Nepal's Maoists have selected a new living goddess (Kumari). She is a 6-year old girl who, according to tradition, the goddess Durga inhabits her body until puberty. In order to be selected, she had to meet several criteria - some of which inlcude:
- A 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
The most recent Kumari was dishonored by visiting the US. This visit was deemed to have "tainted her purity". Luckily, she was able to undergo a cleansing ceremony to restore her goddess state. But now that she's 11, Durga has vacated her body. To symobolize her return to mere human status, she was married in a ritual to a piece of fruit.
2 comments:
Wow! How DO you find all these interesting facts? How does a young girl remain humble when she's inhabited by a goddess?
The local paper here runs fairly regular articles about the Kumari. Don't ask me why. I remember the story last year about the girl being tainted from her visit to the US. And then a couple of days ago a picture of the new Kumari. I was especially struck by the statement about how the previous Kumari was married to a piece of fruit to symbolize her return to human state.
Post a Comment