Fire Hair Shaving and Khwan Ceremony, Thailand [Still Image]

The text and photographs above describe a traditional Thai birth ritual that celebrates the child's reaching the milestone of one month old, at which time its survival seems more assured than at birth, and it becomes a full-fledged member of the family. Before the infant is one month old, according to tradition, it may have belonged merely to spirits. At this time, a Buddhist monk cuts the infant's hair. "Fire hair" refers to the hair with which the child was born and that grows until the end of its mother's postpartum period of lying in, or lying near the fire as Phya Anuman described the custom. The photograph shows the monk cutting or shaving the hair. The hair is placed on a small raft made of banana leaf and set afloat. The second part of the ceremony involves tying unspun cotton threads around the child's wrists and ankles.

This ceremony of the "khwan," the soul or life spirit, is a prominent object of ritual, and the text describing the custom is from Phya Anuman Rajadhon's (1888-1969) Customs Connected with Birth and the Rearing of Children (1948). The author is a prolific and well regarded literary figure and university professor. Although he did not receive formal academic training in anthropology, his writings have constituted a major source for anthropologists and others on customs from Siam, the traditional name for Thailand. The photographs are from the baby photo album on a website by Thailand's most prominent teenage blogger, Panrit "Gor" Daoruang, who began an online diary at the age of twelve, and chronicled his own life and aspects of Thai culture and contemporary life, and teaching both English and Thai language through stories, quizzes and audio files. The site attracted the attention of the Office of the National Culture Commission for its value in promoting Thailand's image to a worldwide audience.

Photographs: Panrit "Gor" Daoruang at Thailand Life, http://www.thailandlife.com/my-thai-childhood/index.php (accessed November 1, 2009). Text: Phya Anuman Rajadhon, Customs Connected with Birth and the Rearing of Children in Anuman Rajadhon, Life and Ritual in Old Siam; Three Studies of Thai Life and Customs, trans. William J. Gedney (New Haven: HRAF Press, 1961), 171–5. Annotated by Susan Douglass.

Soccer Ball Assembly Using Child Labor [Photograph]

This photograph of a boy stitching together the parts of a soccer ball was taken in Pakistan in 1998 to document the use of child labor in manufacturing soccer balls and other athletic equipment in South Asia. In the upper right hand corner of the photo, a young girl is also working. Working long hours after or instead of school, child laborers suffer back injuries from crouching over a wooden device that helps tightly hold the pentagonal tiles that make up the surface of the ball. Child laborers also suffer cuts from the waxed cord and needles used to stitch the pieces together. The city of Sialkot in Pakistan, a center of mass production for sports equipment for more than a century, produced three out of four match-grade balls used in the world in 1998—a $200 million dollar export industry for the city, according to a CNN report broadcast in April 1998. Sialkot came to the attention of consumer groups and sports journalists during the late 1990s, for the city’s extensive use of child laborers producing brand-name sports equipment for the largest multi-national corporations globally. Use of child labor is especially ironic since soccer is such a popular game for children worldwide, and a staple of youth recreation programs. In order to avoid boycotts of their products, a campaign of public awareness sought to assure consumers that the balls were not produced by children and that adult laborers were paid a fair-wage. While the soccer balls included labels stating that they were made without the use of child labor, photographs reveal that the labels were actually attached to the balls by child workers. Large companies have escaped responsibility and visibility by using middle-men as contractors. Since the 1990s, the industry has shifted to other locations, including northern India, and continues to employ child laborers. This photograph is part of an extensive International Labour Organization archive that documents child labor around the world.

"Young soccer-ball sewer," Reference nos. c0865 and, c0857; Photograph by G. Cabrerae, 1998, © International Labour Organization (ILO) at <a class="external" href="http://www.ilo.org/dyn/media/mediasearch.fiche?p_lang=en&p_ref=C0865">http://www.ilo.org/dyn/media/mediasearch.fiche?p_lang=en&p_ref=C0865</a> (upper) and <a class="external" href="http://www.ilo.org/dyn/media/mediasearch.fiche?p_id=324&p_lang=en"> http://www.ilo.org/dyn/media/mediasearch.fiche?p_id=324&p_lang=en (lower); Text information from “Pakistan soccer ball industry seeks end to child labor,” Kasra Naji, CNN, April 9, 1998 at <a class="external" href="http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9804/08/pakistan.soccer/">http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9804/08/pakistan.soccer/</a> (accessed November 1, 2009). Annotated by Susan Douglass.

Krishna and the Cremation of Putana [Miniature Painting]

Krishna is known in the stories of the Bhagavata-Purana as the 8th incarnation of the god Vishnu, destined to perform great deeds and remove the evils of the world. Shown in this Indian miniature watercolor painting as a child with grey-blue skin, he is a popular deity, a divine hero who personifies superhuman powers as well as human hopes and failings. Stories of Krishna's childhood with his loving foster-mother Yashoda in a village of cow-herds are much beloved and illustrated in paintings and sculpture.

The first demon to threaten the infant Krishna was the flying ogress Putana who abducted and killed infants and children by feeding them poison milk from her breasts. Putana, in the form of a beautiful woman, came to the house of Yashoda to kill Krishna. Yashoda did not recognize the danger, and allowed Putana to nurse the infant Krishna. Krishna, destroyer of wickedness, was immune to the poison. Holding fast to her breast, he sucked her milk and with it, sucked the life out of the ogre. Putana writhed with convulsions making the ground shake. As Krishna held her, she assumed her ugly form and fell to the ground, uprooting trees over a wide area. The villagers approached the corpse to find Krishna playing on top of her. As the painting shows, the villagers chopped Putana into pieces and prepared a cremation fire. The women and Yashoda bathed Krishna lovingly, rocking his body over a basin and gently pouring the water into a stream over a cow's tail.

The miniature painting belongs to the Pahari style of the Himalayan foothills, a courtly style of the Rajput kings that flourished from the 17th to the 19th century.

"Putana's Cremation," leaf from a Bhagavata Purana, ca. 1770, from the Punjab Hills, Guler or Kangra, opaque watercolor on paper, 22.5 x 30.5 cm, Rajput, Pahari, Guler or Kangra Set 40, Bharat Kala Bhavan III: Pahari Paintings, Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi (Banaras), Banaras Hindu University, Bharat Kala Bhavan, BKB #6701. Annotated by Susan Douglass.

Krishna Defeats the Whirlwind [Miniature Painting]

Krishna is known in the stories of the Bhagavata-Purana as the 8th incarnation of the god Vishnu, destined to perform great deeds and remove the evils of the world. Shown in this Indian miniature watercolor painting as a child with grey-blue skin, he is a popular deity, a divine hero who personifies superhuman powers as well as human hopes and failings. Stories of Krishna’s childhood with his loving foster-mother Yashoda in a village of cow-herds are much beloved and illustrated in paintings and sculpture.

This painting, which measures 22.5 x 30.5 centimeters, illustrates Krishna defeating a whirlwind. According to the Bhagavata Purana, when Krishna was five months old, he was attacked by Trinavart, the demon of storm and whirlwind. The demon took hold of the child Krishna and spun with him in the air. While Yashoda and others anxiously searched for the child, he gripped the demon with tenacious strength, causing it to fall to its death on a huge rock. Krishna landed safely, cushioned by the monster’s body. In awe of his feat, Yashoda picked up the child and hugged him to her bosom while the other women looked on with affection.

The miniature painting is dated to 1770 CE, and belongs to the Pahari style of the Himalayan foothills, a courtly style of the Rajput kings that flourished from the 17th to the 19th century. This painting shows little of the ordinary surroundings of the village, focusing instead on the supernatural whirlwind, ominous sky, bent trees, and blowing curtain. Krishna appears three times in the same panel, showing the dramatic sequence of events from right to left across a single panel, in a narrative technique sometimes used by comic book artists on splash pages today, in which all the action appears in one frame.

Rajput, Pahari, Guler or Kangra school, Set 40, Bharat Kala Bhavan III: Pahari Paintings Repository Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi (Banaras), Banaras Hindu University, Bharat Kala Bhavan, BKB #6854; Photo: © Asian Art Archives, University of Michigan Text source: Chandra, Suresh. Encyclopaedia of Hindu gods and goddesses. Sarup & Sons, 1998, p. 181–82. Annotated by Susan Douglass.

Krishna Tied to a Mortar for Stealing Butter [Miniature Painting]

Krishna is known in the stories of the Bhagavata-Purana as the 8th incarnation of the god Vishnu, destined to perform great deeds and remove the evils of the world. Shown in this Indian miniature watercolor painting as a child with grey-blue skin, he is a popular deity, a divine hero who personifies superhuman powers as well as human hopes and failings. Stories of Krishna's childhood with his loving foster-mother Yashoda in a village of cow-herds are much beloved and illustrated in paintings and sculptures.

This painting reflects Krishna's mischievous prank of entering houses and stealing cream, curds, and butter while the women are absorbed in household chores. To reach the pots hanging from the ceiling, he climbs on the back of another boy, stacks pots or grinding mortars on top of each other, or sometimes knocks holes in the pottery containers. He then feeds monkeys or his village playmates. As shown in the painting, Yashoda tried to restrain him by tying cords to a heavy grinding mortar. Hearing a loud crash, she found that he had dragged the mortar between two trees and felled them. In some versions, Krishna's action releases two men imprisoned in these trees. As always, Yashoda appears to scold him, but like the other village women, is disarmed by his charms.

The miniature painting measures 18.4 x 12.7 centimeters, and is dated to 1810 C.E. It belongs to the Pahari style of the Himalayan foothills, a courtly style of the Rajput kings that flourished from the 17th to the 19th century. The painting shows many details of village life, though more ornate and idealized than in reality. Attributes such as affection shown to children, implements and scenes of daily life and homes, and traditional dress are portrayed in the painted space.

"Krishna, the Butter Thief, is tied to an upturned mortar to prevent him from stealing more curds," Set 40, Bharat Kala Bhavan III: Pahari Paintings Repository: Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi (Banaras), Banaras Hindu University, Bharat Kala Bhavan, BKB #372, Rights Photo: © Asian Art Archives, University of Michigan. Annotated by Susan Douglass.

Kuwera Relief Panel at Candi Mendut, Java [Bas-Relief]

The carved stone relief is from the interior of Candi Mendut, a Buddhist temple in Central Java. Mendut was built during the early Shailendra dynasty in about 824 CE. It may have been built on the site of a Hindu temple from a previous century. The rectangular, stone temple is 26.4 meters (86.6 feet) tall and is constructed on a 2 meter (6.5 feet) platform. The surrounding wall is covered with reliefs that relate stories from Buddhist teachings along with lush carvings of plants, fruits, and flowers. This relief is one of a pair showing the goddess Hariti and her husband Kuwera (or Kubera in Sanskrit).

The relief panel on the north wall opposite Hariti depicts her consort or husband, a figure by the name of Kuwera, or the yaksha Avataka, also sometimes called Panchika. Kuwera is a god of wealth and well-being, and is a guardian of children. According to legend, Kuwera is king of the yakshas, the god of wealth who was transformed by an encounter with the Buddha into an important defender of Buddhism. Kuwera is depicted sitting on a bench surrounded by children playing and helping each other climb fruit trees. Kuwera wears an ornate headdress surrounded by flying parrots, and his right leg is extended over the edge of the bench, under which sit pots filled with jewels or other riches. Versions of such depictions of Kuwera and Hariti are found in many Buddhist temples. In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist mythology, figures called yakshas are derived from nature spirits who may be benign or monstrous.

Shrine antechamber, northeast wall , Kuwera relief panel, 8th - 9th century Indonesia, Central Java, Mendut, Sailendra dynasty ; Photograph: Patrick Young, Set 49, Java II: Central Javanese Monuments, ARTstor Collection, Image Gallery ID Number 4916, Photo: © Asian Art Archives, University of Michigan. Annotated by Susan Douglass.

Hariti Relief Panel at Candi Mendut, Java [Bas-Relief]

The carved stone relief is from the interior of Candi Mendut, a Buddhist temple in Central Java. Mendut was built during the early Shailendra dynasty in about 824 CE. It may have been built on the site of a Hindu temple from a previous century. The rectangular, stone temple is 26.4 meters (86.6 feet) tall and is constructed on a 2 meter (6.5 feet) platform. The surrounding wall is covered with reliefs that relate stories from Buddhist teachings along with lush carvings of plants, fruits, and flowers. This relief is one of a pair showing the goddess Hariti and her husband Kuwera.

Hariti, depicted in the south panel, is a symbol of good fortune and fertility, but this was not always so. The narrative of Hariti represents the dangers of childhood mortality. In a story with several versions, Hariti was a, ogress, or demoness who had many children, but who hunted and ate human children. One day, the Buddha hid her children and as she searched frantically to recover them, she saw the evil of her ways. She repented and became a guardian to children and a symbol of fertility and good fortune.

The relief panel, shown in many Buddhist temples, depicts Hariti sitting on a bench with a child on her lap and another climbing onto her shoulder. Children play all around her, helping each other climb fruit trees and enjoying games. Under the bench is a bowl of mangoes, a symbol of fertility. Parrots fly above her head. Hariti’s cult as a special guardian of children and women in childbirth traveled widely, expressing the ever-present threat of death especially to children. Hariti is known in Central Asia and in China, and possibly even Japan, where she is similar to the protective boddhisattva Kannon.

Shrine antechamber, northeast wall, Hariti relief panel, 8th - 9th century Indonesia, Central Java, Mendut, Sailendra dynasty; Photograph: Paul Berry, Set 49, Java II: Central Javanese Monuments, ARTstor Collection, Image Gallery ID Number 4913 Photo: © Asian Art Archives, University of Michigan.

Child Labor in Domestic Service by Gender [Chart]

The chart shows the proportion of male and female child laborers between the ages of 5 and 14 who are engaged in domestic work for third-party households. As the note on the chart indicates, only those countries in the data sample of 16 nations where domestic work could be distinguished from other kinds of work are featured in this chart. The sixteen sample countries included in the chart were based on nationally representative household surveys conducted between 1999 and 2007. The data comes from a study IPEC Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labour (SIMPOC). (Geneva, ILO, 2009). The sample countries and the dates of data in the survey were Colombia (2001), Ecuador (2006), El Salvador (2001), Guatemala (2006), Burkina Faso (2006), Malawi (2002), Mali (2005), Senegal (2004), Cambodia (2001), Mongolia (2002), Philippines (2001), Sri Lanka (1999), Azerbaijan (2005), Kyrgyzstan (2007), Turkey (2006) and Ukraine (1999).

Domestic work includes housekeeping, such as: cleaning, cooking, washing, fetching supplies, and child care. Domestic work for an employer in a third-party household is considered by experts to be among the worst forms of child labor. Children, and especially girls, are often isolated in the household and invisible to others. Reports of abuse are frequent, but much abuse remains out of the public eye. Such children are often given up to other families because of their parents' inability to care for them. Children's earnings are sometimes given over to the person who contracted them through an agent or relative.

Data from the surveys show that while the vast majority of child domestic workers are girls, boys are also subjected to sexual abuse. The primary source text from Ecuador is typical of such stories gleaned by social workers and NGO's from work with children who escape or are removed from such situations.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) established the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in 1992 with the goal of eliminating child labor. For statistical purposes, a child is considered to be involved in child labour under the following classification: (a) children 5-11 years of age who did at least one hour of economic activity or at least 28 hours of domestic work during the week preceding the survey, and (b) children 12-14 years of age who did at least 14 hours of economic activity or at least 28 hours domestic work during the week preceding the survey. Whether or not particular forms of "work" can be called "child labor" depends on the child's age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries.

IPEC classifies acceptable and unacceptable types of child labor. Acceptable work includes children helping parents around the home, earning pocket money after school and on holidays, and even helping in a family business. Such activity is viewed as beneficial to children's development and socialization. Unacceptable child labor, in contrast, is harmful to physical and mental development, to children's dignity, and "deprives children of their childhood." Child labor should be eliminated if it is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; if it interferes with their schooling by preventing them from attending school, obligates them to leave school prematurely, or requires excessively long and heavy work as to compromise children's ability to attend school or learn effectively.

"World Day 2009: Give girls a chance: End child labour," International Labour Organization, http://www.ilo.org/ipec/Campaignandadvocacy/WDACL/WorldDay2009/lang--en/index.htm (accessed November 2, 2009). Annotated by Susan Douglass. Text from IPEC: Girl child labour in agriculture, domestic work and sexual exploitation: Rapid assessments on the cases of the Philippines, Ghana and Ecuador (Geneva, ILO, 2004), cited in "Give girls a chance: Tackling child labour, a key to the future," International Labour Office, p. 27. (accessed November 2, 2009). Annotated by Susan Douglass.

Child Labor Statistics by Gender and Sector [Chart]

The chart shows the employment sectors for male and female child laborers from age cohorts 5-14 and 15-17. The information is drawn from national child labor surveys in sixteen sample countries. It is based on nationally representative household surveys conducted between 1999 and 2007. The data comes from a study IPEC Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labour (SIMPOC). (Geneva, ILO, 2009). The sample countries and the dates of data in the survey were Colombia (2001), Ecuador (2006), El Salvador (2001), Guatemala (2006), Burkina Faso (2006), Malawi (2002), Mali (2005), Senegal (2004), Cambodia (2001), Mongolia (2002), Philippines (2001), Sri Lanka (1999), Azerbaijan (2005), Kyrgyzstan (2007), Turkey (2006) and Ukraine (1999).

The statistics provide a more detailed picture of global child labor than what had been available previously. The chart shows that the majority of children were employed in agriculture, a significant portion employed in services, which can include everything from shoe-shining and windshield washing to street vending and hauling. A minority of child laborers are employed in shops, craft production and manufacture, which can include construction, mining, quarry work and the like, all hazardous jobs for children.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) established the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in 1992 with the goal of progressively eliminating child labor, through research, building countries' capacity to deal with the problem, and promoting a worldwide movement to combat child labor. For statistical purposes, a child is considered to be involved in child labor under the following classification: (a) children 5-11 years of age who did at least one hour of economic activity or at least 28 hours of domestic work during the week preceding the survey, and (b) children 12-14 years of age who did at least 14 hours of economic activity or at least 28 hours domestic work during the week preceding the survey. Whether or not particular forms of "work" can be called "child labor" depends on the child's age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries.

IPEC classifies acceptable and unacceptable types of child labor. Acceptable work includes children helping parents around the home, earning pocket money after school and on holidays, and even helping in a family business. Such activity is viewed as beneficial to children's development and socialization. Unacceptable child labor, in contrast, is harmful to physical and mental development, to children's dignity, and "deprives children of their childhood." Child labor should be eliminated if it is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; if it interferes with their schooling by preventing them from attending school, obligates them to leave school prematurely, or requires excessively long and heavy work as to compromise children's ability to attend school or learn effectively. The most extreme forms of unacceptable child labor include enslavement or bonded labor, separation from their families, exposure to hazards and illness, or being forced onto the streets of large cities to sleep and work for a living.

"World Day 2009: Give girls a chance: End child labour,"International Labour Organization, http://www.ilo.org/ipec/Campaignandadvocacy/WDACL/WorldDay2009/lang--en/index.htm (accessed November 2, 2009). Annotated by Susan Douglass.

Child Labor Statistics by World Region [Chart]

The chart shows summative data for several world regions and types of countries on the subject of child labor. The figures refer to the percentage of children 5-14 years of age involved in child labor, meaning as a percentage of the total population of children in a country or region. The complete chart, showing all reporting countries can be accessed at http://www.childinfo.org/labour_countrydata.php. For statistical purposes, a child is considered to be involved in child labor under the following classification: (a) children 5-11 years of age who did at least one hour of economic activity or at least 28 hours of domestic work during the week preceding the survey, and (b) children 12-14 years of age who did at least 14 hours of economic activity or at least 28 hours domestic work during the week preceding the survey.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) established the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in 1992 with the goal of progressively eliminating child labor, through research, building countries' capacity to deal with the problem, and promoting a worldwide movement to combat child labor. Whether or not particular forms of "work" can be called "child labor" depends on the child's age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries.

IPEC classifies acceptable and unacceptable types of child labor. Acceptable work includes children helping parents around the home, earning pocket money after school and on holidays, and even helping in a family business. Such activity is viewed as beneficial to children's development and socialization. Unacceptable child labor, in contrast, is harmful to physical and mental development, to children's dignity, and "deprives children of their childhood." Child labor should be eliminated if it is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; if it interferes with their schooling by preventing them from attending school, obligates them to leave school prematurely, or requires excessively long and heavy work as to compromise children's ability to attend school or learn effectively. The most extreme forms of unacceptable child labor include enslavement or bonded labor, separation from their families, exposure to hazards and illness, or being forced onto the streets of large cities to sleep and work for a living.

Statistical chart from United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) at <a class="external" href="http://www.childinfo.org/labour_countrydata.php">http://www.childinfo.org/labour_countrydata.php</a>; information on definitions of child labor from International Labour Organization and the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour at <a class="external" href="http://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.htm">http://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.htm</a> (accessed November 2, 2009). Annotated by Susan Douglass.