at noon, not because of fear of sunstroke, but because vultures and other birds of prey may at that hour drop eggs of corrosive liquid on the child.
When a thunderstorm rages, the child is supposed to be in special danger. Lightning strikes an only child. It is important that the baby should, when carried out-of-doors, be kept from the evil gaze of beggars, criminals and others of ill repute. The face is veiled. I observe that babies are similarly protected in this country although the significance of the custom is probably lost except in rural districts.
When an Afghan has passed his second year, a juvenile function takes place. Small boys of eight or nine years of age are assembled and march together to the house of the parents, there to sing together in praise of mother and child and to invoke blessings on both. Each boy receives a gift.
When a child is cutting its teeth, the event is celebrated by a gathering of relatives. In time, when the milk teeth begin to come out, they are thrown into a mouse hole so that the new teeth may be sharp and strong as those of a mouse.
The child is kept on milk diet until about three years of age. Then it is put on "grain and hard diet." The occasion is celebrated in ceremonial manner. The family collects in a room and the parents recite long passages from the Koran. Then the child's neck is adorned by charms, including luck stones, luck wood and the carved claw of a lion or tiger. In addition to the charms, a sacred pendant is worn: the pendant for a girl is more ornamented than that given to a boy. The sacred pendant may be a coin, or a piece of metal inscribed, or perhaps a jewel attached to gold or silver chains. For a year or two the child is freed from ceremonials. When, however, a new dress is put on, a visit is paid to relatives who drop coins into the pockets.
A boy's education begins at eight or nine. He may attend a Mosque school or a public school, which is partly
