Kumari - living goddess
Posted Wednesday, August 27, 2008, 12:13 AM by Lonely Planet
I've been feeling sorry for Yang Peiyi, the crooked-toothed seven-year-old singer who wasn't allowed to be seen (though her voice was still used) at the Olympic opening ceremony because she wasn't suitably 'flawless in image'.
But if you think that description's hard to live up to, try these:
-A neck like a conch shell
-Eyelashes like a cow
-Thighs like a deer
-Chest like a lion
-Voice soft and clear as a duck's
They're just a few of the '32 perfections' a prepubescent Nepali girl needs to possess in order to be recognised as a Kumari, a living goddess who's worshipped until she menstruates - after which she becomes mortal again.
But even goddesses have to go to school, apparently. Nepal's Supreme Court has ruled that the current Kumari, Preeti Shakya, has a right to an education instead of being cooped up in a palace. She's going to retire at the end of the year, and Nepal's new secular, Maoist rulers may well decide to scrap the whole system.
I bet the intrigues of her strange temple life are nothing compared to the social dramas and hierarchies she's sure to encounter among ten-year-old schoolgirls.
- Kate James
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2 Comments:
Perhaps even more interesting than these required perfections are the tests that a potential Kumari has to go through. One test is that all potentials are thrown into a dark room where people grab at them and scream in their face. Any child who freaks out is clearly not a goddess.
If you go and visit the Kumari you can expect to wait and she can be up to 2 hours late. She will then pop her head out of a window and look around the courtyard for about 10 seconds, not looking anyone in the eye. If she does look at you in the eye, it is meant to be bad luck. You cannot photgraph her.
Hindus are lucky enough to be able to enter some of her house and look around, but as with many things in Nepal, this is not available to non Hindus.
Interesting bit of information on Nepal and Kumari- living goddess. Enjoy reading trivia like this one..
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