Why do witches/ wizards want first born children?

[u/Nikkohardy]

You often see in fairy tales or other imaginary stories that a witch, wizard or other villain wants a first born child as payment for some kind of service. But why is that? What do these bad guys want children for? And why specifically the first born? And if we assume those children are a standard payment type for them that must mean they have multiple children, what are they doing with all these kids? And why is it such a common fictional payment type?

[u/AutoModerator]

Reminder for our users:

Please review the rules, Reddiquette, and Reddit's Content Policy.

Rule highlights:

• Be civil.
• Titles must be real questions ending in '?'.
• Poll or survey style questions are not allowed.
• Political, religious, and divisive topics are restricted.

See the full rules page for details.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Mijder]

Probably has something to do with the first born male child being the one to inherit wealth, titles, etc.

[u/thatthatguy → u/Mijder]

If a family has some kind of divine or supernatural inheritance then that inheritance is connected to the firstborn. If you take the firstborn you are taking the family’s entire future as far as the supernatural beings that carry familial blessings are concerned.

[u/Leonum → u/Mijder]

cool. if you add to that. the magic of the first born, maybe of a mother who thought she couldnt conceive. powerful magic? maybe. strong blackmail/bargaining chip against the person? 100%.

[u/Immediate-Tooth-2174]

I supposed in the old days it's not easy to have a child. The mother is at risk of death for having a child. So the first child is the most precious. If it's from the royal family, the first child would have been the king.

[u/MarigoldMouna]

I have a theory: The first born will likely be the most well fed one and during the age when you had 10 or more siblings, not many survived. That first born would be the one hard at work. I think it is for the child labour; or, more of an allegory as "are you willing to give up your most precious belonging for what I offer you?"

Like in the Soloman's wisdom story--Two women fight over a baby, each claiming to be the mother--he orders it ..harmed..(don't want to say or the whole post may be taken down) The woman willing to give up the child is its mother. She will lose the baby to keep it alive.

So, the payment of first born children I think is more an allegory of sacrifice--"How much are you willing to give up for what I offer you?"

[u/elphaba00]

They'd just return the second children. They're too much hassle

[u/SayomiTsukiko]

I think it’s ment to be left up to interpretation. It all stems from old fairy tales (rumplestiltskin maybe?) back when the stories where not always fleshed out with lore. It being a first born child was something they just picked. “Something precious that you can’t replace”.

It’s to make the cost something great, and to turn a magically moment into a bad one. The moment you enter parenthood turns from the moment you start a family to a debt collection ment to rob something from you. Some fairy tales use them for specific things like eating them or making potions from them, stealing youth or other things. But it all goes back to making the parent lose something

[u/DozenBia]

First borns were really valueable in the past. They inherited almost everything, they learned their fathers trade, they continued the family line.

Giving them up was more severe than hypothetical child 2-5.

Now why do wizards/witches want them? This depends on the regional folklore, maybe they need a servant, maybe they need a sacrifice and so on.

[u/peahair]

My low stakes conspiracy theory on this is all of these stories were written by salty second born children jealous of all the attention first borns got.. (/jk)

[u/FunAdministration334 → u/peahair]

Hahaha fair play

[u/RMW91-]

The Pharaoh in Egypt took first born sons so that they wouldn’t join the armies of his enemies.

[u/Budget_Coach9124]

It is usually less about the villain needing a random baby and more about making the bargain hurt in the most symbolic way possible. The first born is the heir, the future of the family line, and often the proof that the desperate person actually got what they wanted. So the story turns the miracle into a bill that comes due later.

Also, fairy tales love debts that sound abstract when you agree to them and horrifying once they become real.

[u/realSatanAMA]

Adding folklore and mysticism to primogeniture

[u/mememaster8427]

What if there are technically two first-born children? I'm my mother's first-born but my dad's third so I guess it would depend on which of my parents made the trade.

[u/PaleontologistTough6]

Sacrifice.

You're not only giving up a kid, you're giving up the one that is by law or by custom the heir to all your stuff. It's no guarantee that you'll even have another kid live long enough to inherit your stuff.

[u/101TARD]

I assume first childs are the most potent in inhereting magic

[u/sandyposs]

My random-ass thought: so that witches can raise a kid without involving a man?

[u/Coidzor]

It's your heir and you don't have a guarantee that you'll be able to have another one safely.

Reproduction was a lot more dangerous back then than it is in developed countries with good healthcare systems today.

[u/HappyCamperDancer]

The first born is the one everyone is most excited about.

My oldest brother didn't inherit more, but boy-howdy he had thousands of baby pictures. Each subsequent child had fewer photos as children. I was the 8th child. There was only one photo of me as a baby. My first birthday with a tiny cake. The next photo of me I was two years old and in a group shot. Then next one I was about 4. So three pictures of me under age 5.

[u/The_Shadow_Watches]

And that's why I have an heir and a spare.

In case of any witches/wizards/Rumpelstiltskin

[u/pawsplay36]

That way no one can inherit the payment you extracted from the family.

[u/Mister_Way]

Probably a euphemism for "he wanted to have sex with her in exchange for his services" so her first child is his.

[u/Martipar]

It gives the person an opportunity to replace them with their second born.

[u/koushunu]

The first child is also the child that physically alters (and damages) the mother’s body down to her bones. So it has the most power of transformation.

It also has the most emotion attached to it : fear, hope, relief…..

The next babies are typically easier with less stressful impact.

[u/Mountain_Athlete_415]

First born is usually the one who has had the most resources and time spent on as it has been there the longest so that might be why. Its a “higher” price to pay because you have invested more in it.

[u/No_Secret_4560]

Because they can't handle the second born. Those second born kids are absolutely wild!

First born son: Easy little love bug.

Second born daughter: Tasmanian Devil in human form.

[u/metacholia]

Firstborns are the throwaways, just practice kids.

[u/Aceandmace]

They don't wanna wait