The Living Goddess

Until May or June, Nepal was the last (only) Hindu Kingdom in the world. Now, of course, King Gyanendra, who (did not officially) murdered his brother and family in 2001 to become the King, is no longer allowed to live in the palace. And the Maoists, who have been waging a several year long insurrection across Nepal, burning tires, having protests, poaching rhinos and tigers and killing people are now in power.

Despite all of these political changes, one Nepalese tradition - an odd one if you ask me - has remained intact. This tradition appears to have its roots in the Rana dynasties of the 1800's. In the Nepalese form of Hinduism, the sitting king or leader has a personal deity (this is not unusual. Families often have personal deities. Except this deity is ALIVE!). So, this living goddess, or Kumari, is ensconced in a home which is neither temple nor palace, but more of a square building with the center cut out, so she can look down on the people within the building on the ground floor.

The living goddess must be a pre-pubescent girl. She is of a low caste family, and I think it is a buddhist family, although I didn't know the buddhists had castes, so it doesn't make a lot of sense. In trying to understand this tradition, I got a lot of different stories. What is consistent is that a new girl was recently selected, in order to match with the astrology of the new Maoist leader, since the king has been deposed. She is only 3 years old, and when one hears about the selection process as a non-believer in living deities, the sanity of the child does come into question.

So, the prospective goddess is brought to Kathmandu, to the Durbar (Royal) Square where the Royal palace used to be, and is locked up in an ornate building opened only for this purpose:



Here is where things get positively weird. She either has to:

Remain there all night in the dark, alone, and somehow find and choose some special jewelry. If the correct jewelry is selected, and she does not get scared during the night, she is the chosen one.

OR (from a more reliable source)

In the selection process, the sacrifice of 108 animals are made, including 1 buffalo. The heads of all of these animals are placed in the special building, and she has to remain there all night with 108 bloody heads, and not be frightened.

See why one must wonder if the child is right in the head?

As Hindus, Hemant Kaka and I tried to go and pay worship to the living goddess, but we were told that only Nepali Hindus were allowed to do so. Once she reaches puberty (or a new leader comes into power), she is no longer a goddess, but remains kept by the state like a nun for the rest of her life. And once a year, she is paraded around town on a human powered chariot.

Entrance Gate to the selection building: