A janoi is a sacred thread.
It’s made up of three strands that are placed on Hindu boys as part of their coming of age ceremony. Each strand represents a reminder of the boy’s three lifelong ‘debts’ - to his god, to his parents and to his spiritual teacher.
I only learned this recently. The son of some good pals had his janoi ceremony and we were lucky enough to be invited.
What an experience! What a party!
Food was absolutely central to the whole thing. Being an Indian affair, us guests were obviously incredibly well fed - but food was also ‘offered’ to the spiritual world as part of the religious ceremony.
Which got me thinking.
We humans - whether religious or not - love a good ritual, and for good reason. And it’s interesting, isn’t it, quite how important a part food usually plays in those rituals, one way or another?
The wedding breakfast. The Christmas dinner. The Seder plate. The funeral wake. The Feast of Sacrifice. The Birthday cake. The list is almost endless.
Whichever culturally important moments we choose to mark, we tend to do so with food.
The preparation, and then the giving and sharing, of food to accompany key rites of passage is an act not just of hospitality, but of love.
It’s a celebration - a reminder, even - of what it means to be human.
It’s a constant, down the ages and across cultures.
It's a link that binds us all together as one.
A sacred thread, indeed.
Nick
PS - if you’re thinking....‘Rituals are all well and good, Nick, but I’m up to my eyes in this thing called life here, and I really don’t have the time.'...then I say: fair enough. Chuck a kilo of mussels in with half a jar of Sara’s pesto and a glass of white wine. Done in 4 minutes. (That'll free up some time for the odd ritual or two 😁)
PPS - the market's open.