Yeah, you heard it right.
It might be surprising to many people mostly from Western Continents when they hear such thing.
But, its very common in my culture, Newari. Newari is one of the famous ethnic groups in Nepal.
What is this Actually ?
Gufa - It is a tradition in which a girl is married to sun, in which a girl before her menstruation starts, she has to stay in a dark room for around 12 days where no sunlight can enter. The girl is not supposed to see any male or sunlight. On the 12 days, the girl is allowed to come out of the room and rituals are carried out where she marriage to sun.
Belief and Importance
It is believed in the culture that the Sun protects the girl from all evils and bad people after the marriage. Also, it is very difficult and risky for the girls to spend their 12 days inside a dark room .
A Voodoo doll is that represents the evil is made and kept at the corner of the room.
The girl has many restrictions related to food, meeting people and other way of living until these 12 days.
On the 12th day, she takes bath, wears the red saree and other wedding dress and performs all the rituals and marries to the Sun.
Earlier, in our countries, aftfer the death of the husband , the girl is toutured as widow. But in newari culture, the girl is never treated widow as Sun never dies.
Intresting Fact
In Newari culture, a girl marries to three thing -
first, she gets married to a furit called Bael (Aegle marmelos)
secondly, to the SUN
and third to a man
The following is the picture of my only sister along with my mom during the ceremony.