69. Common Ground: Birth & Death — Rituals for Life's First & Final Moments

Dec 9, 2025

Explore fascinating birth and death rituals from around the globe. Discover the Navajo First Laugh Ceremony, marking a baby's community entry with a feast. Celebrate Korean Baek-il, honoring a child's survival with sweet rice cakes. Dive into Ghanaian vibrant funerals featuring fantasy coffins that celebrate identity. Experience the unique Toraja Death Feasts where the deceased are treated as 'sleeping.' From Japanese Obon lantern floats to Hindu cremations along the Ganges, these traditions highlight our shared humanity and the cycles of life.

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INSIGHT

Rituals Reveal Shared Humanity

Birth and death rituals are universal across cultures and reflect shared human concerns.
Alli Roper emphasizes that ritualizing beginnings and endings reveals our common need to gather and give transitions meaning.

ANECDOTE

Navajo First Laugh Ceremony

Navajo communities celebrate a baby's first laugh as the milestone that welcomes them fully into life.
The laugher-host organizes a feast and gives guests pinches of salt or candy to teach generosity and hospitality.

ANECDOTE

Korean 100-Day Celebration

In Korea, the baek-il celebrates a baby's survival at 100 days with rice cakes and shared blessings.
Families traditionally distributed rice cakes to at least 100 people to invite communal support and protection.

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In this episode of the Common Ground series, we're diving into unique rituals from around the world that honor both birth and death, which is something we all share.

We cover:

• Navajo First Laugh Ceremony – United States (American Southwest, Navajo Nation)

• Baek-il (100-day celebration) – South Korea

• Selapan Ceremony (35th day) – Indonesia (Javanese culture)

• Jatakarma (Samskara birth ritual) – India (Hindu communities)

• Newborn Singing Traditions – West Africa (e.g., Yoruba, Akan, Ewe, Fulani, etc.)

• Oríkì (praise poetry for babies) – Nigeria (Yoruba culture)

• Aqiqah (naming and sacrifice ceremony) – Islamic tradition

• Whenua (placenta burial) – New Zealand (Māori culture)

• Miyamairi (shrine visit) – Japan (Shinto tradition)

• Traditional Christian European Funerals — Europe

• Ghanaian Fantasy Coffins & Celebratory Funerals – Ghana (Ga culture, especially near Accra)

• Torajan “Death Feasts” & Body Preservation – Indonesia (Sulawesi, Toraja people)

• Pacific Islander Vigil & Communal Mourning – Various Pacific Islands

• Jewish Shiva & Chevra Kadisha with Tahara – Jewish communities globally

• Japanese Family Body Preparation – Japan

• Hindu Cremation (especially along the Ganges) – India

• Sky Burial & Miniature Yurt Graves – Mongolia & Himalayan Buddhist regions

• Obon Festival & Lantern Floating (Tōrō Nagashi) – Japan

• Famadihana (“Turning of the Bones”) – Madagascar

• Islamic Burial & 3-Day Mourning Visits – Many Muslim-majority countries (especially Arab nations)

• Chehelom (40th Day Mourning Ceremony) – Iran (blend of Islamic and Persian traditions)

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