Earlier, we have learned about the naming rites,rituals & ceremony of the (1) European, (2) Christian and (3) the Jewish.

Part 2 looks at the following:

(4) Islamic   (5) Buddhist      (6) Hindu

(4) Islamic - Call to Prayer

• At birth, the Call to Prayer is whispered in the baby’s ear as the first sounds he or she hears.
• The act symbolically brings the infant to the awareness of Allah from the very first moment of life.
• It is accompanied by a reading from the Koran and other rites
• Naming ceremony- after a few days- seven in most Islamic countries, a naming ceremony is held. At a gathering of family and friends the child is formally given a name. A lock of hair is usually cut from the baby’s head. The celebration is accompanied by a meal, reading from the Koran, and other rites.
• Baby boys are often circumcised at this time. Although Islamic belief is that all males should be circumcised, the age when it should happened is not specified. Sometimes the circumcision does not take place until the child is a toddler or even older.

(5) Buddhist-Kika & Naming Ceremony

• After a child is born the parents have his or her Kika drawn. The Kika is a specific horoscope that many Buddhists believes determines all aspects of an individual life including marriage and death.
• Naming ceremony - at this ceremony, a rimpoche, or Buddhist holy person, studies the child’s Kika and selects a name that reflects the traits and predictions described in the Kika. After cutting a strand of the child’s hair,the rimpoche announches his or her name.
• Among Buddhists there are many naming ceremonies. In some traditions, children are named between the ages of three and eight.

(6) Hindu -Namakarana & naming ceremony

• Namkaran is the traditional Hindu baby naming ceremeony
• It has many different variations.
• Nama literally means “name” and karan means ” to make, to effect”
• Choosing a Hindu name is a complicated process. The child’s horoscope is prepared before the ceremony takes palce. An alphabet is derived from the horoscope and the alphabet is used to select five names
• Friends and relatives are invited to the naming, which is usually celebrated on the 12th day after birth. At the ceremony, the selected names are written on five separate pieces of paper. The papers are shuffled and placed individually under five oil-burning lamps. The child’s name is the one under the lamp that burns the longest. The baby’s father than whispers it into the child’s right ear.