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| The Ihi-wedding is one of the unique rituals of Newars |
The Ihi-wedding is one of the unique rituals of Newars still performed in the same unbroken tradition as centuries ago. In a communal ceremony, girls aged 5-11 are married preemptively to a divine husband symbolized by the sacred fruit of the 'bel' tree. With their immortal God as their spouse, they will never become widows and can marry again, thus avoiding the stigma of widowhood in orthodox Hindu tradition. Newars since the earlier times have been very liberal towards females as well as their male counterparts. Legend says that when Goddess Parvati was to be married to Shiva, her father gave Nepal Mandal (Kathmandu Valley) as her dowry. One day as Parvati was walking through the valley, she heard an old women crying." My husband is dead." Parvati pitied her and asked Shiva for a boon, "Can you do something for a women that they never become a widow"? Then Shiva answerd "(Lord) Narayan and I will arrange it so that there will no longer be widows in Nepal." Thus the Nepal Mandal residents, the Nepalas or Newars were given the Ihi ceremony. Narayan becomes the groom symbolized by bel fruit and Shiva as the witness.
