Celtic Baby Carrying

Welsh Blanket Instructional Video

2011-09-09T02:17:00.000-07:00

With my almost one year old- an instructional video at last :)

Also a link to you tube same video.

Welsh Style Carrying

2010-10-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

This photo was kindly shared by Sarah. It shows her being carried as a baby by her Nan.

Thankyou! xxx

Welsh Blanket Action Pictures

2010-10-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

I've finally got my baby here to help with modelling my Welsh nursing shawl! He fell fast asleep after snuggling up in here. The shawl was really comfortable and kept me nice and warm- much needed in the autumn cold. I'm going to do a video instruction when I get a person to film and I feel confident with my shawl!
The shawl is around 100 years old.

Spanish baby carrying basket

2010-09-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

"We were in the Valles Pasiegos/Cantabria/Spain this summer and at a mini museum they had an example of a basket in which babies used to be carried, made up like little beds.... "

from, Desiree

Thanks for sharing the picture and info!

xxxx

2010-07-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

This image is at the Big Pit : National Coal Museum showing local Welsh Mamas and their blanketed babies in the 1930's.

Photos from the Czech Republic

2010-03-15T01:11:00.000-07:00

From Jaboma on the babywearer.com...

"Here are some traditional babywearing pictures from our national babywearing web: "

Lady with baby in shawl -

Moravia (part of Czech Republic), 1961 (the woolen shal was a common part of the winter clothing, nothing special)

Moravia, 1947 - mother-in-god with a baby before the church:

Baby in sling

South-east Moravia, 1917-1927 - grandmother and mother-in-god taking a baby to the church:

Two ladies with patterned sling

Slovakia, 1959:

Basket on back

East Bohemia, 1938:

Gentleman with toddler on his back

...and finally we've already got this somewhere - but it is a gorgeous piece of art so lets have it again!

GIOTTO di Bondone: Scenes from the Life of Christ: 4. Flight into Egypt, 1304-06, Fresco, 200 x 185 cm, Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua (Italy):

Giotto

Thankyou so so much Jaboma. Fabulous photographs :)

Welsh Blanket at Home

2010-03-03T03:42:00.001-08:00

I bought a Welsh Nursing Blanket last year, and have finally got around to taking photos of it! It is rather creased atm as it has been folded in my bedding box. It is a lovely apricot and cream colour with dusty blue and port coloured check woven through it. Don't you just love the long trailing egdes too?

I am currently nearly 12 weeks pregnant, so am looking forward to hopefully trying it out this autumn!

International Babywearing Week

2009-09-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

A cool video for International Babywearing Week!

xxx

Baby Carrying - Slings in Portugal

2009-09-22T05:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a great blog post about traditional baby carrying in Portugal....A Ervilha Cor de Rosa.
The book which Rosa has photographed is gorgeous.

Rosa also has a baby sling section on her blog too. Well worth a visit!

(For English readers-you can use the very handy translate button provided by Google.)

The Portuguese word for shawl is xaile.

Historical images of the Roma people

2009-09-22T00:59:00.001-07:00

Ursari in Transylvania (engraving)

"Gypsy Fortune-Teller", a watercolor composition of 1841 was awarded a silver medal by the Council of the Academy of Arts (by Taras Shevchenko )

This image is the same as the etching above, but in its' painted effect.

Plaque représentant des Bohémiens, décor grand feu polychrome, 18ème siècle, Castelli, Italie. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lille.

Roma Gypsy

2009-09-22T00:15:00.000-07:00

(Description Spiezer Schilling 749.jpg
en:First arrival of gypsies outside the city of Berne, described as "getoufte heiden" (baptized heathens). Detail of p. 749.

de: Erstes Erscheinen von Roma vor der Stadt Bern, in der Bildlegende als "getoufte heiden" bezeichnet werden. )

International Babywearing Week

2009-09-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

The lovely Arie has done a step by step photo instruction on using a nursing shawl on her blog. It's the most comprehensive instructions I've come across, so please do check it out!
Parents Village
xx

Having fun with blankets in Canada

2009-07-23T13:58:00.000-07:00

" Now I'm not Welsh, and I'm not even sure I did it perfect, but I HAD to try this! LOL!! This knitted blanket is really thick so I think I would have done a much more confident job if it were thin. But we had fun trying it out! :)"

Thanks Yogamamma from The Babywearer for the pictures. Beautiful! xxx

Action Shots of Welsh Blanket

2009-05-13T06:08:00.000-07:00

"I thought you might like to see some pics of traditional Welsh babywearing. I managed to get a Welsh shawl today, I was carried this way by my Grandmother. About a century ago it was the usual way to carry your baby in Wales. It's 100%, wool, it measures 1.6m square and is usually folded into a triangle. The traditional method is a one shoulder carry where the ends are tucked in, I also managed to get a Rebozo hip carry out of it!" Kathryn, Swansea, UK

Many thanks to Kathryn for sharing these photos.

Art and Illustration

2009-03-23T00:59:00.000-07:00

This looks like a cradleboard...

A medievel sling...

I love this illustration!

This painting is beautiful...and is this a bog!

Here's the link to the Danish sling website, where I found these images. Obviously the chat is in Danish, but there are a few images that are new also!

I found an interesting blog...

2009-03-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

I was rooting around on the internet and found this interesting blog, with a great article on worldwide baby carrying here.

Contemporary Coorie

2009-02-14T00:34:00.000-08:00

I was at a sling meet this week and we were playing with slings. I thought I'd share this modern fleece coorie with you. Coorie is the traditional Scottish sling.

It's a lovely cosy way to carry a new born and young baby. It can then be used as your child grows, as a hip carrier for toddlers. It's great to see it continued to be used isn't it?

(and the baby is a weighted doll, not a weird looking baby! lol)

Coorie

2009-02-05T01:31:00.000-08:00

Coorie is a Scottish word for a pouch sling. Here is an old folk song mentioing the word.

Here is a link to this song

Words and music Matt McGinn

Coorie doon, Coorie doon, Coorie Doon, my darling,
Coorie doon the day.
Coorie doon, Coorie doon, Coorie Doon, my darling,
Coorie doon the day.

Lie doon, my dear, and in your ear,
To help you close your eye,
I'll sing a song, a slumber song,
A miner's lullaby.

Your daddy's doon the mine, my darling,
Doon in the Curbly Main,
Your daddy's howkin' coal, my darling,
For his ain wee wean.

There's darkness doon the mine my darling,
Darkness, dust and damp,
But we must have oor heat, oor light,
Oor fire and our lamp.

Your daddy coories doon, my darling,
Doon in a three foot seam,
So you can coorie doon my darling,
Coorie doon and dream.

It's a beautiful hypnotic lullaby by Matt McGinn (1928-1977) one of the most prolific songwriters of the Scottish Folk Revival.

"Coorie doon" means to "snuggle down" as well as "courch down". McGinn does an amazing job at applying the images of a child in going to bed and the miner going down into the mines.

From here

Cwtch

2009-02-05T01:19:00.000-08:00

Cwtch -

Welsh word for an affectionate hug. There's no literal English translation, but its nearest equivlent is "safe place". So if you give someone a cwtch, you're giving them a "safe place".

It can also be used as a place to store things safely (usually a cupboard under a staircase)
"Give me a cwtch"

This can be used for baby carrying too. Cwtching can be used when a baby is wrapped in a shawl.

Sketch of Polish Mama

2009-01-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

On my sister blog Creative Mother, I did a giveaway of this original pencil sketch.
It is now on its' way to a new home!
Bye Bye lovely Polish Mama!

New Shawls for sale

2009-01-29T05:44:00.000-08:00

I've found this shop selling new and vintage shawls. They are based in Herefordshire in Wales. Very beautiful!

I think I'll do a Wales trip this summer in our campervan. I'd like to visit all the different shops and mills and share them with you.

Here is another site selling vintage shawls - Linda Clift

John Elwyn -artist

2009-01-28T10:24:00.000-08:00

Here is another John Elwyn (1916 - 1997)

''Mother and Child''
oil on canvas 1952 50 x 40cm

Image is from here

The Mothers

2009-01-28T09:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of Evelyn Hobbs with her baby carried in a Welsh shawl. This picture is from Neath Museum.

This is a painting by John Elwyn (1952) showing two women carrying their babies in Welsh shawls. It is in Newport Museum and Art Gallery.

This info is from here

Joyful January Giveaway!

2009-01-08T04:38:00.000-08:00

My sister blog has a giveaway on for the next couple of weeks!

The prize is a sketch of the photo of one of the Polish Mama's.

Check it out!

http://creativemother.blogspot.com/

And Goodluck if you enter!

xxx

Happy New Year!

2009-01-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year one and all!

I've found another online shop selling Welsh nursing shawls -

http://www.welshblankets.co.uk/index.php

There are some beautiful ones on there! x

Art

2008-12-15T00:53:00.001-08:00

This etching is like 'spot the sling'...there are a couple!

It is from this site:

http://www.litencyc.com/images/HogarthFinchleyB.jpg

What a lovely etching!

This Rembrandt image is taken from this site:

http://www.rembrandtpainting.net/rmbrdnt_selected_etchings/three_beggars.htm

This collection is great, there are a few we've not come across before...

http://flickr.com/photos/35697848@N00/sets/72157603879294041/show/

Don't forget!

2008-12-14T15:03:00.000-08:00

I'm still looking for your contributions!

If you have photos of you playing around and testing out shawls, or have found any old photos of baby carrying. Also any stories from family or passers by...

please send them to me at - creativemother@live.co.uk

I will try and get some more posts in before Solstice and Christmas!

xxx

Swedish Family

2008-11-24T02:25:00.000-08:00

A cool image of a traditionally dressed Swedish family.

Here's a link to Didymos sling site's history page...

http://didymos.com/index.php?s=historisches

there are more images on there!

War widow and miners wife

2008-10-28T01:36:00.000-07:00

This image is called 'The Soldiers Widow' and is from a Dutch book.
http://www.peau-a-peau.be/port_prq.htm

She would certainly need her hands free to manage with her children and work as a widow.

Shown here is a statue of a miner and his wife, erected in Llwynypia in 1993. The man is carrying a typical miners' lamp. His wife is carrying her baby in Typical Welsh fashion - wrapped in a shawl.

Roma People/ Gypsies across Europe

2008-10-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

This is a Russian site with some great illustrations....

http://zigane.pp.ru/history21.htm

"FWIW, the article is not about BWing, its title can be translated as something like 'National Dress of Roma People and their Ethnocultural History' ... BWing there is 'cos they use those paintings and drawings of Roma people in France, Spain etc, and they are BWing in those."

- Olga from The Babywearer

Photos from Poland

2008-10-24T06:53:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous Polish Mama's...

Here are a few photos I've found on The Babywearer.com, beautiful aren't they?

These were originally taken from the site Polish Babywearing site Chustomania.Pl

You can also translate the page to English, well worth it as it is a great history page on traditional baby carrying.

Great Grampy Moses - Welsh Shawl

2008-10-05T01:31:00.000-07:00

"Went to visit my mama this weekend and found the most amazing photo! When my Nan died my aunty sent my mum some pics and along with the hideous 70's ones there is one from (we think) the 30's of my Great Grampy Moses carrying a teeny tiny baby in a welsh shawl (we are all Welsh by the way, this would have been normal!) I couldn't believe it, a rufty tufty miner with a baby wrapped up on him how very cool was my Great Grampy!

-young woman on far right is my Nana who died 2 1/2 years ago in her late 80's, she was one of 8, all of the boys and my G Grampy worked and died in the mines. Not sure of who the younger children are!!

-Liz ( Cornwall)

Thanks for permission Liz! xxx

Comments about Welsh Shawls'

2008-09-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

Here are a few comments about shawls that some mothers have made from iwantmymum.com...

"I've got a lovely Welsh shawl my Mum gave me." Zillah (Fife - Scotland)

"I met an old lady when I was in the library with the Rosebud in a stretchy wrap who said it reminded her of being a little girl in Wales when people carried their babies in shawls." Rosered ( England)

"An elderly Scottish lady saw me with my daughter in a sling fashioned from a pashmina. So quite shawl like. She said' it has been a long time since I saw a baby carried that way!" Dalerose ( Scotland)

"My great grandma Alys used to carry my great aunts like that. She claimed my grandad was too much of a porker though!" Sheitl (England)

"I have one of these and used it to carry Danny all the time round the house when he was smaller, it's the first baby carrier I had although funnily enough I never really think of it as a sling. He's too big and wriggly these days." Nismy (England)

Bulgarian Traditional Carrier

2008-09-29T00:20:00.000-07:00

"Here in Bulgaria they use the Serdilka, but we are just I think seeing it dying out to the new wealth, as mothers are buying baby strollers for the first time in the villages. It is a square of local woven cloth with long plaits of wool at each corner, the baby sits 'side saddle' in it, with the ties crossed over the mother's chest to tie it on, old ones are used for carrying wood and sacks of potatoes."

Lee (Bulgaria) (From It's not easy being green forums)

Scottish Granny demonstrating carrying with cloth shawl

2008-09-25T00:15:00.000-07:00

"Mum was always doing it with her grandchildren. I seem to remember there was something not quite right when she did it that time, something that she wasn't happy about the way it had worked out. She was at my house and had used a duvet cover. She used to use a big shawl to do it and I remember her taking my 17 year old niece for lots walks in the shawl. It was always her way of calming and soothing a baby. The minute a baby was discontent she's say let me take her in the shawl. "

Cat (Scotland)

Welsh Nursing Shawl

2008-09-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

Welsh Shawl - Siol Fagu

This is a video of Welsh singer/songwriter Cerys Matthews. Halfway through, she shows how to use a welsh nursing shawl. Good video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58APC1nA-Hk

Instructions on commercial blanket site (scroll to bottom):

http://www.davidmorgan.com/nursingshawls.html?products_id=176

Welsh shawls for sale:

http://www.jen-jones.com/Gift%20Ideas.htm#

Images and links

2008-09-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

Fresco by Giotto di Bondone in the Cappella Scrovegni in Padua, 1304-1306 (top)

Nursing baby in shawl - 19yh Century etching(middle)

Knotted Sling (bottom)

Slings - Medieval and Renaissance art:
http://www.larsdatter.com/slings.htm

Kindermantel - German Shawl/ carrying cloth/ coat:
http://www.stillgruppe-ml.de/kindermantel.htm

...and translation (many thanks Astrid!)

A young woman I know owns such a "hockmantel". Its very heavy because it#s al lot of cloth. There are two layers of cloth and it#s very wide.I try to translate the first text:"Not long time ago, also in Germany the children were not put away but carried on the body - as the natural development afforded. Prams were mostly unknown and not practicable an many areas - they were not suitable for bad ways and offroad.

Mothers often diddn't have the oppportunity to carry their children (wraps were unknown), so the grandmas often carried their grandchildren in this "kindermantel". My relatives called them lovingly "the old wifes (or women)". Those old women met at the corner of the street and talked about God, the world and the neighbourhood, the babys were near them and could use the soft bosom as a pillow and sleep when they were tired.

There were "Kindermäntel" for daily use out of simple cloth, some were out of woollen cloth for the winter and out of velvet and lace for the rich nannies and wealthy grannies. There were those "Kindermäntel" mostly in every household with children. They were used even without a baby as a daily garment. Especially in winter they were very warm because of the several layers of cloth.Unfortunately the survivals from former times are not found very often nowerdays. I got this "Kindermantel" which carried some children as a present from an old lady. And I'm very grateful about this.

"Short instruction:"

1. Drape around the coat and perhaps close it.

2. The child is set on the carrier's left arm without the coat.

3. The cloth from left (cloth from below) is pulled around the child and is pinned between the carrier's belly and the child.

4. The cloth from the right side (below) is given to the left side and pinned under the left arm, so that the cloth from the left is tight, too.The upper cloth from the left may be pinned under the carrying arm as support.

"I hope, you understand the translation. I borrowed such a coat, but carrying with a wrap or some other device is much more comfortable.

Troknya carrier - Greek carrier (thread from The Babywearer):
http://www.thebabywearer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=205149

That's a start!

Traditional Baby Carrying in Europe

2008-09-24T02:21:00.000-07:00

I've loved carrying my baby and (now) toddler and have learned so much so quickly. 'Babywearing' has been a huge part of life for us as a family as it enables us to get on with life together.

I've been so thankful for this knowledge. The exchange of information and experience in the use of worldwide baby carriers and cloths is great. I have come to realise that my own cultures methods of baby carrying are not that well documented. So I've set up this blog to collect anecdotes, pictures and tutorials in Celtic and European traditional baby carrying.

Please email any information you have to me and we can build up a collection, in one place, of European baby carrying heritage.