The End of Nepal's 'Living Goddess' Tradition?

[Guest guest]

King's end spells doom for Nepal's 'living goddesses'

 

Thaindian News

Sudeshna Sarkar

Kathmandu, Nepal, May 1, 2008

IANS

 

With Nepal's Maoists having begun an inexorable

countdown for the ouster of the once all-powerful [Nepali]

King Gyanendra, the fate of one of the oldest religious

institutions of the nation - the Kumaris or " living

goddesses " - also lies in jeopardy. The culture of

worshipping the Kumari, whose rituals form a key part of

Hindu festivals here [in the Kathmandu valley] and draw

thousands of tourists every year, was started in the 16th

century by the Malla kings of Kathmandu in the belief that

the deity, an incarnation of the Hindu goddess of power,

Durga, was the protector of the royal family.

 

According to legend, the last king of the dynasty,

Jayprakash Malla, angered the goddess who forsook him,

leading to his defeat. When he tried to woo her back, the

goddess is said to have relented, saying that she would be

reincarnated as a young virgin identifiable by auspicious

physical and mental characteristics.

 

Despite the divine promise, Malla was vanquished by

Prithvi Narayan Shah, the forefather of the current king,

who uprooted other ruling dynasties of Nepal and began the

Shah reign. The conquering king, however, kept the custom

of worshipping the Kumari, making the goddess the

protector of his own dynasty.

 

Even today, there are three Kumaris presiding in

Kathmandu and its sister towns of Bhaktapur and Lalitpur.

They are prepubescent girls selected from the Buddhist

Newar community on the basis of their horoscopes, which

have to be compatible with the king's, and physical

characteristics.

 

The Kumaris live in their own palaces till they near puberty.

Then they have to exit the palace to make way for a

successor.

 

The Kathmandu Kumari is the most revered, being the only

human being before whom the kings of Nepal bowed during

important Hindu ceremonies.

 

But now, the Kumaris may have to leave their palaces once

the king exits from his Narayanhity royal palace.

 

Nepal's newly elected constituent assembly will hold its

first meeting next month and officially begin the process of

abolishing the king's 239-year-old crown and turning him

into a commoner.

 

" The people have mandated us to transform Nepal into a

federal democratic republic and end the feudal monarchical

system, " Maoist lawmaker and winner of constituent

assembly election Janardan Sharma told IANS.

 

" All institutions associated with the royal family and

feudalism will have to be changed. The Kumari is not an

essential institution for the new Nepal, " he said.

 

Two years ago, when the king's bid to seize absolute power

with the help of the army failed and he became a hated

figure, a national uprising led by the Maoists forced the

monarch to step down.

 

The new government of opposition parties subsequently

declared Nepal, the world's only Hindu kingdom, a secular

nation.

 

However, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who

succeeded the king, kept up the state attendance at Hindu

festivals, triggering much criticism.

 

Now, however, with the Maoists having emerged the largest

party after the April 10 elections and bidding to lead the

new government, religious institutions nurtured by the state

could face the axe.

 

" We are also opposed to other feudal systems like Deuki

and Jhuma, " said Sharma, better known as Prabhakar, the

nom de guerre he took up during the Maoists' 10-year

guerrilla war when he was one of the deputy commanders of

the dreaded People's Liberation Army.

 

Deuki, similar to India's Devadasi ritual, is a culture of poor

families offering a girl child to god and leaving her in the

temple to be brought up as the deity's " handmaiden " . It is

still prevalent in the remote mid- and farwest Nepal.

 

The Deuki becomes a subject of sexual exploitation and

lives as an illiterate beggar.

 

The Jhuma culture, practised by Buddhist families, involves

offering a girl child to nunneries to be brought up as a nun.

 

Both customs have been flayed by women's right

organisations, some of which have also filed public interest

suits in the Supreme Court, asking the state to abolish the

discriminatory practices.

 

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/kings-

end-spells-doom-for-nepals-living-

goddesses_10043878.html

or

http://tinyurl.com/3mfaff