THE CULTURE AND CUSTOM OF THE MAH MERI BIRTH: AFTER A BABY IS BORN

The navel cord of a newborn baby is cut using a thin and sharp bamboo strip and the baby is bathed with warm water. The placenta is washed, mixed with turmeric powder, salt, white pepper powder, galangal and incense, and then buried in a hole about a foot deep near the house. A lamp is lighted for seven days at the burial place. The Mah Meri community assumes that the placenta is the baby sibling and therefore should be given a proper burial.