More on Nepal's Kumari Tradition and the current controversy

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Kumari of Bhaktapur deprived of status

2007-7-15

By Arun Ranjit

The Gorkapatra

 

[Edited for brevity]

 

A 10-year-old Nepalese girl [sajani Shakya, the now-

former Kumari of Bhaktapur] was stripped of her title as a

Living Goddess recently because she traveled overseas [to

the U.S.] to promote a documentary about the centuries-

old [Kumari] tradition. [....]

 

Kumari is a living Hindu goddess in Nepal. Kumari

literally means virgin in Nepali. A Kumari is a

prepubescent girl selected from the Shakya caste of the

Nepalese Newari community. The Kumari is revered and

worshipped by all Hindus and Buddhists in Nepal, though

not the Tibetan Buddhists. [....]

 

Devotees touch the girls' feet with their foreheads, the

highest sign of respect among Hindus in Nepal.

 

Whilst the veneration of a living Kumari in Nepal is

relatively recent, dating only from the 17th century, the

tradition of Kumari-Puja, or virgin worship, has been

around for much longer. There is written evidence

describing the selection, ornamentation and worship of

the Kumari dating from the 13th century.

 

There are several legends circulating about how the

current cult of the Kumari began. Most of the legends,

however, lead back to King Jayaprakash Malla, the last

Nepalese king of the Malla Dynasty.

 

A potential Kumari must be a girl from the Buddhist

Newar Shakya caste with excellent health, who has never

shed blood or been afflicted by any diseases, be without

blemish and must not have yet lost any teeth and. also

possessing " battis lakshanas " , or " thirty-two perfections "

of a goddess. She should have her neck like a conch shell,

a body like a banyan tree, eyelashes like a cow, thighs

like a deer, chest like a lion, voice soft and clear as a

duck's. In addition to this, her hair and eyes should be

very black, she should have dainty hands and feet, small

and well-recessed sexual organs and a set of twenty teeth.

 

Once the Kumari is chosen, she must be purified so that

she can be an unblemished vessel for [the goddess] Taleju

[whom she is said to embody]. The power of the Kumari

is perceived to be so strong that even a glimpse of her is

believed to bring good fortune. [....]

 

The Living Goddess Kumari is the sovereign deity. She is

the supreme Tantric goddess and is the protectorate of all

citizenry.

 

The end of a Kumari's divinity is abrupt and totally

unplanned. As soon as she menstruates, Durga vacates her

body and she reverts to being a mere mortal.

 

Popular superstition says that a man who marries a

Kumari is doomed to die within six months by coughing

up blood. But, in reality, however, it seems that most

Kumaris do not have trouble eventually finding husbands.

All of the living former Kumaris with exception of the

youngest ones have married.

 

But, it has becoming a hot controversial issue these days

that whether Sajani should [have been] removed or not

from the Bhaktapur's Kumari status? On one hand, it is

said that she was removed from her coveted title of

Kumari of Bhaktapur because she disobeyed the

traditional rules and regulations. But on the other hand, it

is being voiced that removing her status means the

violation of her child rights, human rights and various

other rights? She is kumari for a certain period, but she is

also a human being. Thus her human rights should not be

violated. These kinds of questions are being raised by

various professionals in the society.

 

[....]

 

http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/content.php?nid=23036