A video showing a baby seated directly in a large basket of fresh peppers has circulated online, presented as part of a market celebration by pepper traders welcoming a newborn.
According to accounts accompanying the clip, the practice has become an informal custom within the market, with pepper traders celebrating a colleague’s newborn by involving the baby in displays involving their produce, in this case, peppers.
Nigerian newborn traditions frequently incorporate items like pepper, salt, kola nut, and palm oil symbolically, typically applied as a taste to the lips during naming ceremonies, representing wishes for a life full of flavor and excitement rather than direct, prolonged skin contact with raw produce.
Similar celebrations documented elsewhere show market women presenting fresh peppers to a new mother or admiring and holding the baby, without placing the infant directly among the produce.
Meanwhile, we’re are yet to locate the specific specific market where in incident took place and even the identities of those involved.
Watch the video HERE.
