Elza Badaeva, About a Ritual for Babies

Elza talks about a celebration called malyagud: When a child was born, the Kalmyks made a celebration called malyagud with plenty of food for all the guests. The birth of a boy was advertised loudly: ‘A son is born!’ In the case of a girl, the baby’s gender was communicated only to those who enquired about it. For the celebration, the parents fried biscuits and bought sweets and cookies which they gave to children and all the quests alike. Both elders and children uttered well-wishes to the new-born. This celebration of malyagud was made when the baby's umbilical cord fell off.Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwi