Culture
This Rich African Culture is Worth Preserving
The one thing that sets African mothers apart
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Across Africa, women can be seen carrying babies on their backs swaddled in cloth. In western cultures, women are seen carrying their babies in the front in a baby carrier or a baby stroller. Despite the westernization in Africa, this is one thing that sets African mothers apart from the rest of the world. Though baby strollers are available in many African countries, women refuse to use them, preferring the traditional method of carrying babies.
Women carrying their babies in the back is a way to protect their children from harm. Many may argue that carrying a baby in the front is the best way to keep the child safe because they can have their eyes on the child at all times. But Africans have a different way of looking at this.
There are many reasons African women still prefer this method of baby carrying. “I’ll jump in front of a bullet for you.” Africans have lived through the slave trade, colonization eras, and wars, and the back is the safest place to have a baby. The mother in the front acts as a shield for the child. Bullets, arrows, and boulders normally come from the front and the mother is right there to keep the child safe from incoming danger. A mother would rather lose their lives than see their child get hurt.
Other than the argument of incoming danger, the back seems like the most comfortable place, especially for small babies. The baby moves and rocks to the sway of their mothers’ hips and this can be very comfortable for fussy babies. It is comforting for the baby as they are not only wrapped up in their mother's warmth, but they are cradled and cuddled when they cry.
African women know no pacifiers. The best pacifier for a crying baby is their mother’s back. It doesn’t take long until a crying baby falls asleep on his or her mother’s back.
The mother will just shake her body and sing a soothing lullaby, and the baby is calm. The baby on the back also gets to observe the world around them and interact with the people close by.
The added benefit of carrying their babies this way is the bond that is created between the mother and child. The close contact with the mother gives the baby the feeling of being protected at all times.
Carrying a baby this way is especially helpful for mothers whose babies are going through separation anxiety. When on the back, the baby feels safe and comforted and the mother gets to have both hands free to do the chores.
Women are normally the first to wake up in many African homes to get the house ready for the rest of the family. An average African woman has to wake up early to clean the house and cook breakfast for the family, and their babies cannot be left unattended. Carrying their babies on their backs gives them room to do chores like cooking.
Cooking in African is not as easy as it is in many western cultures. Kitchens aren't always attached to the living rooms and there are no gadgets like blenders and microwaves to help make the process go faster. Women have to make their food from scratch, and there's normally a lot of grinding and pounding involved.
African mothers can be seen bending to sweep the floors, collecting water on their heads, and the babies hang on to their mothers as they sell food in the market or work in the farms.
Carrying a baby on the back is easy. First, a woman lifts the baby to her side and slants the body slightly to position the baby close to her buttocks. She bends over slightly to balance the child while using the cloth to cover the baby. For older babies, she leaves their hands and feet to fall at her sides but tucks in the hands and feet of younger babies. The ends of the cloth are tucked in and the remainder of the cloth hanging from the top is tied at the chest of the woman.
When it’s time for the child to feed, the food is right there as a mother shifts the baby to the front of her body to breastfeed.
West African countries like Ghana and Nigeria are widely known for carrying their babies this way. Other African countries have their own way of tying the cloth around their babies, but the process is similar.
No matter how modernized Africans become, this is a part of the rich culture African women aim to preserve.
