SUNNATH (KHITAN, CIRCUMCISION)
A SOCIETAL NEED
Circumcision is a rite whereby a person is recognized as a member of the Islamic society. The requirement was honoured in all Abrahamic societies. Jews also perform the rites but not exactly in the manner observed by Muslims. For them it is the sacrifice of a part of the body for the pleasure of Jehovah. Though Esa (AS) had undergone circumcision, Christians discontinued the practice as they consider his alleged sacrifice on the Cross was sufficient discharge of that obligation for all those who believed in him. For Muslims it is a religious obligation like Salah or Saum, and a recognition of one having become a Muslim, as well as a necessity of his identification as a Muslim and a hygienic need – not a sacrifice at all!
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THE TIMING OF THE CEREMONY
A good number of Memon families had opted to delay the function until about the time the boy was 7 or 9 years old. Below seven was considered an age difficult to manage, particularly in aftercare. Having decided on a date and time for the function, the Hajjam would carry the message and invite the male members of the Jamaath, including grown up boys on behalf of the boy’s father. The usual practice was to hold the function on a Friday afternoon after Asr prayer, just before sunset, when the atmosphere would not be very warm and risk of excessive bleeding low.
ROLE OF THE HAJJAM
The procedure involves surgically removing the foreskin which would otherwise gather dirt and drops of urine which would eventually nullify wudu, unless cleaned every time wudu is needed. Atleast until about 1950, circumcision was observed as a community affair. The villain of the occasion was the Hajjam who was traditionally well versed in the process including after care. Chatti was the earliest occasion a child could be circumcised, for the child would not physically respond to the touch and may also not express fear or discomfort. However, it was a delicate operation for the Hajjam owing to the tenderness of the skin and possibility of excessive bleeding. There were also risks due to bad handling for feeding, cleaning and bathing despite the availability of experienced Dai or other person around.
PREPARATIONS
Aqeeqa would be done if not already performed earlier and a feast arranged at lunch time where relatives and other guest would join. The boy would be given bath and a set of new clothes to wear. He would also be garlanded like a bridegroom. Either the boy would be seated in a high chair or led by the father or an uncle to the elders in the family, both men and women, such that he may kiss their hands. Cash gifts and Gor were common, proceeds of the Gor going to the Hajjam.
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Guests took their seats in a pandal or shamiana, depending on the size of the gathering, at one end of which a screened enclosure was prepared with a chair or stool for the Jallado to sit and receive the boy on his lap. In the meanwhile the Hajjam would have prepared a clip with two pieces of ribs of green coconut leaves, a small bottle of medicated coconut oil, cotton and a roll of nice bandage cloth. He would also have his razor sterilized, so to say, on candle flame. .
THE SURGERY
The boy finally kissed the hands of his parents and was led to the shamiana where he was directed to greet the gathering with a salam. Then he was taken to the enclosure accompanied by a small number of adults, prearranged. Once inside, the boy would remove his upper garments and replace the lower ones with a bath towel or a short piece of cloth. He was then received by the Jallado on his lap who held the boy tightly and lifted his head upwards so that he would not try to look downwards while the surgical process was on. Two men stationed on either side of the seat firmly held the boy’s legs. The Hajjam would strip off the cloth from the boy’s loins and keep it for himself. The gathering around would start chanting Takbeer loudly enough to submerge the cry of the boy. With the boy in firm hold the Hajjam pulled away the foreskin, losening it by inserting yet another piece of coconut rib, in case the skin was tight, applied the clip tightly, and in a flash chopped off the portion of the foreskin on his side, receiving the falling piece on ashes in a receptacle kept on the ground. The clip fell off as it lost the grip. The Hajjam gave a quick wrap to arrest bleeding. The whole episode got over in quick succession, usually within the time it took for three Takbeers, thanks to the professional dexterity of the Hajjam.
AFTERCARE
A FREEZING CUSTOM
In the meanwhile a soft bed would have been arranged for the boy, with a tent like devise hanging by a cord such that it would provide a cover without touching the body, especially the wound.
immediately after the surgery the boy was carried flat in hands by the Jallado or any other able bodied person straight to the bed kept ready for him. If the child was circumcised on or about the Chatti then he would have been kept in the room itself and laid in a Peengo (flat cradle) as lying in Jholi would disturb the wound. The Hajjam, after disposing off the wastes, returned to the boy to give him a permanent packing with the cloth bandage around the wound, partially covering the glans. The bandage was soaked with the medicated oil. The wound would normally heal in seven to nine days and the bandage remained in position all along and was being moistened with the same oil daily.
In another part of the house the mother would have been made to sit with both her hands immersed in cold water, claiming to cool down the lady to prevent her from swooning out of anxiety for the boy. In many cases this procedure not only failed to calm her but also resulted in her catching severe cold and ending in fits.
While the boy was being attended to, the guests were entertained with tea and nankhattai or sherbath and presented with a paper cone pack of sakkar.
DAI NAYAR JO RIVAJ
From the evening of the same day women of the households invited for the day’s function would start visiting. They would visit on any day before the boy took his bath after the convalesence. There was an interesting custom attached to these visits. The visitors brought two de-husked coconuts and a measure of rice. The host returned the compliment with white sugar in weight or measure equal to the rice brought. This was known as Dai Nayar jo Rivaj.
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By the seventh day the wound would have fully healed and the bandage fallen off automatically. If not it would be wetted with warm water and carefully removed. The boy was given hotwater bath and new clothes. It was generally followed with a Moulud and Dua. If the boy had already been introduced to Salah, he would also offer two rakaats of Nafil Namaz by way of thanks giving. The rice and coconuts were divided into three portions, one for the hajjam, one for the Dai if she was around, particularly if the function was held along with Chatti, and the remaining given away to poor people. The household did not appropriate any part of it as it was intended purely as Sadqah