Upanayana
The Hindu initiation in which a boy receives the sacred thread.
Also: janeu, sacred thread ceremony
Upanayana is a coming-of-age ceremony for boys in some Hindu communities, usually between eight and twelve years old. A priest invests the boy with a sacred thread, the yajnopavita, worn over the left shoulder, and teaches him the Gayatri mantra. His head is shaved, and he asks for alms in a symbolic return to his role as a student. The rite is called a second birth. In the past it began years of study with a teacher, and today it is a family event with a feast. In some families girls are now also given the thread.
Region: South Asia