Childbirth
When a married woman is expecting a child, she usually prays to Kuan Shih Yin P'usa (Goddess of Mercy), who is the Patron Saint of mothers. In the olden days, it was the customary practice to pray for a male child so that he could continue the family line. With changing conditions and outlook in modern times, the perpetuation of the family through male descendants is no longer considered important. Gone was the old-fashioned belief that only sons were able to look after the parents in their old age, whereas daughters after marriage belonged to their husbands' families, and their responsibility was to care for their in-laws rather than for their own parents. Furthermore sons were expected to show their filial piety practising ancestor worship when their parents passed away. In most Buddhist families today especially among those who continue to profess the syncretic type of religion, husbands and will display greater tolerance and understanding matters, and it is common for them to perform ancestor worship ceremonies to both their departed parents.
During pregnancy, a woman has to observe certain rules with regard to food and behaviour, many of which are purely customary or traditional without any religious significance at all. Some are even superstitious. The observance of these rules is primarily to ensure that nothing untoward will happen to the expectant mother and that the baby will be born normal. It is inevitable that a few of these rules have been borrowed from the indigenous culture of Malaysia. Daily prayers to the gods, in particular the Goddess of Mercy, is essential, because it is believed that prayers will be answered and that the expectant mother will have good thoughts in her mind. All these and other activities that she is advised to perform will ensure safe delivery and the birth of a beautiful baby. In Sri Lanka, it is a common practice for expectant mothers to chant or listen to a cassette tape of the chanting of Angulimala Paritta for it is the belief that this will result in a safe and easy delivery of the baby. This practice has been adopted by Malaysian Buddhists of the Theravada tradition who have close association with Sinhalese Buddhists in local Theravada Buddhist temples. Another practice adopted from the indigenous Malaysian culture is the burning of benzoin (a kind of incense) in the house which is believed to possess the power of driving away evil spirits which might frighten an expectant mother thus causing harm the unborn child. Today, these religious rites are observed only by the rural and conservative urban women while the progressive women with modern education usually have their babies delivered in hospitals and they frown upon all these unnecessary religious rites. To them, seeking ante-natal advice and guidance from their doctors |has become a common practice. In most Chinese families, whether Buddhist, Taoist, or syncretic, it is the custom to bathe the newly-born child three days after birth, usually before an image of the Goddess of children, commonly called 'Mother'. This id not a Buddhist deity, but customs die hard, and there being an intermingling of Buddhist and Taoist deities, the worshipping of a deity which is believed to have the care and oversight of children is not considered a sacrilege by either religion. After the washing, the important custom of binding the arms is observed, in order that the child will not become naughty and disobedient when it grows up. Disobedience and misbehavior of grown-up children are usually attributed to their mothers' negligence to bind their arms in infancy. Binding of arms is an outmoded practice now and no longer resorted to by modern parents.
When the child is one month old, the ceremony of shaving its head is performed for the first time, usually in front of the image of 'Mother' if It is a girl, or before the ancestral tablets if it is a boy accompanied by burning of incense and candle in front of the image or the ancestral tablets family members make offerings to express their gratitude for blessings bestowed and pray that the child may grow up strong and healthy, well-behaved and intelligent in his educational pursuits, obtaining high positions and bringing honours to the family in later life. In modern times, Buddhist parents take their month-old babies to the temples where offerings are made to the Goddess of Mercy, or Lord Buddha, in a simple ceremony to give thanks for blessings and protection received. Those who are more inclined to the Theravada tradition make fruit and flower offerings in the temple, where parittas are chanted by the resident monks for the safety and protection of the child, one of whose wrists is then tied with a yellow thread to ward off evil spirits. Food or alms (dana) is then offered to the resident monks in the temple. Gifts are also presented to the monks. Relatives and friends are invited to participate in the meritorious act of almsgiving. They are also given eggs dyed red, curry chicken and yellow rice, symbolic of reverence to the local deities which have looked after the family well. In addition to alms giving, the parents may make cash donations to the temple for the purpose of its general maintenance, publication of booklets or for a specific project such is the construction of an extension to the temple. The merits accrued from the generous donation of giving of alms on this particular happy occasion of a child's first month of life is generally believed to bestow great blessings on the child so that he may enjoy peace, happiness and prosperity when he grows up.
Tang Tein Beng
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