A flaming coconut is being blamed for sending a newborn baby to the hospital in respiratory distress. The coconut in question was being used in a baby-naming ritual by a family in Woodbridge, New Jersey when things got out of control. The ritual involves stuffing a coconut with cotton, pouring vegetable oil inside and setting it alight like a candle. Unfortunately, instead of a candle, what resulted was more like a Molotov cocktail which quickly ignited the wood floor in the family's apartment.

The fire was extinguished before firefighters arrived, but not before heavy smoke filled the home. The five-day-old baby, Rayan Gandhi, was taken to the hospital, treated for smoke inhalation, and released the next day.

That is pretty much it for the story - no other apartments were damaged, the police are still investigating and the baby is apparently fine. But I am most intrigued by this coconut baby-naming ritual. Google is mum on the subject and I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to learn more about it. What is this coconut ritual all about? Who does this ? And how could the author of the original news item leave that part out?