Puberty
Girls attained puberty when 10 to 12 years of age. Cutchi Memons never celebrated puberty in public. In fact no announcement was made until seven days later when close relatives were invited for a bathing ceremony followed by a milad, known in the common parlour as Moulud. Though there were different Seeraths used in Moulud, only Subhana Moulud was adopted.
While in periods, the girl would get daily bath as usual and was provided with plain cloth napkins and she stayed with the family and never sent to any kind of isolation, but she would not be allowed to partake in household work or in any strenuous activity.
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An important ceremony before lunch was served was called GOR (Charity to weed off the evil eye). The female members of the house and of the invitees circulated their right hand, holding silver coins in odd numbers, 1,3,or 5, about the girl's head, and dropped them on a plate placed in front of her. The entire collection was gathered by the Hajjamon, without counting. The ceremony ended with a sumptuous lunch. The whole process was said to be founded on Rajasthani practice, excepting that the girl was not banished during periods.
During the bathing ceremony it was the duty of the Hajjam's wife (the Hajjamon) to prepare the girl by cleansing the pubic hair, for the first time, and preparing hot water, turmeric paste, greengram (Mung) paste and dhoopdani (the pot for burning incense, Sathakannur (Kunthirikkam),Loban ( sambrani) etc.). The girl was bathed by the mother, a grandmother or an elderly lady of the house to whom the mother delegated her right. After the bath the girl would be given new clothes and a sweet, usually phirni (Semolina- Sooji- cooked in milk and garnished with pista, almond-badam-and cardamom). The girl was garlanded and placed in a corner and invitees sat around.