Why dunk the baby elephants?

June 11, 2012 By

You know, I love a good news report involving the details of liturgical events and the Agence France Presse recently served up, well, a really BIG liturgical story.

How big? Here’s a clue, in the headline: “Baby Elephants Christened en Masse in Sri Lanka.”

OK, first things first. I immediately wanted to know if this was “en Masse” or “in Mass.”

Let’s try to find out, starting off with the fact that — in terms of religion — Sri Lanka is a pretty complex place.

So, we can assume — since this is described as a christening — that these animals were given names. In fact, the story tells us:

Thirteen babies born last year and two in 2010 were given names chosen from among thousands suggested by visitors to the Pinnawala orphanage, director Nihal Senaratne said.

“An astrologer looked at the time of birth of each elephant. He then decided on the first letter of each baby’s name according to its horoscope,” Senaratne told AFP when contacted by telephone.

“The lucky letters were published and visitors were asked to suggest names accordingly,” he said, adding that Sunday’s ceremony was the biggest ever at the facility since it opened in 1975.

Uh, the names used in this “christening” — it’s safe to say that we now officially need the quote marks — came from where? An astrologer? What kind of a baptismal, “christening” or dedication rite was this, anyway? Why is it being given this very specific name, in terms of religious language?

Good luck with that question.

It appears that all religions are sort of the same for the team that produced this story or, perhaps, for the people who staged this media event.

So what is going on? Later on, readers are given this additional information about this rite.

Elephants are considered sacred animals and a number of the babies born at Pinnawala have been gifted to Buddhist temples to be paraded during annual pageants.

So this is a BUDDHIST “christening” ceremony? Is there a rite in Buddhism that can accurately be described with the word “christening”? It appears that some Buddhists do perform rites with water that may resemble baptism, but the meaning of these rites — yes, there appear to be debates about this — is obviously very different and not at all Christian.

Which raises this basic journalism question? What kind of rite was this? Why use the word “christening” without some kind of context or definition.

I know. I know. I am being picky. Words don’t have specific meanings, anymore.

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Filed Under: Catholicism, Journalism, Religion, World Religions, Worship
About tmatt

Terry Mattingly directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. He writes a weekly column for the Scripps Howard News Service.

  • sari

    This particular word has another commonly used meaning in addition to the more specific meaning you desire. One definition offered by Merriam-Webster: to name or dedicate (as a ship) by a ceremony suggestive of baptism. Another uses the example of “christening” or naming a kitten. So while it has a very specific meaning to Christians, it also refers to the practice of naming something, with or without water (or spirits).

    The custom of “christening” ships apparently has a long history.

    http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq108.htm

    If’s it’s appropriate for ships and kittens, why not elephants?

  • Jerry

    sari, you beat me to it. But what really struck me as fun was this from the Navy web site:

    A Babylonian narrative dating from the third millennium B.C., describes the completion of a ship:

    Openings to the water I stopped; I searched for cracks and the wanting parts I fixed; Three sari of bitumen I poured over the outside; To the gods I caused oxen to be sacrificed.

    “sari” here appears to be a unit of measurment. There’s another site I found with “three sari of men”. More searching found http://www.custance.org/Library/SOTW/APPENDIXES/APP_II_VI.html which says that a “sari” is both a measure and a number and discusses the Chaldeans and the Babylonians.

    Words are fun, aren’t they :-)

  • sari

    So, in addition to being a princess and a piece of women’s apparel, I’m also a measure and a number. How cool is that?!

  • Lynn

    Re: sari’s first comment

    Well, I’m glad they didn’t bonk the little elephants on the head with a bottle of champagne. :0

  • Dave

    Evidently the meaning of “christening” is eroding. I’ve also heard “Christian name” used completely interchangeably with “given name.”

    And, yes, you are being picky but somebody has to.

  • sari

    I’ve also heard “Christian name” used completely interchangeably with “given name.”

    Yes. I had thought to include that as another example of a word or phrase specific to the majority group which retained its general meaning (name given) but lost its specificity (at baptism) over time. You know the word has generalized when minority groups utilize what were forbidden words in speech and print. It is always disconcerting to hear a Jewish person speak of christening a car/boat/animal/whatever.

  • Julia

    I think this is due to people being religiously clueless.
    They hear about a certain ceremony or attend one and only pay attention to the external similarities.

    I thought en Masse or in Mass was particularly funny. Do you suppose the reporter only mindlessly & reflexively capitalized Masse? Where are the editors?

  • Julia

    Is the photo from one of those Disney places?
    Or from a fun park in India?

  • northcoast

    Here is a link to a similar ceremony at an Australian zoo: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/baby-elephant-mali-blessed-in-buddhist-ceremony-20100225-p509.html. I would certainly think of this as a christening, but I wonder if there wouldn’t be appropriate words in the eastern languages.

    Maybe calling the elephant a sacred animal is another word misuse. See http://buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=123.

  • Deann

    Absolutely nothing to do with anything concerning the christened elephants: That image of the jubilant pachyderm just made my day.

  • http://authenticbioethics.blogspot.com AuthenticBioethics

    Brand names have a way of becoming generic after a while. The effect is similar with technical terms, “christening” being a sort of brand of naming ceremony. But:

    Words don’t have specific meanings, anymore.

    That is another story, more apparent in the scare-quotes controversy.

  • http://ingles.homeunix.net/ Ray Ingles

    Speaking of ‘christening’, I’m minded of when we talked over the usage of the term ‘militant’… :)

  • http://ecben.wordpress.com Will

    It is always disconcerting to hear a Jewish person speak of christening a car/boat/animal/whatever.

    Or snarling “Christ!” as an expletive, like my father (may he rest in peace and so may we…)

  • Paul

    No one has commented on the “resemblance” of the elephant in the photo to an image of a laughing Buddha!

  • srishti

    Most cultures in the east have a naming ceremony and at least in Hinduism and religions/cultures it influenced, astrology is used to determine the first letter of the name.This practice is extended to farm animals as well as religious ones(the ones which are symbolic) such as cows and royal elephants.Why they called it a christening ceremony is a little confusing since these ceremonies are pretty common and not really news.Maybe it was his understanding based on a western world view.