By: YUVRAJ ACHARYA, Associated Press Writer
Tue Oct 7, 9:59 AM ET
KATMANDU, Nepal - Hindu and Buddhist priests chanted sacred hymns and
cascaded flowers and grains of rice over a 3-year-old girl who was appointed a
living goddess in Nepal on Tuesday.
Wrapped in red silk and adorned with red flowers in her hair, Matani Shakya
received approval from the priests and President Ram Baran Yadav in a
centuries-old tradition with deep ties to Nepal's monarchy, which was abolished
in May.
The new "kumari" or living goddess, was carried from her parents' home to an
ancient palatial temple in the heart of the Nepali capital, Katmandu, where she
will live until she reaches puberty and loses her divine status.
She will be worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists as an incarnation of the
powerful Hindu deity Taleju.
A panel of judges conducted a series of ancient ceremonies to select the
goddess from several 2- to 4-year-old girls who are all members of the
impoverished Shakya goldsmith caste.
The judges read the candidates' horoscopes and check each one for physical
imperfections. The living goddess must have perfect hair, eyes, teeth and skin
with no scars, and should not be afraid of the dark.
As a final test, the living goddess must spend a night alone in a room among
the heads of ritually slaughtered goats and buffaloes without showing fear.
Having passed all the tests, the child will stay in almost complete isolation
at the temple, and will be allowed to return to her family only at the onset of
menstruation when a new goddess will be named to replace her.
"I feel a bit sad, but since my child has become a living goddess I feel
proud," said her father Pratap Man Shakya.
During her time as a goddess, she will always wear red, pin up her hair in
topknots, and have a "third eye" painted on her forehead.
Devotees touch the girls' feet with their foreheads, the highest sign of
respect among Hindus in Nepal. During religious festivals the goddesses are
wheeled around on a chariot pulled by devotees.
Critics say the tradition violates both international and Nepalese laws on
child rights. The girls often struggle to readjust to normal lives after they
return home.
Nepalese folklore holds that men who marry a former kumari will die young,
and so many girls remain unmarried and face a life of hardship.
Matani Shakya, 3, newly appointed 'kumari,' or living goddess in Nepal, looks
on as farewell rituals are performed before taking her to kumari house in
Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008. Selected between the ages of 2 and 4,
living goddesses are worshipped by both Hindus and Buddhists. Devotees touch
the girls' feet with their foreheads, the highest sign of respect among Hindus
in Nepal. During religious festivals the girls are wheeled around on a chariot
pulled by devotees.
(AP Photo/Binod Joshi)
