I live in Massachusetts. In the first third of the 20th century in Fall River
most people had their babies at home and the baby was more often than not,
delivered by the midwife, not the doctor.
In the Azores, every village had a midwife (wives) who delivered babies. Of
course the midwife might be a relative of one parent or another. (Most people
in the village were related to one extent, close or distant, or another. Babies
who were born in a state suggesting they might not survive the night, were
usually baptized by a layperson on the spot. (These baptisms were, and are,
perfectly valid, and recorded in the parish church.) Sometimes it was the
midwife herself who baptized, sometimes it was somebody else (grandpa, father,
uncle) and with no time to invite somebody to be the godparent, the "parteira"
was often pressed into service for this role on the spot.
In older records in the Azores we often see a child having previously been
baptized at home by a layperson, being taken later to the church to solemnize
the baptism, i.e. to receive the anointing with holy oil (santos oleos) and
"exorcism" i.e. the old custom (which as an altar boy in the sixties I often
saw) whereby the priest touched some salt to the baby's lips, and oil to the
ears, hand, etc., with the godparents "renouncing" Satan on the child's behalf.
(This first anointing was a precursor of the old sacrament of extreme unction,
or anointing reserved for those who were in danger of death).
I only add the last paragraph because it has come up before on the list with
various explanations. I do not mean to give an impromptu Sunday afternoon
catechism lesson.
John
Independently of the sacramental value, these ceremonies are full of symbolism.
When one attends a Catholic funeral, a white pall if placed over the casket,
and the priest reminds us that just the baby was given a white robe at baptism,
is againn given another in death.
On Sunday, August 23, 2015 4:25 PM, Sandra Perez
<perezsandra...@gmail.com> wrote:
What was the role of midwives? I have seen the same name repeated on births
and often they act as a godparent. Was it a profession, such as, the village
midwife? I have also seen where the child is born in the home of the midwife.
Is it possible that it was the home of a relative acting as the midwife?
--
Sandra Perez
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