Reviving age-old tradition of ear-piercing ceremony

PIERCING one’s ears is often done for beauty or fashion sake. Once upon a time it was also perceived as an act of rebellion among younger males.

Among the Indians it’s a significant event that involves children, be it male or female.

In some rural parts of India, parents do not mind parting with huge wads of cash to organise the ear-piercing ceremony on a large scale.

Relatives and friends from far and wide are invited to be part of the ceremony where the town’s goldsmith is hired to do the job, albeit with much kicking and screaming from the young ones.

It’s more of a cultural event than a religious one, and more often than not it’s a good excuse for the hosts to meet up with friends and relatives they have not met for a long time.

For Malaysian Indians, an ear-piercing ceremony is often a low-key affair that necessitates a quick trip to a traditional Indian goldsmith to get the job done.

But for Datuk Mohan Kandasamy, he did not want to downplay the ceremony and decided to pull out all the stops to organise the ceremony for his youngest daughter Saddhana, 3, recently.

No cost was spared as the businessman hired a goldsmith, caterers, priests and even a band to entertain the guests.

The ceremony started with holy chants recited by the priests, followed by a special prayer that involved Mohan’s immediate family members.

Before the ceremony proper, Saddhana’s aunts and cousins were seen bearing the seeru (trays filled with gifts) and making their way to Mohan’s house accompanied by musicians playing traditional instruments.

A cow was brought in for the ceremony it is considered sacred among Hindus.

As the mammal sauntered nonchalantly into the living room of the house, there was a look of excitement on the faces of the adults and children alike.

Finally, Saddhana was placed on her uncle’s lap, Manoharan Karuppiah (as tradition requires), and the goldsmith performed the important act everyone was waiting for — piercing Saddhana’s ears.

Even though Saddhana let out a blood-curdling scream as the goldsmith pricked her tender ears, she was easily appeased by her mother Parimala Devi later with some sweets.

Mohan, who has two grown sons, said the reason behind the large-scale celebration was to renew old bonds and revive a long-forgotten Indian tradition.

“We also wanted the younger generation to get acquainted with and learn more about Indian culture and heritage,” said Mohan, who held the ceremony at his house in Kota Kemuning.

He also wanted to reunite four generations of family members, where some had not met each other for decades.

“Some of our relatives live abroad and I saw this ceremony as a perfect avenue for everyone to get together,” he added.

Apart from treating friends and relatives, Mohan also saw this as a good opportunity for charity and invited children from Pusat Jagaan Kanak-kanak Istimewa Sri Sai, Klang and treated them to lunch.

Later at night while little Saddhana was fast asleep, the remaining guests were entertained by a local band until late into the night.