Note 32.4 — Chapter XV · THE COUVADE AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE STRENGTH OF THE BLOOD-TIE—CONCLUSION OF THE INQUIRY INTO THE THEORY OF THE LIFE-TOKEN.
Reading edition
Dr. A. Haas, in v. Am Urquell, 253; ii. Bartsch, 43. It seems that according to an old German superstition the water in which a baby is washed for the first time must be poured on trees. In the Canton of Berne it must be poured on a fruitful, or a young, tree; and the person charged with this duty must sing or shout, that the child may learn to sing or shout well. Ploss, i. Kind, 79, citing Rothenbach, Volksthüml. aus d. Canton Berne. A similar practice is found in Austria. Grimm, Teut. Myth., 1807. As a provision against ill-luck and witches among the Magyars, the water is thrown half on a crossway and half on a willow-tree. Von Wlislocki, Volksgl. Mag., 69. The Transylvanian Saxons, on the other hand, will not throw it where it may be trodden on, lest the child die, or at least lose its sleep. The proper place is beneath a tree, that the babe may strengthen. Ibid., Volksgl. Siebenb. Sachs., 154.