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Jakarta Post

Kumari puja festival in Nepal

Thu, September 15, 2016   /   09:29 pm
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    A Nepalese mother applies make up to her daughter dressed as the living goddess Kumari as they wait for Kumari puja to start at Hanuman Dhoka temple, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016.

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    A Nepalese mother speaks with her daughter dressed as the living goddess Kumari as they wait for Kumari puja to start at Hanuman Dhoka temple, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha

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    A Nepalese girl, wearing traditional attire with her feet dipped in vermillion paste, waits for Kumari puja to start at the Hanuman Dhoka temple, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha

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    A young Nepalese girl wearing traditional attire waits for the Kumari puja to start at Hanuman Dhoka temple, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha

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    Young Nepalese girls wearing traditional costumes wait for the Kumari puja to start at Hanuman Dhoka temple, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha

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    A Nepalese woman gets photographed with a young girl dressed as the Living Goddess Kumari while waiting for the Kumari puja to start at Hanuman Dhoka temple, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha

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    A young Nepalese girl wearing traditional attire plays with a vessel while waiting for the Kumari puja to start at Hanuman Dhoka temple, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha

Girls under the age of nine gathered for the Kumari puja, a tradition of worshiping young prepubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy. The ritual holds a strong religious significance in the Newar community that seeks divine blessings to save small girls from diseases and bad luck in the years to come.

AP