Celebrating the birth of a child

Around the globe, different cultures have their own ways of welcoming a new born baby. The Sunday Times carried out a research on what happens when a child is born in different African countries, Rwanda inclusive. Some time back in the Rwandan culture, the birth of a child was greeted with such a great merriment; the mother of the child was highly respected and handled like a queen. She would be showered with gifts and visited by almost all her relatives and friends around. This visiting was a sign of love, care, harmony and friendship between the families and friends. Odetta Musabyezu who is in her fifties, narrating how people celebrated the birth of a new born baby, locally known as Guhemba, said that a mother who had just given birth was highly cared for. Friends and relatives could visit the mother before she even left the hospital. People who went to see the mother, used to go with all kinds of gifts and among these were, the baby’s clothes, milk, ghee, banana, beans, just to mention a few. Comparing the early celebrations to today’s, Musabyezu says, “The culture of celebrating the birth of a new born baby has changed.” “People today have no love; friends and relatives can take days, weeks and months without visiting the mother who gave birth.’’ Nevertheless, in the early days a mother who gave birth used to spend 2 to 3 months being nursed. Friends and close relatives would help her with domestic work, leaving her to relax and breast feed the child. Today it’s different; if one gives birth she does almost all the work on her own, that is to say, washing the baby’s clothes, changing the baby’s nappies, cooking plus some other domestic duties. “People these days mind their own business, there’s no love among people, relatives can spend weeks without visiting a mother who has just given birth,” Musabyezu says. Clementine Ingabire, a mother of a baby girl, says that when she gave birth to her first born, relatives and friends came with gifts to celebrate the birth of the child. Among the gifts people came carrying were porridge flour, baby’s clothes and soft drinks among others. “Unlike in earlier times, the visits did not last for weeks because most of the people who visited have to work,” Ingabire said. With the Rwandan culture, celebrating the birth of a child is all- about giving gifts and visiting and helping the mother with domestic duties as she grows stronger. But with other African cultures, a number of ritual practices follow the gifts and the visiting. According to Amos Ngoju, when a child is born in the Masai tribe, a goat is slaughtered and the intestines are strewn in the compound to send a way all the curses that may follow the new born baby. The story does not end there. Big celebrations are organised. People dance and rejoice for the new born child. In the Kinganda tradition, if one gives birth to twins, a number of rituals are carried out. Eddie Mukaya, a father of twins says that when his wife gave birth to twins, he didn’t do the traditional ritual activities on his children. “I am a Christian that is why I don’t go by those beliefs. My children were instead baptised. I was also visited by friends and relatives who gave them a lot of money and gifts,” says Mukaya. Unlike in Rwanda, when a child is born in the Kiganda culture, among the gifts the baby receives is money. It is not traditional to carry a child in your hands and do not give it money. “Giving money is like giving the blessings of riches to the new born child,” said Mukaya. Hamza Nkutu, who also does not believe in the traditional practices for a new born child, told the Sunday Times that it is a must for relatives to welcome the child in the family. “However, it is not an obligation for friends to spend their money coming to visit or reward the family that has given birth.” Explaining how Kikuyu’s celebrate the birth of a child, Turi Omolo says that a new born baby is seen as a gift and a blessing from God. According to her, a mother who has just given birth is fed on energy giving nutrients. Among the foods she is given are banana’s, porridge and bone soup just to mention a few. Omolo further says that relatives from the sides of both families which received the baby visit the family but on different days. It should be noted that the culture of celebrating the birth of a new born baby is not new. It started many, many years ago.We see Jesus’ birth attracting the three wise men that came in search of Him to rejoice and celebrate His birth. So, happy birthday to all the newly borns. gachakim@yahoo.com