Girl prepares for rite of passage ritual in Patan, Nepal

The aunt of a Newar girl prepares her for her Ihi ceremony, a mock marriage to the Hindu god Vishnu, in Patan in 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: 4351.jpg
Copyright: Copyright © 2004 Anders Ryman. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 3578x5389 / 13.8MB; Asia Asian ethnicity Asians Buddhism Buddhist Hindu Hinduism Ihi Kathmandu Valley Lalitpur District Life Cycle Ritual Marriage Nepal Nepalese Ethnicity Newar Newar ethnicity Patan Religion Rite of Passage South Asia aunt ceremony colour image colour photography extended family family girl indoors initiation mock-marriage religious rite ritual
Contained in galleries: Three nuptials of the Newar, Nepal

The aunt of a Newar girl prepares her for her Ihi ceremony, a mock marriage to the Hindu god Vishnu, in Patan in 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.