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 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.