Babies and baby parties in Egypt

Egypt has an estimated population of 98 million people (United Nations) and grows by a million every six months. When I google Egypt population I see estimates of 9-16 million people living in Cairo with an estimate of 19,000 people per square kilometer. It's a busy and crowded place and in the midst of all of this are women having babies. 

Such a little thing!! Can't wait to be a grandma!!

Being pregnant
After your wedding you are expected to GET PREGNANT. That is your job! And have a boy first!! And the mothers and mothers-in-law will ask you constantly how you are feeling and if you need to go to the doctor! They are not shy about that!  When you get pregnant you pay a lump sum for care by a doctor and go regularly for ultrasounds and checkups. I think delivery is extra. And everyone has c-sections. A normal delivery is not an option. I've been told it's because the doctors are too impatient and make more money doing c-sections. Honestly. Most women go home the next day. When a woman is one month from delivery she moves back to her parent's home to rest and be taken care of by her mother and aunts. She then spends another month or more at her parents home after the baby is born to recover. 

The baby party
The Sebou’ (literally the seventh day in Arabic) and is a celebration held exactly seven days after the birth of a child. This is a very important celebration and has existed since the time of the pharaohs. It's a regional custom and is celebrated by both Muslims and Christians. I've been lucky enough to attend a Sebou' and it was such crazy fun. When Egyptians get together for ANY type of celebration it always involves loud shabbi music, dancing, and, to really express their strong emotion, ululating--a long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound resembling a howl with a trilling quality (wikipedia). They howl and move their tongue back and forth, usually with their hand covering their mouth. It's a crazy sound especially when done in unison. Because the women and men are usually separated I get to be in the fun room with the ladies dancing and laughing and ululating; Dave gets to sit in another room with the men sitting around smoking. 

Here are some photos I got off the internet. They are exactly like the events I've attended.

The babies are always on a little round pillow which is part of an old custom. Here is what they did with the pillow and the baby at the party I was invited to: they held the pillow with the baby held snug in the middle then dropped the pillow maybe 6-8 inches so that the baby would fall down into the pillow. I couldn't believe it. They did this several times. The baby was sound asleep although his little body shook every time he hit the pillow. The pillow in this photo is much thinner than the one for the baby party I attended so maybe they didn't drop the baby. 

Do you see the hands holding a pestle and mortar? It's most likely the grandmother or another elderly relative of the baby who is banging the pestle and mortar and, quite loudly, and telling the baby, also quite loudly, to be obedient to its parents. Sometimes they say funny things like "listen to your mother but not your father." They bang the daylights out of the pestle!! I couldn't believe it. I thought it was going to be a soft "tink tink" It was like the clanging of a church bell!!

Dancing and having fun! Normal Egyptian homes are small with small rooms. Everyone crowds in and even stand on couches and chairs. No one cares! 

Weddings and engagement parties look like this also. 

My little collection of post-party gifts. I love them!!

My collection of mortars and pestles. In the old days women received these as wedding presents for cooking. These are made of brass and are very heavy. Some are made of aluminum. This is not a present for a modern bride!