Teething Ceremony in Indian Customs

Indian Customs in Teething is a Hindu tradition 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".

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 diarrhea 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.

A time is allotted and a place is decided for the teething 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.

Annaprashan or the rice ceremony marks the first rice eating of the baby in a ceremonial gesture. “Anna” means “rice” and “prashan” means “beginning.” This is a treasured Hindu ritual that celebrates a baby’s first introduction to solid food, usually performed when the child is around six months old. This also marks the beginning of teething as teeth symbolizes chewing of solid food. This ceremony suggests the beginning of a lifelong diet and holds significance for both physical and mental development, especially as the teething stage begins. It also marks the baby’s first step toward learning independent feeding practices. Traditionally, the ritual involves feeding the child rice, often prepared as kheer, though the customs and dishes vary across regions and cultures, each with its own unique name and flavor.