In Bali, Babies Are Believed Too Holy to Touch the Earth

[Ryusei the Morning Star]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/18/world/asia/bali-indonesia-babies-nyambutin.html

 

Babies on the Indonesian island of Bali don’t start off life on the right foot — or on the left.

 

That is because a prevalent and ancient custom there says an infant’s feet should not touch the ground for the first 105 days after birth.

 

The practice derives from a belief that newborns are still close to the sacred realm from which they came and therefore deserve to be treated with veneration. Belief in reincarnation is widespread in Bali, where most people practice a local form of Hinduism. A child’s birth is seen as the rebirth of a deceased relative, with ancestors returning as their own descendants.

[Dad]

This is actually really interesting.  I always like to hear about different religious customs and practices around the world.  That little bit of information is something that sticks with me.

[~ P O L A R I S ~]

As if babies weren't enough of a handful already. ;_;

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

(We could ask Nai about his opinion on this, though he lives on a different island from what I remember.)

 

But yeah, this is interesting to read, considering the parallels this has with the belief system in the west concerning newborns (we treat them as a new person and not as a reincarnated relative [least afaik], let them touch the ground and name them right away [same day], as opposed to them waiting a chunk of the year to do so). Least nothing wrong will happen if feet do touch the ground before the 3.5 month period (roughly) is up.

[Zauls]

Meanwhile Christians be like "As soon as you're born you have sin inside you just waiting to come out!"