The Naming Ceremony:
 During
pregnancy it is considered bad luck to start buying things for
your baby before it is born let alone talk about your hopes and
dreams for its future. In Gambian society, among Muslims,
the naming ceremony takes place on the 8th day after the
birth of the child and is known as Ngente.
The special occasion is normally held just outside the house in
one's yard where the family would have erected chairs and fixed
a large sunshade for guest. The new mother dresses in her finest
clothes and lots of food bundles with mints, cake, bread and the
like are prepared for friends and family.
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The actual occasion is usually held around 10 am though among
Serahules this can be shortly after
dawn prayers. After all have gathered
an imam (spiritual leader) or other respected elder will use a
razor blade to cut a lock of hair from the baby's head, pour a
little water onto its head and recite some Koranic verses as well
as repeating the name of the baby in its ear. After this the name
is proclaimed out loud to all present by the family's griot.
The name chosen is by custom kept secret by the father until the
actual occasion. If the father is out of the country then he may
inform a family elder the day before of which name he has chosen
for his child. Kola
(Cola) nuts are distributed and a cow, sheep, goat or chicken
is sacrificially slaughtered to be served up later to guests and
lunch. The festivities are sometimes attended by a Kankuran and
last throughout the day and into the evening time.
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Culture & Traditions Circumcision Masquerades Rites
of Passage 
