The samskaras are the life-cycle rites — sixteen in the classical list, of which perhaps five are widely performed now: name-giving, first feeding, the sacred thread, marriage, and cremation. They function as a theory of personhood built by stages rather than granted at birth, and the sacred thread ceremony in particular marks a second birth into study. Practice varies enormously by region, caste, and family, and the rites that have survived best are the two nobody skips: the wedding fire and the funeral fire.