Piercing infant son's ears!

lakshmisree11 · Nov 13, 2010

Dear All,

I got the below (valuable) information from somebody..

it may useful for us to know that why we are following certain traditions...

{This topic gives explanation as to : why we wear Ear stud , Bangles , Mookuthi (Nose ring), Metti , Thali (Mangal sutra).}

Ornaments and Jewels are considered fashionable all over the globe. But in ancient times, Indians & majority of Hindu women used these ornaments, mainly made of Gold and some Silver, with so beautiful crafting and designs, all the good work of handcrafted by goldsmiths. They wore jewellery items not just for show, but with some inner meaning to it.
There were 36 kinds of essential jewellery & ornaments used during Vedic era, each signifying body mechanism. Though the rich, affordable and King's family had it all, even the poorer of poorest did wear most common items. Most of the jewels & ornaments are not in common use these days.
1.Ear Stead :This ornament is mostly made of Gold with innumerable designs and fashions. Some in Gold with stones and some with plain Gold designs. This is considered to be the most important ornament and from childhood days Hindu girls are given this ornament. Ear piercing takes place on completion on one full year.
The reasons for wearing these stead is :
Human anatomy, a precise location of parts in our body, was an easy accessible subject for the astrologers in those days. They found out that half of the problem occurring for human body is either because of renal failure or of bowel not cleared daily. And rest half is by food habits and dieted propositions. And they easily got the link, that an important nerve connecting the Brain, Cervical and Kidney is passing through a persons right ear and if the pressure there could be controlled, then the kidney functioning can be just maintained and protected from damages. Also piercing their ear and wearing some ornamental ear stead found another mode of controlling the kidney bladder. In the earlier days, earring students were never beaten or slapped, but teachers used to pull the ears of the boys. It is said pulling ones ear frequently increases the memory power and also controls the renal functions.
2.Mookuthi : It is widely believed and thought that the nose is exclusively for sensual smell and breathing only. But in a well established practices, this theory manipulates, that it connects with emotional, sexual and romantic propositions too! That's what the decorative ornaments and jewels to the Nose apparently causes - not only beautifying, but also significantly adds value to the marital life as well!
A piece of stead-like ornament worn by women in their nose, commonly known as nose-ring and nose stead. (known as Mukkuthi or Mookuthi in Tamil and Nath in Hindi) The custom to wear this ornamental jewel is typically different from one state to other, one caste to other and even different amongst communities. Some use it in their left nose, some at right and few wear it in both sides of their nose. Though it is mainly used for beautifying women, the in-depth meaning can't be termed as unfound myth. It is considered as a breath regularizing and some say it is just to eliminate the poison coming out while exhaling carbon. But traditions apart, every community and caste, without any barrier uses this nose-stead. According to the Indian medicine, the female who get her nose pierced is assumed to experience less pains while delivering the child. The reason behind this belief is, through the piercing some vein is pressed that makes the childbirth easier. It is said that Ayurvedic (The oldest Vedic scripts that refer to Medicine and part of Vedic Resources) medicine associates nostril's piercing location with the female reproductive organs. That's why you need get the ear pierced by an experienced goldsmith, who knows by touching the skin, whether or not any nerve pass through the specific portion. While piercing the ear or nose, no passing nerve system should be disturbed or wounded, hence much care has to be taken for piercing. The Abharana Bhushana Vidhi states, that wearing a nose ring or a nose stead is a must for a women, if one needs to enjoying life in its pleasurable counts. True. the carbon emanated during the sexual union, the poisonous emission is minimized due to the wearing of a metallic (Gold, Silver) ornament in the nose. Also, the oculists believed, it is very difficult to bring into control or hypnotize or mesmerize the women who wear such sort of Mookuthi , functions as a controlling the brainwave length thus avoiding a surrender to the opponent who try to hypnotize.
3.Bangles :The Bangles used by women are normally in the wrist part of ones hand and its constant friction increases the blood circulation level. Also the pulse beat in this portion is mostly checked for all sort of ailments. Or so it is believed. Further more the electricity passing out through outer skin is again reverted to one's own body because of the ring shaped bangles, which has no ends to pass the energy outside but to send it back to the body. This way a women gains her strength which is presumably wasted otherwise. So the ancient Hindus gave shape to this item called Bangles and later it got molded in to many shapes and designs to add more attraction and beautification. Amongst other varieties of ornaments Bangle is most important for any women, it is felt and that too if it is made of Gold then only it gives you the aforesaid values & meaning.
4.Ring : The most vital is its function and connectivity, the fourth finger from the Thumb, known as the ring finger is identified with the Star-Sun. It is widely believed, that the nerve passing through this finger is evenly spread to the entire brain neuron cells and any frequent metallic friction caused in this finger is very good for one's health. It also improves one's general capacity in handling his/her life with ease and confidence. That's why all over the world, they use gold rings for men and women, very commonly in this finger
5.Mangalsutra / Thirumangalyam : Every married women used to get a Mangalsutra. This is mostly made in gold as an identifiable mark for married women. Hindu women hold the mangalsutra, to be a very significant bond with their husband. This too is believed to regularize a women's blood circulation. This is also said to control the body pressure levels to a maximum extent, as Indian women tend to work hard, more than her male counterpart. The most important thing to note about this Thirumangalyam is, that it should always be hidden or covered in the inner garments. Just because of the constant friction of the metal gold touching the body portion directly, the effect will be more to gain the said benefits. However, if the same is worn outside the clothes and making it visible to everyone, then the effect is reduced
6.Oddiyaanam: (Jewellery knowingly used by Indian women as Hip Belt ) but the usage of this is not common. It is very particularly used to control women from getting fatter and to avoid flabs in hip and pot belly. Since no women uses these days this ornament, one can see the results that is visible!.
7.Metti : It is worned by Indian married women in general and is made of Silver. This is a ring with two or three line rounds, worn in their second finger from toe. By wearing this in both feet, it is believed, that their Menstrual cycle course is regularized with even intervals. This gives good scope for conceiving to married women. Also it is said just because that particular nerve in the second finger from toe, also connects the uteruses and passes through heart. Because of this, the constant friction caused while walking and doing all sorts of chores during a day, it revitalizes the productivity organs. Silver being a good conductor, it also absorbs the energy from the polar energies from the earth and passes it to the body, thus refreshing whole body system.

If one is agreeing with these contents or not, in general everyone is aware of the fact, that these ornaments were and are being used by most of the Indian women. As a matter of fact, the interest in wearing all sorts of ornaments are in the increase, one can judge from sale of Gold in the Indian Markets. For some it is a display of wealth. For many it is really an investment mode. For a few it is compulsion of social status. And for many it is a distant Dream.

Regards,
Lakshmisridhar

sng · Nov 14, 2010

I think u can say to ur MIL in cunning way....yah u r right if we could have done it before 6 months....but it is very hard to handle for 1 yrs old...becz I wanted to ear piercing to my DD when she was about to 1 year ...but every body suggested me same...

Because...in this age they keep touching ears pull it and cry a lot....u can not ask them not to do...becz they do not understand....either it should be before 6 mnths or wait for him to be 3 yrs old....so that he can understand not to touch and pull...

Give this excuse and convince her to wait for next 2 yrs....after that ur DS will be able to tell also if he wants

questa · Nov 14, 2010

Hi all,

Appreciate the responses. The reason I am not comfortable with the piercing is also the fact that we are not planning to put any ear rings on him. So the idea of subjecting the child to piercing, given the fact that it is solely in the name of tradition does not appeal to me. Also, if I were to have a daughter in the future, I would probably get her ears pierced considering that she would be wearing earrings on a daily basis.

Anyways, I am hoping that MIL will be reasonable (usually is ) and let us, the parents make a decision in this front. Fingers crossed!

glascobaby · Nov 15, 2010

hi questa...

I am also a tamil brahmin, and i think its no harm to follow this sort of customs!

I can understand your point, being a boy baby and i do've a boy baby who is of 6 months old.

Now-a-days, you can pierce the ears without any pain, such kinda techniques are there. Search out and get a person like that if you wish to adopt the custom.And also, ear rings are available in very very thin line of gold which'd be worn over ears in a very minute hole!And you can take it out easily once the function is over, pierced hole get closes so soon for their soft skin.

amnice · Nov 15, 2010

questa, You can have the ear pierced and then anyway you are not putting ear rings so there will not be any visible hole by the time he turns 1 or 2yrs since the skin grows and covers the hole so there is no future embarrasment if at all you are apprehensive about that.
That way you can have the traditon done too.

Coming to the pain, I will say the pain is almost close to NIL, for such young babies. I had my dd ear pierced when she was 10months old and she just gave out a loud cry only one time and then stopped. I still doubt that the loud cry was because she had strangers anxiety then and so seeing the ear piercing lady in the mirror standing next to her, she freaked out.

So, RELAX!. The pain is less than the one he experiences when he gets a shot because for shots, after the needle is inserted the nurse slowly releases the medicine into the muscle which actually causes more pain.

sansmomy · Nov 22, 2010

In our caste, the baby's ears (be it a girl or boy) are pierced as soon as the baby turns 40 DAYS (or 1.25 months) old...We also pierced DD's ears on the day she turned 40days...When we took her for it, she was sleeping and i was so much worried (though I knew that her pain realization sese is very low at such early age)....Surprisingly, she dint even woke up when they pierced her ears...

I had consulted her pedi before doing this and the doc advised us to do it as early as possible (preferably when DD is less than 3 months old). the reason she gave was - 1. Babies have lesser sense for recognizing pain in early age, so they wont cry much 2. Small babies do not touch their body parts often in contrast to their inquisitive nature of exploring their own body by touching it in later months (like after 6+ months). So, there is a low chance that the baby hurts the piercing by touching it.

~S.

Suriya · Nov 22, 2010

For our son, we gave anasthetic(applied an ointment available for this purpose). Then the goldsmith pierced. My son cried not for the pain. But for being held tightly in his uncle's arms. once released he was happy. Apply coconut oil for two to three days. It wont get infected.