During the first two months the child is wrapped in a silken quilt over which is a white cloth inscribed with sacred verses from the Koran, worked in black silk. A thick silk or cotton cord is wound spirally from neck to toe about the child. The cradle is a sort of hammock made of thick Persian carpet, and is gently swung to lull the babe to sleep. It is extremely unlucky, by the way, to swing an empty cradle.
If the mother's milk is deficient, a wet nurse is engaged. Much care is taken in selecting her. Her character must be above reproach. She must be of good parentage and her husband must be honest and brave—one who has never fled in battle or ever been wounded on the back. The wet nurse is given a special diet and is greatly honoured by the servants.
The first ceremony is performed by the Imam or Mulla of the district. He comes and reads in a loud voice into both ears of the child a prayer which is as follows:
"Allaho akbar, Allaho akbar, ush hado,
Ullaelaha, illulla, ush hado, una,
Muhammader, rassul, ullah, Allaho
Akbar, Allaho akbar."
"God is great, God is great! I am a witness that there is no God but one God, and that Muhammad is His Prophet. God is great, God is great!"
The popular belief is that a child is born without a faith, and that if this prayer is not repeated in his ears, then he is no Moslem, although born of Moslem parents.
For his service the Mulla receives a silk turban, some money and sweetmeats.
When the child is five or six months old the naming ceremony is performed. It is attended by blood relatives. The Mulla, or the spiritual leader of a Sufi order, is called, or, failing one of those, an elder or a poet pronounces the full name. The surname, be it understood, need not
