Ritual eye washing for newborns
| Author(s) | Isni Speaking Community |
|---|---|
| Title | Ritual eye washing for newborns |
| Alternative Title | Ritual Fase bebe nia matan |
| Publication Type | Others |
| Language | tet |
| Number of Pages | 1 |
| Location | Timor-Leste |
| Relevance to ICH Safeguarding | documentation transmission revitalization |
| ICH Genre | rituals |
| Name of the ICH Element | ritual fase matan ba bebe foin moris |
| Keywords | Ritual fase matan ba bebe foin moris |
| Description | Ritual ba bebe foin moris/ritual fase matan ba bebe foin moris (Ritual eye washing for newborns), It’s an ancient custom practiced by the Timorese people. The ritual is believed to help remove the impurities that may be present in the newborn's eyes after birth. It’s a sign of opening the newborn's eye to see the reality of the world and preparing him/her for it. For the ISNI ethnolinguistic people, the ritual eye washing for newborns is an important moment for strengthening the familial ties between the feto-sa and umane (families of the groom and the bride). If the newborn is a girl, her aunt, the sister of her father, will come with a ring. They will keep the ring in the water and take it to clean the baby's eye symbolically. Then, the ring will be left for the newborn's parents to keep it. When the baby is grown, the aunt will come back with the owner of the ring (the aunt's son) to ask her for marriage. Commonly, when people (from the family of the bride or groom) come to visit the newborn baby, they will first ask these questions. Is the newborn a man of the house or a pilgrim? If the newborn is a boy, their parents will answer that a man is the house if the newborn is a girl, they will answer it’s a pilgrim. If the newborn is a boy, his father's siblings will come with a machete and keep it in the water and symbolically use the machete to clean the baby's eyes. It means that his baby will take responsibility for his family's needs when he is grown. |
| Book/Journal Title | The preservation of original history in Isni Language en Prezervasaun istória orijijnal lian Lian Isni |
| Publisher | Timor-Leste National Comission for UNESCO |
| Place of Publication | Timor-Leste |
| Date of Publication | 2024 |
| Pages | 36 |
| Academic Field | Cultural study (Oral tradition) |
| Community/Ethnic Group | Community of Manufahi Municipality Faoholau-Orana |
| Contributor | Timor-Leste National Commission for UNESCO |
| Active Contribution | Timor-Leste, FY 2024 |
| Data Collection Project | |