John, A very good explanation. As a Catholic myself, I understand the symbolism. My Manoel Furtado Seixas & Maria Pereira has their first child in someone's home. There are no godparents, however, there are witnesses. I think the our Holy Mother is mentioned. I seem to recollect something about "the Crown of Mary" from somewhere.
http://culturacores.azores.gov.pt/biblioteca_digital/SMG-PD-SAOROQUE-B-1700-1714/SMG-PD-SAOROQUE-B-1700-1714_item1/P120.html http://culturacores.azores.gov.pt/biblioteca_digital/SMG-PD-SAOROQUE-B-1700-1714/SMG-PD-SAOROQUE-B-1700-1714_item1/P120.html Sandra On Sun, Aug 23, 2015 at 2:41 PM, 'John Raposo' via Azores Genealogy < [email protected]> wrote: > 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 <[email protected]> > 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 > -- > 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 [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores. > > > -- > 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 [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores. > -- Sandra Perez -- 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 [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores.
