Monday 25 August 2014

REFERENCES


Schalken. L. (n.d.). Birth Customs around the World. Retrieved from

Spanish ‘devil’ cleanses his spirit by leaping over newborn babies in centuries –old ritual. (2014).

McKinley. A. (n.d.). Passport to pregnancy: Traditions from around the world. Retrieved from

Pregnancy and Child Birth from the Korean Perspective. (n.d.). Retrieved from

Merchant. M. (2013). Photo Essay: A Baby is Born – Customs in a Rural Muslim Community in

Milburn. N. (n.d.) Tradition for when Japanese Children are Born. Retrieved from

Jamaican Traditions: Birth and Death Practices. (n.d.).  Retrieved from

Baby Celebrations – the Japanese Way 2 (First Shrine Visit). (n.d.). Retrieved from


To see the light of day…. Childbirth among the Newar in Nepal. (n.d.). Retrieved from

Birth and Childhood Ritual: Traditions regarding Pregnancy. (n.d.). Retrieved from

Lejla., & Lejla. (2013). Unusual Traditions after the Birth of Baby. Retrieved from

Strong and Sweet Saying for Moms. (n.d.). Retrieved from

 Japanese Life Time Ritual. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ogasawara-ryu.com/en/ome15.html 

The Infant in the Kradong. (n.d.). Retrieved from

Debra. (2013). Bali Nyabutan Ceremony: Baby First Touches the Mother Earth. Retrieved from

Bizzari. H. B. (n.d.). The Sebou Ceremony: Bringing a modern Egyptian baby into the world. Retrieved

 from http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/sebou.htm

Birth in South Africa: Indigenous Traditions. (2011). Retrieved from
                http://www.spiritualbirth.net/birth-in-south-africa-indigenous-traditions 

Saturday 23 August 2014

Tears of Crying Baby


Hello readers :)

My story has come to the end??


Well, it is sad to say that we have come to the last part of the story which is to conclude about my blog. Actually, this is my second time writing entries on blog since I have experienced once writing for personal purpose only. I never thought that I can finish this thing such as designing the banners, add some widgets here and there, writing up few entries and so on.

Writing entries is easy but to make it alive and attractive for readers to read is not an easy task. I must say that I am proud with myself so far since I never put all my efforts and time to be as creative as I could like what I did for this blog. 

My hope upon this blog is that readers will gain something by read through all the entries that is basically about the unique ritual or custom of the newborn baby. Yes, some might says this blog only suitable for newmother or adults but hey, it is an academic purpose so I welcome everyone to sit back and enjoy reading my entries.

Last but not least. Special thanks to Madam Hawinda, who guide me from the beginning and also suggesting this topic. Also thank you to my family who always there behind me to support me and friends who help me in making this blog alive. Till then, good bye readers :)

Newborn Baby in Nepal


"Babies are such a nice way to start people" - Don Herold

In Nepal country, there's no ritual in celebrating newborn baby. They just celebrating it by let the mother and the baby enjoy their leisure time together. After the birth, the new mother and the baby spend four to six days in peace and harmony in the darkened birth room. The straw bed is placed in the room for both of them. At this moment, the relationship between mother and child can can unfold wonderfully. 

Straw bed that is going to be used for both mother and child
The midwife usually visits daily two or three times. She will clean up mother and child and massages both with preheated mustard oil and gives some advises to the mother regarding breastfeeding and other questions.

The newborn baby is being massaged from the first day onwards because the midwife believed the baby is offered an atmosphere that resembles the one in womb, so as to ease its entrance the world


Newborn Baby Thailand


"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born" - Rajneesh

Baby ritual in Thailand or specifically Kradong, there's a ritual named Kradong Morn. The named was given because according to the tradition, a baby in the village should spend it first three nights in a kradong morn

Kradong morn or plaited tray 
In this basket-tray, is placed a little mattress, filled with kapok. The tray need to be new. There's two reasonable reason why they used this kradong morn. First, it is convenient and practical for the baby to easily move around. Second, it is believed that magical because it protected against phii (evil)

Some people questioning why the baby must lie in the kradong for three nights. Here are some answers that reliable to understand

  1. one night for each of the Three Gems
  2. Three is better than any other figure
  3. it is just tradition

Newborn Baby in Africa


"The belief in charms for protecting newborn infants is very strong in Greece" - J. T. Bent

Since there are so many tribes in Africa, they are many ritual to celebrate newborn baby. I have choose one ritual from Umtata people that live in South Eastern Cape of Africa. They have a ceremony after birth of a baby called Sifudu. It means passing child through smoke which accomplished by picking leaves from the Sifudu tree. 

the leaves of Sifudu tree have an exceptionally pungent aroma. 

A small fire is made in the centre of the hut, upon which leaves are placed, creating a thin pall of smoke, most irritating to mouth, nostrils and eyes. A woman holds a baby head downwards into the smoke, which gives such a shock it can hardly cry.

The ritual is believed to assure that when the child grows up, it will never be subject to fright nor be timid, shy or easily ridiculed by minor or adult, as it will stand it's ground

Other birth and childhood ritual upon African tribes can be seen here African tribes

Newborn Baby in Spain


"When my baby is sleeping that's when I think 'Wow, I made it'" - Anonymous

Baby or infants in Latin words called as El Nino. In Spain, there's no traditional ritual of celebrating the newborn baby. But, there are one festival that they celebrate every year special for babies which is Baby Jumping festival. Some might think that the baby is the one who are going to jump right? nah, obviously the babies cannot jump. 

This festival recalls the eternal fight between good and evil and is believed to put the babies on a path to a good life. According to the tradition, parents put their one-year-old child on a mattress at the central square of a small village. Then, a man dressed in a cheerful yellow costume meant to symbolize the devil, takes a running start and jump over the babies 

Man with cheerful yellow costume jump over the babies

Newborn Baby in Bali


"She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn't take them along" 
- M. C. Banning

Ritual of celebrating newborn baby in Bali is a bit different rather than normal custom that practice by Indonesians. In Bali, they have their own specific ritual which is Nyabutan Ceremony. This ceremony means the baby first touches the Mother Earth. 

Nyabutan ritual


Babies in Bali are not allowed to touch the ground until they are three months old. The first month is believed that baby's connection to spirit is keep tacked as they are not ready to touch the earth yet. 

During this ceremony, the family invited a priest to their family temple where they provide offerings to the Sun God and the Five Elements. The baby is then blessed with holy water and her feet are allowed to touch the ground. The parents then will carry the baby three times around the water representing the passage of birth, life and death.



Newborn Baby in Japan


"Without my children, my house would be clean and my wallet would be full but my HEART would be empty" - Anonymous

As we all know, Japan is known as land of the rising sun and well developed from the aspects of their technology and building also their well-preserved culture. In Japanese culture of celebrating newborn baby, they are few ritual that they practicing for the newborn.

SHICHIYA-NO-WAI (Seventh Day Celebration)

This ritual is held on the seventh night from the baby’s birth. In the morning of this day, the family of the new born baby would offer a stack of rice cake on sanbou(square stand made of plain wood for putting offerings to the altar) with noshi(narrow hexagon paper) displaying it in tokonoma(alcove) and celebrate with red rice

MEIMEI (naming the baby)

A document of naming is written on a thick Japanese paper by folded in half horizontally and then in three. The baby’s name would be written in the center, his/her birth day and names of the parents on the left side

A document that contain the baby's name, their birth date and their parents name

MIYAMAIRI (shrine visit)

Naming should be done within seven days after the baby’s birth. Afterwards, the family would visit a tutelary deity to thank and to inform their baby’s birth. In the old times, they used to give visits 120 days after birth but today, boys usually visit on the 32nd day, girls on the 33rd day.

The baby and the family visit the tutelary deity (the one who wearing orange silk)

KUIZOME (first meal)

It has been a ritual since the Ashikaga period (14th-16th century) to pray for the child’s safe growth. It is done on the 120th day after baby’s birth. The baby will eat a simple Japanese meal on this day. They prayed to keep away famine from the baby

Kuizome - first time meal for the baby


Newborn Baby in Egypt


"The creative adult is the child who survived" - Anonymous

Welcoming a newborn in Egypt is accompanied with pride and great joy. Ritual that has been practiced for ages in Egypt are called as The Sebou (meaning the seventh) one of Egypt’s oldest and most cherished celebrations. The number seven is considered is considered a lucky number.

When the baby was born, the baby is washed in warm water and dressed in a long white cotton dress. On the seventh day or the Sebou celebration, the event starts by scattering salt on the mother and around the house to keep the evil eye away.

Sebou celebration on the seventh day


The mother will steps over the baby seven times without touching it, while older women make loud noise to make the baby aware of sounds. Grandparents shake the baby horizontally and give him orders to obey only their family. 


Newborn Baby in China


"The joys of motherhood are never fully experienced until the children are in bed" - Anonymous

Chinese parents are the true originators of the diaper-free baby trend. Usually, baby during their few weeks old still need their parents help because they are still small and not even capable enough to clean up themselves. Different in China, when the babies are just a few weeks old, mother hold their baby above the commode and teach them to do their “business” in command.


Commode - a piece of plastic containing concealed chamber pot where the babies do their "business" 

Sensitive to tiny bladders and the need to rush when its go time, Chinese mothers dress their babies in split-crotch pants, even when on the go. Pee-pee emergencies can be handled swiftly as the mother will holds their child in a squatting position with no need for unbuttoning, unzipping, or even un-tucking.


Split-crotch pant

The split allows the pants to be opened when your baby is held in arms with their legs opened or when toddler squats or sits on potty 

I did agree with this method that Chinese moms practice from time to time. This is because, it teaches the baby independence to use the potty without needing to remove their clothing.

Newborn Baby in Philippines


"When that kid looks into your eyes, and you know it's yours, you know what it means to be alive" - Anonymous


In Philippines, the ritual of celebrating the newborn baby can be seen by how the new mother took care of the baby. Philippines’ mother has a sure fire-way of wranglingtheir babies to sleep which is ‘the Duyan’.

The Duyan - a wooven craddle or hammock specially use for baby to sleep

The duyan is used gently to rock a tired baby until the baby finally passes out. After the baby fall asleep, the mother takes the baby out from the duyan and places the sleeping baby on the banig or sleeping mat for a long and restful snooze


Banig - a handwoven mat usually used for sleeping and sitting. This type of mat traditionally made in the Philippines

Philippines ritual is almost the same like our traditional custom in Malay culture where the duyan and banig are being used during the 80's

Thursday 21 August 2014

Hello Babies


Asslamualaikum and hye readers. I am Zetty Nadzra Bt Bahrom from DEC 5A and now I'm currently studying at Kolej Profesional MARA Indera Mahkota, Kuantan, Pahang. This blog is only for academic purpose in order to fulfill the subject that I learn which is Digital & Media Communication.

Technically, what I am going to write in my more entries ahead are all about "The Uniqueness of Newborn Baby Tradition Around the World"

A newborn baby is the most precious gift to a married couple. This tiny and fragile creature brings happiness and cherish every moment during parental hood. Their presence is being celebrated in many different traditions according to their country they was born. In more entries to come, I would like to share with readers few unique traditions of newborn baby around the world and I hope readers will enjoy reading it and gain information as much as you can from this blog. So, lets enjoy and happy reading :)



Newborn Baby in Guatemala


"A baby is born with a need to be loved - and never outgrows it" - Frank A. Clark

Newborn baby in Guatemala practices different ritual just like any other country. In Guatemala, new mother will traditionally bathe their babies in the icy water. They believe that cold bathe soothes skin rashes and to encourage good sleep.  Of course, ice cold water for infant can make them shock for the Guatemala country where the temperature is extremely high.

Newborn baby is being bathed in ice cold water


Apart from that, according to ancient Mayan custom, the newborn baby must wear a red string around his/her wrist.


Newborn baby wearing red string around their wrist

“This protects the child from evil spirits,” says Ortiz. ”It is believed that newborns have delicate souls which must be protected for as long as possible.”
                                     
Well, readers can read more to know how mothers in Guatemala experienced their newborn baby tradition here 

Newborn Baby in India


"It was the tiniest thing I ever decided to put my whole life into" - Terri Guillemets

Just like any other country, Indian's mother and newborn baby are confined in their home following the birth of the child. The confinement period is generally between 30-40 days.

Every week of the confinement process has its own special name which are Jatakarma, Namakarana, Nishkramana, Karnavedha, Annaprasanna and Chudakarma (Mundan)


JATAKARMA

Jatakarma ceremony is the first ceremony for the newborn baby after the childbirth. The purpose of celebrating this ceremony is to make the baby get used to the values in the child even tough he/she does not understand the importance. The Jatakarma ritual can be seen here Jatakarma ritual

Jatakarma ( Week 1)

Namakarana

This is the ceremony where the baby's name are given. Good name must have good meaning. The good meaning is to remind the children of their goal and objective.

Namakarana ( Week 1 - Week 2 )

NISHKRAMANA

Nishkramana is when the new baby is carried out from the house for the first time. The aim of these rituals are to expose the baby to the sun, the moon and to the gods

Nishkramana ( Week 6 - Week 7 )

KARNAVEDHA

Technically, this ceremony is to get the baby dress well. During this day, a baby boy get his first ear pierced on the right ear and a baby girl get her first ear pierced on the left ear. 

Karnavedha ( Week 12 - Week 24 )

ANNAPRASANNA

This is a ritual where the baby intake the first food instead of milk. The ritual is usually guided by a priest, who suggest an auspicious date on which to conduct the ceremony

Annaprasanna ( Week 25 - Week 28 )

CHUDAKARMA (MUNDAN)

Chudakarma or also called as Mundan is a ritual that aims blessing the child to have a long fulfilling life. The baby is going to have their first hair cut as it is the important tradition in India.

Chudakarma (Mundan) ( Week 52 )



Newborn Baby in Korea


"Baby eats, feels, thinks, and sees what mom eat, feels, thinks and sees"

When Korean women find out that she is pregnant, they should follow certain order of whom she should tells first. She must tell her mother-in-law first, followed by her husband, and lastly her own mother. During the childbirth, it is customary for the Korean to hang "Geumjul" (twisted straw rope) across the gate of the house to frighten evil spirits away. 

"Geumjul" - twisted from right to left as it is believed that it
will have the effect of warding off evil spirits


After giving birth of the baby, seaweed soup (miyuk gook) will be fed to the new mothers and continuously the mother must eat it up to three weeks ahead. The nutrients from the seaweed are likely believe to help cleanse the blood after childbirth. 

"It's one of the most nutrient-rich foods and has lots of vitamins. Eating it helps the mother develop healthy breast milk and recover from childbirth." said Hannah Chung, whose family is originally from South Korea.

Seaweed Soup


Other than that, the baby must be kept in the house and away from strangers for the first year. This is likely to avoid the baby from any harm and illness since the baby are still small and fragile..



Newborn Baby in Indonesia


"A child needs a role model, not a super model" - Astrid Alauda

As we all know, Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country with the population of 204, 847, 000 or 12.7% of the world's Muslim population of 1.6 billion. Giving birth in Indonesia is commonly practice based on Islamic characteristics and more likely to be similar with Malay culture. 

POST NATAL CARE

When the baby was born, the baby is weighed in a suspended sling by a traditional birthing attendant. Traditional birthing tradition or also called "Mak Bidan" in Malay always become favourite among new mothers when giving birth in Indonesia. Before the new era of technology, traditional birthing tradition has become the expertise in celebrating the newborn baby. 

Traditional birthing tradition is weighing a newborn baby in a suspended sling
THE PLACENTA

Revered for its symbolism of life, spirit and individuality it is often buried outside. The placenta is seen as the baby's twin or elder sibling and is perceived as the baby's guardian throughout life. 

Burying the placenta. A young father shades the traditional birthing attendant whilst she places the wrapped placenta of his newborn baby into its ceremonial burial hole. 
BLESSING FOR THE NEW BORN

According  to Islamic tradition, the birth of the newborn baby is celebrated with readings from the Quran. This  celebration is called as "Aqiqah" in Malay. The purpose of having this blessing for the newborn ceremony is to ensure that the baby is familiar and closer to the Islamic surrounding when he/she grow up. The event consists of a naming ceremony for the child and the baby's hair is also shaved off during the Aqiqah. 

Blessing the child. The shaved hair is then weighed and and an equal amount of that weight in gold or silver is then given to the charity.