Valaikaappu (வளைகாப்பு) is a prenatal ceremony or celebration similar t
baby-shower
held by South Indian women in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

, meant to bless a pregnant woman, celebrate her fertility, and prepare the baby and mother-to-be for a safe birth. It is typically held at the 7th month or the 9th month of the pregnancy. It is widely practiced among both the urban and rural populations of the region.

Etymology

The etymology could be related to two

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

words that mean bangles: valaiyal (வளையல்) which is typically a glass bangle, and kaapu (காப்பு), which is often thicker and made of copper or gold.

History

It is related to the more formal traditions of

Seemantham ''Seemantham/Seemantha'' or ''Pumsavana Seemantham'', is a Hindu tradition, carried out during the 7th or 9th month of a pregnancy. Although in ancient times ''Seemantham'' was performed on the birth of each child, today it may be limited to the ...

and

Simantonnayana Simantonnayana ( sa, सीमन्तोन्नयन, ) (literally: parting the hair) is the third of the 16 saṃskāras ( sacraments, rites of passage) in the ancient texts of Hinduism. It is observed in the last trimester of pregnancy to wi ...

dating back to the 4th century BCE, documented in the Kalpa Sutras, possibly part of the

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

(

Mahavira Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...

) and the slightly later, but contemporary,

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

traditions (dated earliest to 6th century BCE). It is practiced widely in South India. Valaikaappu was originally a simple ceremony, mainly limited to the exchange of bangles. But as Valaikaappu became more widely practiced, it grew more lavish, and since the 1980s has been celebrated more widely, according to anthropologists who have studied the practice. It is conducted with "magnificence and sumptuousness", with gifts including jewelry, saris, household appliances, and gold ornaments.

Purpose

The mother-to-be's wrists are adorned with glass bangles (red and green) in odd numbers. It is believed that the bangle sound induces the child's senses and brain activity. It is also well-known that fetal hearing begins in the 7th month. Women at the ceremony sing hymns and songs. A paste made of

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...

and

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asi ...

is applied to the mother-to-be's hands and face to reduce the body heat and calm the mother and baby from fear and anxiety of child birth. The guests then place a garland and bangles on her wrists, shower her with flowers, and bestow well-wishes and prayers for a safe delivery. Another purpose of the ceremony is to honor and protect the pregnant woman, who is seen as vulnerable to the evil eye, malign spirits and ghosts, and to ensure the birth of a healthy child. After the celebration, the mother-to-be rests at her parents' home for the final weeks of her pregnancy.

Food at the ceremony

According to some Tamil traditions, the mother-to-be is served seven types of rice and sweets. Rice types include tamarind rice, lemon rice,

curd rice Curd rice, also called yogurt rice, is a dish originating from India. The word "curd" in Indian English refers to unsweetened probiotic yogurt. It is most popular in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala , Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra ...

, mango rice, mint rice
tomato rice
and

coconut rice Coconut rice is a dish prepared by soaking white rice in coconut milk or cooking it with coconut flakes. As both the coconut and the rice-plant are commonly found in the tropics all-around the world, coconut rice too is found in many cultures th ...

Sweets Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called '' sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, i ...

served include a variety of payasams ( javarisi
paruppu payasam
, fruit salad, and sweets like

bengal gram The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...

laddu ''Laddu'' or ''laddoo'' (; ms, kuih laddu; id, kue laddu) is a spherical sweet originating from India and spread through the Indian subcontinent and the Malay world. Laddus are primarily made from flour, fat (ghee/butter/oil) and sugar or ...

, multigrain laddu and gulab jamoon. A healthful laddu made of ginger, palm jaggery ( karupetti), omam (

carom Carom may refer to: * Ajwain (''Trachyspermum ammi''), an herb in Indian cuisine * Carom billiards (also known as Carambole) * Ricochet, a rebound, bounce or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile * Carrom Carrom is ...

), and other items is served for good digestion. The feast is centered on the health of the child and the mother-to-be, and not the guests. Vegetarian food is usually served to the guests mainly consisting of rice, sambhar, 3 types of vegetables and a dessert.

Similar ceremonies

Similar ceremonies are held in other parts of India and in Pakistan, including among

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

(who call it Shaadh),

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

and Konkani women (who call the ceremony Dohale Jevan ��ोहाळे जेवण, Punjabi women (who call it Godh-Bharai), Sindhi women, and Marwari women. It is similar in concept to

Baby Shower A baby shower is a party of gift-giving, drinking beers or a ceremony that has different names in different cultures. It celebrates the delivery or expected birth of a child or the transformation of a woman into a mother. Etymology The term ''s ...

Gallery

Valaikaappu.jpg, Valaikaappu ceremony ValaiKaappu.jpg, Bangles on Valaikaappu Valaikaappu 002.jpg, Bangles on Valaikaappu

References

{{Commons category, Valaikaapu Maternity in India Tamil culture