The Thai silver bracelet holds the soul of the child.

(Baonghean.vn) - According to the beliefs of the Thai ethnic people, kWhen a child is first born, their soul hasn't yet returned home. It's still wandering somewhere. The silver bracelet will carry the baby's soul back during the naming ceremony.

During the naming ceremony, for the first time in their life, babies have the ritual of tying threads around their wrists.

For the Thai communities in Nghe An, the naming ceremony is a crucial ritual in a child's life. From this day on, the child receives their official name. And from this day, they are accepted by the "house spirits," their ancestors, as a member of the family.

Before the naming ceremony, the baby's spirit is still wandering somewhere. The shaman must perform a ritual to call the baby's spirit back.

When a child is born, the person most knowledgeable about the family's customs will choose a day for the naming ceremony. Boys and girls are given different names on different days. The date and time of the ceremony are determined in the Thai calendar.

On the appointed day, a chicken is slaughtered as an offering to the ancestors, along with the medicinal herbs the mother consumed during pregnancy and breastfeeding. A ritual is performed to call the child's spirit back home for the ancestors to recognize. Similar to the spirit-calling ceremony, after the offering, the parents and family members have threads tied around their wrists. This is also the first time a newborn baby has had a thread tied around their wrist. This ritual will be repeated many times throughout the life of the Thai people.

During the ancestral worship ceremony at home, the baby's clothes are placed on the offering tray. The clothes are also considered a dwelling place for the soul of the person.

The offerings for the naming ceremony vary depending on the family's circumstances. Some families slaughter a pig or a chicken for the ceremony. Families facing hardship may only need two boiled eggs for the naming ceremony. The offerings also include bowls of medicinal herbs. The mother will drink them all to show her affection for the person who gathered the herbs.

The offerings for the naming ceremony vary depending on the family's circumstances. Some families slaughter a pig or prepare a chicken for the ceremony. Poorer families may sometimes only need two boiled eggs as a simple offering for the naming ceremony.

According to Thai beliefs, when a family gets married, the souls of the parents ascend to heaven to meet "Then" and ask for a child. "Then" will send a soul down to earth to become a new member of the family. Before the naming ceremony, the child's soul is still wandering somewhere and has not yet returned home.

During the holiday, a special ladder is made specifically for the baby. The steps are made from mulberry branches. Seven steps for boys, nine for girls. It is believed that ghosts and the spirits of those who died unjustly will not be able to follow the baby up this way. Ghosts are often afraid of mulberry branches, while the spirits of honest family members have nothing to fear. The ladder is erected against a pillar near the baby's sleeping area, usually next to the kitchen.

The ladder was propped up against a pole near where the baby was lying.

A silver ring is tied to a thread and lowered from a hole or window down a newly erected staircase. The silver ring is covered with bunches of forest leaves, symbolizing that the child's soul is hiding somewhere. Then, the shaman or priest will search to find where the child is hiding, and the person sitting upstairs will pull the ring up the staircase. After this ritual, the child is considered to have returned to their family.

The bracelet was hidden among the leaves with the intention that the child's soul was still hiding somewhere, unwilling to return home.

After the ritual, the shaman will go to find out where the child is. Then the bracelet will be pulled up the stairs to the house.

Along with the ceremony before the ancestral altar, another ritual is performed: calling the spirit and offering medicinal herbs. On this offering tray, besides chicken and meat, there are bowls of medicine. The mother will drink all of these bowls of medicine after the ceremony is over.

On the chosen day, the baby will have their first haircut to mark the occasion.

Huu Vi