Ihi, Ehee (

Nepal Bhasa Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surro ...

:ईही) is a ceremony in the

Newar Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisatio ...

community in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

in which pre-adolescent girls are "married" to the Suvarna Kumar which is a symbol of the god

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

, 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 A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

because she is married to

, and so already has a husband that is believed to be still alive. This was basically done to dodge the tradition of '

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

Pratha', where after the husband dies, the widow sacrifices herself in the burning fire. Ihi is falsely labeled as "Bel Bibaha". However, this naming is incorrect as "Bel Bibaha" would mean marriage to a fruit Bel(or Bael). At the core of the Ihi is a traditional Hindu ceremony of marriage, but the spouse is Visnu/Narayana. This ritual has been in practice for hundreds of years. It is a highly sacred ritual and a real kanyaadaan as a virgin girl is handed over to God. Actually, during the Ihi ceremony girl is married to a golden statue of lord Vishnu known as Suvarna Kumar, and Bel fruit is given as its witness. As bel fruit (wood apple) has a peculiar quality of not getting rotten and remaining fresh forever, it is sometimes considered as Divya

Purusha ''Purusha'' (' or ) is a complex concept whose meaning evolved in Vedic and Upanishadic times. Depending on source and historical timeline, it means the cosmic being or self, awareness, and universal principle.Karl Potter, Presuppositions of Indi ...

(divine male) or incarnation of the god. This ceremony lasts for two days. All the rituals of a Hindu marriage are performed in this ceremony. So, these rituals need not be performed again while getting married to a man. That's why in Newars it is not necessary for a Groom to go in wedding procession 'janti'' (nep.), ''Baraat'' (Hindi) The family members and friends bring the bride to the groom's house where few rituals are performed. But nowadays newar grooms take part in their wedding procession hence the wedding in this community has become a bit lengthy as compared before. A second marriage, known as the ''

Bahra ceremony Bahra tayegu or bahra chuyegu (Nepal Bhasa: बराह तयेगु or बराह चुयेगु ) is a coming of age ritual in the Newar community of Nepal in which girls between the ages of 7 to 13 are married to the sun god in a 12-d ...

'' or ''Sun marriage'', occurs before a girl's first

menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of hor ...

, which starts with a seclusion in a dark room for twelve days.

See also

References

Further reading