Bata (Culture)

Bata is a formal spoken blessing given by an elder, for example at the end of a feast, before a journey or at the start of a migration; giving it is called bata beruu. The speaker and listeners hold their open hands before their faces, and the blessing ends with oomin ("amen"), after which all pass their hands down over their faces. The word comes from Arabic al-fatiha, the opening chapter of the Quran, through Persian, but in Christian households the blessing has no Islamic content.