Some of our mañaina (elders) in the past believed that an infant or child could get sick if an adult was so attracted to the child and had the urge to touch or hold the child (magoddai) but didn't carry through with it.
When an adult, or even someone in their teens, liked a baby so much that he or she wanted to touch the baby, he or she should do so, and be allowed to do so, otherwise the baby might get sick.
Parents and others would suspect this was the case when a child suddenly became sick for no apparent reason or couldn't sleep, and cried instead of sleep.
One older lady explained it to me, "Ma espia eyi i uttimo na taotao ali'e'-ña para u ma na' seguro na ha pacha pat ha de'on, sa' magoddai lao ti ma nå'e chånsa, ti ha de'on, ti ha pacha. Ma fa'nana'an lokkue' ginen chålan i patgon, ya nesesita na u ma espia håye uttimo mumagoddai nu i nene, nu i patgon ya u ma nå'e chånsa para u pacha, u kariño."
"They look for the last person the child met to make sure he or she touched or pinched the child, because he or she had the urge to, but wasn't given the chance to pinch or touch the child. It's also called "the child came from the street," and it's necessary to look for the last person who got the urge to touch the child to give him or her the chance to touch or be affectionate with the child."
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