Baptism in Central Ukraine
The most important ritual tied to birth is baptism. Baptism now takes place in church. The godparents of the child take the infant from the parents (the parents are not allow to be present at the service). The godmother provides a cloth or kryzhma and the godfather provides a bread and a bottle of horilka to pay the priest. The child is held by the godmother if it is a girl and by the godfather if it is a boy. The baptism is followed by a celebratory meal.
We photographed a baptism in Dobranychivka, Iahotyn region, Kyiv province in 2000. Many people also have a special presentation ritual 40 days after the birth when the child is presented in church and the mother is cleansed and allowed to resume attending religious services.
Baptism, because it is a religious service, was frowned upon during the Soviet period and those people who received baptism usually did so secretly. The effect that this has had on current practice is to push back the date of baptism. Before the Soviet period, children were baptized soon after birth. Now children can be one year old and older.
While the many beliefs associated with midwifery have mostly disappeared, beliefs associated with pregnancy and early childhood remain. There are many taboos on the pregnant mother. She may not steal, lest her baby be marked with a port wine birth mark in the shape of the stolen object. She cannot sew on Fridays, the day of St. Paraskeva, lest her child have webbed feet. These are but two examples of pregnancy taboos. After delivery, taboos are also plentiful. The child’s first bath must contain certain herbs. The mother and child cannot leave the farmstead for 40 days. Diapers cannot be left outside to dry after dark.
