How a Bodo is born and live in the Family.

((Culture)This is not a scholarly treatise on the Bodo society. While I was a school student, either out of curiosity or as instructed by some village elders to run errands in the village affairs, I come to know such customs and rituals. As I grew older, these activities were found to have immense sociological meaning in my view. This is only a part of the practical experience I personally encountered in my early life. Sometimes, I feel I should write about the social life of the Bodo society.

A Bodo is born
  

Life of a man starts from his birth. The birth of a child in the Bodo community is treated as a social celebration. It has immense meaning and importance in the society. The family, where a woman is expecting a baby, informs the neighbourhood to come over to the house, especially the elder women. The presence of a woman with the experience in pregnancy and in delivering a baby is expected in the occasion. Her experience in this affair is counted on and respected. Her services in such occasion are most sought after in the village.
  
Once the child is delivered, the child is brought outside the house. The umbilical cord of the child is severed and then tightly bound to stop bleeding. The severed umbilical cord is buried in the courtyard of the house preferably in the place where the rainwater falls directly from the roof. The child is washed off and kept comfortably in a bed prepeared from wornout and used clothes of the family (Sithri in Bodo). The bed of the child is prepared on the flat surface of a "Songrai". The Songrai is a flat round tool made of split bamboo used for cleaning of rice husk. A pillow made of mustard seeds is used. It is believed that the mustard seeds used at a pillow for the child will chase away the evil spirits. The common Hindu faith is that mustard seed is deterent to the evil spirit that may harm the child. The child is then brought to the door of the house, where the mother is kept. The village elder, while holding the child utters the following sentence, "Nwi gotho, nwngba agwlni jwnwmao Bangal na Jungal mwn jwng mwnthilia, nathai nwng dinwi Boro nokhor-ao ujibai, binikhainw, dinwinifrai nwng Boro jabai." (You child, we don't know, whether in your earlier birth you were a Hindu or a Muslim, an Assamese, a Bengali or whatever but you have been born to the Boro family, and from today onwards you are Boro now.) the words so said is equivalent to the Baptism of Christianity, Chunnat of Islam and Upanayana ceremony of Hindus. In the birth itself, Bodos baptize their offspring to its own community. In the other society such baptism is done during the childhood.it is also clearly indicated in the Bodo society that the baptism of a child does not differentiateee girl child and boy child.

The Bodo family consists of husband, wife, their chidren, father, mother,unwed sisters. The family is the small unit of members of blood relatives to third generation. Sometimes,there are joint families consisting of grandfather, grandmother his married sons,unmarried daughters,daughters-in-law, grandsons, grand-daughters and assortment of blood relatives. Though joint families are socially accepted norms, the Bodos prefer single families to avoid misunderstanding among the members of the family. Both Joint and Unitary or nuclear kind of family exists in the society.
  
The society is patriarchal in nature. There are traces of matriarchal inheritance in the society. The transfer of property in family, where no son is there, the property is distributed to the girl child or daughters. The 'Dong-kha Habnai' and 'Gwrja Janai' is two important examples of matriarchal tradition of the Bodo society. The 'Dong-kha Habnai' and 'Gwrja Janai' needs more elaboration and will be done on separate essay in Marriage and Kinship.
  
The eldest male member or the earning male member of the family is treated as head of the family . In a family, where there is no a male earning member, the daughters inherit the property.

The law of inheritance in Bodos prefer the male inheritance. Society as a whole is patriarchal. There are traces of matriarchal inheritance the society that traces back its origin.it shows that Bodos were matriarchal community. In the society,ther are widow remarriage and inheritance of property of women. In a Bodo family, the girlchild and boychild have no equal right in case of inheritance of property. The woman may inherit the intestate property,in case the ancestor dies without male issue .
  
The role of the members of the family is assigned according to their age and expeience. The member of the family is supposed to ward off the external threat faced by the family. It is accepted in the family that the threat, if any, faced by family should be defended by the male member of the family. The division of the work in the family is not watertight but according to the convenience and availability of time. The outdoor works done by the male members of the family. Women in the family are attending the household cores. The tending of the houe includes cooking, maintanace of cleanliness, bringing up the children and such other jobs that do not rquire physical strength. The women are supposed to attend the works like sawing, transplantation of the paddy in the field and de-husking of rice also. The male members of the family are supposed to attend outdoor activities like ploughing, hunting and such other job that require physical strength. Male members of the family are supposed to attend the social obligations like group activities: "souri", "mwihur" etc.
  
The male servants of the family usually help the male members of the family in the outdoor activities. Female servents assist household works. The male servants of the family help the male member of the family in the outdoor works. Ploughing, hunting, harvesting, outdoor social group activities are also attended by male servant for the family.
  
Though the role of each family member is defined, there no hard and fast rule to stick to. There are flexibility and temporary shifting of such arrangement according to needs and requirements. During the season of sawing of rice and harvesting, shift of defined works is usually made. Every member of the family has a defined role in running the machinery of the family. The most active and eldest male member of the family holds the responsibility of providing food and house. The responsibility shifts to the earning son or younger brother when the seniormost male member is unable to support the role of the head of the family. The shift of the role to another male member is done in case of inability from the side of the senior earning member and the fact is supposed to be accepted by him. If such reversion of role is not accepted then the separation of the family becomes imminent. The normal order of the family responsibility is retained traditionally in the society. In the present context this acceptance of responsibilty is slowly diminishing and fast becoming an endangered tradition and likely to be relegated to the history. Responsibilities, which each member of the family is supposed to carry out are not properly done. Discharge of duties allow smooth running of family affair.
  
This may not be true nowadays. Due to the callings and professions, the traditional structure of the family is being disintegrated. In rural life, we may see some of the traits of the basic structure of the society.