BELIEFS ABOUT THE UMBILICAL CORD STUMP

The above picture is one of my colleague's baby whom I visited on Friday afternoon.  When I was there, the subject of umbilical cord stump was discussed. For your information, the umbilical cord is cut at birth and a stump of tissue remains attached to the baby's navel (umbilicus). This stump gradually dries and shrivels until it falls off.  In some cultures, the stump is kept by the mothers. 
I mentioned that one of the teachers in school told me that his mother kept the dried umbilical cord stump of all her children and would use them to make a drink for them if they were insolent and uncontrollable.  I also recall watching an episode of the Taiwanese drama, Hanazakarino Kimitachihe whereby one of the main characters said that his mum preserved the stump of his umbilical cord, put it in a pouch and made him carry it with him for protection.  According to my Malay friends, the belief about these preserved stumps was that the mother would dry the stumps and keep them with her so that her children would remain obedient.  They usually do not have to resort to having to make a drink with the stump.  I guess that would be a very drastic measure to take.