 The Kumaris are revered until they reach puberty. Pic: Gopal Chitrakar
September 30, 2008 8:56 AM
BHAKTAPUR, Nepal - Nepal's new Maoist-led government has appointed a six-year-old girl as a "living goddess" in the ancient city of Bhaktapur, for the first time snapping the link between the ancient ritual and the ousted monarchy.
For centuries, the head priest of the Nepali monarchy appointed the "Kumaris" in several towns in the Kathmandu valley. But with the abolition of the monarchy in May, that position has also disappeared.
Instead, officials at the state-run Trust Corporation overseeing cultural affairs appointed Shreeya Bajracharya as the new Kumari of the temple-town of Bhaktapur near Kathmandu, Deepak Bahadur Pandey, a senior official of the agency said.
"The government authorised us to appoint the Kumari and we have done that for the first time," Pandey said.
The Himalayan nation abolished the 239-year-old monarchy and became a republic in May, following elections in April that saw the country's Maoist former rebels emerge as the biggest political party in the 601-seat constituent assembly.
The Maoists now head the new government.
Shreeya was enthroned on Sunday amid prayers by
Buddhist priests and will be worshipped by devout
Hindus and Buddhists until reaching puberty, the
girl's caretaker Nhuchhe Ratna Shakya said, adding:
"She is pretty and nice."
Shreeya, in a golden costume with her eyelashes blackened
by mascara, was sitting on a carved throne, a butterlamp
burning by her side, when a Reuters team visited her on Monday.
Asked what she wanted to become in future, a quiet Shreeya
just said: "nurse." She loves to eat biscuits and flattened rice,
a common Nepali food, her aides said.
Shreeya replaces her controversial predecessor, Sajani Shakya,
who retired earlier this year, after nine years in the divine role.
Sajani made international headlines in 2007 after she visited the
United States to promote a film by a British company about the
Kumari system.
Some religious authorities criticized the trip, saying it was against
tradition. She retired at the request of her family.
Under the Kumari tradition, girls selected from Buddhist Newar
families through a rigorous cultural process become the "living
goddesses."
The Kumaris are a major tourist attraction and are considered
by many as incarnations of the goddess Kali and are revered
until they menstruate, after which they return to the family
and a new one is chosen.
Nepal's Supreme Court ordered the government last month to
safeguard the Kumaris human rights after complains that the
practice went against the child living a normal life.
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