12 Newar girls participate in the collective Bel Bibaha (Ehee) in New York

A total of 12 young Newar girls from different places including New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey gathered at United Sherpa Association building in Jackson Heights, New York for a group Bel Bibaha or Ehee. The young girls were all dolled up in their best outfits suited for wedding, jewellery and make up to participate in the marriage with bel (fruit of wood apple tree).

The parents and relatives of these young girls were helping them carry on the processions and puja. Newah Nakha New York has annually been conducting the collective Bel Bibaha in New York since 7 years. Bel Bibaha is conducted for two days and is carried out by Newar priests.

Bel Bibaha or Ehee is a ceremony in Newari community of Nepal in which pre-adolescent girls are married to the Bel fruit. The fruit is bridegroom that symbolizes the eternal bachelor Lord Kumar, the son of Lord Shiva, and the marriage ensures that the girl becomes and remains fertile.

Ehee is a ceremony in the Newar community in Nepal in which pre-adolescent girls are “married” to the Suvarna Kumar which is a symbol of the god Vishnu, ensuring that the girl becomes and remains fertile.

It is believed that if the girl’s husband dies later in her life, she is not considered a widow because she is married to Vishnu, and so already has a husband that is believed to be still alive. This was basically done to dodge the tradition of ‘Sati Pratha’, where after the husband dies, the widow sacrifices herself in the burning fire.