ABSTRACT
CHAPTER ONE focuses on rituals, customs, and ceremonies related to birth among the Parsees. Birth ceremonies, rituals, and customs are around pregnancy, delivery, confinement, purification, and naming of the child, first birthday, and period of early childhood. Notably many rituals are observed mainly during first pregnancy. First delivery generally takes place at the wife’s parent’s house. After delivery rituals include: 40 days confinement, lighting a burning lamp for three days in the mothers' room, giving religious sweet drink to mother and baby, purification of the mother with the consecrated water, destroying of used bedding and clothes. Parents mostly name the child after an immediate deceased ancestor constituting three names: general, father, and family or surname. The first birthday of a Parsee child is important and is celebrated in a religious way.
