Akeka (Hakekah)

Akeka is a baby naming and hair shaving/cutting traditional ceremony. A goat will be sacrificed for a baby girl, two goats for a baby boy.

The hair which is cut or shaved will be weighed. If the weight is 5 grams for example, the baby’s father (the baby is now named) is supposed to buy 5 grams of gold. However, the money to buy the 5 grams of gold will be donated to the orphans and needy people instead.

This ceremony is usually carried out on the seventh or fourteenth day after the baby’s birth, or after the baby’s coplok pusar/puput pusar (dislodged baby’s cord). In many occasions, a so called kerik tangan also conducted as part of the event, whereby a handover of responsibilities of the baby is changing from the nurse or shaman to the mother and family.

The things needed for the ceremony include coconuts, seven type of flowers placed in a tray, and the reading Maulid Nabi (the birthday of Prophet Muhammad story). When the reading reach the Serakal (Asyrakal) section, the baby is carried around the room in a circle motion and the ceremony leader will cut the baby’s hair. After that, the baby’s head will be shaved until bald. The baby is then bathed, dressed and wrapped to protect the baby’s physique.