For about six months before and after the birth of a child the mother is relieved from hard labor; she is not allowed to taste of any thing sour, neither may she eat dried fish or flesh, lest her child be thin and weak. The father is under no restrictions other than that he is expected to remain near to his home for a few days following the birth of a child. Other action on his part would be considered by the spirits as an admission that he does not care for the child, and they would cause the umbilical cord to decay so that the child would die. The mother is delivered in the regular dwelling, where she is attended by two or more midwives or _mabalian_.[34] She is placed with her back against an inclined board, while in her hands she holds a rope which is attached to the roof. With the initial pains, one of the midwives massages the abdomen, while another prepares a drink made from leaves, roots, and bark, and gives it to the expectant woman. The preparation of this concoction was taught by friendly spirits, and it is supposed to insure an easy delivery. Still another _mabalian_ spreads a mat in the middle of the room, and on it places valuable cloths, weapons, and gongs, which she offers to the spirits; praying that they will make the birth easy and give good health to the infant. The articles offered at this time can be used by their former owners but as they are now the property of the spirits they must not be sold or traded. The writer was very anxious to secure an excellent weapon which had been thus offered. The user finally agreed to part with it but first he placed it beside another of equal value, and taking a piece of betel nut he rubbed each weapon with it a number of times, then dipping his fingers in the water he touched both the old and the new blades, all the time asking the spirit to accept and enter the new weapon. The child is removed by the _mabalian_ who, in cutting the umbilical cord, makes use of the kind of knife used by the members of the child's sex, otherwise the wound would never heal. The child is placed on a piece of soft betel bark, "for its bones are soft and our hands are hard and are apt to break the soft bones," then water is poured over it and its body is rubbed with _pogonok_.[35] The afterbirth is placed in a bamboo tube, is covered with ashes and a leaf, and the whole is hung against the side of the dwelling where it remains until it falls of its own accord or the house is destroyed. In Cibolan the midwife applies a mixture of clay and herbs called _karamir_ to the eyes of all who have witnessed the birth "so that they will not become blind." Having done this she gives the child its name, usually that of a relative, and her duties are over. As payment she will receive a large and a small knife, a plate, some cloth, and a needle.[36] [34] In Cibolan the midwife is called _taratEk-Ekn_, and need not be a _mabalian_. [35] A medicine made of bark and rattan.