One of the things I learned from that beginning genealogy class when I began was: Who said it? When did they say it? How did they know?
So, Manny says his mom said what her aunt said this story. OK, so this story is being retold and translated. That answers the WHO. But WHEN did this aunt say this? It is something this aunt remembered from the age of 5? A memory is always open to question. A childhood memory seems more so. And this story is being retold. HOW did this aunt know? Did she stand there and watch? I don't know..."beat the body" brings an image to mind that a stick, bat, meat clever, something was taken to the body to basically abuse it. To me, it just doesn't seem right. Maybe it was a custom to that area? I thought some type of acid (lime?) was used to aid decomposition. To beat a body (or a piece of meat - which is muscle) is to tenderize it. But I don't have any experience with beating a piece of meat and observing the composition either. So I concur, maybe "beat" isn't the right word here, but what would be the correct word? I'll have to ask some of the people at the hall. The body that was dumped in the ocean - sounds like an isolated incident to me. Cheri Mello Listowner, Azores-Gen Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada -- For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores.
