Date: Aug 4, 2009 - 1:39:49 PM
Written By: Basheer al-Selwi
In Yemeni culture, there are a lot of myths. Some, we have knowledge of, and others we do not. People in Yemen have been keeping certain traditions for a long time. Traditions that are distinctive from one territory to another. One of these traditions is puncturing the ears of young boys, soon after they are born.
In some Yemeni regions, there is a myth that says: if your sons are dying, you can prevent their deaths by puncturing the ears of children immediately after they born.
“All of my sons were dying at some time after their births. One day, my neighbor told me to go to the sheikh of our village in order to seek his counsel regarding the causes of their ailments. When I arrived to meet him, I was completely surprised to hear him say that I need to puncture the ears of my boys. He told me to exercise this practice for the boys in order to avoid their deaths,” Fatima Kalb, a mother of five children expressed.
She went on to say, “Three of my boys passed away before going to the sheikh of our village, but after starting to practice his advice for all of my children afterward, particularly boys, none of them have died since.”
She went on to say, “After taking his advice, I have three boys, all of whom are older than twenty-two years.”
Some Yemenis believe strongly in the fact that puncturing the ears of boys will save them from death, most of the time. Actually, this practice is seen in a few regions around the country such as in Taiz, Ibb, and Lahj.
“In our village there is a myth that says, if you puncture the ears of your children, especially boys, they will be very lucky and rich in the future. Many of the families in our village are performing such ceremonies for their boys,” Fausal Naseer has expressed.
He confirmed that, in his village, they have a professional in this field. He has been performing such ceremonies for more than 13 years to children immediately after birth, or sometime close to one week after birth. His tools are merely a needle and white fiber. He uses the needle to puncture the ear of the child, and the white fiber to put into the hole in the ear.
He concluded, “During the practice of such a ceremony, the woman or the man who punctures the ears of the child also reads verses from the Qur’an in order to scatter any evil spirits. They believe that evil spirits try to violate such ceremonies. We pay the person who performs the service about one thousand Yemeni rials.”
Most people who are accustomed to such ceremonies and practices are the elders. They are pushing strongly in order to keep this tradition, advising their sons and the new generation to keep practicing such ceremonies for their children.
“Actually, until I was 14 years old, I did know at all why my father punctured my ear. Moreover, I did not know that my ear was punctured. Most of my friends joked with me, saying that my parents thought I was a girl, so they punctured one ear for me. When they realized that I was a boy, they decided to stop and leave the other ear alone.” Kater al-Hammade said.
Al-Hammade confirmed that he has three brothers, all of whom experienced the puncturing ceremony. My father says that we will be lucky and rich in the future, but I am neither rich nor lucky, currently.
He concluded, “Due to my strong conviction, I do not believe in such practices and ceremonies. I try to convince my father by telling him that this practice is unreal. The problem here is this: my father wants to apply this practice even to his grandsons and granddaughters. This practice actually raises conflict between my father and my brothers because all of my brothers refuse to believe in such practices, and they disapprove of practicing such things on their children.
In Taiz, Ibb, and Lahj, the ceremony is only practiced by a few families. Such things encounter strong resistance and neglect by the new generation, especially the youth. Most young parents, including fathers and mothers, are refusing to perform this tradition on their children because they see it to be nothing more than a myth. They are also censuring the practice because it is a kind of false anticipation about the future of a person, which God in heaven only knows.
This practice takes only a few minutes when it is performed. Most of the boys who lived through this ceremony are now expressing their doubts about this kind of tradition. Nevertheless, they feel normal, and they are not discriminated against for having punctured ears.
“I am sure that this ceremony does nothing for the person and that it never affects your future. Puncturing your ear will not make you a rich man or a lucky person; all of this is merely a myth, and I do not believe in myths. Although a lot of people come to me and say “Your ear is punctured”, I never become annoyed about being this way because I feel that it is normal,” Osama Ali said.
Some of the families in Yemen are practicing such a tradition in order to be distinct from other families.
“In my family, my grandmother used to puncture our ears immediately after birth, and did not wait for a week to pass. When a grandchild of hers is born, she immediately takes a sharp needle and punctures the ear of the boy,” Mohammed Al-Khobary, an English teacher at the Youth Leadership Development Foundation expressed.
According to al-Khobary, this tradition is practiced in his family by the elders due to the fact they believe strongly that puncturing the ears of boys will protect them from evil eyes, evil spirits, and keep them away from any harm in the future.
He concluded, “My family believes strongly in this ceremony because puncturing our ears will make us distinctive people in our village. Anyone in our area can recognize me and my family due to our ears being punctured. When people in my area see me, even if they do not know me, they say immediately, “You are from al-Khobry Family”.
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