Devotees dressed as masked deities from Thecho Navadurga performed a traditional ritual dance at Mulchowk at Patan Durbar Square, Lalitpur, on Wednesday.

The dance, a key part of the Dashain festival, is performed twice during Bijaya Dashami and Kojagrat Purnima.

On Wednesday, the devgans (ritual performers) carried the mu dya (main deity), mukundo, and Kalevar dress, along with jewellery and Kharpan (ritual dagger) from the deity’s home in Thecho, as part of the dance.

A total of 34 people, including 11 devgans, three naikes (ritual leaders), and other guthiyars (community members), offered prayers at the deity’s house before heading to Mangalbazar.

This ancient Lichchavi dance is closely associated with the Khadga Jatra, a procession celebrating Manmaneshwari Devi (the older incarnation of Taleju), the favoured deity of King Mandev.

Here are some of the photos of the dance performance captured by the post’s photojournalist Safal Prakash Shrestha.