Celebrating the divine feminine

Across South and South-East Asia, devotees pay tribute to Durga through age-old customs, sacred ceremonies and colourful displays of faith.

Members of a family hold earthen pots filled with burning incense during a ritual marking Durga Puja at their home in Kolkata, India. The festival honours the Hindu goddess Durga and celebrates her victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura, symbolising the triumph of good over evil. — AFP

A child is lifted by an adult to ring a ceremonial bell at a shrine during Durga Puja in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dedicated to the goddess Durga, the festival is part of the wider Navaratri period, when Hindus celebrate the divine feminine through prayers, rituals and festivities. — AP

Devotees chant as kumkum, or sacred red powder, is thrown during a Navaratri parade in Bangkok, Thailand. The nine-night festival honours the divine feminine in her various forms. — Reuters

Hindu women dance after smearing sindoor, or vermilion powder, on their faces during the final day of Durga Puja at Dhakeshwari National Temple in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The ritual, known as Sindoor Khela, sees married women apply the red powder to one another as they bid farewell to the goddess Durga before her departure. — Reuters