Search

The wet nurses are in charge of breastfeeding, education and care of other people's children. These women have had a role in society since ancient times. This figure acquired special relevance in Spain during 1830-1930 linked to the monarchy. The contract for their services had as a cause health problems of the biological mother, but it became a privilege. The choice of these women was based on examinations carried out by doctors and priests, which guaranteed good physical and moral health. Northern women began to be sued, especially those from the Pas Valley, who migrated to urban areas, such as Madrid. These women were considered to be healthier and more suitable for this trade due to their robust physical condition and their life in nature. The contract had an implicit salary and was regulated by law (1904 Child Protection and Royal Decree 1910). Their services were carried out in houses of foundlings and in the homes of families, including royalty. It is worth noting the importance of the wet nurse, in a historical period with high infant mortality rates, as they encouraged the survival of newborns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Investigacion & Educacion en Enfermeria is the property of Universidad de Antioquia, Facultad de Enfermeria and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article is based on ethnographic and ethnohistorical research about the "Culimochos", the name given to a most unusual people of Spanish ancestry. Unlike other groups of similar origin, the Culimochos did not leave the southern Pacific coast of Colombia after slavery was abolished in 1851. Instead, they continued living on the beaches of Mulatos and Almarales on the northern coast of Nariño. They claim to have descended from Basque navigators whose ships were supposedly shipwrecked upon those shores one hundred years before Columbus reached America, and from whom they learned the art of shipbuilding they still practice. They also allege to forbid marriage with black people and to despise black customs in general. Nonetheless, they are highly knowledgeable regarding the Afro-Colombian culture of Nariño, more so than they are about the culture of the "whites" (the Hispanic-American mores) of the region. Furthermore, they give "black" names to important landmarks within their territory (e.g. "Mulattos") and, in Bogota, Culimochos displaced by economic modernization or by the ongoing war identify themselves as "Afrocolombians". Increasing Africanization of local and urban identities is of interest to those who study the formation and changes of ethnicity, as well as to those concerned with the effects of armed conflict on Afrocolombians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]