In the Wake of Commercialised Entertainment: An Inquiry Into the State of Masked Dance-Dramas in the Kathmandu Valley (1)‪.‬

Manifestations of goddess circles within the Kathmandu Valley are manifold. Most influential for their development and conception were locally shaped traditions flourishing within the Newar community. The goddesses, generally addressed as matrka/mai (Nep. 'mother') or ajima (New. 'grandmother'), are present with their divine entourage in temples; they may additionally have their interrelated pithas (Skt./Nep. 'seats') outside the boundaries of human settlements. Newar towns are protected by a circle of matrkas, all conceived as fierce and ferocious emanations of the divine feminine. For their yearly festivals these goddesses are invoked into their procession images (utsava-murti) and installed on a wooden ratha (Skt./Nep. 'chariot') or a kath (wooden litter) to be taken around and worshipped.