Every society marks the same handful of moments: birth, naming, first food, coming of age, marriage, death. This class covers Kerala's version of the ones the course has not yet reached, and completes the life cycle. PREGNANCY AND BIRTH ഗർഭം pregnancy · ഗർഭിണി a pregnant woman · അവൾ ഗർഭിണിയാണ് she is pregnant പ്രസവം childbirth · പ്രസവിക്കുക to give birth കുഞ്ഞ് the baby · ആൺകുഞ്ഞ് a boy · പെൺകുഞ്ഞ് a girl ആശുപത്രിയിൽ പ്രസവിച്ചു gave birth in hospital Institutional delivery in Kerala is effectively universal, and the state's maternal and infant mortality figures are among the best in India and comparable to far wealthier countries — resting on a dense network of health centres and on female literacy. THE CUSTOMS AROUND IT പുളികുടി the later-pregnancy ceremony at which the expectant mother is given a sour drink and blessed. A very widespread practice: the woman returns to her MOTHER's house for the later months and for some months after the birth. So a child's first months are typically spent in the maternal grandmother's household, with the mother cared for rather than caring. The regime involves warming foods, oil baths, massage and a long rest. Versions exist across Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa — but the strength of the mother's household here is exactly what you would expect in a society with a matrilineal past, and the pattern outlasted the legal system that produced it. THE NAMING നാമകരണം the naming ceremony, generally in the first month നക്ഷത്രം the birth star, which may suggest an auspicious starting syllable The alternating-generation pattern — first son for the paternal grandfather, first daughter for the paternal grandmother — is why the same names recur every second generation in a family tree. മാമോദീസ baptism among Christian families, with a saint's name alongside a home name അഖീഖ the naming rites in the first days among Muslim families വിളിപ്പേര് the calling name — the home nickname that may have nothing to do with the official name and that the family uses for life. A man of sixty may be Unni or Kunju or Appu to everybody who knew him as a child. THE FIRST FOODS ചോറൂണ് the rice-feeding ceremony at around six months — ചോറ് rice plus ഊൺ eating. A substantial family occasion. That name tells you what rice is to this culture: not a food, THE food. മുടി കളയൽ the first haircut, often at a temple, with the hair offered വിദ്യാരംഭം — THE BEGINNING OF LEARNING On Vijayadashami, small children are formally introduced to letters: the child sits on the lap of an elder or teacher, who guides the finger to write the first letters in a tray of rice, and then on the child's tongue with gold. Thousands of children do this on the same morning across Kerala and it is reported in the newspapers every year. ഹരിശ്രീ the first thing traditionally written — and by extension, a beginning. A society that holds a mass public festival for the moment a child writes their first letter. If you want a single image that explains Kerala's literacy rate, it is this one. Quizzes below. Dr. Reshmi R Nair — SpeakMalayalam.