Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

folk culture, ''lihí'' is a condition of pregnancy food craving in which a notable characteristic is that

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

women usually desire food such as sour, unripe

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

with

bagoong ''Bagoóng'' (; ) is a Philippine condiment partially or completely made of either fermented fish (''bagoóng'') or krill or shrimp paste (''alamáng'') with salt. The fermentation process also produces fish sauce known as ''patís''. The pre ...

. While it is a cultural concept restricted among the

Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...

, analogous cultural phenomena of pregnancy food cravings have been observed in various cultures. It is still debatable as to whether ''lihí'' can be classified and established as either a biological or psychological condition or a purely social and cultural one.

Superstitions

''Lihí'' also broadly encompasses a folk belief that whatever a woman had craved during pregnancy will imprint characteristics on the child. The period of the lihi is usually the

first trimester Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

of the pregnancy. When a child resembles a

manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species ...

, for example, it is said that the mother enjoyed looking at that particular animal during the gestational period. The lihi period is also the time when the expectant mother is allegedly susceptible to supernatural creatures which might play pranks on her. She might also develop a strong dislike against her husband. In other regions, ''lihí'' refers to the belief that any sensory stimuli imbibed by a pregnant woman influences the development of her child. Among some ethnic groups in the northern Philippines, it is

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

to mention anything about animals such as rats or pigs near a pregnant woman for fear that her child may acquire the features of the mentioned animals.

References

{{Superstitions Health in the Philippines Superstitions of the Philippines Tagalog words and phrases Austronesian spirituality

Superstitions

See also

References