Locals throng to celebrate Nawa Durga Bhawani jatra at Bal Kumari Temple in Thecho, Lalitpur. (Photos: Nepalkhabar)
Nawa Durga Bhawani jatra which is held every 12 years has started at Thecho in Lalitpur.
This festival began with tantric rituals amidst Homa, locally known as Kulpi, on the premises of Bal Kumari Temple in Sunakothi on Fulpati, the seventh day of Bada Dashain.
Homa and worships continue till midnight. In this Kulpi Hawan, the guthiyars bring the necessary wood, firewood, and other pooja items from Tinpane Bhanjyang, a local said.
Panchabali (sacrifices of five animals) is offered in this Hawan. In the middle of the night, devotees impersonating themselves as devagans, as a tradition, go to a small stream about 10 minutes away from the temple to fetch water.
The Homa is completed by sprinkling the water around the Homa and offering a he-buffalo sacrifice in the middle of the night.
