Couvade in Primitive Society

Abstract

In the broad sense, transition to fatherhood through the sharing of labour between the two partners, paternal imitation of puerperal sickness and / or dietary and behavioural taboos imposed on father, is signified in some primitive societies with special ceremonies termed "ritual couvade". The aim of the present theoret­ical work is the description and the presentation of the interpretations that have been expressed for the phenomenon of "ritual couvade", in order to explore for an adequate interpretative frame in the tight of Modern Developmental Psychol­ogy. The present work is structured as follows: in the first part, a historical review of the use of the term “couvades” is presented. The second part constitutes an effort to define "ritual couvade" and to describe the kinds and the variations if it in primitive societies. In the third part, a review of the interpretations on "ritual cou­vade " is presented. A t the end of the article, a criticism of the inadequacy of these interpretations is followed by the expression of the hypothesis that l\\e theory of "in­nate intersubjectivity" may constitute an interpretative frame worth of attention for t his exceptionally interesting phenomenon.