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In India people of different casts and religions have their own way of performing the baby naming ceremony. Hindus follow different rituals and procedures for performing the naming ceremony of the new born. Right from choosing a baby name to placing the baby in the cradle, every thing is carried out by following the rituals. Hindus believe that the baby naming ceremony should be carried out by following proper rituals to bestow baby with a good life.
Each humanist naming ceremony is unique and created especially for a particular family and their circumstances. This means there is no set script and no fixed structure. A typical naming ceremony might include readings or poems, parental promises to their child, the appointment of ‘guide parents’ and perhaps a symbolic action such as planting a tree, signing a certificate or writing in a wish book.
The naming part of the event is of course significant, but the most important aspect of a naming ceremony is that it offers you the chance to focus on your child’s future development, welfare and happiness and for you to affirm that you will try to be the best parent you can.
16 samskaras are prevalent in Hindu Society today. The first ritual on the birth of a baby is Jaatakarma (birth ceremony). In Hindi, baby naming ceremony is also known 'Naamkaran' and in Marathi it is known as 'Baarsaa'. In Hindu families, the baby naming ceremony is normally scheduled on the twelfth or thirteenth day or after forty days depending upon the traditions of each sub-caste. In some Hindu families, some rituals and ceremonies are performed even before the baby naming ceremony. Some of them are conducted during the fifth or sixth day of the birth of the newborn baby. It is known as 'Panchvi' or 'Chhathi'. Such ceremonies are performed to protect the newborn from evil sprits. Naming a baby is considered to be sacred and therefore is an important Hindu tradition. It involves the immediate families and also close relatives and friends. Traditionally known as Namkaran or Namakarana Sanskar, this ceremony is conducted in an elaborate form on the 12th day after birth. In Kerala, this is conducted on 27th/28th day and called as Noolukettu.
A naming ceremony is the event at which an infant, a youth, or an adult is given a name or names. The timing can vary from mere days after birth to several months or many years afterwards. Some of these ceremonies have religious or cultural significance. For naming ceremony all family and friend come to celebrate function and event.
The Namakarma Sanskar is usually held after first 11 nights of a baby's delivery in some religion. These 11 post-natal days are considered inauspicious and the mother and child are considered to be unclean. Traditionally mother and child are separated from the rest of the family during these 10 days where no one except a helper is allowed to touch the baby or the mother. All festivals and events in the family and extended family are postponed by 11 nights. After those 11 nights, the house is cleaned and sanctified for the ceremony. The mother and child are bathed traditionally and are prepared for the ceremony. This is most likely to avoid infecting baby or mother and allowing mother some time to recover after delivery. Relatives and close friends are invited to be a part of this occasion and bless the child. Priests are called and an elaborate ritual takes place.
In Hindu baby naming ceremony, many aspects are considered while naming the baby. The day and time of the baby naming ceremony is decided by the Pandits. The day and time decided is known as 'Shub Mahurat' which is an auspicious time for naming the baby. The letter with which the baby is named is normally decided based on his Kundali, birth time, positions of stars and planets etc; during the birth of the baby. Normally a Pandit or an Astrologer provides such letters with which the baby is named.
Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends and other family members are present during the baby naming ceremony. However, to make this ceremony auspicious this ceremony is performed in the presence of at least five married women. These women gather during the baby naming ceremony and carry out various rituals as per Hindu traditions and customs.
The ceremony begins with placing the newborn baby in the cradle. During this activity some rituals are also accompanied. The aunt of the baby (father's sister) whispers the baby's name in the baby's ears and then the name is announced to everybody present during the ceremony. Women sing the songs for welcoming the newborn baby and performing the baby naming ceremony. Each and every family member takes pleasure to rock the cradle of the newborn baby during the naming ceremony.
As a part of this ceremony, family members, especially grandparents bring gold and silver ornaments on the occasion of the baby naming ceremony for the newborn baby. At the same time gold chains, ear rings (even for a male child), silver anklets and new clothes are specially bought for the baby during this ceremony. Special feast is also organized during this ceremony.
The child is dressed in new clothes and the mother wets the head of the baby with drops of water as a symbol of purifying the child. In some communities, the baby is then handed over to the paternal grandmother or the father who sits near the priest during the ritual. Where the paternal aunt names the child, she whispers the new born his or her name in the ear and then announces it to the gathered family and friends. In some Communities or families, the sacred fire is lighted and the priest chants sacred hymns to invoke the Gods in the heaven to bless the child.
The Namakaran Sanskar is also performed on adult converts to Hinduism to mark their formal entrance into Hinduism. The convert chooses a Hindu name to declare his allegiance to Hinduism and his severance from his former religion. A Vedic fire sacrifice is then performed and the convert writes his new name in a tray of uncooked rice.
In Maharashtra, traditionally women changed their birth-name upon marriage. The new name was selected by the husband to complement his own name. For example, a groom named Vishnu would change his brides name to Laxmi, the mythological consort of Vishnu, Ramchandra would change his bride's name to Sita and so on. Usually the husband writes the new name in a plate filled with dry uncooked rice grains.
In some countries, a baby shower is a way to celebrate the expected or delivered birth of a child by presenting gifts to the mother at a party, whereas other cultures host a baby shower to celebrate the transformation of a woman into a mother.
The derivation of the word Namakaranam in Sanskrit is Naama kriyate yasmin karmaani tat - the act by which a name is given to a child. The child’s name is determined according to different factors including the family deity, the deity of the month and the Hindu Star, the child is born. The name of a saint or the name of any deity may also be selected. A child is named on the basis of three criteria. The first is based on astrology, the planetary configuration as described above. The second criterion is that the name should be able to identify family details from the name. It is also customary to identify caste using the last name as Sharama (one who is interested in spiritual pursuits), Verma (Inclined towards Physical strength building), Lingayat (Follower of Basaveswara philosophy), Dasa (a Vaishanva devotee), Gupta (business pursuits) etc.
The naming of a girl had a different basis. The name of a girl should contain an uneven number of syllables, it should end in a and should have a Taddhita. Baijavapa says, "The name of a girl should contain three syllables and end in I". Manu gives further qualifications of the name of a girl: "It should be easy to pronounce, not hard to hear, of clear meaning, charming, auspicious, ending in a long vowel and containing some blessing." She should not be given an awkward name indicating "a constellation, a tree, a river, a mountain, a bird, a servant, and a terror." Manu forbids girls to be given in marriage (Kanyaadaana) who are named after these objects.
Earlier it was also customary to name a child after certain important people or some special abilities. It was believed that the name should constantly motivate the person to do what the name conveyed. Psychologists believe that whatever name you call a person, he or she responds with abilities in harmony with it. When a child is given a crude name it responds accordingly. Therefore, a child must be so named that it may be pleasing to the ears and motivate him or her to noble things in life.
Punyaahavachanam, a purification ritual, Nandi Sraaddha (ancestral worship), Navagraha Homa (planetary worship) etc., are done on the day of Naamakaranam and Brahmins (Vedic scholars) and the family members are fed on the occasion. The child is made to lick the honey, then gently whispered to and made to see the Sun, seeking blessings that the child may be glorious and brilliant like the Sun. The child is then made to touch the ground to devotedly surrender to the Lord. The name of the child is then announced and all the relatives and friends bless the child for good health, happiness, long life and also give gifts.
William Shakespeare wisely said: “A good name, in man or woman, is the immediate jewel of their souls.
Female relatives have a special role to play in this ceremony and they revel in it. All of them gather round the jhula or cradle in which the baby rests and sing traditional folk songs. They are also required to perform certain rituals which vary from family to family. It could be doing tilak on the forehead of the child, some ritual with Gangajal or any other. The most common ritual that one can find in almost all Hindu families is applying kohl (kajal) on the eyes and one of the two spots – on the cheek or on the right side of forehead. It is supposed to bring good omen for the baby and prevent anything untoward from happening.
The child’s mother who brought the child into the world is especially revered during the ceremony. The rituals invariably involve blessing the child and the mother together and giving some gift item as token of good wishes. The blessings showered on the child are affirmations for his bright future and that he would bring glory to the parents and family. The infant is supposed to bask in the glow of good wishes and come up trumps in the battles of life. The colourful ceremony of naming the baby is not only aesthetically appealing but also reinforces the feeling of dignity and value for human life.
The ceremony may also be performed at a temple in some families. If the family custom so ordains, the baby is taken to a particular temple for certain special rites. The priest prepares an elaborate ritual to invoke blessings from the Gods. The Gods can be the temple deity, spirits of ancestors and/or others. All the family members are invited to the temple too. The last part of the Namkaran ceremony is a feast for all the family members. Special care is taken to prepare only those dishes that are considered pure befitting the sacred ceremony.