The Naming Ceremony

Naming Ceremony Theology Behind the Liturgy

This is a liturgy of naming a newborn baby based on Kachin concept and theology.
Naming a baby is not a strange job for people because we need names to communicate with each
other and it makes it easier to recognize a person we met. However, for Kachin people, naming a
baby is very important and it means beyond regular naming of a person. We kachin people have
held naming ceremonies from our ancestors to till now since we were not missionied by western
Christian missionaries. Before missionary, we have had a close relationship with spirits. We had
our own theology concerning naming baby ceremonies since we were Animism but it was
changed after missionary. Every liturgy concerning naming ceremony was changed in christian
philosophy.
In the Kachin context, a baby needs to be named as soon as He or She is born. There are
kinds of religious leaders like prophets and religious elders. A naming ceremony is also called as
a blessing ceremony for a baby by religious leaders and elders from neighbors. When a baby is
born, many elders from neighbors and religious leaders are gathered to participate in the blessing
ceremony. Kachins believe that there is a deity who is concerned with naming babies. When it is
time to be born, they are waiting for the sound of a baby from the borning room. The religious
leader starts to read some blessing words as soon as they hear the baby’s crying sound from the
room because they believe that the baby must be named immediately. If not, they believe, the
other spirit will name the child. If the child is a boy, then the religious leader will name a boy
name and if the baby is a girl she will be named first in short name. Then the parents can name
what they want their child to be called with meaningful and respected family names. In the
naming ceremony, Kachins use dried beef, pounding ginger, salt, and dried fish with different
meanings depending on the gender of the baby. When the baby is a girl, they use dried fish and
salt. It means, fishes keep many eggs in their stomach to spawn and it represents that the girl will
be blessed in their productivity like fishes. The salt is used in the means of white, clean, and
salty. It has the ability to make salty foods and is essential in many things. It means, the life of
the baby will be blessed like a salt. On the other hand, if the baby is a boy, they use dried beef
and pounding ginger. The dried beef must be made only with bull meat because the nature of a
bull and the baby are connected in using meaning. The bull is strong and the usage of the dried
beef represents the boy to be strong and the usage of the pounding ginger is to be brave.
Moreover, kachins use sticky rice to stick together more than ever and for those reasons, Kachin
people have traditionally used sticky rice, ginger and dried fish in naming ceremonies.

Theological Liturgy for Naming Ceremony

When most of the Kachins became christians, the theology of the naming ceremony also
came to base on biblical belief. However, Kachin Christians still use the materials that I have
mentioned above in the christian context based on biblical beliefs.

This is a theological liturgy of a naming ceremony according to Kachin context-

Opening Prayer - A Pastor reads (Psalm 127:3-5) and starts to pray for submitting the
ceremony.
Opening Singing- A Hymn concerning thanking God will be sung after the opening prayer.
Defining the Materials - The parents will take Dried Beef, Salt, and Pounding Ginger or Dried
Fish and Salt ( This depends on the Gender of the baby). One of the elders from the chord will
explain the definitions of the materials, and what they represent and the historical usage of the
things in the naming ceremony in kachin context.

Giving Name - The pastor will ask the parents for what they have prepared for their
child’s name. Then, after knowing the name, the pastor shares the foods or materials to the
chords and requests for the prayer. Here, not only the pastor is blessing but the elders from the
chord who came from neighbors and the baby’s relatives. They bless each other in different
ways.

Submitting Name Prayer - The Pastor will pray for submitting name, ask for blessing from
God, ask to listen to all the blessings from the chords and pray for submitting the entire future or
the child in the hand of our lord in the name of Jesus Christ.

Sermon - A minister or Pastor will share a sermon of the ceremony.

Ending Singing - A Hymn singing will be sung to stop the ceremony.

 Then the Pastor will bless the baby and the chord in the name of
Father, Son and Holy spirit.
Amen…..Amen…..Amen…( Triplet Amen)
 Liturgy for Marriage

This is the liturgy for those who are in their first marriage; not for a widow, a widower, a
single mom, and who have experienced marriage already in their past. There are some rules to be
followed for the new fiancee and fiance ( the bride and the groom) before the marriage
ceremony. They need to be cleaned, must avoid having sexual relations before marriage, and
they need to be vergins. For this, there is an option for them, if they have committed sex before
then they will not be allowed to marry in church and if they are clean they are allowed. The
church is a place where the christians worship God, and communicate God in gathering.
Therefore, the new marriages need to be cleaned in the means of respecting God.

Theological Liturgy for Marriage Ceremony

Opening Ceremony - The Groom will need to wait and stand before the chords. Then the
bride will be called and come into the ceremony with her father.
Opening Hymn - Hymn singing to begin the ceremony.
Opening Prayer - In the beginning of the ceremony, the pastor will read (Genesis
2:18- 24) and pray for the whole ceremony to ask for protection and blessing from God.

Conversation between Pastor and the bride and the groom - Before the marriage
ceremony, the pastor will need to ask some questions to them to prove that they are the first
marriage and clean and unclean in front of God and the Chords.
Question to the chords - The pastor will ask the chords, Is there any one who wants to
object to the day’s ceremony. If there is no objection, the ceremony can be started.
Confession of the Groom
Pastor - The Bible says, A man is not good to be alone and God created a helper. Do
you totally believe that your new wife is your best partner sent from God?
Groom- Yes, I’m.
Pastor - God has prepared this bride for you and will you hold her until the end of your
life?
Groom - Yes, I’m.
Pastor - Can you promise to be faithful to your wife in your life journey; happy or
unhappy, difficulties or not, poor or rich, and healthy or not?
Groom - Yes, I’m.
Pastor- (Genesis 2;24) “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold
fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh”God be with you, with your family from now on
and forever.
Groom - Amen……
Confession with the bride
Pastor - The Bible says, A man is not good to be alone and God created a helper. Do
you totally believe that you are chosen from God to be a Good helper of your
Husband?
Bride - Yes, I’m.
Pastor - If you believe, God has prepared this hasband for you and will you hold him until
the end of your life?
Bride - Yes, I’m.
Pastor- Can you promise to be faithful to your husband in your life journey;
happy or unhappy, difficulties or not, poor or rich, and healthy or not?
Bride - Yes, I’m.
Pastor - (Ephessians 5:22-23) “ submit yourselves to your own husband as you do to the
lord” , God be with you, with your family from now on and forever.
Bride - Amen…
Announcement of Pastor
Dear both sides of the bride and the groom and all the chords, as you have heard about
these confessions, the bride and the groom have promised each other and they are officially
ready to sign for their marriage in front of God and the Chords today. Therefore, from now on, it
is the time for both sides of parents to define this bride and groom as your son and daughter with
materials.
Note , the things in defining must be a piece of Gold because the gold has the qualities of
unchangeable color, precious, and shining all the time. This can be enough to represent the
meaning of value between the wife and husband.
Pastor - Dear parents from the Groom, if there is something in your hand to give your new
daughter the new wife of your son, it is the time to recognize as your daughter.
Notes, after pastor got the piece of Gold, may be a ring, he will hold his hand and show it to the
chords and speak,
Pastor - This is the Gold, Gold represents the relationship between the new wife and husband.
Their future will be shining, their love will never change, and this new family will be precious
and the parents of the groom have officially recognized this bride as their daughter in front of
these big chords and God.
Chords - God bless this family, Amen….

Pastor - Dear parents of the bride, if there is something in your hand to give your new son
the new husband of your son, it is the time to recognize as your son.
Notes, after the pastor got the piece of Gold, maybe a ring, he will hold his hand and show it to
the chords and speak,...This is a piece of Gold, Gold represents the relationship between the new
wife and husband. Their future will be shining, their love will never change, and this new family
will be precious and the parents of the bride have officially recognized this groom as their son in
front of this big chords and God.
Chords - God bless this family, Amen….
Then, it is the time to sign the marriage contract, and both sides of the parents
including bride and groom will need to sign.
Then, the pastor will announce that the ceremony has ended successfully.
Closing Hymn Singing - Hymn singing to end the ceremony.
Pastor - (Matthew 19:6) “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God
has Joined together, let no one separate”.
Closing Prayer - The pastor will pray to end the ceremony.
Blessings from the pastor in the name of Father, Son and Holy spirit.
Amen….. Amen….Amen….( Triplet Amen)