67).There are four major rites of passage: prenatal; childhood; marriage; and death (111). Onthese occasions, family members join together to bless the individual and to protect him from anyharm (111). They are performed at home and are a time of spiritual meditation (111).“Three rites are performed before the birth of a child: the rite of conception; the wish for amale child; and the protection of the fetus” (Wangu 111). The rite of conceptions is performedlong before there is any news of a pregnancy (111). This ensures the safety and well-being of themother and child (111). In the third or fourth month of pregnancy, a rite is performed to obtain amale child (111). Between the fourth and eighth month of pregnancy a rite is performed to wardoff evil spirits (111).Several rituals are performed between a child’s birth and adolescence. The first ritual is asimple ritual that is performed immediately after birth (Wangu 111). “The most important is thesecond ritual, known as the morning ceremony, which is held on the tenth of the twelfth day afterMastrangelo 5 the baby’s birth” (111). “On this occasion, the baby is given a formal name” (111). The thirdritual is celebrated when a baby is given solid food to eat for the first time (111). This occasionis celebrated sometime during the sixth month (111).The main ritual of adolescence is the initiation called upanayana, “threat ceremony”(Wangu 111). Only a male child of the upper three castes can undergo this ceremony (111). At the upanayana ceremony, the child is “born again” (Wangu 112). The purpose of this ceremonyis to initiate a child into his Hindu social caste (112). “Before the ritual of upanayana , the boyeats his last meal with his mother” (112). “From that moment, he is expected to eat with the adultmale members of his family” (112). During the ceremony he is given the S...
