pantang-voorschriften (English: “taboo prohibitions (during pregnancy)”) is a term or concept described in Jongejan’s Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu in relation to Aceh. Numerous prohibitions imposed on a pregnant woman and her husband to protect the unborn child.
Translation
taboo prohibitions (during pregnancy)
Description
Numerous prohibitions imposed on a pregnant woman and her husband to protect the unborn child. E.g., the woman may not tie anything around her neck (lest the child be born with the umbilical cord around its neck), nor repair torn clothing (would obstruct delivery), nor cut cloth or split pinang nuts (would cause harelip), nor bathe in the evening (would hinder delivery). The husband may not kill an animal, twist rope, or hammer in a nail/spike during the pregnancy.
Significance
The term pantang-voorschriften is recorded by Jongejan as part of the cultural, administrative, or institutional vocabulary of Aceh.
See Also
Source
Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu, by J. Jongejans, Oud-Resident van het Gewest Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, with a foreword by Dr. H. Colijn (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 135, 136.