Kumari Devi is a custom in which a living child is worshiped as the embodiment of the goddess Telaju or Durga (goddess of destruction and blood sacrifices). Every ten years or so a young girl between the ages of 4 to 7 is selected by high priests to live as the real-life incarnation of the goddess until her first menstruation, upon which it is believed that the goddess vacates her body and she resumes her mortal status once more (Das, 2014). Because we all know that goddesses apparently eat, sleep, and defecate just like normal humans but by golly if she bleeds from her vagina she is no longer considered a superior being. Who makes up this crap? Seriously.
So how is she selected? Choosing a Goddess to be the Kumari is nothing like your average college recruitment process of NCAA athletes. She has to be screened for the right horoscope and have all of the appropriate attributes of perfection ranging from the color of her eyes to the sound of her voice. She then has to pass a series of tests that, in my opinion, can be questionable in terms of humane treatment. For example, she has to be placed in a dark room surrounded by several severed heads of sacrificed animals and masked dancers. Talk about trauma. But the real Kumari is the one who stays calm and collected through this experience. I have to say that in a sick way I do like that a test for fearlessness and serenity in a situation of turmoil is what she has to pass which are attributes that would be expected out of the men in any given society. As frightening and cruel as the task is, I'd rather it be that than having to pass a test of poise and balance or how well she can cook rice and lentils.
Once chosen, the girl must leave her home and family to reside in a palace known as the "Kumari Ghar" which is located in Hanumandhoka Palace Square in Kathmandu. She rarely gets to leave the palace, except when carried on a golden palanquin to religious ceremonies. In fact, she barely gets to walk at all as her feet are considered sacred. Because it's very rare to see the Kumari in person, her palace is a popular tourist attraction where people will stand and watch to see if they can get even a glimpse of her looking out her ornately carved window which is considered very lucky.
While virgin worship is not new and has been practiced across many cultures, the practice of worshipping a human girl as a living goddess is quite unique to Nepal. This tradition has been around since at least the 17th century and there are several legends as to how it came about. The most popular one tells of a Nepalese king who possessed the ability to communicate with the goddess Telaju. In fact, she used to visit him every night to play dice and discuss affairs of state. One night, however, the king made a sexual advance towards her which infuriated the goddess. She visited him in a dream that night and told him that she has withdrawn her blessing for his kingdom and that his dynasty will be destroyed. She also vowed from then on to only appear as a young virgin girl of the Shakya Caste. Interestingly, that king's dynasty did end in a coup shortly after and the new king sought the blessing of Telaju in the form of a young Shakya girl. And the tradition has continued ever since, and every September the Kumari goddess, decked out in jewels, makes a procession on her golden palanquin during the Indra Jatra festival.
The fame and fortune (literally) sounds groovy and all but what do you tell these little girls when it's time to pick a new Kumari? Oh snap! You started bleeding from where today?! Off the pedestal!
That must be devastating for some girls who are worshiped through much of their childhood and respected and deemed as a powerful deity whose blessings are sought throughout the country and then told one day that they have lost all of their powers through their vagina and it's now time to find a more worthy candidate. What do these girls go back to? After having been apart from their families for so long, I can't imagine how they can go back to living and reconnecting with people they barely know. You only hear about the fabulous life of the Kumari but what they rarely tell you is how the afterlife of the Kumari is for these girls.
In the past, the Kumari received no education during her role but now the girls can receive private tutoring. Also, it used to be believed that it was very bad luck for a man to marry a former goddess. I think this belief has faded somewhat in recent years because many former Kumari's have gone on to marry and have children. I feel sorry for the Kumari's who had to endure those transitional hardships such as going back to a working world with no education and having stigmas of misfortune attached to their reputations.
As fascinating as the tradition is, I see many problematic issues with it such as the treatment of the girls to choose a Kumari as well as the lack of proper preparation and aid in facilitating the transition back to what most people would consider a "normal" life. Even the delicate and overprotective treatment of the Kumari who is always confined within the palace walls unless being escorted on a special golden carrier and not allowing her to have too many outside interactions seems absurd. She's supposedly high and almighty but she's not allowed to have friends or go out in public or even walk around by herself? I get that it all goes back to religion and how if she is considered a deity then her feet cannot touch the dirty ground that the rest of humanity walks on. But is it really necessary to impose so many strict rules and cage her in her own palace? That seems to be a very odd way to treat a goddess. You would think that people would be taking orders from her and not the other way around.
So once again, we have yet another example of a popular cultural practice that seems to be the ultimate fantasy of any young girl in which she is glorified and treated like a goddess on the outside, but then when one digs deeper, there seems to be many underlying issues underneath that make you tilt your head sideways. I think it would be very interesting to be able to interview a real life Kumari and get her perspective as she is in her role as a deity and then again with a follow up interview when she is replaced with a purer virgin goddess.
