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A man and a woman are praying for their safety and good harvest in the Noukapuja, the worship ceremony for a new boat

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A Mawali family is showing the buckets of mangrove honey collected in a traditional way

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Sajuni, the chief of honey collector is blowing buffalo horn to alert others

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Four Mawali men in the honey collector team are cutting beehives in the mangrove forest

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Singing Gawannii song during Noukapuja, the worship ceremony for a new boat

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Banabibi statue is put on the altar for the worship ritual. Locals believe that Banabibi and her associate deities- Shah Modor, Shah Jungali, Gazi, Kalu, Daxmin Roy, and Dhana Moule-reign the whole Sundarbans. She rides a Bengal tiger, and has Dhukhe, a missing child from the Mawali family, on her lap. She is often described with a clay crocodile on her right side. The people of the Sundarbans believe that she is Muslim, but she is worshiped by everyone, even Hindus. They sacrifice hen, roosters, and pigeons, and offer fruits to worship her. Mawali women also offer their sacred belongings to Banabibi with the hope that she will protect their husbands from tiger attacks. Local priests recite mantras while women sing traditional songs. The elderly narrates the legend of Banabibi to pray for the safety of honey collectors. Prasad, a special food offering made of rice, water, and sugar, is handed out to the worshippers. People can take shirni, a special sugar, after the worship and pray to Banabibi for their safety and well-being against evil spirits.

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A group of Mawalis men in the honey collector team gets themselves ready to enter mangrove forest for honey collection

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Beehives hung in the Sundarbans forest