When a new-born comes into the world,
the midwife carefully places the umbilical cord and placenta in the Hanri, a graceful terracotta pot - this is the Rohingya tradition.
a family member, often the father or grandfather
reverently lays the pot to rest in the earth
where the organs take root like a banyan symbolizing the child's indelible bond with the land.
the child then belongs to this land, his Nagi-khara-desh - the motherland the child and the land become one, their bond - unyielding, and eternal.
on this earth, the child takes his first steps, grows up and protects his motherland when he becomes a man, he will, in turn, lay the pots of his children and grandchildren, thereby the story will continue. Men must die on this earth, be buried near their pots
that marks our birth, symbolic link to our land, an enduring testament to our existence.
My grandfather experienced immense joy upon my birth. Honoured our lineage
by burying my pot alongside those of my ancestors.
I too shall uphold this tradition, and safeguard the earth, all my life, as the honour of belonging to this country, that of my ancestors, mine, and my children.
