Indian Customs in Teething

Indian Customs in Teething

Indian Customs in Teething generally starts by the time the child turns six months old. It is performed when the child’s first set of teeth come out.

Indian Customs in Teething is a Hindu tradition in which is generally performed when the child’s first set of teeth comes out. The lower front teeth generally come in before the upper ones, which typically make an appearance a month or two later. If a child's first teeth appear on its upper jaw, he is considered unlucky for his maternal uncle. The remedy to this ill luck is that the mother moves out of town, from the other side the maternal uncle comes and a ceremony is performed with charity of wheat flour and four iron nails. This special ceremony is known as ‘The charm of the teeth’.

Effects of Teething
According to the Ayurvedic literature, teething may be linked with diseases. Teething gives rise to touchiness, increased salivation, rubbing of gums and painful gums. During teething, the child put everything into the mouth because of the desire to bite in the outbreak of a tooth. This offers an easy way for the entry of germs into the baby’s stomach and giving rise to vomiting and diarrhoea in the course of time. The beliefs and superstitions associated with teething all through the history appear amusing. Some babies also get fever, but it generally goes away within a day or two.

Ritual of Teething
A time is allotted and a place appointed for the ceremony. The child's mother goes to the place, outside the village, on the road that goes to her brother's house. When the brother hears about the arrival of his sister, he brings along with him an old copper coin with an iron nail and nothing else. When the brother is approaching, the sister takes her child up in her arms, so that his face is toward the way on which her brother is coming. The brother comes and opens the mouth of the child, touches its teeth with the coin and the iron nail, without showing his face to the sister or even seeing his sister's face. He then buries the coin and the nail on the very location and returns home. The ill luck for the maternal uncle is thus no longer effective.

Recently Updated Articles in Indian Festivals


•	Gurpurab Festival Gurpurab is a Sikh tradition that celebrates the anniversaries of a Sikh Guru by holding a festival.

•	Bihu Festival Bihu, harvest festival in Assam, take place on a Sankranti day.

•	Baisakhi Festival Baisakhi is the first day of the month of ‘Vaisakha’ the beginning of the Hindu year in some parts of the country. It is a historical and spiritual festival in Sikhism and Hinduism and has its separate significance for each culture.

•	Vasant Panchami Festival Vasant Panchami is observed in honour of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, wisdom, art and music.

•	Dahi Handi Festival Dahi Handi or Dahi Kala Dance is an Indian festival and now categorised as the Indian traditional sport, recognised by the Government of India celebrated in commemoration of the pranks of Lord Krishna of stealing curds from houses.

E-magazine

Subscribe to E-Magazine on Art & Culture