Ich bin Herbert-Renz-Polsters Lesetipp nachgegangen und habe mir  „Nisa – The life and words of a !Kung woman“ von Marjorie Shostak besorgt.

Hier hab ich die wichtigsten Textpassagen bezüglich „Schwangerschaft“ zusammengetragen…

Auszüge aus dem Kapitel 8 „First Birth“:

The Kung recognize that pregnancy which they sometimes refer to as „when a child hits fists inside the womb“ – results from sexual intercourse, and understand menstruation to show that conception has not occurred. They believe, however, that conception takes place at the end of the menses, when semen joins with the last of the menstrual blood. They have a somewhat more accurate idea of the duration of pregnancy: if a husband has had a long absence at around the time conception must have occurred, he will be likely to challenge his wife as to the paternity of the child.
Kung women anticipate their periods by the phases of the moon; if a moon comes and goes without the expected onset of menstruation, they begin to suspect pregnancy. If other signs are there as well – a darkening of the areola around the nipple, an unexplained dislike for certain foods, a tendency to nausea and vomitting, a craving for meat, and any unusual emotionality – the suspicion strengthen. When a second and third moon have passed, probability turns to certainty. Although others may already suspect it, a women will not speak openly about it until the next moon passes – in adherence, perhaps, to the general expectation of humility whenever the enviable happens. This silence may also protect the woman psychologically in case of spontaneous miscarriage, which is more likely to occur in the first months of pregnancy. […]

Once the pregnancy is known to the group, others offer help – by carrying an oder child, by giving food, or by  assisting with chores. Still, the woman is not viewed as in need of protection, nor is she expected to cease her normal activities. She continues to travel the usual distances to gather food ans apt to return her usual load. If she doesn’t feel well, she will rest until she feels better. But many women maintain their normal work routines until the day they give bith. Pregnancy is thought as a given; it is „women’s work“.
Emotions, however, tend to undermine the equanimity women try to maintain. Many Kung women experience extreme mood fluctuations during pregnancy. The moodiness, seen as normal, is accepted and easily tolerated, but it is not encouraged. […]

Most Kung love children, and the ideal is to have many. But Kung women know intimately the physical cost of pregnancy, as well as the work and responsibility that having many children entails. One woman, pregnant too soon with her fourth child, expressed her unhappiness this way: „Having too many children makes you skinny because they are too hard to carry.“ […]

A Kung woman will have, an average, four or five live births during her reproductive live.

[Nisa – The life and words of a !Kung woman. Shostak M. First Vintage Books Edition. Jan 1983; Seite 177-182]

Das Buch ist in einem gut verständlichen Englisch geschrieben. Es ist sehr spannend zu lesen, wie das Volk der !Kung (!Kung ist eine Eigenbezeichnung für die San) im südlichen Afrika gelebt hat, auch wenn die Themen wie Probeehen, Nebenfrauen, Liebhabern, Abtreibungen, Vorenthaltung des Kolostrums für die Neugeborenen sehr befremdlich sind. Im Buch findet man auch mehrere Beispiele zum Ablauf der Geburt.

Ich habe nun auch die deutsche Ausgabe „Nisa erzählt – Das Leben einer Nomadenfrau in Afrika„, erschienen im Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag Neuausgabe 2001, hier. EDIT: In dieser Ausgabe findet man die in die Kapitel einführenden Informationen zu den !Kung von Frau Shostak (die oben zitierten Textstellen) nach Nisas Erzählungen.

Wer mehr zu den San erfahren möchte, schaue auch hier: TV-Tipp: die San, das älteste Volk der Menschheit (und hier der Direkt-Link zur ARD-Mediathek: Der Buschmann in uns)