Kathmandu celebrates Kumari puja tradition with young girls
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In Kathmandu, Nepal, young Newar girls between 2 and 8 years old participated in Kumari puja, a traditional worship ritual at Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square.
Devotees gathered to receive blessings for peace, prosperity, and protection during the Indra Jatra festival. The ceremony took place before the Taleju Bhawani Temple, one day after the erection of a ceremonial pole called the lingo. The ritual follows Vedic practices and focuses on girls who have not yet begun menstruating.
Newar people believe worshipping these girls as Kumaris brings wellbeing and safeguards them from harm and illness. Participation requires the girls to not have undergone Ihi, a symbolic marriage ceremony. During Kumari puja, the girls are led around the Taleju Bhawani Temple and worshipped at its main shrine. Devotees hold the belief that the goddess Taleju offers protection to the girls involved in the ceremony, continuing an intergenerational tradition.
