Baptism Rituals

May 6th, 2007 La Encantada, Peru

Pedro´s Baptism

Pedro is the 1 ½ year old that lives in my house. Today was his baptism. Family relatives all the way from Lima made the 16 hour trip to La Encantada. It was quite the party all weekend. The first part of the ceremony is the sprinkling of water which takes place in the church after mass. Later that night is the reception. Many families don´t permit the child to have a first hair cut until the child is baptized. They put the child´s hair in ribboned locks and then you can cut one off with an economic donation to the future well-being of the child.

We ate and dance and ate and danced and drank beer until 1am. People were sleeping everywhere we could make room in our house and my brother-in-law´s house. The next day all the family from both sides hang out. I was pretty tired by the end of it all, but it was a good time.

April 29th, 2007 La Encantada, Peru

Cutting of the Nails

I participated in my first role as a padrino today. A padrino is a godfather but doesn´t always mean that you have care taking duties in the future. Sometimes, it just means you are the financier of the event. I was like a secondary padrino to this baptism and had to cut the child´s finger nails. Later we celebrated with a feast and the normal drinking that is customary with every reception.