Nepal: The Seto Machindranath Temple, Kathmandu (1996)

The Seto (Shveta) Machindranath, the 'White Machindranath', also known as Janabaha Dyo, was built during the 16th and 17th centuries, and is frequented by Buddhists as well as Hindus, the Buddhists regarding Machindranath as an incarnation of the Avalokiteshvara while the Hindus regard him as a manifestation of Shiva. Renovated and altered in the 17th and 19th centuries, the temple is surrounded by a number of small stupas, and its roof is capped with a particularly ornate pinnacle. The figure housed in the temple was discovered near Rani Pokhri, the Queen’s Pond, and every year in March or April it is carried in an exuberant chariot procession around the streets of Kathmandu. One of the spots visited during the procession is the place of its discovery. The festival usually lasts four days, but if some bad omen should occur, for example the breaking of one of the chariot wheels, the festival is easily, and joyfully, prolonged.