<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Birth is perceived as a threshold, a milestone, and is best described as passing from one stage to another and from one status to another. This article aims to present the customs regarding the birth of a child, as they were preserved in the Banat folk mentality: the origin of the midwife and her role as mediator, the belief in the unfailing destiny foreseen by the book of fate, the rite of the first bath having a huge importance for the future of the child and a series of magic and religious acts meant to ward off the Evil forces that intend to harm the child and to restore the balance.</p></abstract>

Birth is perceived as a threshold, a milestone, and is best described as passing from one stage to another and from one status to another. This article aims to present the customs regarding the birth of a child, as they were preserved in the Banat folk mentality: the origin of the midwife and her role as mediator, the belief in the unfailing destiny foreseen by the book of fate, the rite of the first bath having a huge importance for the future of the child and a series of magic and religious acts meant to ward off the Evil forces that intend to harm the child and to restore the balance.

Folklore Studies on Birth Related Customs within the Banat Community

Gender Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"Folklore Studies on Birth Related Customs within the Banat Community"}

Birth is perceived as a threshold, a milestone, and is best described as passing from one stage to another and from one status to another. This article aims to...

Folklore Studies on Birth Related Customs within the Banat Community

Publicado en línea: 13 mar 2018

Páginas: 40 - 49

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/genst-2018-0005

Palabras clave
child, destiny, mediator, midwife, rite

© 2018 Otilia Daniela Alexin, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Folklore Studies on Birth Related Customs within the Banat Community

Publicado en línea: 13 mar 2018

Páginas: 40 - 49

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/genst-2018-0005

Palabras clavechild, destiny, mediator, midwife, rite

© 2018 Otilia Daniela Alexin, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Palabras clave
child, destiny, mediator, midwife, rite