This study examines participants' perceptions of the significant messages and
meanings communicated to them through the ceremony of the Blessingway (a ritual titled
after the Navajo Blessingway), a contemporary women's birth ritual performed by
midwives. A narrative approach was used for data gathering based on Fisher's rationale
that meaning emerges through narrative. Fifteen women participated in open-ended
interviews. Thirteen of the women identified themselves as midwifes. Four major themes
emerged from the data: (1) interconnectivity, (2) care, (3) change, and (4) power. The
results of the study show the Blessingway's role in communicating a group's care during a
time of transformation, usually birth. Adoption, marriage, and entry into midwifery were
also mentioned in the study as occasions for a Blessingway ritual. During a Blessingway,
many levels of relationship intersect and emphasize the "web of connectedness" the
women consider part of their lives. The continuous, multidimensional, and overlapping
nature of interconnectivity defines the places of connection highlighted during the
Blessingway ceremony. The sense of connectedness generates bonds of care--cohesion,
nurturance and safety--and provides a "cocoon-like" environment. Once nurtured and
protected, the women feel the support of their community. The women then resolve and
transform the contradictions and ambiguities of their liminal state, acknowledge their value
of self, recognize their own power, the power of their community, the power of the circle
of women and the power of the archetypal woman. / Graduation date: 1997
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/36393 |
| Date | 26 August 1996 |
| Creators | Biddle, Jeanette M. |
| Contributors | Bowker, Judith K. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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