Their duties were by no means confined to those of a mere translator, and they became the confidential and indispensable go-betweens of the foreign missions and the Porte.
Old women were employed as go-betweens, and the marriage ceremony was conducted by a priest who after moral exhortations united the young couple by tying their garments together in a knot, after which they walked seven times round the fire, casting incense into it; after the performance of the marriage ceremony, the pair entered together on a four days' fast and penance before the marriage was completed..
A new Go-Betweens album, the superbly laconic The Friends Of Rachel Worth, is shortly to appear.
They are the go-betweens of heaven and earth, and help keep the mortal world in balance.