"girls' ceremony"

#12881417

19 October 2025

A girl places a candle during a vigil prior to the canonization of Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez and Sister Maria del Carmen Rendiles in Caracas, Venezuela, on October 18, 2025. Pope Leo XIV canonizes Venezuela's first saints, Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez and Sister Maria del Carmen Rendiles, during a ceremony held in St. Peter's Square on October 19, 2025.

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#12822348

2 October 2025

A young girl sleeps as her mother covers her with a Palestinian flag during a ceremony commemorating Lebanon's Hezbollah late leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on his first death anniversary in southern Tehran, Iran, on October 2, 2025. Hassan Nasrallah is killed in an Israeli air strike in a suburb of Beirut.

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#12817458

1 October 2025

Hindu devotees perform a ritual for a young girl, Indrakshi Sanyal, age 10, dressed as Kumari as part of a ritual during the fourth day of the Durga Puja festival celebration at the 121-year-old heritage Bholanath Dham, Dutta Bari in Kolkata, India, on October 1, 2025.

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#12814021

30 September 2025

Snehalee Bhattacharya, a six-year-old girl dressed as a Kumari, adjusts her ornaments during the Kumari Puja on the occasion of the Durga Puja festival in Kolkata, India, on September 30, 2025.

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#12814023

30 September 2025

Snehalee Bhattacharya, a six-year-old girl dressed as a Kumari, is worshiped by a priest during the Durga Puja festival in Kolkata, India, on September 30, 2025.

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#12813406

30 September 2025

A seven-year-old girl dressed as the Hindu goddess 'Durga' is worshipped for the traditional 'Kumari Puja' ritual of the Durga Puja festival in Siliguri, India, on September 30, 2025.

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#12813414

30 September 2025

A seven-year-old girl dressed as the Hindu goddess 'Durga' is worshipped for the traditional 'Kumari Puja' ritual of the Durga Puja festival in Siliguri, India, on September 30, 2025.

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#12813433

30 September 2025

Devotees worship a young girl during Kumari Puja on Ashtami at Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka, Bangladesh, marking the divine essence of Goddess Durga.

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#12813436

30 September 2025

Devotees worship a young girl during Kumari Puja on Ashtami at Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka, Bangladesh, marking the divine essence of Goddess Durga.

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#12813439

30 September 2025

Devotees worship a young girl during Kumari Puja on Ashtami at Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka, Bangladesh, marking the divine essence of Goddess Durga.

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#12813440

30 September 2025

Devotees worship a young girl during Kumari Puja on Ashtami at Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka, Bangladesh, marking the divine essence of Goddess Durga.

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#12812390

30 September 2025

Trishna Shakya, the retired Royal Kumari of Kathmandu, is carried back to her home in a palanquin amid a ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 30, 2025. Nepal has a unique tradition of worshipping the ''Kumari,'' the living goddess, who is appointed at certain intervals following a strict selection process. A young Newar girl with no blemishes is chosen to represent the Goddess Kumari as an incarnation of Goddess Taleju, the tutelary deity of the Malla dynasty and the Shah dynasty, which inherits the tradition. The young candidates from the Shakya caste among the Newars, many as young as four years old, must go through an extremely strict selection process before one of them is chosen to represent the Goddess. She must remain calm and show no signs of fear even when put through scary tests. Once chosen, she lives within the Kumari Ghar (Kumari's House), her feet must never touch the ground, and she leaves her residence only during certain festivals. She remains a Living Goddess until any form of bleeding occurs, which is usually when she reaches puberty. The Living Goddess is worshipped with great reverence, and even the Shah Kings follow the tradition of receiving tika and blessings from her. Dating back to the 17th century, the practice is institutionalized by a Malla king. Legend has it that King Jaya Prakash Malla, under the influence of alcohol while playing a game with the visiting Goddess Taleju in the form of a human, starts lusting after her. This offends the goddess, and she orders the king to make an oath that he will select a virgin girl within whom she will always reside. The tradition continues to this day. The Malla dynasty is ousted by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, but the tradition of revering the Goddess Kumari is continued by the conquerors. Until 2008, the Shah King goes to the Kumari to receive tika on his forehead, which symbolizes the empowering of the monarch.

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#12812400

30 September 2025

Trishna Shakya, the retired Royal Kumari of Kathmandu, is carried back to her home in a palanquin amid a ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 30, 2025. Nepal has a unique tradition of worshipping the ''Kumari,'' the living goddess, who is appointed at certain intervals following a strict selection process. A young Newar girl with no blemishes is chosen to represent the Goddess Kumari as an incarnation of Goddess Taleju, the tutelary deity of the Malla dynasty and the Shah dynasty, which inherits the tradition. The young candidates from the Shakya caste among the Newars, many as young as four years old, must go through an extremely strict selection process before one of them is chosen to represent the Goddess. She must remain calm and show no signs of fear even when put through scary tests. Once chosen, she lives within the Kumari Ghar (Kumari's House), her feet must never touch the ground, and she leaves her residence only during certain festivals. She remains a Living Goddess until any form of bleeding occurs, which is usually when she reaches puberty. The Living Goddess is worshipped with great reverence, and even the Shah Kings follow the tradition of receiving tika and blessings from her. Dating back to the 17th century, the practice is institutionalized by a Malla king. Legend has it that King Jaya Prakash Malla, under the influence of alcohol while playing a game with the visiting Goddess Taleju in the form of a human, starts lusting after her. This offends the goddess, and she orders the king to make an oath that he will select a virgin girl within whom she will always reside. The tradition continues to this day. The Malla dynasty is ousted by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, but the tradition of revering the Goddess Kumari is continued by the conquerors. Until 2008, the Shah King goes to the Kumari to receive tika on his forehead, which symbolizes the empowering of the monarch.

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#12812401

30 September 2025

Trishna Shakya, the retired Royal Kumari of Kathmandu, is carried back to her home in a palanquin amid a ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 30, 2025. Nepal has a unique tradition of worshipping the ''Kumari,'' the living goddess, who is appointed at certain intervals following a strict selection process. A young Newar girl with no blemishes is chosen to represent the Goddess Kumari as an incarnation of Goddess Taleju, the tutelary deity of the Malla dynasty and the Shah dynasty, which inherits the tradition. The young candidates from the Shakya caste among the Newars, many as young as four years old, must go through an extremely strict selection process before one of them is chosen to represent the Goddess. She must remain calm and show no signs of fear even when put through scary tests. Once chosen, she lives within the Kumari Ghar (Kumari's House), her feet must never touch the ground, and she leaves her residence only during certain festivals. She remains a Living Goddess until any form of bleeding occurs, which is usually when she reaches puberty. The Living Goddess is worshipped with great reverence, and even the Shah Kings follow the tradition of receiving tika and blessings from her. Dating back to the 17th century, the practice is institutionalized by a Malla king. Legend has it that King Jaya Prakash Malla, under the influence of alcohol while playing a game with the visiting Goddess Taleju in the form of a human, starts lusting after her. This offends the goddess, and she orders the king to make an oath that he will select a virgin girl within whom she will always reside. The tradition continues to this day. The Malla dynasty is ousted by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, but the tradition of revering the Goddess Kumari is continued by the conquerors. Until 2008, the Shah King goes to the Kumari to receive tika on his forehead, which symbolizes the empowering of the monarch.

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#12812403

30 September 2025

Trishna Shakya, the retired Royal Kumari of Kathmandu, is carried back to her home in a palanquin amid a ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 30, 2025. Nepal has a unique tradition of worshipping the ''Kumari,'' the living goddess, who is appointed at certain intervals following a strict selection process. A young Newar girl with no blemishes is chosen to represent the Goddess Kumari as an incarnation of Goddess Taleju, the tutelary deity of the Malla dynasty and the Shah dynasty, which inherits the tradition. The young candidates from the Shakya caste among the Newars, many as young as four years old, must go through an extremely strict selection process before one of them is chosen to represent the Goddess. She must remain calm and show no signs of fear even when put through scary tests. Once chosen, she lives within the Kumari Ghar (Kumari's House), her feet must never touch the ground, and she leaves her residence only during certain festivals. She remains a Living Goddess until any form of bleeding occurs, which is usually when she reaches puberty. The Living Goddess is worshipped with great reverence, and even the Shah Kings follow the tradition of receiving tika and blessings from her. Dating back to the 17th century, the practice is institutionalized by a Malla king. Legend has it that King Jaya Prakash Malla, under the influence of alcohol while playing a game with the visiting Goddess Taleju in the form of a human, starts lusting after her. This offends the goddess, and she orders the king to make an oath that he will select a virgin girl within whom she will always reside. The tradition continues to this day. The Malla dynasty is ousted by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, but the tradition of revering the Goddess Kumari is continued by the conquerors. Until 2008, the Shah King goes to the Kumari to receive tika on his forehead, which symbolizes the empowering of the monarch.

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#12812380

30 September 2025

Kumari Puja is performed at Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on September 30, 2025, with a seven-year-old worshipped as the living goddess.

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