Michael Allen

Girls' Pre-Puberty Rites among the Newars of Kathmandu Valley

Introduction

Girls' pre-puberty rites among the newars of kathmandu valley. Explore unique pre-puberty rites among Newars of Kathmandu Valley: mock-marriage to a non-mortal spouse and 11-day dark room seclusion before menarche. Compares these unusual Hindu rituals.

Abstract

IN THIS CHAPTER I describe two unusual rites performed by the Newars of Kathmandu Valley; an elaborate two-day ceremony in which a large group of pre-pubertal girls are given in marriage to a non-mortal spouse and the seclusion of girls in small groups in a dark room for eleven days shortly prior to menarche. The first rite falls into that general, though un-common, class of mock-marriages of which the tali-tying ceremony of the Nayars of Kerala is the best known in the ethnographic literature; the second, which may be described provisionally as a mock-menstruation rite, is, so far as I am aware, unique to the Newars and Nayars. The problem that I am concerned with can be stated simply: Why do these peoples have such rites and why do they differ from the more common ritual treatment of Hindu girls prior to the establishment of conjugal relations? I shall first give a brief outline of the principal similarities and differences between the orthodox ritual complex and the Newar/Nayar version. I shall then describe and analyse the Newar rites. In the final section I return to the comparative problem and put forward a number of explanatory hypotheses.

Review

This paper, "Girls' Pre-Puberty Rites among the Newars of Kathmandu Valley," offers a compelling and ethnographically rich examination of distinctive cultural practices. The abstract immediately draws the reader in by detailing two unusual Newar rites: an elaborate two-day mock-marriage ceremony involving pre-pubertal girls and a non-mortal spouse, and an 11-day seclusion in a dark room prior to menarche, provisionally identified as a unique mock-menstruation rite. The author effectively frames these rituals within a comparative context, referencing similar practices among the Nayars of Kerala, and explicitly poses the central analytical question: why these specific rites exist and how they diverge from more common Hindu ritual treatments for girls before marriage. This sets a clear and intriguing objective for the study. The methodology outlined in the abstract suggests a well-structured approach to addressing this complex problem. The paper intends to first establish a comparative framework by detailing the principal similarities and differences between orthodox Hindu ritual complexes and the Newar/Nayar versions. This foundational comparison will then be followed by a focused, in-depth description and analysis of the Newar rites, promising rich ethnographic detail. Crucially, the final section indicates a return to the initial comparative problem, where the author plans to put forward various explanatory hypotheses, demonstrating a clear ambition to move beyond mere description towards theoretical interpretation and understanding. Overall, this paper appears poised to make a significant contribution to the ethnography of South Asia and the broader anthropology of ritual, gender, and lifecycle transitions. The identification and detailed examination of a potentially unique "mock-menstruation" rite, alongside the more recognized mock-marriage tradition, introduces novel data for comparative studies of female maturation rituals. By explicitly addressing the 'why' behind these cultural variations and proposing explanatory hypotheses, the work promises to offer profound insights into local understandings of personhood, social organization, and religious symbolism, making it an essential read for scholars interested in these fields.

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