Moorish Visual: Diana Fletcher of the Kiowa Tribe

The story of John Kralik: How he used 365 Thank Yous to change his reality, generate abundance and law of attraction

Source: John Kralik Youtube channel

In another interview John Kralik went into more detail on how he gave his son a thank you note. The next day, his son shows up to his office with a check for thousands of dollars that John Kralik had loan him months before. The power of words. Recognition can turn your mind and being into a cosmic magnet. Notice the woman interviewing him is wearing a necklace with the all seeing eye palm of protection (The Hamsa, hand of Fatima. hand of Mary, hand of Miriam) and wearing crystals/stones. She also gets the author to read and sign her book to put his energy of good karma on the book.

Moorish Visual: Moorish woman in white clothing for purity and enlightenment

The story of Maurice Johnson: A man who has a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, a master degree and cant get a job in the current economy

Source:60Days60Nights youtube channel

55 year old Maurice Johnston lives in Boston, by way of Cleveland. He has a degree in Plasma Physics from Dartmouth College, and a degree in Electrical Engineering and acoustics from Purdue University. He's worked over 10 years at Lockheed Aerospace & Aerodyne Research Corp. Maurice has taught in Science and physics, and took care of both his parents in their time of need."



here is Maurice Johnson Linkedin page - Maurice Johnson

Moorish Visual: Granny Nanny/Queen Nanny, a female revolutionary Maroon (Moorish) fighter of Jamaica

Source: 1. Poster made by artist Mike Thompson, 2. Jamaican paper note

Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, M.D. explains how he cured over 3,000 people with water

Did you know that in the "modern" medical field that being thirsty is considered a disease? Instead of them telling you that you have symptoms of dehydration they drug you up with many and endless of experimental drugs called medication and prescription. In this mind blowing interview Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, M.D. explains how he cured over 3,000 people with water. Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, M.D. is an internationally renowned researcher, author and advocate of the natural healing power of water, was born in Tehran, Iran in 1931 (passed on November 15, 2004). He attended Fettes College in Scotland and was a graduate of St. Mary's Hospital Medical School of London University, where he studied under Sir Alexander Fleming, who shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery of penicillin. He will unveil the power of water, insider secrets not being told to doctors and patients and much more.






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- Tyent USA Website

- Tyent Portable Alkaline Water Ionizer

- Tyent Alkaline Machines

- Tyent Shower Filters

- Alkaline Products Facebook Page

- Youtube Channel with education videos about Alkaline Water - Alkaline Products

Moorish Visual: A Muscogee or Creek Native American Girl

The cool NYC girls who do longboard skating: Jenica Davenport, Nathalie Herring, and Micku Murgolo

Source: lifeandtimes Youtube channel

"Closer than skateboarding to their common ancestor surfing, longboarding shifts its focus away from tricks, instead emphasizing style and speed. The all-girl trio of Jenica Davenport, Nathalie Herring, and Micku Murgolo, representing Bustin NYC, epitomize a beautiful marriage of the two elements, moving the subculture forward as they kick and push through the concrete jungle of New York. Life + Times tagged along for a ride as the girls shredded the city streets."

Moorish Visual: Indigenous, Autochthon, Aboriginal, Native, Pre-Adamite, Paleo, Moorish woman of the Americas (North, Central, South and Caribbean Islands)

Source: Picture taken by Toni Scott

For January 2012: Constellations, Deep Space Objects, Planets and Events

Source: Hubble Site Youtube channel

For December 2011: Constellations, Deep Space Objects, Planets and Events

Source: Hubble Site Youtube channel

Moorish Visual: A Moorish King/Magi

Source: Painting by Pieter Coecke Van Aelst

Prometheus trailer [HD 2012]

The film was originally intended as a direct prequel to the 1979 science fiction horror film Alien; however, the events of the film will not precede any of the previously established characters or story lines from the Alien franchise. The film will focus on a mythology within the Alien universe. Set in the late-21st century, Prometheus will explore the advanced civilization of an extraterrestrial race responsible for the origins of modern humans on Earth, as well as the background of the Alien creature which made its first appearance in the 1979 film. The title of the upcoming film is an allusion to the Titan God, Prometheus, of Greek mythology, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to humankind, an act which brought eternal punishment upon the God. While actually being the name of the human's spaceship in the story. The name "Prometheus" is used in a greater metaphorical sense.

Trailer #1



Trailer #2



Trailer #3



Starring:

Noomi Rapace
Michael Fassbender
Guy Pearce
Idris Elba
Logan Marshall-Green
Charlize Theron

Moorish Visual: A Moorish Sultana (female Moorish ruler)

Source: Painting by Joseph Marie Vien

Archaeologists finds over 1,100 year old proof that the Mayans were not only in Central America but also in North America

Source: examiner.com written by Richard Thornton



Archaeological zone 9UN367 at Track Rock Gap, near Georgia’s highest mountain, Brasstown Bald, is a half mile (800 m) square and rises 700 feet (213 m) in elevation up a steep mountainside. Visible are at least 154 stone masonry walls for agricultural terraces, plus evidence of a sophisticated irrigation system and ruins of several other stone structures. Much more may be hidden underground. It is possibly the site of the fabled city of Yupaha, which Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto failed to find in 1540, and certainly one of the most important archaeological discoveries in recent times.

Around the year 800 AD the flourishing Maya civilization of Central America suddenly began a rapid collapse. A series of catastrophic volcanic eruptions were followed by two long periods of extreme drought conditions and unending wars between city states.

Cities and agricultural villages in the fertile, abundantly watered, Maya Highlands were the first to be abandoned. Here, for 16 centuries, Itza Maya farmers produced an abundance of food on mountainside terraces. Their agricultural surpluses made possible the rise of great cities in the Maya Lowlands and Yucatan Peninsula. When the combination of volcanic eruptions, wars and drought erased the abundance of food, famines struck the densely populated Maya Lowlands. Within a century, most of the cities were abandoned. However, some of the cities in the far north were taken over by the Itza Maya and thrived for two more centuries.

In 1839, English architect, Frederick Catherwood, and writer, John Stephens “rediscovered’ the Maya civilization on a two year long journey through southern Mexico. When their book on the journey was published in 1841, readers in Europe and North America were astounded that the indigenous peoples of the Americas could produce such an advanced culture. Architects in both continents immediately recognized the strong similarity in the architectural forms and town plans between southern Mexico and the Southeastern United States. Most agronomists were convinced that corn, beans and tobacco came to the natives of the United States and Canada from Mexico.

In the decades since Catherwood’s and Stephens’ book, archaeologists have not identified any ruins in the United States which they considered to be built by a people, who had originated in Mexico. This was primarily due to their unfamiliarity with the descendants of the Southeastern mound builders; tribes such as the Creeks, Alabamas, Natchez, Chitimachas and Choctaws. In particular, the languages of the Creek Indians contain many Mesoamerican words.

Historians, architects and archaeologists have speculated for 170 years what happened to the Maya people. Within a few decades, the population of the region declined by about 15 million. Archaeologists could not find any region of Mexico or Central America that evidenced a significant immigration of Mayas during this period, except in Tamaulipas, which is a Mexican state that borders Texas on the Gulf of Mexico. However, Maya influence there, seemed to be limited to a few coastal trading centers. Where did the Maya refugees go? By the early 21st century, archaeologists had concluded that they didn’t go anywhere. They had died en masse.

The evidence was always there

In 1715 a Jewish lass named Liube, inscribed her name and the date on a boulder in Track Rock Gap. When Europeans first settled the Georgia Mountains in the early 1800s, they observed hundreds of fieldstone ruins, generally located either on mountaintops or the sides of mountains. These ruins consisted of fort-like circular structures, walls, Indian mounds veneered in stone, walls, terrace retaining walls or just piles of stones. Frontiersmen generally attributed these structures to the Indians, but the Cherokees, who briefly lived in the region in the late 1700s and early 1800s, at that time denied being their builders.

By the mid-20th century many Georgians held little reverence for Native American structures. Dozens of Indian mounds and stone masonry structures were scooped up by highway contractors to use in the construction of highways being funded by the Roosevelt Administration. Providing jobs and cheap construction materials seemed more important in the Depression than preserving the past.

During the late 20th century, the Georgia state government took an active role in preserving some of the stone ruins. Archaeologists surveyed a few sites. One of the better known ruins became Fort Mountain State Park. For the most part, however, the stone ruins remained outside the public consciousness.

In 1999 archaeologist Mark Williams of the University of Georgia and Director of the LAMAR Institute, led an archaeological survey of the Kenimer Mound, which is on the southeast side of Brasstown Bald in the Nacoochee Valley. Residents in the nearby village of Sautee generally assume that the massive five-sided pyramidal mound is a large wooded hill. Williams found that the mound had been partially sculpted out of an existing hill then sculpted into a final form with clay. He estimated the construction date to be no later than 900 AD. Williams was unable to determine who built the mound.

Williams is a highly respected specialist in Southeastern archaeology so there was a Maya connection that he did not know about. The earliest maps show the name Itsate, for both a native village at Sautee and another five miles away at the location of the popular resort of Helen, GA. Itsate is what the Itza Mayas called themselves. Also, among all indigenous peoples of the Americas, only the Itza Mayas and the ancestors of the Creek Indians in Georgia built five-side earthen pyramids as their principal mounds. It was commonplace for the Itza Maya to sculpt a hill into a pentagonal mound. There are dozens of such structures in Central America.

The name of Brasstown Bald Mountain is itself, strong evidence of a Maya presence. A Cherokee village near the mountain was named Itsa-ye, when Protestant missionaries arrived in the 1820s. The missionaries mistranslated “Itsaye” to mean “brass.” They added “town” and soon the village was known as Brasstown. Itsa-ye, when translated into English, means “Place of the Itza (Maya).”

Into this scenario stepped retired engineer, Cary Waldrup, who lives near Track Rock Gap. In 2000 he persuaded the United States Forest Service to hire a professional archaeologist from South Africa, Johannes Loubser, to study the famous Track Rock petroglyphs, and also prepare a map of the stone walls across the creek in site 9UN367. Waldrup and his neighbors felt that the stone structure site deserved more professional attention. They collected contributions from interested citizens in Union County, GA to fund an archaeological survey by Loubser’s firm, Stratum Unlimited, LLC.

Loubser’s work was severely restricted by his available budget, but his discoveries “opened up the door” for future archaeological investigations. His firm dug two test pits under stone structures to obtain soil samples. In conjunction with the highly respected archaeological firm of New South Associates in Stone Mountain, GA he obtained radiocarbon dates for the oldest layer of fill soil in a test pit, going back around 1000 AD. He also found pottery shards from many periods of history. Loubser estimated that some of the shards were made around 760 AD – 850 AD. This is exactly when Maya population began to plummet.

Loubser described the 9UN367 archaeological site as being unique in the United States, and stated that examples of such sites are only found elsewhere in the Maya Highlands and South America. However, he did not present an explanation for who built the stone walls. He was in a conundrum. The Eastern Band of Cherokees had labeled Track Rock Gap as a “Cherokee Heritage Sacred Site.” He had been led to believe that the area had occupied by the Cherokee Indians for many centuries, yet he also knew that the Cherokees never built large scale public works. In fact, the Cherokees established a handful of hamlets in the extreme northeastern tip of Georgia during the 1700s, but the western side of Brasstown Bald Mountain, where Track Rock is located, was not official Cherokee territory until 1793.

Shared research between scholars

The People of One Fire is an alliance of Native American scholars (and their archaeologist friends) that was formed in 2006 after the Georgia Department of Transportation refused to retract a press release which blatantly contradicted several studies by nationally respected archaeologists. Much of its research has focused on tracing the movement of people, ideas and cultivated plants from Mesoamerica and Caribbean Basin to North America. By instantly sharing research rather than hoarding information, very rapid advances have been made in the past five years concerning the history of the indigenous people of North America.

The archaeological site would have been particularly attractive to Mayas because it contains an apparently dormant volcano fumarole that reaches down into the bowels of the earth. People of One Fire researchers have been aware since 2010 that when the English arrived in the Southeast, there were numerous Native American towns named Itsate in Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and western North Carolina. They were also aware that both the Itza Mayas of Central America and the Hitchiti Creeks of the Southeast actually called themselves Itsate, and pronounced the word the same way. The Itsate Creeks used many Maya and Totonac words. Their architecture was identical to that of Maya commoners. The pottery at Ocmulgee National Monument (c 900 AD) in central Georgia is virtually identical to the Maya Plain Red pottery made by Maya Commoners. However, for archaeologists to be convinced that some Mayas immigrated to the Southeast, an archaeological site was needed that clearly was typical of Mesoamerica, but not of the United States.

In July of 2011, Waldrup furnished a copy of the 2000 Stratum Unlimited, LLC archaeological report to People of One Fire members. Those with experiences at Maya town sites instantly recognized that the Track Rock stone structures were identical in form to numerous agricultural terrace sites in Chiapas, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. Johannes Loubser’s radiocarbon dates exactly matched the diaspora from the Maya lands and the sudden appearance of large towns with Mesoamerican characteristics in Georgia, Alabama and southeastern Tennessee. Track Rock Gap was the “missing link” that archaeologists and architects had been seeking since 1841.

Archaeologist have been looking for vestiges of “high” Maya civilization in the United States, when all along it was the commoners “who got the heck out of Dodge City” when wars, famines, droughts and almost non-stop volcanic eruptions became unbearable. The Itza Maya middle class and commoners became the elite of such towns as Waka (Ocmulgee National Monument) and Etalwa (Etowah Mounds); just as happened in England after the Norman Invasion, the separate cultures of the commoners and nobility of the indigenous Southeast eventually blended into hybrid cultures that became our current Native American tribes.

The Track Rock Gap Archaeological Zone and Petroglyphs are owned by the citizens of the United States and protected by the United States Forestry Service. The archaeological zone is open to the public year-round and may be accessed by a network of trails requiring rigorous hiking. Both the Creek and Cherokee Indians consider this place to be a very sacred, so please be respectful. By Federal law, the ruins and petroglyphs may not be disturbed in any way.

Winter is the best time to view the stone structures, but the region can get significant snow storms. Check the weather report before leaving home. To obtain information on the hiking trails contact either the Chattahoochee Forest Visitors Center in Blairsville, GA at 706-745-6928 or the main office of the Chattahoochee National Forest in Gainesville, GA at 770-297-3000. Information on accommodations near Track Rock Gap can be obtained from the Blairsville Area Chamber of Commerce at 877-745-5789. The region is a major tourist destination, so there are plenty of restaurants, motels and bed & breakfast homes available.

Richard Thornton has written a book on the Archaeological Site 9UN367 and the evidence of the immigration of Mesoamerican refugees to North America. It will be available from the publisher in early January 2012, and is entitled, “Itsapa...the Itza Mayas in North America.” The book includes over 250 full color, virtual reality images and photographs, including pictures of identical Maya agricultural terrace sites in Chiapas, Guatemala, Campeche and Belize. Indiana film maker, John Haskell is also producing a documentary film on the Maya diaspora.

Moorish Visual: A Moorish Noble of the royal court

Source: Painting by Jan Mostaert

Wrath of the Titans trailer [HD 2012]

Source: WarnerBrosPictures Youtube channel

"A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken (Clash Of The Titans [2010]), Perseus is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10 year old son, Helius. Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the Gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity's lack of devotion, the Gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld. Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus's Godly son, Ares, switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titan's strength grows stronger as Zeus's remaining Godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth. Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda, Poseidon's demigod son, Agenor, and fallen God Hephaestus, Perseus bravely embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, overthrow the Titans and save mankind."



Starring:

- Sam Worthington as Perseus, the demigod son of Zeus.
- Ralph Fiennes as Hades, God of the underworld.
-Liam Neeson as Zeus, the king of the Gods and ruler of Mount Olympus.
- Danny Huston as Poseidon, God of the sea.
- Edgar Ramírez as Ares, the traitorous God of war.
- Bill Nighy as Hephaestus, the fallen God whose twisted, lame figure belies his Olympian origins.
- Toby Kebbell as Agenor, imprisoned thief and son of Poseidon who joins Perseus on his journey to Tartarus.
- Rosamund Pike as Andromeda, the princess whose life Perseus once saved, and who now, as a queen, follows Perseus into battle.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey trailer [HD 2012]

Source: trailers Youtube channel

"The Hobbit follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever…Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities. A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know."



Starring:

Martin Freeman
Ian McKellen
Richard Armitage
Graham McTavish
Andy Serkis
Christopher Lee
Benedict Cumberbatch
Hugo Weaving
James Nesbitt
Orlando Bloom
Ian Holm
Elijah Wood

The facinating world of underground volcanoes under the earth's oceans

Source: TEDxTalks Youtube channel

"John Delaney is Professor of Oceanography and holds the Jerome M. Paros Endowed Chair in Sensor Networks at the University of Washington. Since 1997, he has directed development of the regional cabled ocean observatory in the northeast Pacific Ocean that evolved into the Regional Scale Nodes program within the National Science Foundation's Ocean Observatories Initiative. The construction phase of this observatory began in September 2009 with the announcement of an award to the University of Washington of $126 million over five-and-a-half years."

The video is 24 minutes long.

Moorish Visual: The Moorish reader

Source: Painting by Rudolph Ernst

Jack The Giant Killer trailer [HD 2012]

Source: trailers Youtube channel

An ancient war is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack, into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend and gets the chance to become a legend himself.



Starring:

- Nicholas Hoult as Jack, a young farmer who leads the expedition to rescue the princess. Hoult was selected from a short list of actors that included Aaron Johnson and Aneurin Barnard.
- Eleanor Tomlinson as Isabelle, the princess who is kidnapped by giants. Adelaide Kane, Lily Collins and Juno Temple also screen tested for the role.
- Stanley Tucci as Lord Roderick, an adviser to the king with designs on usurping power.
- Ian McShane as King Brahmwell, the princess' father, who is none too thrilled about a union between his daughter and a farmer boy.
- Bill Nighy and John Kassir as Fallon, the two-headed leader of the giants. Nighy plays the big head and Kassir plays the smaller head.
Ewan McGregor as Elmont, the leader of the king’s elite guard, who helps fight giants.
- Eddie Marsan

Moorish Visual: A Moor at a rug merchant shop

Source: Painting by Rudolf Ernst

Ancient healing procedures of Imhotep in modern times? Focus Ultrasound Surgery: Surgery and healing without cutting into the body

Source: TEDtalksDirector Youtube channel

"Imagine having a surgery with no knives involved. At TEDMED, surgeon Yoav Medan shares a technique that uses MRI to find trouble spots and focused ultrasound to treat such issues as brain lesions, uterine fibroids and several kinds of cancerous growths."

Britta Riley explains how you can have a garden in your apartment and grow food all year-round

Source: TEDtalksDirector Youtube channel, rndiy.org

"Britta Riley wanted to grow her own food (in her tiny apartment). So she and her friends developed a system for growing plants in discarded plastic bottles; researching, testing and tweaking the system using social media, trying many variations at once and quickly arriving at the optimal system."

The origin of Christmas, the homosexual pagan holiday celebrated by the Vatican, Christians and many people

A very interesting and very informative mini documentary done by a group of Christians. They ask: Why dont Christians know or accept the fact that Jesus Christ, according to the "Biblical" story, could not have been born in the month of December? Why dont Christians and the masses of the people who celebrate Christmas know or accept that in the Bible, Jeremiah chapter 10 verse 2 to 5 (Jeremiah 10: 2-5) it shows that the Christian God said it was forbidden and an abomination to have what is known as a Christmas Tree today? Is it coincidence that S.A.N.T.A. also spells S.A.T.A.N? A group of Christian researchers look into the "origin" of Christmas, Santa Clause, his helpers, the reindeers, the Christmas Tree and pagan worshiping traditions accepted by many knowingly and unknowingly.

Midwives use affirmations, ancient practices and many natural holistic mind and body steps for childbirth

Source: medicalxpress.com, oregonstate.edu



In reaction to what midwives view as the overly medicalized way hospitals deliver babies, they have created birthing rituals to send the message that women's bodies know best.

The midwife experience uses these rituals to send the message that home birth is about female empowerment, strengthening relationships between family and friends, and facilitating participatory experiences that put mothers in control, with the ultimate goal of safe and healthy deliveries less focused on technological intervention.
These are some of the findings from an Oregon State University researcher and licensed midwife who witnessed more than 400 home births in order to document an extensive list of practices utilized by midwives to express the symbolic difference between home and hospital births.

In a study now online in the journal Medical Anthropology Quarterly, Melissa Cheyney, an assistant professor of medical anthropology at OSU, charted specific rituals used by midwives. In addition to witnessing and documenting home deliveries, she also conducted more than 50 in-depth interviews with midwives and their clients.
"This is about invoking the mind-body connection," Cheyney said. "We know, for instance, that midwives have better health outcomes in some areas, such as reduced rates of surgical delivery and labor induction, than hospitals. But I wanted to examine how ritual might play a part in producing these positive health outcomes."
Cheyney said evidence shows that hospital births result in about triple the rate of cesarean section for low-risk women compared to midwife-attended home births. Because of her unique role as both a researcher and midwife, Cheyney was able to gain access to hundreds of home births in various parts of the United States, and also witnessed more than 60 hospital births.

What she found was a network of common practices, messages and beliefs that resulted in midwives constructing woman-centered rituals around pregnancy and birth that were set up in opposition to what they believe are the overly medicalized practices of hospitals.

For instance, Cheyney found that midwives conducted many of the same diagnostic procedures as a physician would prenatally, from blood pressure and weight checks to blood testing and fetal heart tone evaluation. But midwives chose to get the entire family involved, often asking the partner to palpitate along with the midwife or allowing older children to hold the equipment used to listen to fetal heart tones.

"The participatory nature was a key component to creating a ritual that empowers the woman and her family to feel in control," Cheyney said. "Many midwives also downplayed the centrality of monitoring and resuscitation equipment setting them off to the side, or placing them under baby blankets during labor so women would not be reminded of the technology in the room. Mothers and babies were still monitored closely, but the monitoring was not made the central focus."

The differences aren't so much in practice, she argues, but in performance.
Cheyney also documented the use of common phrases to create birthing mantras. She lists phrases such as "don't fight it," "let your body do it," "open," and "let it be strong," as key components to the home birth ritual. Many mothers that Cheyney interviewed reported feeling strong and capable during their labors, and women who compared their hospital birth to their home birth reported feeling like they were "doing something, rather than just lying there passively waiting." Midwives also commonly expressed the statement that they were simply "guardians," and that women have all the tools inside of them to birth their own babies.

Cheyney said she was interested in documenting these home birth rituals in part because past anthropological studies have already looked at the rituals that characterize hospital deliveries. It is Cheyney's belief that both of these sets of rituals have caused a wide chasm between the 99 percent of the U.S. population that chooses hospital births and the 1 percent who choose home births.

"Just as women and their doctors who deliver in the hospital often feel convinced that their birth was the only safe and 'correct' way, women and midwives who deliver at home feel strongly that they have the solution," Cheyney said. "They believe it with every cell in their body because they have lived it."

The result, said Cheyney, are two deeply entrenched belief systems that have trouble meeting in the middle, prompting many of the tensions between midwives and obstetricians – a major concern for Cheyney and other researchers as the number of home births in the U.S. is on the rise.

In contrast, countries such as Canada require midwives to be trained in home, birth center, and hospital deliveries. And Dutch physicians are required to complete midwifery training if they want to attend low-risk deliveries. "How can you speak across divides unless you experience both sides?" Cheyney said. "To use a travel metaphor, it's easy to criticize a country you've never visited."

Moorish Visual: Two Moorish women

Source: A portrait photograph by Comtesse de Croix-Mesnil