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The festival marks the end of the monsoon season and beginning of autumn. More than hundred girls under the age of nine gathered for the tradition of worshiping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy. The ritual holds a strong religious significance in Newar community. It is a community affair held primarily to save small girls from diseases and bad luck in the years to come.


A Nepalese woman and a girl sit in front of a statue of Hindu deity Swet Bhairav during the last day of the week-long Indra Jatra festival in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, September 16, 2013. The festival marks the end of the monsoon season and beginning of autumn. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

A Nepalese woman and a girl sit in front of a statue of Hindu deity Swet Bhairav during the last day of the week-long Indra Jatra festival in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, September 16, 2013. The festival marks the end of the monsoon season and beginning of autumn. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)




A Nepalese girl wearing a traditional attire receives a red tika on her forehead during the Kumari Puja, a mass worship, at Hanuman Dhoka in Durbar Square in Kathmandu, September 17, 2013. (Photo by Bikash Dware/Reuters)

A Nepalese girl wearing a traditional attire receives a red tika on her forehead during the Kumari Puja, a mass worship, at Hanuman Dhoka in Durbar Square in Kathmandu, September 17, 2013. (Photo by Bikash Dware/Reuters)




Young Nepalese girls with their mothers wearing new cloths wait for Kumari puja at Hanuman Dhoka, Basantapur Durbar Square, Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, September 17, 2013. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

Young Nepalese girls with their mothers wearing new cloths wait for Kumari puja at Hanuman Dhoka, Basantapur Durbar Square, Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, September 17, 2013. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)




A Nepalese girl wearing a traditional attire drinks juice during the Kumari Puja, a mass worship, at Hanuman Dhoka in Durbar Square in Kathmandu, September 17, 2013. A total of 504 girls under the age of nine from across the country gathered for the mass worship, which is believed to protect them from evil and bring them good luck in future. (Photo by Bikash Dware/Reuters)

A Nepalese girl wearing a traditional attire drinks juice during the Kumari Puja, a mass worship, at Hanuman Dhoka in Durbar Square in Kathmandu, September 17, 2013. A total of 504 girls under the age of nine from across the country gathered for the mass worship, which is believed to protect them from evil and bring them good luck in future. (Photo by Bikash Dware/Reuters)




Nepalese girls wearing traditional attires attend the Kumari Puja, a mass worship, at Hanuman Dhoka in Durbar Square in Kathmandu, September 17, 2013. (Photo by Bikash Dware/Reuters)

Nepalese girls wearing traditional attires attend the Kumari Puja, a mass worship, at Hanuman Dhoka in Durbar Square in Kathmandu, September 17, 2013. (Photo by Bikash Dware/Reuters)




A young Nepalese girl dressed as a Kumari or living Goddess, smiles for camera as she waits for Kumari puja at Hanuman Dhoka, Basantapur Durbar Square in Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, Sept 17, 2013. More than hundred girls under the age of nine gathered for Kumari puja, a tradition of worshiping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy. The ritual holds a strong religious significance in Newar community. It is a community affair held primarily to save small girls from diseases and bad luck in the years to come. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

A young Nepalese girl dressed as a Kumari or living Goddess, smiles for camera as she waits for Kumari puja at Hanuman Dhoka, Basantapur Durbar Square in Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, September 17, 2013. More than hundred girls under the age of nine gathered for Kumari puja, a tradition of worshiping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy. The ritual holds a strong religious significance in Newar community. It is a community affair held primarily to save small girls from diseases and bad luck in the years to come. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)



A young Nepalese girl dressed in the outfit of a Kumari, the living goddess, looks on as she takes part in Kumari Puja rituals at Hanuman Dhoka in Durbar Square of Kathmandu on September 17, 2013.   Some 504 girls under the age of nine from across the country have been brought to the temple for mass worship, protection from evil, and good luck in the future. Kumari, or Kumari Devi, is the tradition of worshiping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy or devi in Hindu religious traditions. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

A young Nepalese girl dressed in the outfit of a Kumari, the living goddess, looks on as she takes part in Kumari Puja rituals at Hanuman Dhoka in Durbar Square of Kathmandu on September 17, 2013. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)
18 Sep 2013 09:33:00