A pregnant woman is typically bombarded with a huge list of do’s and don’ts.
Nigeria is a multi-ethnic country. It is made up of diverse cultures and different people. Some have estimated that there are at least 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria. According to Ethnologue, there are at least 500 indigenous languages in Nigeria. Each of these languages has its own corresponding culture attached to it. However, despite the heterogeneity of the ethnicities in Nigeria, they have one thing in common: superstition and myths. They form part of the oral tradition of these tribal groups.
A myth is a distortion of a truth such that variations of it are passed down from generation to another and believed to be sacred even in its unoriginal form. On the other hand, superstition is something that has never been true but believed to be true by these people. Several myths exist about practically everything in these cultures. The ones about pregnancy are quite well-known. When their origin is examined, one discovers that the intentions of their creator was altruistic. But since they passed, there has been no one to correct the anomaly they unintentionally created.
Will going out in the afternoon make albinos?
One of the myths about pregnancy and pregnant women is that going out in the afternoon can make the child become an albino. Some other cultures have variations of this. To some, when a pregnant woman goes out in the afternoon, the child in her womb may grow up to be stubborn. To some others, evil spirits are out there in the sunny day hunting for babies in the womb to take possession of. This myth is taken quite seriously because of most of the cultures’ belief in reincarnation.
When one thoroughly investigates these claims, one will notice the selfless intentions of their originator. They make to protect the pregnant woman from hurt or harm. The sunny weather in the tropics is harsh against even the strongest of men. When it is cold, it gets excessively cold. When it is hot, it makes the driest skins brew many sweats. So, the intention behind the myth is to prevent pregnant women from going out in the sun to face the harsh weather in their delicate condition.
What does beauty and reincarnation have to do with pregnancy?
It is also popularly believed in Nigeria that women are more beautiful when they are pregnant. It is believed that females take their mother’s beauty, and the mother can even appreciate the baby boy growing inside her if she becomes more gorgeous during her pregnancy. With the advancement in the field of photography, the social media space has been awash with photographs of beautiful pregnancy women. As if that is a form of evidence, everybody takes that to mean that majority of pregnant women are the most beautiful ever during their pregnancy.
In reality, women experience fatigue and lots of acne, especially in their first trimester. This is as a result of morning sickness, pregnancy hormones and an increasing baby bump. During pregnancy, women have a much bigger fish to fry than trying to make up their face or, according to social media parlance, “dress to kill.” They are worried about their tiredness, fatigue, restlessness, and the constant changes that their body is undergoing. The hormonal changes is an aspect that they are also scared of because of the uncertainty.
Will the baby look like a masquerade if her mother sees one?
Another myth is that pregnant women are not to see a masquerade face to face. They are advised not to go out to see them because it is believed that the baby in the womb will resemble the masquerade. In some cultures, it is even believed that it can cause the woman to lose the pregnancy or for the fetus to pass away. For this reason, they are unable to attend carnivals and fanfares. This may be because the propagators of this myth do not want the pregnant woman to go through stress or be harmed at such a large gathering.
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Myths are distortions of facts that are passed down from generation to generation and considered sacred even in their unoriginal form.
80 percent of women these days don’t believe in these superstitions and they even go against them , eventually nothing happens to them.
When I was younger I use to think these superstitions were real, turns out to be fake the new generations should endeavor to scrap out this mentality and not pass it down to the upcoming generation
When you talk about pregnancy in Nigeria there are so many myths associated to it and people so believe in it because you are always told their are repercussions for such and it does happen so people tends to believe it was caused by not adhering to previous warnings.
All this do and don’t by most of the culture in the country has not been prove to be real and may not be true but just a fallacy not factual.
Pregnancy is a very beautiful thing. Still, it has a remarkable effect on women. Their hormonal system changes rapidly, they being to add weight, their bodies begin to change. Thus, cultural myths about them develop. We need to understand they need utmost love and care at this period of pregnancy.
There are numerous cultural myths about pregnancy in Nigeria. When these myths get to be logically analyzed and investigated, you find out that they were just meant to protect pregnant women. Then to make them take it seriously, they attached something scary to it
The intention behind these myths is yo safeguard pregnant women for a couple of things. Then to make them do the needful to prevent harm, they add something to make them fear and take it serious
Pregnancy in Nigeria as many cultural myths of what to do and don’t all this is to protect pregnant woman and take it serious and real in other to scared them they say something to them what to do and not to do is all for protection of pregnancy
Even though the people of Nigeria come from a wide variety of backgrounds, they all adhere to a number of the same myths and superstitions. These oral traditions are an important part of the culture of these indigenous groups.
In these cultures, numerous myths exist regarding practically every aspect of life, and the myths that surround pregnancy are among the most widely known.
People so believe in this myths because you are always told their are repercussions for such and it does happen so people tends to believe it was caused by not adhering to previous warnings.
Those relating to motherhood are particularly well-known. Insight into its creation reveals that its progenitor had no selfish goals in mind. However, since their passing, no one has been around to fix the problem they unwittingly caused.
many pregnant women believe in this myths associated to it and people so believe in it because you are always told their are repercussions for such and it does happen
There are various cultural myths about pregnancy in Nigeria, and all of them serve to safeguard pregnant women by making them take the situation seriously and avoid certain harmful practices.
Though some of these myths for pregnant women in those days is more or less preventive than reality but some can be realistic influence by tradition and culture of that tribe. So we can’t outrightly strike out all myths as such.
After conducting in-depth research on these assertions, one will discover that the person who made them did so out of altruism and with the objective of shielding pregnant women from any potential danger.
As technology in the realm of photography has advanced, there has been an explosion of images of attractive pregnant women being shared throughout social media platforms.
Upon further rational examination, it becomes clear that the original intent of these urban legends was to safeguard the health of expecting mothers. Then they tacked on something ominous to it to make people take it seriously.
You are always told there are penalties for such, and it does happen, so people prefer to believe it was caused by not adhering to previous warnings, but this leads to a plethora of myths surrounding pregnancy in Nigeria, and people really believe them.
I should have known that most of all these myths concerning pregnancy is all fallacy to keep the pregnant women away from some activities.