NARENDRA SHRESTHA/EPA
Nepal’s newly named living goddess, Kumari Aryatara Shakya, is only 2 years old.
Nepal chose the two -year -old child for a new “living goddess.” No one knows what will happen to you in the coming years, as it will be isolated – not even on the floor can touch.
A two -year -old girl was last month proclaimed as the new Kumari From Nepal, the traditional “living goddess” venerated in the country.
Aryatara Shakya, now Kumari (from Sanskrit, means princess), has been transported from her home to the Kathmandu-temple palace and officially installed during the country’s most important Hindu festival Dashain. And now Considered an incarnation of the Hindu goddess of power, Kali.
“Yesterday was just my daughter; today is a goddess,” the child’s father told. But little Aryatara is not the first girl to be a “goddess.”
Kumari’s tradition dates back about 300 years ago and is followed by both Hindus and Buddhists, Nepal and some regions of India, as a representation of divine female energy.
The chosen girls usually belong to the Shakya clan, native -native Buddhists of the Kathmandu Valley, and are between two and four years old. To be selected, they must meet specific physical criteria, such as having skin, hair, eyes and teeth without any imperfections. And they should not be afraid of the dark.
Although there are several kumaris across the country, it is the real Kathmandu Kumari the best known – and perhaps that is why it is subjected to a more rigorous selection process.
During the festivities, Kumari is transported in a car pulled by devotees, dressed in red and with a “third eye”, painted on his forehead. Believers try to touch his feet with his forehead: he is the biggest sign of respect between Hindus of the Himalayan nation. And they also offer flowers and money to the little goddess. They believe that the girl is possessed by the goddess Taleju (or Durg), who will only abandon her body when menstruation begins, if the chosen loses a lot of blood due to some unexpected injury or if affected by a serious illness, thus losing the status of divinity.
The day of the investiture is wrapped in mystery. No one knows exactly what happens that day, not even Kumari herself will ever know, because she is too young to remember.
For much of her childhood, the goddess Aryatara will live in isolation inside the temple. Nowadays, tradition already includes some private education, but the child can rarely go out to the street – and when he does, his feet will never be able to touch the floor. Aryatara will not go to school, will not play out there will not even touch friends, as this would make her impure.
The previous Kumari, Cometi Shakya, was in office for eight years, before returning to an anonymous life at age 11. During his reign, he could only receive family visits once a week and his only friends were the families of Kumari official caregivers.
“I remember watching television, watching modern dresses I wanted to wear,” he recalled in 2019.
Throughout his time as a goddess, he even blessed the king of Nepal seven times and the prime minister once, but guarantees that he never felt any special power.
“They say they feel a kind of fire, a positive energy around me. People who pray for me have already been blessed, but I feel nothing,” says the previous deity.
When they reach puberty, the kumaris are no longer venerated and return to deadly life. They are, at this time, replaced by another “perfect” child, and many have great difficulties in entering a normal life.
Rashmila Shakya, former Kumari, described in the 1990s the lack of education and the challenges of reintegration in society in her memories book, “From Goddess to Mortal.” However, the Nepalese government made the education of the current Kumaris mandatory and instituted a monthly pension of about $ 165 for the former kumaris.
However, Shakya families compete to see their selected girls, because the chosen family automatically acquires a higher position in society.
Nepal is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits the exploitation of minors in the name of culture. Certain human rights experts consider that children’s rights are being violated by depriving Kumari of their childhood.
