ABSTRACT
Anthropological writers and others have begun to address themselves to themes that are central to women such as menstruation and childbirth. Scant attention is paid in Temiar ethnography to these two themes in particular. Recent writings on anthropology have challenged many assumptions concerning women and bodily functions. These writings were only available to the author on his/her return from the field and have greatly assisted the author's understanding of the data. Most of the literature on menstrual beliefs associates two cross-cutting themes of power and pollution. Women are considered dangerous because of the power and pollution associated with their menstrual flow and thus it is something that men wish to avoid or to emulate. Orthodox Judaism insists that women are ritually cleansed by bathing when the menstrual flow has ceased. Temiar men and women recognise that women menstruate every month and that it is the cessation of menstrual flow that indicates pregnancy.
