| caption: |
birth abnormalities linked to breaking of work taboo |
| text: |
When we pass the Angban we see the wife of the Ang, Chinkak, with her recently born child who has a severe hair lip. While she was pregnant Chinkak had carved a slit drum for me, something he never should have done. The husband of a pregnant woman may not weave a basket, nor may he carve any kind of figure. That is because the child will resemble what he has carved. The slit on the drum became the slit in the child's lip. It also was born with skin between its toes which Shankok explained was because Chinkak had also carved a seat with hornbill bird heads and now the child had feet like a bird. |
