uring pregnancy, the Sliammon women paid
attention  to  many   rituals   and   restrictions
which  were  believed   to  influence   the  sex ,
looks and even the health  of  the  unborn  child.
A  pregnant  woman  was  particularly  careful  to 
restrict  her  diet  so  that  she  would  have  a
healthy  baby. For  example , if  a  woman  ate  a
spring salmon  head  during  the  spawning  cycle,
fainting  spells  and  a shaky  head would trouble
the baby of a woman who  had eaten  it. A  meal of
deer that had been hunted while  it  was  swimming
is  said to  cause the  baby to foam at the mouth,
and  the   most  forbidden  food  to  a  woman  of
child-bearing  age  was  loon  soup ;  because the
loon  lays  two  eggs ,  the  woman  would  surely
have  twins!  There  were ,  of  course ,  certain
foods   eaten  by  the  'mother-to-be'  that  were
believed  to  be  beneficial  to  her  child.  For 
example , if  she  ate  marten  meat ,  her  child
would grow up  slim  as  a  marten. As  a  general
rule , a  woman  avoided  all "ugly things" during
their pregnancy ; even  arbutus  trees  were  left
alone , for  they  were  known to  cause the  baby
to  have  wrinkled  skin.

hildbirth took place in a temporary shelter
constructed  outside  the  main  house  .  When  a
women was  giving  birth,  female  relatives  were
there to help, and also a  paid midwife ,  if  one
was  available .  As   labour   progressed ,  they
encouraged  the  woman  to  squat  while  grasping
hold  of a  pole inserted  in  the ground in front
of  her . This  position  was  said  to  make  the
birth  easier. After  the  umbilical  cord was cut,
the baby was  rubbed  with  ratfish oil  that  had
been  mixed  with  dried  balsam  fir  needles and
the powdered, roasted roots  of  the  cow  parsnip
plant. The midwife would  then  lift  the  newborn
into  the  air  with  the  traditional  words "you
will  be growing  with the  daylight," and finally
the  baby  was  bathed.

hen a child was about a year old, the family held   a  feast   and   distributed   property  to
announce  publicly  ,  the   child 's  name, but for a child to  have  any  place  in  Sliammon
society, it's  name  had  to  be given publicly. Names were passed down from  either  the  mother's
or  the  father's  family. Certain  names were for boys and others  for  girls.  The  most  important
names   were  those   of  illustrious  ancestors . After  been  given  a name,  a child  acquired not
only the name itself, but also the  responsibility of upholding the status  of the  ancestor who  had
previously  owned  the  name .  The  elders  would frequently remind  the children of the obligations
their  names  carried.

n the old days, puberty was the time for
training ; this  was  done  to instill not only
physical strength, but mental, spiritual and emotional
teachings so that they  might  better  endure  life's
hardships. Those  who  trained  hard , acquired  a
guardian spirit  power ; a  secret  power received
in a dream  or a  trance from a bird, another type
of animal or even  from  an  inanimate  object. At
the time of puberty, the Sliammon boys  and  girls
were  believed  to  have  a lot  of natural power.
Their touch could be either beneficial or harmful
in the sense that a person may try to use their
powers before they have completed all necessary 
training. Some of the elders  with aches  and pains
in  their joints would sometimes  call a young 
person to rub their sore  spots, hoping  that this
special touch would take away the pain. But  this
natural  power, at the  time  of  puberty  was  not
enough ;  it was necessary to go away  from the 
village and  train for  spiritual guidance.

raditional Sliammon marriages took place any
time  after  puberty,  as  long  as  the young man
was successful enough  to  support  a  wife.  This
decision was made by his parents, because marriage
was  considered  somewhat  of  an alliance between
two families rather than a  union  between  a  man
and a woman. Marriage united two  families so that
they  could   cooperate  economically .  The  best
alliance,  therefore, would be  with a family from
another  village,  a  village  in  an  area  where
resources not  available at  home were  plentiful.
The  mainland   Comox   people  -  the   Homalco ,
Klahoose ,  Sliammon  -  tended  to  marry   among
themselves  and  occasionally  with  the  Sechelt.
But if a person was of the same clan, they were
forbidden to marry. It therefore became the job of
the Watchman and all family members to make sure
that this did not happen.

lthough the opinion of the young people was
seldom considered, there  were  love  charms  that
young  men  and  women  could  use  to attract the
person   of   their   choice . The   common  plant
called  pineapple   weed  was  used  for   such  a
purpose . It  was  necessary  only  to  bathe in a
solution   of  pineapple   weed  and  the  desired
person  would  be  attracted.

he Sliammon people believed that at death, a person's soul, located  in  the  head, left  the
body and went to the land  of the dead. The corpse was  washed  immediately, the  hair was combed and
the body  was bound  in the  position required for burial: the knees were brought up  to the head and
the arms were wrapped around the  legs so that the hands  were  tucked   under  the  feet .  In  this
position, the corpse was  wrapped in a new blanket and placed in  a wooden burial  box. The  box  was
set in a cave or  rock crevice on  a nearby island, or  some  site  away  from  the  village or were
hoisted up about 30 to 40 feet in a tree, but making sure the ropes were secure enough to hold and 
endure all weather conditions . If  the weather  happened to be bad when a woman died, her face and her
hair  were covered with  deer or bear oil. This,  it  was  believed, would  cause the weather to become
fair.