THE PLACENTA AT THE ROOT OF THE TREE

In different parts of Albania, the placenta is regularly buried in the ground, under the threshold or in the inner courtyard of the house, or at the base of a fruit tree or a very old tree.

Because one of the models for fertility is plant growth and the other is gestation, the placenta is thus placed in relation with plant fertility after having been in relation with human or at least animal fertility.

If the placenta was not expelled and buried, it was believed that the baby was not fully born. No doubt, with respect to fertilising powers of the earth, only such practices could mark the completion of the ritual.

Bibliography

Doja, Albert. “Mythology and Destiny.” Anthropos: International Review of Anthropology and Linguistics 100, no. 2 (2005): 449–462. https://doi.org/10.5771/0257-9774-2005-2-449. (ResearchGate)