Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s1.70

c7.s1.70

Then the eventful question of giving a name to the child was considered. Due consideration was paid to the horoscope of the child and the first letters of the favourite stars. The auspicious names were usually considered to be those which did not exceed four letters.⁷ Among Muslims, care was taken (as by the ancient Persians) to avoid the names used by idolators, simple names such as Ahmad and Ali being recommended.⁸ To avoid fascination or the attack of an evil spirit on the child, the date, the hour of the birth and the original name based on the calculations of the horoscope were kept a guarded secret, especially in royal families.⁹ After the expiry of the third month, but not before, the child was allowed to be exposed to the full gaze of the sun. It was not yet safe to take it out of the house. In the fifth month, the right lobe of the child was bored. In the sixth month, if the child was a male, they surrounded him with sweets and fruits and left him to choose for himself. All this, of course, had a secret meaning and divined his future destiny in the world. Sometimes later, in accordance with the period prescribed by family tradition, the ceremony of tonsure (now called *mundan*) was celebrated.¹ There were other ceremonies which were peculiar to various races, classes or castes.²