Twelve Auspicious Rites


The Twelve Auspicious Rites are a series of worldly rites of passage recognized in traditional Burmese culture, particularly by the Bamar and Rakhine peoples. These are distinct from the Thirty-eight Buddhist Beatitudes described in the Maṅgala Sutta.
In modern times, only four or five of these rites — the naming, first feeding, ear-boring, shinbyu, and wedding rites — are commonly practiced in Myanmar, especially in urban cities. In pre-colonial Burma, Brahmins typically consecrated or led these rites. Today, masters of ceremony who specialize in abhisheka rituals, called beiktheik saya, consecrate these rites. Beiktheik saya derive their skills from four Vedic scriptures, namely Sāmaveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda, and Rigveda, in addition to Pali scriptures. The Twelve Auspicious Rites are believed to have originated in India, and were later spread throughout Southeast Asia by Buddhist missionaries. The rites are based on the teachings of the Buddha and are intended to promote moral and spiritual development, as well as to help individuals attain enlightenment.

List of rites

  1. – the successful delivery of a child
  2. – the taking of refuge in the Three Jewels, worship of the Nandimukha nat, and paying of obeisance to a child's grandparents on the third day of a child's birth
  3. – the shaving of a child's hair on the 7th day of a child's birth
  4. – the first cradling of a child on an auspicious day
  5. – the first ceremonial feeding of betel nut to a child, on the 75th or 100th day of a child's birth
  6. – the first revealing of a child to the sun and moon on the full moon day of the first, second, or third Burmese lunar months following a child's birth, comparable to the Hindu nishkramana ceremony
  7. – the naming of a child based on a child's personalized horoscope on the 100th day of a child's birth, similar to the Hindu namakarana ceremony
  8. – the first ceremonial feeding of solid food to a child, also commemorated with the donation of food alms to Buddhist monks, on the 6th month of a child's birth, similar to the Hindu annaprashana ceremony
  9. – the hair-knotting of a child, after the hair is shampooed with traditional herbal shampoo made with soap acacia and Grewia elastica on an auspicious day
  10. – the ear-boring ceremony of a child an auspicious day, comparable to the Hindu karnavedha ceremony
  11. – shinbyu, the ordination of a child into the Buddhist monkhood as a samanera on an auspicious day
  12. – the wedding ceremony on an auspicious day
The scholar Aung Chein also identifies a number of auspicious rites outside of the twelve listed above:
  1. – the first touching of the ground by a child
  2. – the first parting of the child's hair by his or her mother
  3. – the wearing of the makuṭa crown
  4. – the housewarming ceremony