Annaprashan Riyanshi Ghosh

Annaprashan. Om Hindu Mondir. ROME – 23 August 2020

Hindu ceremonies and rituals are as innumerable as their deities.

It's always fascinating to follow their prayers and rites, and within each rite there are other micro-rituals, each with a meaning.

It's not easy to try to understand each of them but it's certainly a great challenge for the mind and eyes.

One of my favorites is “Annaprashan”, which would be a kind of “weaning” in our culture, or the first time a child eats solid food, in this case rice.

It occurs in the fifth month of the baby's life.

Before being fed by the priest of the temple (purohit), the women go to the fountain to get water in the “ghot” (the pot), as happens in Bangladesh and India, where they go to the river to get water to bathe in the child: this rite is called Ganga nimontron/Jol Vara, that is the invitation to the goddess of the holy river (Ganga) to celebrate the annaprashan to have her blessing.

During the bath the women touch it with yellow turmeric – Gayhe Holud, propitiatory both in weddings and other ceremonies, after make ready turmeric paste all together (Holud Kota).

Once washed and dressed, the child is ready for the rice ritual, carried by relative of the mother, and once she has eaten her first spoon from purohit, she is given a tray with various objects: flowers, rings, coins, religious book, pen and paper, seeds, which symbolize knowledge, land, and wealth. She will have to grab one of them, the first one she chooses will determine her future. 

The color has been red all day, as agreed between mother Jaya and her friends.

So, let's wish the best in her future to the cute little Riyanshi Ghosh, and her family Jaya and Sanjay.

And let's travel into red and rites, always with open eyes and mind...

All photos are taken at Om Hindu Mondir. Hindu Temple in Torpignattara. ROME – 23 August 2020

From Wikipedia:

The Annaprashana (Sanskrit: अन्नप्राशन, Annaprāśana, Bengali: অন্নপ্রাশন, Onnoprashon) also known as Annaprashana vidhi, Annaprasan or Anna-prasanam or Anna Prashashan, is a Hindu ritual (Saṃskāra) that marks an infant's first intake of food other than milk. The term annaprashan literally means “food feeding” or “eating of food”.

The Annaprashana, unlike many other Samskaras, remains an important ceremony in modern India.

The word Annaprāśana (Devanagari: अन्नप्राशन) is made up of two words, Anna meaning “boiled rice” and Prāśana translates to “Feeding”. The ceremony is referred to in English as first eating of food. The ceremony is usually arranged in consultation with a priest, who arranges an auspicious date on which to conduct the ceremony.

It is usually carried out when the child is six to eight months old — odd months for girls and even months for boys — when the teeth have begun to appear, though the child may be weaned at a later time. It is an occasion for celebration, and extended family, friends and neighbors are invited to attend.

Annaprashana is followed by Mamabhat, which takes place in the maternal uncle's or grandparents' house. In this second ceremony the child's maternal uncle feeds it rice. It is celebrated within that week because in Vedic Hindu culture the child cannot eat rice until Annaprashana and Mamabhat have both occurred. However, nowadays parents consult doctors and start rice accordingly.

Family of Riyanshi

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