Jawal Ceremony aka First Haircut

Out of the 16 sankars i.e. sacraments of life mentioned in the Hindu religion one sankar is the Jawal ceremony or Mundan or the first haircut of the baby.

Once the fontanelle or the soft spot on the brains starts to close this ceremony can be done, which is usually anywhere between 9-18 months. So after the baby has turned one year old you can take into consideration any auspicious day or anyday as per your convenience as book an appointment with your hairdresser. Do consult your pediatrician before just as a precaution.

Each community has a different approach towards this ceremony. We had a simple homely affair which we sharing with our lovely readers in two sections:

• The Ritual
• Tips & Tricks

The Ritual:

There ain’t much fan fair for this ceremony unlike other Marathi ceremonies which might require lot of preparations. This function mostly revolves around the child’s father, maternal uncle, paternal aunt and of course the hair dresser.

We performed this ceremony on an auspicious day of  Dussehra that was on 10th October 2016 and it is a Hindu Holiday thus everyone especially father and uncle are available. At first the child’s paternal aunt or the married ladies in the house perform apply tilak to the baby and then worship the instruments of the hair dresser. The kiddo then sits on his maternal uncle’s’ lap and the hairdresser does his job.

Now according to old customs when this ceremony was conducted especially in the rural areas, the parents of the kid would then take the hairdresser to their farm/property or orchard under their possession. The hairdresser would then bury the hair under any tree of his choice on that property. Thereby the tree and its fruits would belong to the hairdresser and his family. They can either cut it or enjoy the fruits was hairdresser’s choice. Deforestation is a crime in today’s era (which we totally support) thus the process is now monetized. The hairdresser is offered money and sweets for his services though the hair is still buried under a tree preferable a mango or a banana tree.

Once the hairdresser finishes his task and is given his dues it’s time to take care of the bald head. There would be few cuts or burning sensation; to soothe that out application of milk cream is suggested. The milk cream instantly moisturizes the bare skin and immediately heals any minor cuts as well.

After which the kid is placed on the father’s lap and is given a bath by the paternal aunt. Later the lad is dressed up in new outfit and the ladies again apply tilak on his forehead. Chandan paste is applied to the rest of the head to soothe any burning sensation if any.

Later hard boondi ladoos are toppled over an umbrella under which the maternal uncle and kid are sitting. The ladoos are collected by other kids and thoroughly munched upon. Sweets are offered to elders/guests and the family visits nearby temple or pray at home determining the end of the jawal ceremony.

We buried the hair in our farm house under a mango tree. 🌳

Tips & Tricks:

Usually kids create a havoc in this ceremony because they find either the hairdresser scary or they find the entire process intimidating. But our son made this process whole lot easier for us. He did not cry or get scared or try to run off.

Thus noting down what we did that day and which worked for us and might help any parent out there who is planning of their baby’s mundan.

• We had asked the hairdresser to be available from 11am -1pm which was our son Arha’s playtime. Thus Arha had a good nap and his food and then this ceremony was done thus he was not sleep deprived and was used to doing some activity in that particular time slot.
• We made sure our son was well eaten in this time frame thus he wouldn’t be restless or would have hunger pangs.
• We had invited two of his friends at that hour so they kept him company
• We made sure that the hairdresser did not pounce on Arha instantly. We let the hairdresser and Arha play with few toys before the whole process began.
• Our cellphones were charged so that YouTube could be played continuously so that our boy wouldn’t look up and the hair dresser can do his job.
• Keep your kids favorite toys handy.
• Do not stand in front of your kid and create distractions We did that which led to minor cuts.
• Even if there are cuts do not panic keep an first aid powder handy that can be dabbed upon immediately.
• Lastly, be patient😉

That’s it. Hope you find this post helpful and if you have any questions or queries on how to do you kid’s mundan or jawal feel free to leave a comment or buzz us on any of our social media accounts. 

Until next time, chao👋

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