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)

This artist image released from Japan's airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) on April 17, 2015 shows ANA's Boeing 787-9 aircraft into the colors of R2-D2 robot of Star Wars. Japanese air carrier ANA will place the special colored jetliner in service in this autumn. (Photo by AFP Photo/All Nippon Airways)

Turkana tribesmen walk with guns to protect their cattle from rival tribes near Baragoy, Kenya August 4, 2017. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

Spectators pass through security screening ahead of the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square in New York, on Sunday, December 31, 2017. (Photo by Peter Morgan/AP Photo)

Nikki Laird poses ahead of the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour at Coolangatta Beach on March 12, 2021 in Coolangatta, Australia. (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

Baylor's DiJonai Carrington shoots past UConn's Paige Bueckers during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Elite Eight round of the Women's NCAA tournament Monday, March 29, 2021, at the Alamodome in San Antonio. (Photo by Morry Gash/AP Photo)

Coco Gauff's hand during her second round Australian Open match against Emma Raducanu at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia on January 18, 2023. (Photo by Hannah Mckay/Reuters)

Canada's Charity Williams, left, is tackled by United States' Alex Sedrick, center, and Naya Tapper during a Vancouver Sevens women's rugby match Saturday, February 24, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP Photo)