[Immorals III. Midwives].

Abstract

This article is the third and last part of a complex anthropological study on 17th and 18th century southern Hungarian sexual customs and deviations as they appeared in witch trials. The first two parts came out in our Com. Art. Hist. Med. vols. 117-120 (1987) pp 87-102, and 133-140 (1991-1992) pp 171-216. The author has studied the papers of 1040 cases and compared it to the most important issues of Hungarian secondary literature of folklore, cultural and social anthropology, and occasionally to history as well. The three papers presented different subjects of these themes. Whereas the first paper dealt with aggression and especially aggression during sexual intercourses, the second one collected those cases which revealed other various forms of deviated sexual behaviour, and prostitution. In this essay the author studied another related area, the job of midwives in village society including not only their main activities in helping labouring women, but their additional work in giving sexual advice, curing various illnesses, and providing baby care. His main concern in this essay, nevertheless, is about witch charges against medwives. ...