Shaving the New-born: Maguindanaon Way

PART II

(Read Part I HERE)

NAMING THE CHILD: The traditional way

This is done seven days after delivery of the baby. In shaving or cutting the hair of the baby, the following is prepared:

1. oil in a small bowl

2. water in a big bowl – note that “langkungan” is used as a bowl, it is a ceramic or porcelain bowl, and not just an ordinary bowl.

3. date or sugar or honey

4. dudol

5. knife/blade or a pair of scissor

First Step:

The pandita will apply the pulp of a date, honey, or sugar on the palate of the child.

Second Step:

The pandita will dip the tip of his knuckles to the oil reciting a verse from the Quran. Then he will get a portion of the baby’s hair and cut it.

The cut hair is slowly placed in the bowl of water. If the hair will stay long on the surface, the child and the parents will have a good and long life, if it will immediately settle at the bottom, the child will have many hardships in life or will have a short life.

The pandita will get the hair from the bowl and will give it to the mother. The mother will place it in a cotton and keep it together with his/her dried umbilical cord (discussed HERE).

The pandita will now name the child. The pandita will whisper his/her name on the the right ear of the child. The parents usually choose awkward names based on the features of the child. My cousin was named “Dido”, because is she is a “small” baby (not like her siblings). Our neighbor in Maguindanao was named “Kasili,” because he went out from his mother’s wound very easy. (Kasili means eel).

Third Step:

The mother will let the child step on the dudol. The dudol must be in a big bandihaw or a big tray. This is done so that the child will have a comfortable life.

Dudol

FINAL STAGE

The father will give money or sadaqa to the pandita after the ritual. All people who helped in cooking and preparing the kanduli is also given money.

As a closing/ending ritual, the walian will get a shield (klung) and the kampilan or bolo.

On the right hand is klung or the shield

The walian will strike/hit the kampilan to the klung three times. Every time she will strike the kampilan, the walian will shout. (I was not able to get the reason why this was done).

NOW LET ME PRESENT THE ISLAMIC WAY OF SHAVING AND NAMING THE CHILD:

The best time to perform Aqiqah is on the seventh day after the birth of the baby.  But it may be done on the fourteenth, or the twenty first day.

The following is a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) where he advised Aqiqah a goat/sheep.  Narrated Umm Kurz: The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Two sheep which resemble each other are to be sacrificed for a boy and one for a girl. (Sunan Abu Dawood Book 15, No.  2830)

The condition of the animals in Aqiqah is the same as the conditions for the animals in Qurbani. The animals to be slaughtered must be a goats, cows or camels.  For camels, it must be older than 6 years, for cows the age must be older than 3 years and for goats, it must be older than 2 years. They must be free from any form of handicap such as blind, sick, limp and undernourished. The animals must be slaughtered in the appropriate humane ways.

1. Naming: The following is then recited (first that for a boy, then for a girl):  In the Name of God and through God, this is the ‘aqīqa of…. (name of the boy), son of …. (name of the father): its flesh [i.e., the flesh of the sacrifice of the ‘aqīqa] for his flesh blood, its bone for his bone, its hair for his hair, its skin for his skin. O God, let it be a protection of the family of Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family. 2. Shaving: The hair of the baby s shaved. It is recommended to weigh the cut hair in silver, and give its value to the poor or to orphans as alms. In the name of Allah, by Allah, praise be to Allah, Allah is the greatest, faith is in Allah, thanks to the messenger of Allah (blessings of Allah be on him and on his children) for safeguarding His command, gratitude for His sustenance, and awareness of us Ahl ul Bayt (our merits) by His grace. Recite the following if the child is male: O Allah, verily You have given us a son. You alone know what You have given and what has been granted, and (You alone know everything about) whatever You create. So accept (our offering offered) in accordance with Your command and the traditions of Your prophet and messenger (blessings of Allah be on him and on his children), and keep away the accursed Shaytan from us. This blood is pouring out for Your sake only (a.s.) there is no partner to share (it) with You, O my Allah, praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. O my Allah, this meat (instead of) his meat, this blood (instead of) his blood, these bones (instead of) his bones., these hair (instead of) his hair, this skin (instead of) his skin (are offered to You), so O my Allah, accept this (sacrifice) instead of the sacrifice of (mention the name of the child. 3. A goat, a sheep or other such animal should be sacrificed either after shaving the hair or at the same time, but not before. 4. It is recommended to read the following prayer at the time when the animal is about to be slaughtered: O gathering, I am free from what you associate; I turn my face to He who split the heavens and the earth, a true believer and a Muslim, and not one of the polytheists. My prayer, my piety, my living, and my dying are for God, the Lord of the Words. O God, from You and to You, in the Name of God; God is greater. O God, bless Muhammad, and accept [this] from … (name of the child). Son / daughter of …… (name of the father). Or In the name of Allah and by Allah, this aqiqa (sheep slaughtered) is of (mention the name of the child with father’s name); its flesh (instead of) his/her flesh, its blood (instead of) his/her blood, its bones, (instead of) his/her bones (are offered) to You. O Allah, (accept it) as that by which (this child) may be protected and preserved, in the name of the children of Muhammad, blessings of Allah be on him and on his children, and peace. 5. After the sacrifice, the greater part of the meat should be distributed among the poor and needy. It may also be served to the guests, but it is disapproved for the parents of the baby and their dependents to eat it. 6. If, due to any reason, ‘aqīq is not performed on the seventh day after the birth of the child, it may be offered later on, at any time, even by the child itself after attaining puberty. 7. This rite is not obligatory but recommended, and there are many Traditions which emphasize it. Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_happens_in_a_Aqiqa_ceremony#ixzz1B81QP5Q2

Welcoming the New-born: Maguindanaon Way

PART I

(Read Part II HERE)

Note: There’s a big, big difference between the cultural and the religious Aqiqa. The purpose of this article is to document the traditional practices of the Maguindanaons. Do not follow this practices as these are against the teachings of Islam and this is not the practices of Prophet Muhammad (saw). Folk-Islamic elements were disapproved of by Islamic clerics and discounted by some Moro rebel leaders.

Another reminder from the Hadith: “If somebody innovates something which is not in harmony with the principles of our religion, that thing is rejected.” [Bukhari Book 49, Vol 3, No 861]

KABPAGUBAR/KABPAGUBAD and KAPENG-GUNTING (naming the child and shaving the head)

In Maguindanaon folk practice, kabpagubar is perfromed by the walian and while “kapenggunting” is performed by the pandita or imam. This ritual is done on the seventh day after the delivery of the baby. Read details here: PART II

A kanduli (thanksgiving banquet) is organized in celebration of the naming of the baby. In naming the baby, the following are prepared:

1. Four young coconut (green) also called tender coconuts

2. daliday a dapan embekad or un-opened coconut flowers/bud pods

3. Babas composed of salimbangon, kilala, kauyag-uyag and sapal (previously discussed).

4. young rooster and young hen-to be. A young rooster is called a cockerel, while a young hen is called a pullet.

The parents should also place a red flag outside their house (east side). The walian will then prepare a bedding same as the size of the malong. She will put the young or tender coconuts on the four corners of the malong. The tender coconuts should be de-husked and nicely shaped with opening as offering to the “unseen visitors.”

The walian will also prepare a tudtugan (incense, previously discussed). Carrying the tudtugan, she will walk around the malong and she will also go near the side where the red flag is waved. She’ll do it as if she’s calling the unseen, reciting chants.

Then, the walian will open the daliday carefully and gracefully. The walian and the old folks will also interpret the daliday when it is opened. If the coconut flower stalks will separate after opening it, the child will become a leader, a boss or head of an organization or a group.

If more stalks are broken, the child will squander his earnings or livelihood; he/she will spend extravagantly or foolishly until none will be left to him/her. Therefore, in getting a daliday from a coconut tree, it should be placed in a malong sling, should not have touched the soil, and carefully brought to the house and the one bringing the daliday should be wearing an umbrella.

Once inside the house, the daliday will be hung above the end part of the malong; the one that was prepared by the walian.

AQIQA or SLAUGHTERING A GOAT

The pandita will slaughter the goat. There should be someone wearing an umbrella that will shade the pandita while slaughtering the goat. There’s a belief that goat is one of the animals with the highest status among all domesticated animals, hence “should be given respect.”

After the goat, the cockerel and pullet are slaughtered. The blood of the two chickens is placed on a dry coconut shells. Blood of the pullet is to be placed on the upper shell (sprinkled with several feathers of that chicken), while the cockerel’s blood is placed on the bottom side of the shell, also sprinkled with several feathers of that chicken to identify which one is from the pullet or cockerel.

The two coconut shells with chicken blood will be placed on the two corners on the posterior/end part of the malong.

The kabpagubar ritual should not be done beyond noontime because it’s bad luck. After food for the kanduli is prepared, the walian is also prepare a food for the unseen, using black/violet rice shaped like an alligator.

Two cooked eggs (shells removed) is used as eyes of the alligator-shaped rice. One the two sides are 12 “kalintubo.” It is a pastil but it is shaped like a triangle.

Also on the sides near the kalintubo are the “babas” (discussed in previous blog). The walian will then prepare another tudtugan and will recite an incantation called “tidtu a telok.” This is done to give offering to the unseen spirits or to request from the spirits that they should not harm the child.

Before doing the incantation dance, the walian will put aromatic oils on her body (called “perfume of the unseen”). After that, the walian will begin to talk like being possessed by the unseen spirit.

She will start reciting the incantation in front of the two parents (the mother holding the child). Then, the walian will go near the malong, near the red flag, to the four corners of the house and then back to the parents of the child.

Then the possessed walian will dip her point finger to the chicken blood and rub it on the feet of the baby, hands, and tip of the nose. This is done so that the unseen spirit will not harm the baby.

If the chicken blood will become dry after the ritual, the child will not earn well in his lifetime or his/her parents will have financial difficulty raising him/her. If the blood is still wet, the child will have a prosperous life and his parents will have many blessings while raising him/her.

Then, the walian will cut or crush the daliday above the couple and the child (dangerous, don’t do this at home, hahaha). This is done so that blessings will pour down to the couple and the baby, just like the way the coconut flowers scatter all around them.

Then, a cooked whole chicken is prepared, sliced by parts. The father will choose three chicken body parts; the father will get a very small portion (pinch size) of the three chosen parts, three times each, and will eat it.

Body parts with good signs and meanings are: chicken head, breast part and the leg part. The head symbolizes leadership, the child will become a good leader. The breast part symbolizes blessings, and the leg part symbolizes strength.

The bony parts, wing part, internal parts like liver do not have a good meaning. For example, the wing part symbolizes lack of peace of mind. The internal parts symbolizes hardships the child will encounter in helping his relatives. The feet part also symbolizes hardships in life.

In other room, and simultaneous with the rituals of the walian, the pandita also have a kanduli, reciting verses from the Quran.

After all the rituals and after all the visitors have eaten during the kanduli, the pandita will now cut or shave the hair of the child. SEE NEXT ARTICLE.

NOTE: Almost all the rituals included herein are not anymore practiced. These practices, especially giving offerings to the unseen, are against the teachings of Islam. Further explanation will be given in the next article.