the girl lives in seclusion, the mythical bird of thunder and lightning is painted on the screen.The girl could not move or lie down while living in it, she had to sit there half squatting.It is only allowed to scratch the head with a comb or a piece of bone, not to touch the hair with the hands, nor to scratch the body with the hands.It is said that if you scratch it, you will leave a scar on your body.When a girl becomes an adult, she must not eat any fresh food, especially fresh fish, for eight months.She can only eat alone, with another cup and plate, and cannot mix with others.

The girls of the Zessau Indians in British Columbia wear a big fur hat to cover their whole faces when menstruation comes, so that they cannot bask in the sun.It is said that if the girl's face is exposed to the sun, it will rain.That kind of big hat can also cover the face from the fire, because the girl can't see the fire during this period.She also had to wear mittens on her hands, and put an animal tooth in her mouth to prevent a cavity in her own tooth.Blood shall not be seen for a whole year, (unless the face is blackened beforehand), or the eyes shall be blinded.Had to wear one of those big fur hats for two full years and live alone in a cabin (but see people).At the end of two years, a man took off the hat she was wearing and threw it away.When a girl of the Bircula or Bella Coola tribe in British Columbia reaches adulthood and begins to menstruate, she must live in a lean-to at home, and is not given the main house, nor is she allowed to sit by the family fire.The lean-to was her bedroom, and a stove was built for her in the room.Once the girl enters the bedroom of the lean-to, she must sit there without moving for the first four days, eat a little food and drink a little water in the morning, and cannot eat any more throughout the day.After four days, you can go out of the room, but you can only pass through another exit on the floor (houses are built on wooden piles above the ground), and you still cannot go to the main house at this time.If you want to go out of the house, you must wear a big hat to cover your face from the sun.They thought that if the sun shone on the girl's face, the girl's eyes would be damaged.She can pick berries on the hills, but not near the river or sea (for a whole year).If you eat salmon, you will lose consciousness, or your mouth will become a long beak.

When a young girl of the Tlingit (Slingit) or Koloshi Indians of Alaska shows signs of puberty, she is kept in a very tight hut or cage with only a small ventilation hole .The girl will live for a whole year in such a dark and unclean place, with no fire, no movement, and no company.Only her mother and a slave girl brought her food.Food is brought in through small ventilation windows, and water is drunk from the wing bones of bald eagles.This isolation was later reduced to half a year, three months, or even less in some places.During the quarantine period, the girl had to wear a wide-brimmed hat that blinded her eyes. People thought she was not suitable for the sun. Wherever she looked, she could ruin the luck of hunters, fishermen, and gamblers, and turned things into Turning into stones can also cause other hazards.When the isolation period expires, burn all the old clothes she wears, replace them with new clothes, hold a big wine feast, cut a hole in her lower lip parallel to her mouth, put a small piece of sawdust or shell, Prop the rip open.Among the Eskimos of Alaska, a tribe called the Koniaga, their girls are locked up in a hut as soon as they come of age, curled up in a ball for the first six months, and then for the next six months. Make the hut a little bigger so the girl can straighten her back.During the whole process she was considered unclean and no one had any contact with her.

In the south of Brazil, on the border with Paraguay, the Guarani [a tribe of southern Indians] have the habit of sewing up little girls in a hammock when they are showing signs of menstruation for the first time, leaving only a small mouth for air.The girl's body was wrapped tightly, like a corpse.During the next few days of menstruation, I have been lying down like that, and eating and drinking are strictly prohibited.After menstruation is over, the girl is handed over to a housekeeper, who cuts the girl's hair short, and is responsible for not letting the girl eat any meat until the hair grows to cover her ears.The Chiricuano people in southeastern Bolivia sew the girl who had her first menstruation in a hammock like the Guaraní people mentioned above and hang it on the roof until the second month. Within three months, some elderly women came and walked about the house with sticks and canes, beating everything they encountered with their canes, claiming that they were driving away the snake that had hurt the girl.Gran Chaco [also known as Chaco, is a lowland plain region between Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia. ], a tribe of Indians, the Matako or the Mataguayo, also quarantined girls who had just menstruated for a certain period of time, and let the girls lie in a corner of the hut, covered with branches or other things, and were not allowed to Don't talk to people when you see people, don't eat meat, don't eat fish.During this period, a man was also found to play drums in front of the house.In the Yuracare tribe of Indians in eastern Bolivia, when a girl has her first period, the father builds a hut out of palm leaves near the house and shuts his daughter in the dark for four days. Do not eat or drink.

The Makusi people of British Guiana found that the girl had reached the age of adulthood, and when she first saw the first sign of menstruation, she hung the girl in a hammock to the highest point of the hut.In the first few days, I lay in bed during the day, came down at night, lit a lamp, and stood aside until dawn.Otherwise, ulcers can develop in the neck, throat, or other parts of the body.As long as menstruation is still in orgasm, strict fasting is required.They have to go to the field after menstruation is over, and they live in the darkest room in the house. They can cook for themselves in the morning, but they have to start a separate fire and use other cooking utensils and tableware.About ten days later, a wizard was invited to come to the house to chant a spell to lift the ban, and to blow on her body and the valuable things she touched.All the pots, pans and spoons she used were smashed and buried in the ground.After taking the first bath after menstruation, the girl's mother must beat the girl with a thin stick, and the girl must endure the pain without crying out for pain.At the end of the second stage, the girl will have to be beaten once more, and then no more beatings will be given.At this time, the girl is considered clean, and can get along with people as before.Other Indians in Guyana put their daughter in a hammock and hung it on the roof for a month, and then caught some large ants to bite her.The bite of this large ant is very painful.Sometimes, in addition to being bitten by ants, the girl has to fast during the period of high hanging roof beams.When the isolation period expired and the girl was put down from the hammock, she was so thin that only a skeleton was left.

Indian girls who reach sexual maturity are kept in a darkened room for four days without the light of day.She was considered unclean and no one could touch her.Her diet was limited to rice, milk, sugar, ghee and unsalted tamarind jam.On the morning of the fifth day, accompanied by five women with husbands, they came to a nearby pond, painted their bodies with tulip powdered water, and everyone took a bath in the pond, and then returned home, throwing away the girls who lived there. Mats and other things for small rooms.The Rashi Brahmins of Bangladesh force girls to live alone during menstruation and are not allowed to see any man.She had to be shut up in a darkroom for three days, undergoing a certain amount of penance.Not to eat fish, meat and sweets, only rice and ghee.The Tiyans of Malabar [coastal southwestern India] believe that a girl is defiled during the first four days of her first menstruation.During this period, she had to live in a room on the north side of her home, which was decorated with festoons woven from fresh coconut leaves. The girl slept on a special straw mat indoors, and another girl accompanied her as a nurse. Companion, also sleeps there.At this time, the girl can't touch anyone, trees, flowers, or look at the sky.If you see crows and cats, you will suffer disaster.It must be vegan, with no added salt, tamarind or dried chilies.She also had to carry a small knife with her, or put the knife on the mat to ward off evil spirits. In Cambodia, teenage girls were put in bed during menarche, hung with a mosquito net, and slept for 100 days.However, it is generally considered that four, five, ten or twenty days are sufficient.Even so, in a tropical climate, under a tight mosquito net, it is really choking.It is also recorded that once a Cambodian girl menstruates, she "enters the depths of the boulevard".According to the social status of the family, the girls can hide for a few days or a few years, but they must abide by many rules, such as not seeing strangers, not eating fish or meat, and so on.They are not allowed to go out, nor to go to the pagoda.In the event of a solar eclipse, this isolation can be suspended.The girl came out to thank the dog, because it is said that this monster held the sun in its mouth.Breaking the rules like this, allowing a girl to appear in public during an eclipse, shows how obsessively the commandment that forbids a girl from seeing the sun during her first menstruation is understood and obeyed. The roots of such widespread superstitious ideas and customs can be expected to be found in ancient myths and folk tales.And it has been done.The story of Dana in ancient Greece probably falls into this category.It is said that Dana's father imprisoned her in a basement or a copper tower, and Zeus turned into golden rain to meet her in a tryst and conceive.The legends of the Kyrgyz people of Siberia about their ancestors have similarities to this story of the Dana of ancient Greece.A certain Khan had a daughter. The Khan locked her in a dark iron room and did not allow any man to see her.There was an old woman who served the girl. When the girl was a virgin, one day she said to the old woman, "You always go out, where have you been?" The old woman said, "My child, there is a bright world outside, and your parents live in There, all kinds of people live there. I often go there." The girl said, "Good mother, I won't tell anyone, please take me to see the bright world too." So The old woman took the girl out of the iron house.But as soon as the girl saw the bright world, she immediately wobbled and fainted.Then God's eyes fell on her, and the girl became pregnant.The girl's father was very angry, put her in a gold box and let her drift away in the sea with the wind and waves (the gold of the fairy family can drift in the fairyland).The golden rain in the above-mentioned Greek stories and the eyes of the gods in the Kyrgyz legends may both represent the sun and sunshine.The idea of ​​a woman being impregnated by the sun abounds in legends and even in the customs of marriage.