A girl from Newar community is pictured with vermillion powder on her forehead as she takes part at the Ihi ceremony in Bhaktapur, Nepal on December 6, 2019. The two-day ceremony begins with purification rituals and ends with “Kanyadan” (giving away the virgin) of the girl by her father. A Newari girl gets married thrice in her life, first with Bel, the fruit of a wood-apple tree, secondly with the sun, and lastly with her future husband. (Photo by Monika Deupala/Reuters)

A man dressed in the likeness of the Hindu deity Agni Kandakarnan performs during the Theyyam ritualistic dance festival on March 14, 2023 in Somwarpet, India. Theyyam is a colourful socioreligious dance form that is the amalgamation of ritual, vocal and instrumental music, dance, painting, and literature and its genesis can be traced to the coastal regions of the southern Indian states of Kerala and Karnataka. (Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images)

Elders perform coronation rituals on Kabaka (King) Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II during his 30 year coronation at his palace in Mengo, Kampala, on July 31, 2023. Thousands of Ugandans thronged the palace grounds of the country's largest kingdom Buganda despite pouring rain on July 31, 2023, dancing and ululating as they marked 30 years since the coronation of King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II. (Photo by Badru Katumba/AFP Photo)

God of Wealth arrives at the Lunar New Year celebration at Thean Hou Temple on February 10, 2024, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Chinese New Year in Malaysia is marked by family gatherings, festive adornments and traditional rituals embodying a spirit of hope and renewal for the year ahead, and aims to bring joy and prosperity to all while fostering a sense of unity and hope for a successful Year of the Dragon. (Photo by Annice Lyn/Getty Images)

An offering of a dried baby llama and fake U.S. burn in honor of Pachamama, or Mother Earth, during a New Year ritual on Turriturrini Mountain on the outskirts of Huarina, Bolivia, Friday, June 21, 2024. Aymara Indigenous communities are celebrating the Andean New Year 5,532 or “Willka Kuti” which translates to “Return of the sun” in Aymara. (Photo by Juan Karita/AP Photo)

Indian girl, Amrita Bannerjee, gets dressed as the Goddess Durga, during Kumari Puja ritual as part of the Durga Puja festival at Shidaspur village, far north of Kolkata, India, 30 September 2025. During the Kumari Puja, devotees worship a girl aged between six and twelve, symbolizing the Kanya Kumari (virgin) form of the Goddess Durga Devi. Hindu devotees believe that Kanya is a living embodiment of the goddess Durga. (Photo by Piyal Adhikary/EPA)

A village girl, donning capes mostly of dried banana leaves and covered in mud, attends a mass in a bizarre annual ritual to venerate their patron saint, John the Baptist, Friday, June 24, 2016 at Bibiclat, Aliaga township, Nueva Ecija province in northern Philippines. (Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Photo)

A devotee offers oil lamps on top of his body as part of a ritual during Dashain, the biggest religious festival for Hindus in Bhaktapur, Nepal, October 22, 2015. Hindus in Nepal celebrate victory over evil during the festival by flying kites, feasting, playing swings, sacrificing animals and worshipping the Goddess Durga as well as other gods and goddess as part of celebrations held throughout the country. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)