Moses James
24 April 2012 | Moses's Rastarant, Dominica
Elizabeth
This is the man. He is known around the surrounding area as the only midwife and healer there is. I'm not sure what they call a man who acts as midwife, maybe it's the same term, but he learned the skill from his mother, who learned it from her mother. He says that no woman in his family took it up after his mother became too old (she lived well into her 90's) so he took on the role. He is called upon by the local women to assist in the delivery of their babies, often with no medical backup or other support. He uses Castor Oil to rub on their stomachs and soothe their pain. He has now taught his oldest son, Moses, Jr. to take on the role. Moses's Jr. married a Canadian woman a number of years ago and when she became pregnant for the first time, she asked Moses Sr. to be at her side, without any medical support at all. As Moses Sr. told me this story, saying, "She said she trusted me, and wanted me at her baby's birth" he teared up. He went on to tell me that he taught his son with that delivery what to do and his son did everything himself. I asked if Moses Jr. was scared or nervous and again, Moses Sr. teared up and told me he kept encouraging his son, telling him he was there at his side but had complete confidence in him to do it alone. Moses's Jr. and his wife now have 4 children, all of them birthed at home by Moses Jr. Moses is a well-known herbalist, and healer as well.