Newari Ihi Ceremony in Minnesota

The Association of Nepalis in Minnesota (ANMN) is excited to announce its first-ever Newari Ihi Ceremony in Minnesota on March 2, 2025 Venue: Geeta Ashram 10537 Noble Ave N, Brooklyn Park, MN. We are calling on the community for support and volunteers to help make this event a grand success. This will be a group ceremony, and we already have a few parents who have expressed interest in participating. Since it is our first time organizing this event, the ceremony will follow a format similar to this example: Watch Here.

We look forward to bringing our community together to celebrate this beautiful cultural tradition!

Ihi Ceremony : इहि संस्कार – (copied from Priest (Juju Basav Juju Rajopadhyay)

•Ei-इ (time) + HI-हि (blood) – a ritual performed at pre-pubescent age at a specific time (typically between 5-11). The age old Newah Civilization has a great history but the way people are presenting it’s ritual are incorrect. Here it was presented as “A Girl marriage with a Wooden Apple” It’s not true. This ritual is called IHI and it doesn’t has any other word than IHI; it’s not a marriage with wooden apple, period. It is a ritual that is done on basis of Tantra Science. Basically Tantric ritual is based on gaining the Cosmic Energy. Newah people worship their daughter as Kumari until this IHI ceremony happens before their puberty stage. IHI is ritual to gain cosmic energy transforming Goddess Kumari to Goddess Mahalaxmi.

•The girl child is now expected to start following the social norms, be an active member of the society

•The goal is to pray for all the great virtues and character traits (of Goddess Mahalakshmi) to be bestowed to her

To give the girl the “status” of Mahalakshmi (or receive her powers and attributes), the ritual symbolizes the girl’s spiritual union with Lord Vishnu/Narayan Esta Devata (deity God )

(symbolized by a Golden Object, Subarna Kumar) in the presence of a Bel fruit that represents Lord Shiva or Bodhi Satwa ( enlightenment).

•As she is now a form of Mahalakshmi the notion of being a widow is not relevant to her

•Newar women do not have to follow the strict rules of widowhood