Abstract
"Gymnastic" (keeping infants standing up or jumping on one's lap) and breast-feeding have been the subjects of research with respect to the foraging lifestyle of the San (indigenous people of Southern Africa). To better understand these two phenomena, field research was conducted among the !Xu San, who had close associations with farming herding people. Analyses 1 showed that !Xu caretakers frequently engaged fretful infants in "gymnastic" exercise with emphasizing the function to soothe them, while it was reported previously that the San believe "gymnastic" behavior promote infant motor development. Analyses 2 showed that mothers nursed their babies briefly and frequently at short intervals. It also indicated the following relevant features : (1) there was little restriction of time and space in nursing infants ; (2) during sucking, mothers gazed at infants less than usual ; (3) mothers seldom jiggled infants during pauses in sucking ; and (4) "gymnastic" behavior sometimes interrupted breast-feeding. These findings suggest that there is a cultural diversity in caretaker reactions caused by infant behaviors, and that caretaker-infant interactions gradually become organized. This study also implicates that child rearing should be interpreted in relation to cultural structures, including behavior, folk knowledge and the environment.
