Ottema’s «midwife» — short case study

The Midwife

In 1876 English Oera Linda version by Sandbach (of Ottema’s 1872 Dutch translation), page 33 (underlining added):

The Grevetman and his council shall take twenty parts; the keeper of the market ten, and his assistants five; the Volksmoeder one, the midwife* four, the village ten, and the poor and infirm shall have fifty parts. [*Ottema: vroedvrouw]

In letter Ottema to Over de Linden, 21 October 1871:

On page 20, article 10, the term gâ moder appears, which I translated as village mother, without knowing who was actually meant, as has now become clear to me. She is the midwife. In the countryside, she is often called the goodwife or goodmother. Perhaps in your area too. Please be so kind as to correct this in my translation. [note 1]

Earlier in the text, on pp. 4-5, he translated:

thät-er Mâgy se nên yne gâ of wnnen heth thrvch thät weld synra wêpne

as: 

that the Magy has not won a single village* from them by force of arms [*Ottema: dorp]

In transliteration Ott, the concerning word [001/31] is spelled GÁ-MODER. Some cognates of GÁ are:

• gō (county, region, residential area) - Old Dutch
• gouw (county, landscape, region, land area) - Middle Dutch
• gouw (pagus, region) - Dutch (19th century)
• goa (county, region, part of a province), gea (village with the surrounding land, region, landscape) - Frisian
• Gau (region within a country) - German

Translation Ott (chapter Eb. Common Laws, art. 10:

The reeve and his aldermen shall receive twenty parts thereof; the market judge and his helpers five parts, ten parts for the market itself; the Folksmother one part and the regional mother four parts; the village ten parts, and the poor — that is, those who are unable or in no position to work — fifty parts.

From the wider context, it is clear that these regional mothers (GÁ-MODERA) must be “the Mothers at the other burgs” (that is: other than the (Folks)mother of Fryasburg at Texland), from the previous chapter Ea. Burg Laws:

1. When a burg is built somewhere, its Lamp must be kindled from the original flame at Texland, and that may only be done by the Folksmother.

2. Every Mother shall choose her own Maidens, as shall the Maids who serve as Mothers at the other burgs.

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[note 1] Original Dutch: “Op bl. 20 in art. 10 komt voor de gâ moder, door mij vertaald dorpsmoeder, zonder te weten, wie dat dan eigenlijk wezen zoude, is mij nu duidelijk geworden. Zij is de vroedvrouw. Ten platten lande noemt men haar wel de goedvrouw of goedmoer. Misschien ten uwent ook wel. Wees zoo goed dit in mijne vertaling te verbeteren.”