Umbilical Cord

Kikuyu, Yansi

In birth ceremonies and rituals, Africans include the umbilical cord, along with the placenta, in various ways. Sometimes both the umbilical cord and placenta are buried before, during, or after a naming ceremony. In some instances, only the placenta is disposed of through burial. The Kikuyu of East Africa bury the placenta in an uncultivated field because open pastures symbolize, for them, all that is new, fertile, and strong. The Yansi of Central Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo) throw the placenta's physical remnants into the river as a way of showing that the child belongs to the community.

Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, a baby is named only after the umbilical cord has dropped off. Prior to this time, it is thought that the baby does not yet have an identity of its own. In Sierra Leone, people treat the placenta as a special object. Following birth, the placenta is buried by the child's maternal female elders. A hole is dug below a banana tree by the wife's mother or another female elder at the house of the maternal grandmother. The placenta is placed in a circle, and the end that connected the child to the mother is placed upright. People of Sierra Leone believe that if this end is buried in a downward position, it will cause sterility. The disposal of the placenta indicates that the child has transformed from being alone in the mother's womb and will take its place in the family and community during the naming ceremony.

Africans Born in the United States

The Mende people have a strong connection to Africans born in the United States. Midwives report that the Gullah or Geechee people of South Carolina share with the Mende people of Sierra Leone language, crafts, and rituals. Common beliefs and rituals are documented and still practiced among these two groups of Africans. One of these beliefs concerns the umbilical cord, which is buried (along with the placenta) to remind the child where he was born. Usually a fruit tree is planted to ensure the child that he will never go hungry.

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