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Ceremonies connected with a birth of a child
The birth of a child is the most important thing in the woman's life after
marriage. Her health is carefully looked after by elderly women. Every
member of the family tries to keep her in good spirits and so elderly
women try to surround her with an atmosphere of piety: religious books
are read; rites of Pungsavan are observed and she is given panchamrita.
For a month from the birth of a child, the mother is held impure. She
is not allowed to touch anything in the house.
A fire is kept constantly
burning with paddy husks or dried cow dung near her to drive off evil
spirits. After the first month is over, the suddhi, ceremony is held when
mother and child are purified and allowed to mix with others. The baby's
head is shaved off. The Lalungs have another wonderful custom; the mother
brings the baby washed clean, out of the house in the morning and let
him face the east, a women-priest brings a specially-made bow and arrows
to be touched by the baby and shoots four arrows in the four corners,
feigning that the baby itself is shooting and praying to Narayana,
Ananta, Mahadeva and Yama to protect it from calamity. If it is a girl,
she is touched with a piece of cotton and a sickle instead of with
bow and arrows and: "your struggle is outside the house",
is whispered to the boy and "your struggle is inside the house",
to the girl.
Other ceremonies connected with a new-born baby such
as namakaram, chudakaram and annaprasam are undergone by Brahmanas according
to Sastric rites. Non-Brahmans hold only the ceremony of annaprasam when
the baby is its fifth, seventh or ninth month. The first morsel is put
into its mouth (bhat mukhat diya ) by its maternal uncle. A feast is conducted
and congregational prayers are held.
Some Buddhist of Assam observe a kind of purification
rites for both mother and child. The Dowaniyas do it with the help of
a Fungi (priest) who perform religious functions. The Buddhist Fakials
bring the baby outside to the elevated verandah of the houses built on
poles only after seven days and they bring down the baby to the ground
only after a month, when old women tie black thread to its hands and legs
to wish it well in life. Some Hindus also tie a black thread around
the baby's waist to ward off effects of evil eyes.
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