The ceremony of naming a child is generally performed on the sixth day after its birth. The choice of a name is entrusted to an elderly female member of the family. In some cases, the name of a deceased ancestor who lived to an advanced age is taken. If a child dies prematurely, there is a superstitious prejudice against its name, which is avoided by the family. Very frequently a father and son, and sometimes two or three brothers, have the same name. In such a case prefixes are added to their names as a means of distinguishing them, e.g., Pedda (big), Nadpi (middle), Chinna (little). Sometimes two names are assumed by an individual, one a Hindu name for every day use, the other Muhammadan for ceremonial occasions. The Dudekulas depend for the performance of their ceremonies largely on the Khazi, by whom even the killing of a fowl for domestic purposes has to be carried out. The Dudekula, like other Muhammadans, is averse to taking animal life without due religious rites, and the zabh, or killing of an animal for food, is an important matter. One who is about to do so should first make vazu (ablution), by cleaning his teeth and washing his mouth, hands, face, forearms, head and feet. He should then face the west, and an assistant holds the animal to be slaughtered upside down, and facing west. Water is poured into its mouth, and the words Bismilla hi Alla hu Akbar uttered. The operator then cuts the throat, taking care that the jugular veins are divided. In remote villages, where a Khazi is not available, the Dudekulas keep a sacrificial knife, which has been sanctified by the Khazi repeating over it the same words from the Koran as are used when an animal is slaughtered. The first words which a Muhammadan child should hear are those of the azan, or call to prayer, which are uttered in its ear immediately after birth. This ceremony is observed by those Dudekulas who live in towns or big villages, or can afford the services of a Khazi. It is noted by Mr. Francis that the Dudekulas raise the azan at sunset. A few, who have been through a course of religious instruction at a Madrasa (school), may be able to do this. A Muhammadan is supposed to raise the azan five times daily, viz., before sunrise, between noon and 3 P.M., between 4 and 6 P.M., at sunset, and between 8 P.M. and midnight. At the naming of an infant on the sixth day, the Dudekulas do not, like other Muhammadans, perform the aguiga ceremony, which consists of shaving the child's head, and sacrificing a he-goat. Children are circumcised before the tenth year. On such occasions the Muhammadans generally invite their friends, and distribute sweets and pan-supari (betel leaf and areca nuts). The Dudekulas simply send for a barber, Hindu or Muhammadan, who performs the operation in the presence of a Khazi, if one happens to be available. When a girl reaches puberty, the Dudekulas invite their friends to a feast. Other Muhammadans, on the contrary, keep the fact a secret.