necessarily be that borne by the father. A man named Fateh Khan, for instance, may name his son Ahmad Shah, or Nabi Jan, or the like. Among the better classes two names are given: one the ordinary name for the household, the other the Literary or Birth Date name. The two names may perchance be run together and pronounced as one. In a special code of Persian, every letter in the alphabet is numbered. If the numbers of the Date Name are added the total will give the year of birth. Only males can receive a Date Name. It is not customary for ladies to have more than one name and, of course, if it is beautiful enough, one is really quite sufficient.
When a few months old, the Head-shaving ceremony is performed by the family barber. The child is dressed in gaudy clothing; the barber spreads an embroidered handkerchief, wets the hair with rose water from a silver cup and shaves with a new razor. This practice has originated in the belief that the hair of a new born child is unclean.
Friends and relatives attend the ceremony. They dine after the barber does his part, and are afterwards entertained to a musical programme. While the instrumentalists are engaged the barber presents the silver cup that held the rose water and each guest drops a coin into it. All the coins must be silver, and they all go to the barber's banking account. The shaving is repeated time and again until the child is four or five years old. The first shaving alone, however, is a ceremonial one.
The dread of the Evil Eye is prevalent. The foster mother must observe strict rules to avert its influence. When the child is taken outside the house special precautions are taken. On no account must it be taken out at night, and certainly never on a Thursday night, as the evil spirits are particularly malevolent on that night. The nurse must not eat any white cereal, such as rice, outside on a starry night. The star-eyes are dangerous. The baby should not be taken out when the sun is shining brightly
