The image from the Codex Mendoza (produced ca. 1535-1550) describes the Aztec birth ritual of bathing and naming the child, which, according to accounts from the 16th century, was usually held on the fourth day after birth. It was attended by the parents and kin, who gathered in the house before sunrise to feast and observe the ceremony. The midwife who aided the birth conducted the ceremony, and she is shown holding the infant. After consulting with the tonalpouhqui, a person knowledgeable in the sacred books would determine the sign of the child based on the moment of birth.

The image is a narrative, showing a sequence of events through the use of multiple images connected by dotted lines. The midwife took the infant from the cradle near its mother and carried it to a pottery vessel filled with water, placed on a mat. The midwife's counterclockwise footprints circle the mat, where two sets of symbolic objects are placed. Male infants were given a shield and arrows, tools for wood-, feather-, and metal-work, and the scribe's implements (depicted above the mat). Female children were given domestic objects: a broom, a reed basket and a spindle (depicted below the mat). The midwife performed four rituals with the water: she invoked the goddess of water and put drops of water on the baby's mouth, telling it to receive the water it needs to live upon the earth; she touched the baby's chest with her wet hand and invoked the purifying property of water that cleans the heart; she cast drops of water on the baby's head, telling the baby to let the water enter its body to dwell there. Finally, the midwife washed the child's body to keep evil away from it. After these four rites, a boy child was presented to the sky four times, calling on the sun and the astral gods, asking that he become a warrior. A girl child was not presented to the sky—a masculine god, but after the washing the midwife spoke to the cradle asking the protection of the mother goddess. Following the ceremony, the baby was given a name, often one based on the day and time of birth.

The finely detailed miniature painting in an album created for the Emperor Jahangir (reigned 1605–1627) of the Mughal Empire in India shows a ceremony initiated by Jahangir's father, Akbar the Great (reigned 1556-1605), Jahangir's father. Twice each year on the first day of the solar and lunar years, at an hour calculated by the court astrologers, the emperor himself or one of his sons would be weighed in a great balance against gold, silver, or other metals to be given away to the poor as charity. In addition to the precious metal, trays of textiles were laid out on a cloth to be given as gifts. The ceremony was witnessed by attendants of the court and other dignitaries, while religious officials held the ropes of the scale and recited blessings and prayers for the son.

The boy on the scale in this painting is Khurram, who became Shah Jahan (reigned 1628-57), builder of the Taj Mahal. The emperor may have chosen to weigh Khurram to commemorate a milestone in his life, important in a time of high infant mortality, or it might have indicated his status as heir apparent. The ceremony took place in a pavilion, or gardened canopied space. The wealth of the Mughals was displayed in the form of precious items from China and rich Persian carpets, couches, and clothing. This may have been a part of the ceremony or an artifice of the painter. The association of charitable giving with children and birth is a custom that goes back to the sunnah, or practice of Prophet Muhammad, when charity was given at the aqiqa, or feast in celebration of childbirth. The child's hair was cut and an equivalent in charity was given away. The practice of bestowing textiles, or robes of honor, was also one associated with Islam for centuries, in which it was customary for heads of households or officials to present those under their authority with suits of clothing at holidays.