The Closing of the Bones: A Sacred Motherhood Ceremony

My baby sister Charity turned 40 last week, and her birthday celebration included something I’d never experienced before: a closing of the bones ceremony.

The Closing of the Bones

This ceremony deserves a bit of explanation. And I think Charity’s friend, a fellow doula, wrote it up perfectly if you’d like to read her substack article.

It is a ceremony that has been passed down from Mayan and other indigenous Latin American cultures through generations of midwives. And it’s been done for centuries. My sister’s friend’s midwife held one of these special ceremonies for her after she had a miscarriage. My sister got to attend. She was so touched by the beauty of it all that she decided she wanted to incorporate her own closing of the bones ceremony into her 40th birthday celebration. She was, after all, at the finale of her own child-bearing years and felt like this would be a special thing to do together.

And she was right.

We were hit with the beauty of Mother Earth as we arrived for the ceremony at the home of this midwife.

I mean, check out those roses! And the light!

For some reason I wondered if the closing of the bones ceremony would make me feel a bit uncomfortable. I don’t know why, does that say something about me?

But I have to say that it was such a beautiful experience.

The Ceremony

I loved sitting in that room, cross-legged on the floor wrapping Char up. Not only with the rebozos used to help hundreds of women give birth, but with all our love and the chance to celebrate the sacred and incredible beauty of motherhood.

I loved thinking about how motherhood was always the biggest yearning of my whole heart. And thinking through how from the beginning of time (recorded in the oldest scriptures) women have ached to carry and nurture babies. It is such a divine gift we have as women.

I loved thinking about my own babies and who they are becoming. And about my mom who was there with us, and the ripple effects of her mothering. I loved thinking about Charity’s beautifully deliberate mothering.

And that through the nurturing of our bodies we can create LIFE. I marveled wondering how it can even be possible that all four of us sisters, as well as all our sister-in-laws are now on the other side of the birthing process that has shaped and made our lives so rich. We are blessed women.

Motherhood is such a sacred gift.

There was something about the light and the roses and the yellow house. And how the sun glinted off of it that made the evening extra special. God surrounds us not only in our infancy.

This closing of the bones ceremony was part of a bigger birthday celebration for Charity’s 40th. You can read about the rest of the birthday celebration here, including the most beautiful hike.