Something of the same tender care which
is thus bestowed on the newly-born Rice-child is naturally extended
also to its parent, the sheaf from whose body it was taken. This
sheaf, which remains standing in the field after the Rice-soul has
been carried home and put to bed, is treated as a newly-made mother;
that is to say, young shoots of trees are pounded together and
scattered broadcast every evening for three successive days, and
when the three days are up you take the pulp of a coco-nut and what
are called "goat-flowers," mix them up, eat them with a little
sugar, and spit some of the mixture out among the rice. So after a
real birth the young shoots of the jack-fruit, the rose-apple,
certain kinds of banana, and the thin pulp of young coco-nuts are
mixed with dried fish, salt, acid, prawn-condiment, and the like
dainties to form a sort of salad, which is administered to mother
and child for three successive days. The last sheaf is reaped by the
farmer's wife, who carries it back to the house, where it is
threshed and mixed with the Rice-soul.
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