A Local Midwife or a Doctor? Two Systems of Knowledge in Birthing Practices of Russian Old Believers

The article explores complex relationships between traditional midwifery and medical institutions as two legitimate knowledge systems in the communities of Russian Old Believers in the Republic of Moldova and in Romania. It is aimed at discussing beliefs and practices around giving birth with the help of a local midwife from the same community, their transformation caused by the access to maternity hospitals as well as distribution of roles between a traditional birth attendant and a doctor. The article is based on oral narratives of Old Believers who used to be local midwives or gave birth to children with the help of such a specialist. The narratives were recorded by the author in 2008–2018.

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The prenatal period and related prohibitions and prescriptions among the Old Believers of the Republic of Moldova

10.52603/9789975351379.27 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tatiana Zaicovscaia ◽

Keyword(s):

Common Sense ◽

Wire Rope ◽

Unborn Child ◽

Old Believers ◽

Republic Of Moldova ◽

Evil Eye ◽

Preventive Actions ◽

Animal Hair ◽

The Republic ◽

The City

The author presents some results of her research of the indicated period, which was carried out on the basis of a specially compiled questionnaire in places of compact residence of Lipovans in such villages as Kunicha, Egorovka, etc., as well as in the city of Chisinau. There are a number of preventive actions and prohibitions aimed at ensuring the health and strength of the woman in labor and her baby. Often they are based on common sense, on pragmatics, but not always the informants could explain the reasons for certain prohibitions. A pregnant woman was prohibited from doing, for example, the following actions: sewing; stepping over a long (wire, rope) or sharp object; contacting with animal hair (dogs, cats, etc.); touching her own body when frightened (for example, during a fire); looking at the deceased through the window, etc. According to the testimony of informants, much attention was paid to protecting the woman in labor from the „evil eye”. And if this happened, then they were treated with prayers and herbs. There were also signs by which they tried to guess the sex of the unborn child. Before giving birth, a woman usually confesses to her spiritual father.

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Maternity and baptismal rites of the Lipovans of the Republic of Moldova

The Journal of Ethnology and Culturology ◽

10.52603/rec.2021.30.05 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 ◽

pp. 37-44

Author(s):

Tatiana Zaicovschi ◽

Keyword(s):

Rites Of Passage ◽

Transition Period ◽

Traditional Culture ◽

Old Believers ◽

Republic Of Moldova ◽

The World ◽

Mother And Child ◽

The Republic ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship

In this article, based on interviews with informants from settlements of the Republic of Moldova with a compact residence of Old Believers (Lipovans), the features of the maternity and baptismal rituals in their environment are presented. The maternity and baptismal cycle contains a number of successive stages, including the customs and rituals that precede childbirth, the birth itself, as well as the subsequent stages associated with purification and socialization. The origins of the belief about the contradictory character of the female nature, inherent in ancient views of the world, originate in the concept of her duality, which is associated with the rites of passage. In order to prevent the influence of the otherworldly sphere, traditional culture prescribes a woman to observe the prohibitions associated with ritual impurity. Along with this, there are also regulations designed to protect the mother and child from manifestations of evil forces. The article describes the prohibitions and prescriptions for a pregnant and giving birth woman, the relationship of the latter with a midwife, the peculiarities of the choice of godparents among the Old Believers. The customs and ceremonies associated with the birth of a child are aimed at: 1) preserving the life and health of the woman in labor and of the baby, 2) eliminating the danger of the transition period. The author reveals the attitude of the respondents to popular beliefs.

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Everyday Interactions of Old Believers with Adherents of Different Faiths: Current Prohibitions and Prescriptions in Texts and Practices

Slavic & Jewish Cultures Dialogue Similarities Differences ◽

10.31168/2658-3356.2018.11 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 149-166

Author(s):

Natalia Dushakova

Keyword(s):

Sociocultural Context ◽

Old Believers ◽

Republic Of Moldova ◽

Empirical Basis ◽

Verbal Rules ◽

The Republic ◽

Real Practice ◽

Everyday Communication ◽

The Way

The article analyzes verbal rules regulating everyday communication of the Old Believers with adherents of new-style Orthodoxy (often called Nikonians) and Jews as well as the way these rules are being put into practice. The author pays attention to personal interpretations of motivating prescriptions and explanations of the necessity to violate the norms in different situations. The empirical basis of the research includes interviews recorded in 2010–2017 in the communities of the Old Believers in the Republic of Moldova, including Transnistria. Field materials demonstrate that a lot of instructions only function in the form of knowledge about the rules, not necessarily followed by real practice. At the same time communities constantly elaborate ways of mitigating the rules, eliminating the consequences of their violation up to changing the rules, adapting them to the sociocultural context.

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Epidemiological situation regarding the new type of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) among healthcare workers in the Republic of Moldova

One Health & Risk Management ◽

10.38045/ohrm.2021.2.10 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 75-82

Author(s):

Alexandr DASCALOV

Keyword(s):

Medical Staff ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Health Workers ◽

Epidemiological Surveillance ◽

Epidemiological Methods ◽

Digital Information ◽

Republic Of Moldova ◽

Medical Institutions ◽

New Type ◽

The Republic

Introduction. The emergence of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has led to a rapid spread of the novel infection (COVID-19) worldwide. Since February 1, 2021, to date, more than 103,989,900 cases and more than 2 million deaths have been reported globally. The infection incidence and death rate among medical staff worldwide, as well as in the Republic of Moldova continues to be very high, whereas the preventive measures to prevent infections among medical staff remains imperative. Material and methods. Data on morbidity, incidence, prevalence and mortality of COVID-19 were analyzed and evaluated among healthcare workers, based on the selection of data from the digital information-epidemiological surveillance system of COVID-19 infection with SARS CoV-2 virus. The epidemiological methods (retrospective, prospective) recommended by WHO, CDC, ECDC were used. Results. Until 01.02.2021, the Republic of Moldova registered 153,371 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers, of which 4,103 were doctors, 6,406 were nurses, 4,435 were auxiliary staff, and over 70 employees of medical institutions died. Conclusions. The share of infection cases among medical staff accounts for 9.45% out of the total number of infections and about 39.08% of infections were registered in Chisinau. Most cases were registered among nurses (41.7%), whereas female health workers are more frequently affected (80.4%), the ratio of female to male being of 4:1.

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Maternity rituals of old believers of the Republic of Moldova

10.52603/9789975333788.20 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tatiana Zaicovschi ◽

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Family Rituals ◽

Old Believers ◽

Republic Of Moldova ◽

Preliminary Results ◽

The Family ◽

The Republic

The family rituals of the Old Believers of the Republic of Moldova remain poorly studied. This is especially true of maternity rituals. In comparison with other rituals of the life cycle – wedding and funeral-memorial, – the maternity rituals are relatively weakly expressed outwardly. The maternity rituals are divided into several periods: prenatal, birth and postnatal. In accordance with this, the author compiled a special questionnaire for conducting extended interviews with informants from villages with a compact population of Lipovans (primarily Kunicha, Pokrovka, Egorovka, Staraya Dobrudzha), as well as with those who live in cities, including Chisinau, where there are a large number of Old Believers. In our opinion, there is a need to analyze the differences in family rituals, including childbirth, in different localities. But this issue requires further study. This article presents some preliminary results of the study.

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