Weaning and the nature of early childhood interactions among Bofi foragersin Central Africa

Western scholarly literature suggests that (1) weaning is initiated by moth ers; (2) weaning takes place within a few days once mothers decide to stop nursing (3) mothers employ specific techniques to terminate nursing (4) sem i-solid foods (gruels and mashed foods) are essential when weaning; (5) wea ning is traumatic for children (it leads to temper tantrums, aggression, et c.); (6) developmental stages in relationships with mothers and others can be demarcated by weaning; and (7) weaning is a process that involves mother s and children exclusively, with weaned children moving from close relation ships with their mothers to strengthened relationships with other children. In many respects, these presumptions are consistent with contemporary Euro american practices: nursing stops early (usually before six months) relativ e to other cultures and takes place over a few days or weeks with the help of bottles and baby foods. Because bottles are available, weaning seldom ap pears traumatic, but it is seen as an important step in the establishment o f independence between mothers and infants. By contrast, weaning from the b ottle is often perceived as traumatic. Despite considerable academic and po pular interest, weaning has seldom been studied systematically, especially in small-scale cultures. Qualitative and quantitative data from a study of Bofi foragers in Central Africa are used here to evaluate the cross-cultura l applicability of the assumptions summarized above.