Newar mother and daughter at rite of passage in Patan, Nepal

Newar woman with her daughter at the daughter's Ihi ceremony, a mock marriage to the Hindu god Vishnu, Patan, the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Among the Newars, who are the original inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley, every girl goes through this ceremony sometime between the age of five and ten. The Ihi makes the girl a full member of her father's family and caste and is also said to make sure that she will never become a widow, even if later on her future human husband would die, since she will forever be married to the god Vishnu. The Ihi is therefore for the Newar women a protection against the stigmatization of widows otherwise common in Hindu culture.

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Filename: 4360.jpg
Copyright: Copyright © 2004 Anders Ryman. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 3661x5468 / 22.4MB; Asia Asians Hindu Hinduism Human culture Ihi Jewelry Life Cycle Ritual Marriage Newar Portrait Protection Red Relations Religion Rite of Passage South Asia Vertical adornments bond ceremony cultural and ethnic dress custom daughter ethnic clothing faith family female feminine festive clothing girl hand head and shoulders portraits human relationship initiation mock-marriage mother parent protecting relation between young and old religious rite ritual scarf shawl tika together togetherness trust two persons only unity woman
Contained in galleries: Three nuptials of the Newar, Nepal, Rites of Life

Newar woman with her daughter at the daughter's Ihi ceremony, a mock marriage to the Hindu god Vishnu, Patan, the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Among the Newars, who are the original inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley, every girl goes through this ceremony sometime between the age of five and ten. The Ihi makes the girl a full member of her father's family and caste and is also said to make sure that she will never become a widow, even if later on her future human husband would die, since she will forever be married to the god Vishnu. The Ihi is therefore for the Newar women a protection against the stigmatization of widows otherwise common in Hindu culture.