How the arrival of a child is celebrated in Pakistan?
In which society the birth of a child is not celebrated? After all, it is a way of transferring our genes into the generation ahead. Cultures may differ in the way they celebrate the arrival of a young one but the happiness doesn't. Every culture has its own way for celebration of this event. My culture is also rich in customs and traditions where the arrival of a child, especially the first child of a couple, is being celebrated even before his/her birth. This celebration starts with a ceremony called goud bharai.
Goud bharai (translation. Filling the lap) is a ceremony that is celebrated in the beginning of third trimister of pregnacy. This is akin to baby shower.
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The pregnant woman is dressed up beautifully. Mehndi is also carved on her hands and feet. For the observance, she sits on the stage. The ladies come one by one, spoon-feed her some sweets and drop a fruit in her lap. In this way her lap is filled.
Though this ceremony is a part of my culture, yet it is more common among upper and upper-middle class families. It is not that common in other socioeconomic classes.
In the seventh month of pregnancy, the parents of the pregnant woman prepare the whole lot of accessories for the coming baby. It includes the kid's bedding set, dresses, shoes, bather, toys, bag, and ever other thing that is thought to be important for the new born.
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This custom is prevalent in all the socioeconomic classes.
This gift giving by maternal grandparents is not limited to the baby's stuff alone but once the baby is born they give clothes to the baby's father, paternal uncles and aunts, and paternal grandparents.
By the way, I am against this tradition because it gives a burden on the maternal grand-parents. The families that are poor face difficulty to meet the traditional expectations that are attached about this occassion. Giving a gift should never be a compulsion for anyone. Those who want to give happily they should, and those who can't afford should not be looked down upon. That's why I condemn this tradition whole heartedly.
After the birth of the baby, the first thing that is done is to call Adhan in his ears.
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Some people arrange for someone to call the Adhan, others call themselves. After the Adhan, baby is given the motherfeed. It is preffered that Adhan should be called before giving any food to the kid.
In some families, the tradition of Ghutti is strictly followed. It is the first food that is given to baby in the form of honey.
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Some significant other gives some drops of honey in the baby's mouth with one's finger. There is a myth that the qualities of the ghutti giving person are transferred to the baby.
Whoever comes to see the baby gives him some money. This is called munh dikhai *(translation. Face Appearance). It is the gift to the kid for showing his/her face to them 😂.
On the seventh day of the birth, hairs of the baby are shaven off. The amount of silver equivalent to the weight of the kid's hair, is given in charity. This day the name of the kid is finally announced.
This day is celebrated the Aqiqah Ceremony. Two goats for the boy and one goat for the girl is sacrificed. The food is cooked with that mutton. Close relatives and friends are invited in the get-together. Some people prefer to distribute meat among relatives instead of arranging the dinner party.
Sweets are also distributed within a week among the relatives and friends in celebration of the new arrival.
When the kid turns 40 days, both the mother and the kid are given bath.
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It is called Sawa Mahina *(translation. 1 and a quarater month). The idea behind is to purifiy after postpartum bleeding. In Islam there are several purity related restriction to this period as the woman cannot perform the basic worships like salah and Quran recitation. After 40 days, women are supposed to take bath to purify. Within this period, it is suggested that the kid and the mother shouldn't go outside tge home and also should take precautionary food. After Sawa Mahina, it is a kind of a freedom they both take the bath for 😂. By the way, this freedom thingy has nothing to do with Islam. It is only the mindset of the people of my land.
This is how the arrival of a child is celebrated in Pakistan.
This is my entry for the contest by #crossculture. If you want to participate. Here is the link to the contest post. I want to invite my fellows @cescajove , @brightdavid and @mmykel to tell us about their culture.
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I am smiling reading your post because the terms are the same and even the words are the same. I don't think there is much difference between Punjabis and Sindhis.
Whom have you lived with? Sindhis or Punjabis? @sunnyag
By the way I am neither of the two 😁.
I think these traditions and terminology are same accross the sub-continent. In Indian movies I have heard the similar terms.
This is so rich. You guys got a rich culture.
It's so details.
I understand why you don't fancy the fact that people are forced to give gifts.
Anything that is done out of compulsion should be given another name and not gift.
I have never taken in a cross culture contest.
I think I will try this one. Thanks for the mention
And what that name should be vocabulary master @mmykel .
I am sure you won't regret taking part in it.
Best wishes
I don't know who owns that title. 😂
On a lighter note, we can call it tax, levy or duty. 😀
Really? 🤔😂
Lovely blend of traditions. 🥰
New to me would be the lap filling. That makes me wonder how much sweet she'd have to consume and the types of fruits being dropped (I hope they are smaller sized ones). It would be a good bharai at least.
The custom of mandatory gifting is also on the wrong side for me. It would put so much stress or bad image on the supposed givers if they are unable to fulfill that act of giving. And what's supposed to be a cheerful occasion for all may turn otherwise.
The 40 days observation sort of happens around here too. The Islamic part being the ritual bath, and the freedom thingy; perhaps due to the visitations that are always happening during that period or wanting time to recover from postpartum stress.
As I mentioned, it is not that common here either but yes it exists. How many sweets? Hmmm. I think they would take the pity on the woman and wouldn't let her eat too much.
Lol. I think more sophisticated method are used now. Instead of directly in the lap, the fruits would be dropped in a basket placed in the lap 😂. And they would soon be removed if the basket got heavier.
I also have the same opinion.
Thanks for stopping by @mcyusuf 🌷
Congratulations for your baby! It's a great moment, full of joys and tears at the same time. Sleepless, tiring nights and tough days. But it's a fun filled journey.
Your ceremonies are very much similar to what we do here in India. Wish you all the best!
India and Pakistan are very similar in their traditions. After all, they were one for a long long time.
Thanks for your greetings @sugandhaseth. I have 2 kids. Elder is 7 and younger is 4 😊.
Thanks for stopping by 🌷
Wondering the amount people that would come to greet the new child with paying of some money, that would be a lot. What a nice culture and I love all other aspects of the culture which I read in the post. Thanks for sharing
Haha. That varies. People give according to their capacity. Some give 100 Rupees. Some give 500 Rs. Some even more. 1$ is currently equal to 160 Rs.
Thanks for stopping by @mayorkeys 🌷
Ohh. That's really a cool one. Greetings from here
First of all @amberkashif, I fell in love with the pic of the last kid❤😍 seems like he is complaining about something.
Sawa Mahina is a new thing for me.
I found our culture us distinct, diverse among all❤🇵🇰
Oh and Mun dikhai, 🤩 so now the kis also get rich just for showing his/her innocence.
Good luck with the contest dear.
Lolol. Very right. He looks a bit angry.
Seriously? Don't tell me @ayesha-malik... it is the most common term I guess. Haven't you heard. "Uska sawa mahina kb ho ga? Kia woh sawa mahina naha li? Sawa mahina apni ammi k ghr karay gi." Etc etc. It is strange if you don't know about it.
Same to you behna
Hahaha, @amberkashif honestly I heard it for the first time. Instead, we call Chilla (40 days) so it's new for me😁 asked my mom and said Amber is right but you are using the traditional desi term 😂
Haha. So your mom knows who Amber is! My greetings to her 🤗.
Chilla. Lol. I have heard this term for the forty days tablighi jamat groups spend on tabligh. And chilla wo jo chilla kaat'tay hain amaliyaat krne k liay. 😂. Yes, chilla means 40 days.
A fun conversation @ayesha-malik. Made me smile.hehe
Hehe, she is my bestie that's why I give her intros about others 😁
Prayers from her side
And that Chilla😂 you are right, it's being used in too many many ways😁
Hehe, stay blessed sis❤
Greetings to her. God bless you both.
Wow girl, this is nice and I enjoyed reading about your culture.
I want to ask, what's the meaning of Adhan? Is it something like welcome?
I've read so much about the honey aspect, it's funny how they say the characters of the honey giver will reflect on the child later on.
The purification aspect is very important just to be sure of the safety of the mother and child.
You do know a lot about your culture, all the best in best in the contest.
Adhan is the Muslims call for salah (prayer). Five times a day Adhan is called to fetch Muslims for salah. When a child is born to a Muslim family, Adhan is called in his ears. When a Muslim dies Salah of Death is offered before his burrial.
Lol. Myths don't have wings but they fly to the generations ahead.
Thanks for the good wishes @merit.ahama ❤. Best wishes to you too
Oh now I understand, thanks for taking time out to explain 😊 your culture is cool
As cool as yours 🤗
😊 Thanks dear 🙈
😊
Hello @amberkashif. Nice article on your culture's celebration of new babies. You state here:
We in the U.S. also have a celebration before the birth of the baby. We call it just a "baby shower".
Thanks for sharing your culture's celebration of it's next generation.
Read through #dreemport
Yeah. I mentioned in the article about goud bharai that it is akin to baby shower.
Thanks for stopping by @justclickindiva ma'am
It is also known by other names too. Baby Celebration. Baby Home Coming. With the pandemic, people now have Drive By events where you just drive by the front of the couple's home, honk your horn, flash your lights, and hand the gifts off to a dedicated person or just leave them in the front yard on a table set up.
Wow! Now that is the information for me
Hmmmm..... This is great. I love the parts of saying two goats for the child and a goat for the mother. So, this will be a lot of celebration.
Everyone and every Community has their own way of welcoming babies, yours is exceptional...
@dreemport
Two goats for a baby boy and one goat for a baby girl 😊😊😅. I think I need to elaborate it.
Thanks for stopping by @cool08
The method of welcoming a baby in your culture is very rich and beautiful. It's seems that welcoming the baby is very important and they take their time to do it.
I also I'm not in support of this part of the tradition, I believe the gift for the baby is enough, I don't think it should be extended to the paternal uncles, aunts and grandparents, since it's the baby that's being celebrated.
Thanks for sharing your culture with us!
Some traditions become so strong that people don't think of their credibility. This gift giving is of them I gues. It doesn't make any sense to give gifts to people other than the baby but we do so because it is what we are expected to do.
Thanks for stopping by @blezyn
True, gifts should not be given by compulsion but voluntarily instead… looks like there is a slight similarity in that aspect with what I read from the celebrations in India where the maternal grandparents does a lot of expenses.
India and Pakistan are very similar with respect to various traditions and family systems. Muslims of sub continent adopted various customs of hindus there and then the customs instilled in them the way that they transformed to the generations ahead as if they were their own traditions. Living together for about 10 centuries after all had to make this impact.
Thanks for stopping by @starstrings01 🌷