During childbirth the mother sits on the ground with her legs apart,
and her back against the wall or supported by another woman. The
umbilical cord is cut by the midwife: if the parents wish the boy
to become eloquent she buries it in the village Council-place; or if
they wish him to be a good trader, in the market; or if they desire
him to be pious, before some shrine; in the case of a girl the cord
is usually buried in a dung-heap, which is regarded as an emblem of
fertility. As is usual in Chhattisgarh, the mother receives no food
or water for three days after the birth of a child. On the fifth day
she is given regular food and on that day the house is purified. Five
months after birth the lips of the child are touched with rice and
milk and it is named. When twins are born a metal vessel is broken to
sever the connection between them, as it is believed that otherwise
they must die at the same time. If a boy is born after three girls
he is called titura, and a girl after three boys, tituri. There is
a saying that 'A titura child either fills the storehouse or empties
it'; that is, his parents either become rich or penniless. To avert
ill-luck in this case oil and salt are thrown away, and the mother
gives one of her bangles to the midwife.