Uncovering the Child’s Face
While in the seclusion-hut with its mother and for some time after, the child has its face covered, and no one except the mother is allowed to see it. At the end of the third month[19] the face of the child is uncovered, and this ceremony is called mokh mûtâr terithti, “child outside he opens,” or, more shortly, mûtâr terthpimi. If the child is a boy, he is taken by his father early in the morning to the front of the dairy, and both father and child bow down at the threshold of the dairy (pavnersatiti), the child being put down by his father so that his forehead touches the threshold. The child is then taken to the place where the buffaloes are standing, and there the face is uncovered, the child being held so that he looks towards the sun when the covering is removed.
If the child is a girl, she is taken by her mother to the majvatvaiidrn, the place where the women go to receive [[332]]buttermilk from the dairyman, and there the mother uncovers the child’s face.
I was not told that the covering of the face is designed to protect the child from the influence of the evil eye, but this is the probable motive. The object of the ceremony is probably to minimise the danger incurred when the covering is removed by putting the child, if a boy, into relation with the three sacred objects, the dairy, the herd of buffaloes, and the sun. If a girl, the child is taken to the spot nearest to the dairy where women are allowed to go.
Naming the Child
The child is named after its face has been uncovered. The ceremony is called per vasthpimi, “name we give,” and it may take place immediately after the ceremony of uncovering the face, or a few days later. In the former case, the child, if a boy, is taken by his father from the place where the buffaloes are standing to the front of the house, and there the father shaves the middle part of the head of the child. Then the boy’s maternal uncle (mun) gives the name, and promises a calf, saying, pòl ud todein, “calf one I have given,” followed by the name of the child,[20] and raises each foot to the head of the boy and touches his forehead, the salutation on this occasion being called kalkartiti. Three grains of barley are put into the mouth of the boy and three into his back-hair, and then the grains are thrown away.
There was some doubt as to the relative by whom a girl is named. It seemed clear that the name is given by a woman, and I was told definitely by some that it is given by the father’s sister (mumi) of the child. The wife of the mun would also be the mumi of the child, and it is possible that this relative may give the name. No calf is given to a girl, this being only done when boys are named.
After the naming, the parents of the child may give a feast if they are rich, but this seems to be now exceptional. After receiving its name, the child is given food for the first time, having been suckled up to this day, but my notes do not [[333]]make it clear whether the child is weaned at this time or continues to be suckled.
When the child is shaved, a bone of a bird called mâtpül and a stone procured from the bazaar called kansutimani are put round its wrist. The bone is cut into small pieces and strung alternately with pieces of the stone so as to form a kind of bangle. It was said that the child would become ill if this charm were not used, and the name of the stone (kan = eye) shows that it is intended to avert the evil eye.