Thursday, 16 September 2010
I’m reading the book Human. It’s edited by Robert Winston and Don Wilson. It’s one of those Dorling Kindersley books that, instead of containing the usual linear text, has lots of pictures with captions that all relate to one another via a larger-font paragraph in the top left of each page. This book tries to bring in the whole of the human experience: Its 500+ pages spend some time discussing the origins of humans, all the major body systems, organs, and senses of the human body, and all the cultures around the world.
The chapter I’m in right now is called “Life Cycle.” This chapter goes through many of the traditions and rituals that humans experience during their lifetimes, as well as the changes their bodies go through. Early in the chapter, the book details various birth rituals. Since there’s a newborn in our home, I’ve been particularly interested in this section. Specifically, I’ve been trying to see if any of the birth rituals aren’t totally insane.
Here’s what the Wodaabe people of West Africa do: “First a goat is sacrificed in honor of the new life. Then the heads of the baby and mother are shaved, an act that is believed to strengthen the bond between them…In the evening of the ceremony, the baby is named by a village elder. Once the baby is named, the parents are not allowed to speak his or her name in case evil spirits hear it.”
Here’s another dozy: “A Muslim baby is often introduce to the religion within hours of being born. An elder of the Muslim community whispers the azaan, the call to prayer, into the child’s right ear and the Islamic creed into the left. This is done to ensure that the very first thing a newborn childe hears is the name of God. Often, the elder places a small piece of chewed date into the child’s mouth.”
Or how about this one: In the Hindu Chudakarana ceremony, the baby’s head is shaved. “After the hair is shaved off, it is mixed with cow dung and burned or thrown into a river.”
And from Russia: “It is a traditional Russian belief that the body should be immersed regularly in very cold water….Babies as young as a few months old are dipped into icy waters by their parents.” There’s an accompanying picture showing a Dad holding his baby, full submerged, in cold water.
From the crazy department: “The baby is laid on a cushion and held by a sponsor who has been chosen by his parents while the mohel cuts the foreskin with a double-edged knife. An empty seat is left next to the sponsor to allow room for the prophet Elijah….The baby is given a drop of wine.” You can see why they’re god’s chosen people: only people who can delude themselves into thinking child-abuse is a fitting way to welcome a baby into the world could also delude themselves into thinking Moses’ ramblings have any real-life relevance.
Some, honestly, aren’t so bad: “In Nepal, a baby is marked with black soot in the center of the forehead as a protective sign to ward off evil.” Okay…so at least the baby isn’t harmed, but it’s a ritual based on a couple of false premises.
But the award for only-not-totally-stupid ritual goes to the folks of Northern Uganda: “Soon after birth and before being put to the mother’s breast, a drop of home-brewed millet or banana beer is placed in the baby’s mouth. Beer drinking is a communal event ….and is seen as a symbol of community life. The act of giving a child beer as its first drink reinforces the importance of the community to the child and the fact that the child is part of a wider group of people than its family alone. Whenever people are thought to be acting selfishly later in life, elders will remind them…’beer before milk,’ which means ‘remember others before yourself.’”
Not bad…but I think we’ll stick with passing out chocolate cigars.
Friday, 17 September 2010
Jennifer and I are trying to institute a don’t-go-out-to-eat policy lately. We like going out to eat but, let’s face it, it really eats into the budget. I didn’t think we were going to go out to eat that much in the first few weeks after Isla was born, but even then we still did. We ate a Ruby Tuesday one afternoon (as previously discussed) one day. Another day, we breakfasted at Mickey’s. We feasted at Brine’s during a daytrip to Stillwater. On our anniversary, we ate at Olive Garden. One day, while with Owen on a playdate with his former preschoolmates, we bought some sandwiches as Cups ‘n’ Scoops.
Today I had lunch from Jimmy John’s. Hey, at least I didn’t pay for it: it was free with my attendance at a webinar at work during the noon hour. I think I was the only person to order the 7-grain bread. I’m not sure if I think the 7-grain option is a better tasting bread than their standard bread, but it agrees with my digestive tract a lot more.
It’s funny how you can decide not to go out to eat, yet still get restaurant food so often: my mom took us out to eat for our anniversary, and some friends that stopped by to see Isla couple of weeks ago gave us a gift card to Jimmy John’s. During last week’s picnic with my group at work, I was treated to Holy Land.
I think, instead of just making it our goal to not eat out, we should make it our goal to eat out as often as possible without having to pay for it.