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. Photo: 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. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

A dog waits to be blessed by a priest outside San Anton Church in Mijas, near Malaga, Spain, January 17, 2017. Hundreds of pet owners bring their animals to be blessed every year on the day of Saint Anthony, Spain's patron saint of animals. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)

(L-R) Natalie Burns and Taunia Arave battle as referee Nick Stevens (R) looks on during the US National Sumo Championships at the Riviera Hotel & Casino June 24, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

A church made entirely from ice is seen during the night at Balea Lac resort in the Fagaras mountains January 29, 2015. (Photo by Radu Sigheti/Reuters)

Two ruddy shelducks fly under a double rainbow in Odisha, India in July 2022. These birds are ruddy shelduck, known locally as the Brahminy duck. They have a wingspan of between 43 and 53 inches and stand at a maximum of 28 inches tall. (Photo by Suman Das/Media Drum Images)

A woman has her hair blown by the wind during a snowstorm in Quebec City, on December 22, 2013. (Photo by Mathieu Belanger/Reuters)

Traders try to control a camel at Pushkar Fair where animals, mainly camels, are brought to be sold and traded in the desert Indian state of Rajasthan November 6, 2016. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/Reuters)

A woman sits as she gets a tattoo on her leg during the annual Panama City Ink Fest in Panama City August 16, 2015. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)