The Caul Bearer.

In Superstitions of sea faring folk I mentioned a Caul being used by sailors as a protection against drowning. But what is a Caul?

The Caul Bearer.

Those babies born with a Caul are called Caul bearers and in many cultures it is referred to as The Veil. The Caul is like a mask that is found covering the face of some children at birth. The Caul is formed from the membranes of the amniotic sac that develop during pregnancy which in some cases covers the face and head of the baby.  After the birth, the caul would be carefully removed from the newborn, taking care to keep it as intact as possible. It would then be preserved and would be kept with the child as a protective talisman. To be born with a Caul is an extremely rare occurance and because of this such children were held in high regard and in some cultures feared.

Those born behind the veil can be male or female, rich or poor. They can be from any social, religious or racial group and from any country. There are no barriers when it comes to the Caul Bearers although there may be a genetic tendency so in rare cases there may be more than one member of a family born with a Caul.

There has been some suggestion that these births may be as few as one in a hundred thousand but there has been no definitive study carried out to my knowledge in regard to geographical area or population group.

It has also been suggested that one of the reasons why those born with a Caul are held in high esteem is due to the fact that the time and place of a birth can be predicted. In some cultures the Caul Bearer was considered to be King by right due to the predictive nature of their birth and because they were thought to have great leadership qualities. There are a number of Buddhist groups who will seek out Caulbearers to be reared as a future Dalai Lamas.

Caulbearers are thought to have special abilities which include the ability to find hidden underground water supplies, knowing when the weather will change and predicting future harvest size and where to fish.  They are also known to be great healers who can heal either by laying on of hands or from a far distance (Remote healing). Because of their ability to see beyond the veil they were thought to have second sight and so were able to predict the future. They were also considered to be knowledgeable in matters of judgement and leadership and they are highly respected by many cultures.

However, as I said at the beginning some people and groups feared the Caul bearer and there have been many attempts throughout history to destroy them. Some powerful groups feared the Caul Bearers because they saw them as messengers of a higher force sent to guide mankind in spiritual matters and in times gone by they were held in such high regard for their wide range of knowledge they were looked upon as priests and teachers, this was long before the idea of religious priests was an accepted term. This period of persecution was known as The Veil of Tears and was at its height during the Middle Ages when Caul bearers were burned as witches and heretics mainly by the Church of Rome.

Persons of negative character may often react to Caulbearers at a very subconscious level as they sense that there is something different about these people. There are many folk tales about “the curse of the Caul” which appears to come from the fallout of negative actions against a bearer of the Caul.  This persecution was to receive support from both the ruling class who wished to obtain power through might rather than birthright and the ignorant who were easily led as they feared the unknown and those who were seen as different made easy targets. Nothing much has changed.

Returning to the superstition of sea faring folk. It was believed  that children born with the Caul would never die of drowning and they would make good sailors.  In Victorian times Cauls were even sold at auction and fetched very good prices as they were often bought by seafarers who wished to obtain protection against the dangers of the sea.