OK -- this comes from research done in northern Mali by another
anthropologist (not me).  The research was on child rearing practices and
child health/mortality.  The researcher's name is Sarah Castle and her work
is excellent and fascinating, if any of you care to look up her articles.
The moms want the babies to poop in the morning, so they don't have to worry
about it the rest of the day and aren't always having to clean the babies
off.  This is babies between 6-12 months, not younger.  In the morning,
after the baby has had breakfast (usually millet porridge) and of course
nursed a bunch, the mother chews up a mouthful of fiery red peppers and
water in her mouth, then she . . . blows this mixture up the baby's anus
(yes, with her mouth).  In a few minutes, the baby evacuates its bowels
completely, and pooping is over for that day.

The people I study and work with, the Bambara ethnic group, do not do this!

Kathy D.
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