Signs At Birth
There are many things that the Mayans believe can be interpreted when a child is born. The Maya calendar for divination, or the "Sacred calendar", is believed to foretell a childʻs future, as some days are more auspicious than others. The calendar is important in Maya society for interpreting and shaping childrenʻs futures. However, Mayans also believe that midwives are able to foretell the life of a child based on the interpretations they can make from the markings on the umbilical cord and the amniotic sac. They believe that based on the markings from the first born, the sex, number and interval of future births can also be foretold. The most important markings are that of a future shaman (worms or flies clutched in the fist of a newborn), midwife (white mantle over the head, which comes from the amniotic membrane) and a baby that will endanger the survival of future siblings (born with a double whorl in its crown).
Read more about this topic: Midwifery In Maya Society
Famous quotes containing the words signs and/or birth:
“What a devil hast thou to do with the time of the day? Unless hours were cups of sack, and minutes capons, and clocks the
tongues of bawds, and dials the signs of leaping-houses, and the blessed sun himself a fair hot wench in flame-colored
taffeta, I see no reason why thou shouldst be so superfluous
to demand the time of the day.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“A small boy puts his hand on the wall, and looks down intently as he wriggles his toes. The birth of thought?”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)