Lesson video

Hello there.

My name is Mr. Robertson and I'm really excited and delighted to be learning with you today.

I hope you're well.

Today, we're gonna have a fantastic time.

We're going to be learning about another lesson in our big inquiry question, rites of passage, how do communities mark growing up? And in this lesson, we're going to be looking at welcoming a Hindu baby.

I can't wait to get started with you today.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain some different ways that Hindu families celebrate important moments in life.

Our lesson has four keywords.

I'm going to say them first and then I'm gonna ask you to say them back.

Let's try our first word.

It's Mundan.

Amazing.

Next, we have rakhi.

Very good.

Then we have blessing.

Amazing.

And finally, Raksha Bandhan.

Fantastic, everybody.

So a Mundan is a special first haircut for Hindu babies to wish them a healthy life.

A rakhi is a bracelet siblings tie on each other's wrists to show love and protection.

Blessing means a prayer or wish for happiness, health and love that families give during these celebrations.

And Raksha Bandhan is a special festival that celebrates the love between siblings.

We're going to be using these words throughout the lesson, so I think you're gonna understand them by the time we're finished.

So this lesson on welcoming a Hindu baby has two parts.

In the first part of this lesson, we're gonna be asking the question, "How might Hindus welcome a baby?" Let's go.

This lesson is what we call a social science lens.

So we're going to be using social science to help us with our inquiry, but what do we mean by social science? Well, Alex is going to help us.

He says, "Social scientists are interested in how people live and how their actions, including the way they celebrate important life events, are shaped by their beliefs and culture.

We can better understand people's worldviews by observing traditions and talking to families about what these celebrations mean to them." So what does that mean in the context of this lesson? Well, in this lesson, we're going to use photographs and case studies to see how some Hindu families celebrate important moments in life.

And that's really important, 'cause it's gonna help us better understand Hindu worldviews.

Jacob and Sam are talking.

They want to learn how Hindu families celebrate some special moments in a baby's life.

They think of some questions a social scientist might ask.

Jacob says, "I wonder what special traditions Hindu families follow to welcome a new baby?" Sam says, "I've heard of a Mundan ceremony.

I wonder what it is and what happens?" I wonder what tools they could use to answer these questions? Hmm, how could they find out a bit more about a Mundan ceremony? And how could they find out what different Hindu families do to welcome a new baby? Jacob and Sam have decided that one way they can do this is by interviewing somebody, and so they're going to speak to Het.

Het has a Hindu worldview.

Jacob and Sam say, "In many churches, babies can be baptised and welcomed into their faith.

Do Hindu families have a ceremony to mark a baby being born?" And Het replies, "Yes, some Hindu families have special ceremonies too.

After a baby is born, a family might offer prayers and blessings.

One special ceremony is called the Mundan." So thank you, Het, 'cause you've taught us that some Hindu families do have a ceremony to mark a baby being born.

Look at this photograph very carefully.

What can you see happening in this image? What might be going on? Have you seen a ceremony like this before? This is part of the Mundan ceremony and it's also known as a Mundan Sanskar.

It's a Hindu ceremony where a baby's head is shaved for the first time.

It usually takes place when the baby is between one and three years old.

So you can see in this photograph, it's not a newborn baby, it's a young child, probably about three years old.

So it can take place at any of those times.

Let's just check what we mean by a Mundan ceremony.

Is it A, a birthday party for a baby, B, a Hindu ceremony where a baby's head is shaved or C, a special kind of food eaten at weddings? Which one do you think it is? Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent, it's B, isn't it? A Hindu ceremony where a baby's head is shaved.

Well done if you've got that right.

Het shares his experience of his Mundan ceremony.

When I was one year old, my family had a special ceremony called a Mundan.

My head was shaved by the Pandit or priest.

Everyone gave me blessings for a happy and healthy life.

I wore new clothes and lots of people came to celebrate.

My parents showed me photographs.

My head afterwards looked shiny as some turmeric and sandalwood paste was put on to soothe it.

Wow, that sounds like an amazing ceremony, Het.

Isn't it interesting what he says? So his head was shaved by a Pandit or priest and people gave him blessings.

Jacob and Sam are now talking with Dhanu.

She follows the Hindu Dharma and has a Hindu worldview.

They ask her, "Hi Dhanu, why is the baby's hair cut during the Mundan ceremony?" And Dhanu replies, "In Hindu Dharma, the baby's hair is cut to bless them and help remove any bad luck or negative energy from before they were born." Oh, I see, so that makes sense, thank you, Dhanu.

So it's cut for a reason, to remove bad luck or negative energy.

She explains more.

The Mundan ceremony usually happens in a mandir or at home where the family gathers together to pray and celebrate.

It's a special part of our Hindu faith that gives the baby a fresh start and wishes them good health and happiness as they grow.

When my children had their Mundan, it was a special rite of passage welcoming them with blessings.

So let's think about this.

Why do Hindu families have a Mundan ceremony for babies? Is it A, to bless and wish the baby good health and happiness, B, to celebrate the baby's first birthday or C, to teach the baby to walk? Hmm, what do you think? Think about what Dhanu and Het were saying.

Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent, well done, it's A, isn't it? It's to bless and wish the baby good health and happiness.

Fantastic if you got that right.

Jacob and Sam want to find out a little bit more about this Mundan ceremony, so they're going to talk to Het again.

They say, "Is the Mundan ceremony for both boys and girls?" That's a really interesting question, isn't it? I was wondering the same.

Het says, "Yes, the Mundan ceremony is for both boys and girls.

My little sister had her Mundan when she was one year old.

Our whole family celebrated together and she looked so cute with her new haircut." So that's really interesting.

It is for both boys and girls, isn't it? The Mundan ceremony is a very special ceremony for boys and girls in a Hindu family.

It's a way to welcome the baby and pray for good health and happiness.

Families celebrate new life and give the baby blessings for a fresh start.

Let's just check our understanding here.

True or false? Both boys and girls may have a Mundan ceremony in Hindu families.

Let's think about what Het just told us.

Is that true or false? Hmm, pause the video and have a think.

Excellent, it's true, isn't it, and why? Because as Het said, in the Mundan ceremony, a baby's head is shaved to bring good health and happiness, and that can be done for both boys and girls.

Well done if you've got that right.

Okay, let's have our first practise task.

Alex is wondering.

He's wondering why some families choose to have a Mundan ceremony for their young babies.

You can see a photograph there of the Mundan ceremony and we can see Het and Dhanu.

I wonder if you can give Alex two reasons why Hindu families might have a Mundan ceremony? And I wonder if we can use the interviews with Het and Dhanu to help you? Think about what they said.

Can you think of some of the reasons they gave? Right, really looking forward to what you're coming up with, RE people.

Pause the video and have a think.

Oh, I've heard some amazing things going on.

Can you think of some different reasons? So you might have said something like this.

You might have said, "Hindu families want to give the baby prayers and blessings for a happy and healthy life." You might have said, "They believe that ceremony helps to remove any bad luck or negative energy from before the baby was born." You might have said, "It's a way to celebrate new life and give the baby a fresh start." Fantastic if you managed to get some of those answers correct and well done, brilliant thinking.

So the second part of our lesson is why are siblings important to many Hindus? Jacob and Sam are now curious to find out how siblings are important in Hindu families.

And a sibling is a brother or sister.

Jacob says, "Are there any special celebrations or rituals that celebrate siblings in Hindu families?" And Sam says, "We could interview some Hindu families to find out what they do." That's a really great idea, Sam.

You are thinking a little bit like a social scientist.

If we can interview people, we can find out what happens and if it's similar or different in all families.

Jacob and Sam interview Priya.

Priya is Het's older sister.

Jacob and Sam say, "Hi, Priya.

What happens in your family?" Priya says, "In my family, we celebrate a Hindu festival called Raksha Bandhan.

It's a ceremony that shows the love and bond between brothers and sisters or siblings." Look at the photograph here.

What can you see is happening in the image? Who might be doing what and why? You might want to pause the video at this point and have a little think or talk to somebody next to you.

What a beautiful photograph.

Well, we can see that someone is tying something around somebody's wrist.

What we can see is this, a sister is tying a rakhi on her brother's wrist.

And a rakhi is a special bracelet.

It shows she loves him and he will protect her.

So this must link back to what Priya was telling us about Raksha Bandhan.

Sam asks Priya, "How does your family celebrate Raksha Bandhan?" Priya says, "On Raksha Bandhan, I tie a rakhi on my brother's wrist to show my love and care for him.

He promises to protect me and we eat sweets and sometimes give each other gifts.

It's a fun and special day for us." Oh, thank you, Priya, it's really interesting to find out what your family do on Raksha Bandhan.

Let's just check our understanding.

Why did Priya tie a rakhi on her brother's wrist on Raksha Bandhan? A, to make him go to school, B, to show her love and care, C, to play games together? Which of those was it? Can you remember? Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent, it's B, isn't it? To show her love and care, she ties the rakhi on her brother's wrist.

Excellent if you've got that right.

Let's find out a little bit more about what happens on Raksha Bandhan.

Jacob and Sam are talking to Dhanu again.

They ask, "When do you make or tie rakhis? Why do you pick different colours and styles?" Dhanu says, "We tie rakhis on Raksha Bandhan to show love and care.

We make rakhis using different colours.

Some colours mean things like happiness or protection, but mostly it's to show love." So we've got lots of different styles of rakhis, but actually they might have some meanings, but mostly it's about things like happiness and protection.

Each colour used in the rakhi can mean something special, like the promise siblings make to protect each other, always be there and say thank you for having each other.

The bright colours remind them of the love and happiness siblings share every day.

Sam wants to find out a little bit more.

She asks Dhanu, "Do sisters just tie rakhis on their brothers, Dhanu? Dhanu says, "In my family, I also tie a rakhi to my sister on Raksha Bandhan.

It's my way of showing her that I love and care for her.

When I tie the rakhi, I promise to always look out for her and she feels special and happy." So in some families, the brothers tie a rakhi onto their sister.

Dhanu's family, she will also tie one onto her sister as well.

So not all Hindu families do things exactly the same way.

True or false? All rakhis are made using only one colour.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think.

It's false, isn't it, and why? Because different colours can mean different things, like red for protection or yellow for happiness.

Next, Jacob and Sam talk to Kavita.

She's part of a different Hindu family.

They ask her, "Who might you want to tie a rakhi to beside a brother or sister and why?" Kavita says, "I sometimes tie a rakhi to my best friend.

She always helps me when I'm sad and we share everything.

She's like family to me and I want her to know that I'll always be there for her too." Oh, isn't that interesting? So Kavita sometimes ties a rakhi to her best friend's wrist, so not just someone in her own family.

And she does that because she really likes her friend and she knows her friend is always there for her.

Kavita explains more.

I tie a rakhi on my friend's wrist, because she makes me feel happy and safe.

She helped me when I fell in the playground.

That was really kind and I wanted to say thank you.

Friends can be like sisters too and I wanted her to know that she is special to me." Let's check what we've been learning so far.

Why do people tie a rakhi on siblings' and friends' wrists? Find two correct reasons.

A, to ask for sweets, B, to say thank you for being kind, C, to show love and care, D, to play a game.

Which two of those answers are correct? Pause the video, maybe talk to a friend.

Have a think.

Excellent thinking, it's B, to say thank you for being kind and C, to show love and care, isn't it? That's what the rakhi is all about.

It symbolises that idea of protection, kindness and love and bonds between siblings and friends.

Okay, we're going to do our second practise task.

Andeep is designing a rakhi for a Hindu family to celebrate how important siblings are.

We've got a rakhi there that you could use.

You might want to add some colours to the rakhi and decide what promise each colour could represent based on what our case studies said.

So as you colour it in, you might want to think, "Ooh, I'm going to use a bright colour like red," and that can represent what kind of promise that a Hindu person might make to their siblings or a different colour.

Can you think of some of the things that Het and Priya talked about when they were talking about why they tied the rakhi to their brother or sister? The second question I want you to think about is this.

Do Hindus only tie a rakhi to a sibling? Can you think back to what Kavita said? Explain your answer.

Can you use some of the case studies as evidence? Really looking forward to seeing your completed rakhis and your ideas and the promises that you think siblings might make to each other, and also thinking about whether it's just siblings who tie a rakhi.

See you very soon.

Oh wow, I can see some amazing colouring going on there, some amazing designs.

Your rakhi might look something like this.

We've got some really bright colours there.

And they might represent different promises, for example, red might show that siblings will keep each other safe.

Our Hindu children talked about that, didn't they? Blue might mean love and care, like helping each other.

Brothers and sisters can help and care for each other, can't they? And yellow might show thankfulness for having that special person in your life.

You might have come up with some of your own ideas and own promises that siblings might make to each other.

Secondly, do Hindus only tie a rakhi to a sibling? You might have said, "No.

Hindus do not only tie a rakhi to a sibling, because Kavita said she tied a rakhi to her friend's wrist because she's like a sister to her and she wanted to say thank you that she makes her feel happy and safe." So different Hindus will do different things.

Some might tie a rakhi to their brother's wrist.

Some sisters might tie a rakhi to a different sister's wrist and some might tie a rakhi to a friend's wrist.

All of the ideas about love and protection and care are there, but different people do things differently.

Let's sum up what we've learned today.

We've learned that many Hindu families welcome their babies with a special called a Mundan, where a baby's hair is shaved for the first time.

We've also learned that the Mundan ceremony gives the baby blessings and good wishes for health and happiness.

Siblings might celebrate Raksha Bandhan by tying a bracelet called a rakhi.

We've also learned that the rakhi shows love and protection between siblings and friends.

I've really enjoyed learning with you today.

You've been fantastic and it's been great thinking through these beautiful ceremonies and what they might mean for Hindu families.

Thanks ever so much and I really look forward to seeing you in another lesson soon.