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Nepal king dons sacred thread for good fortune amid Maoist revolt
0 Comments | AFP, August, 2004
KATHMANDU (AFP) — King Gyanendra of Nepal, which is torn by a Maoist rebellion seeking his ousting, expressed hope for the future by tying a sacred thread around his chest.
In a tradition for the Hindu festival of Janai Purnima, the king, his son Crown Prince Paras and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba put on hand-knitted cotton threads at the palace.
The king was presented with his thread by his chief priest amid a 31-gun salute and a chanting of hymns to ensure "his good health, prosperity and protection from evil effects," a palace statement said.
The custom is practised mainly by upper-caste men, who change the thread, known as a janai, once a year on the day of the festival.
Thousands of men were seen in Kathmandu waiting their turn at temples...
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