Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/234

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN three blades of the sacred kūsa grass, repeating the while Vēdic verses.


 * (5) Jātakarma is the name of the birth ceremony, and is performed by the father of the child. Honey and ghī are introduced into the mouth of the infant with a golden spoon or rod, to symbolise good fortune. Then the ears and shoulders are touched with the spoon or rod, while Vēdic texts are recited.


 * (6) Mēdhājananam, rarely done, is for inducing intelligence.


 * (7) Āyusha, for prolonging life, is the next in order. The father gives the child a secret name, having an even number of syllables for a male and an uneven number for a female, which is never revealed to any one except the mother.


 * (8) Nāmakarana is the ceremony, at which the child is named, and is said to be done on the tenth day after birth. The naming of a child is an important religious act, which is supposed to carry consequences throughout life. The parents, assisted by a Vādhyān, make a burnt sacrifice to the deity.


 * 9) Annaprāsana is the ceremony at which food other than that from nature's fount is first given. It is done in the sixth month after birth. The father carries the child to a group of friends and relations. The Vādhyān or purōhit is present and repeats Vēdic texts, while the father places a little rice and butter in the child's mouth.


 * (10) Chaula is the ceremony when the hair is cut for the first time in the Nambūtiri fashion.


 * (11) Karna vēdha is the occasion on which the ears are bored.

On the Vidyādasami day, the tenth of Āsvayuja, when a male child is five years old, the father goes