It was on the front page of yahoo.

here is the link to

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081007/ap_on_re_as/as_nepal_living_goddess

I feel sorry for the innocent girl. She does not understand what is happening now. But when she grows up she will find out that she will not be able to marry and start a life like normal people do.
I know people will fire back at me for this comment, but I had to express my view. I am not against the Kumari tradition but I am against the rule that does not allow her to marry.

Thanks, Icanfly.

ICANFLY you are absolutely right about her tender age and innocence. Being the only 'so-called' Hindu nation of the world we can't abolish the kumari pratha right away but why don't we set the age limit to choose the kumari, let's say 6 or 7 or 8 until menstruation.
Although there's a superstition that kumari's hasband is doomed to die within sixth months of marriage, Kumaris are allowed to get married. Former kumaris have married except the younger ones.

Icanfly: "I am not against the Kumari tradition but I am against the rule that does not allow her to marry."

I am amazed to see the utmost ignorant comment of Mr. Ican(NOT)fly. Out of 10 living ex-Kumaris, more than 7 are married. A few, who are unmarried, have chosen not to marry on their own, not due to any rule that you claim to exist. The definition of "normal people's life" is too vague and wide. You can talk of a street girl or the daughter of Upendra Devkota, but you can't find similarities on how their life goes on. In the case of married ex-Kumaris, they don't think they do not have life like normal people.

 

bluesfan1: "Being the only 'so-called' Hindu nation of the world we can't abolish the kumari pratha right away but why don't we set the age limit to choose the kumari, let's say 6 or 7 or 8 until menstruation."

This is another ignorant comment. I am surprised, why people want to comment on topics they do not know about? What motivates them to make such a false statement? Nepal is NOT a Hindu nation, it is already a secular country. Non of Kumari comes from Hindu family. It comes from Budhdhist family. What the heck this Hindu nation stuff has to do with Kumari Pratha? Your wording indicates you want to abolish Kumari pratha but you can't do that right away. So, you want to distort some of its fundamentals by imposing some sort of rules, right? Good luck to you ... and Thank you for your concern but No Thank you for your opinion.

 

Of course, a 3 year old girl is innocent, but that does not prevent her to be qualified as Kumari if she is qualified in other norms. Praying for innocence of the God is religious matter in several religion. In other part of the world, we see that in religious books and stories only, but in our country, we see that in practice.

 

Once the chosen girl completes the Tantric purification rites and crosses from the temple on a white cloth to the Kumari Ghar to assume her throne, her life takes on an entirely new character. She will leave her palace only on ceremonial occasions. Her family will visit her rarely, and then only in a formal capacity. Her playmates will be drawn from a narrow pool of Newari children from her caste, usually the children of her caretakers. She will always be dressed in red, wear her hair in a topknot and have the agni chakchuu or ‘fire eye’ painted on her forehead as a symbol of her special powers of perception.

The Royal Kumari's new life is vastly different from the one to which she has been accustomed in her short life. Whilst her life is now free of material troubles, she has ceremonial duties to carry out. Although she is not ordered about, she is expected to behave as befits a goddess. She has shown the correct qualities during the selection process and her continued serenity is of paramount importance; an ill-tempered goddess is believed to portend bad tidings for those petitioning her.

 

Name	Hometown	Dates as Kumari	Marital Status
Hira Maiya Shakya	Wotu	1922-1923	married, 0 children
Chini Shova Shakya*	Lagan	1923-1931	married, 2 daughters
Chandra Devi Shakya*	Asonchuka	1931-1933	married, 2 daughters
Dil Kumari Shakya	Lagan	1933-1942	married, 3 sons ,1 daughter
Nani Shova Shakya	Ombahal	1942-1949	married, 4 sons, 2 daughters
Kayo Mayju Shakya*	Kwahiti	1949-1955	married, 1 son, 1 daughter
Harsha Laxmi Shakya	Naghal	1955-1961	married, 2 sons
Nani Mayju Shakya	Naghal	1961-1969	married, 1 son, 2 daughters
Sunina Shakya	Ombahal	1969-1978	married, 1 son, 1 daughter
Anita Shakya	Sikamoobahal	1978-1984	unmarried
Rashmila Shakya	Kwahiti	1984-1991	unmarried
Amita Shakya	Asanbahal	1991-2001	unmarried
Preeti Shakya	Itumbahal	2001-2007	unmarried
Matani Shakya	Kathmandu	2008-Present	unmarried

 

I am against it!!! pick someone make her do all that tradition for one day then leave the child alone

yoo ta hatauna nai parcha.yoo ta danab jungali partha hoo.

kati paisa paucha gadha shakya la  maby 5thousand maby 15 thousand .

Look at the moron bastards like Bimal Thapa; he sees everyoneelse as his own mother and father, and curse at them. These people prevent from having any kind of healthy discussions.

Because of disgusting people like Bimal Thapa, other nepali may also be prejudiced.

One of the famous celebrity gossip website perezhilton also has covered this story in its website.

http://perezhilton.com/2008-10-07-theres-a-new-goddess-in-town#respond

 

How is Kumari chosen? anyone know?

Did you read the following lines? What a fu cking tradition. It's freaky scary, that too for a three year old. I am against this damn fu cking stupid wrong deed in the name of a culture and tradition. This tradition should either be modified to be rational [Kumari's should be allowed to marry whenever they are no more Kumari's], or should be uprooted.

"As a final test, the living goddess must spend a night alone in a room among the heads of ritually slaughtered goats and buffaloes without showing fear."


This is extremism/fundamentalism.

How the F!!k do you explain these sort of mumbo jumbo to other people. Man, just to see it on the yahoo's headline, it was embarassing, was hoping no friends will call me with "QUESTIONS"

Words like-LIVING GOD---------- 3 year girl---------- tested for purity, perfect hair, eyes, teeth and skin with no scars, and should not be afraid of the dark--------forced to live among mutilated animal heads.

Try explaining the process and the belief to your international friend or even your host family, see the reaction. You will not be taken seriously and the pratice will be labeled "inhumane". Give it a shot.

Come on guys, no offence. Every culture and civilization had some sort practises like these in the past, but they have left those beliefs a long time ago. Any fool can learn from their own mistake, but the smart one learns from other people's mistake. Get over it, MOVE ON.

Yea, yea, you can name anything you want. It's easier to do name calling like that. Look at your own culture, there'll be thousands of things that're obscure. By saying that, I'm not trying to defend this tradition. Some ramifications may be necessary, but I'm not for abolishing it. You seem to be REALLY worried about Nepali girls, aren't you? or nepali children? Are you really worried or do you want to address the real issue or you get entertained by attacking others' cultures?

Did you ever raise your moronic voice when a boy was given sacrifice ('human sacrifice') last week in Nepalgunj?

Kumari tradition is related with one girl. Have you ever raised voice about other traditions, which affect thousands of more? Do you know how many nepali women die or suffer, when they've to live with animals during puberty or post-natal time in Humla, Jumla? If you're following nepali news, did you ever try to think about 'Teej tradition' without any of your biasness? Aren't you one of them who likes to boast about 'animal sacrifices'? The list will go on and on.

Again, I'm saying that I'm trying to defend for it. But it's too much, when you go and attack and use abusive words to others' culture? For your kind information, I've talked about this tradition with few of foreign friends.

Don't try to act like a hypocrite!

Getting embarassed by 'kumari'? You don't get embarassed by thousands of things happening in Nepal, and you come to attack 'kumari tradition'. You all seem to have a hypocritical nature like 'Baburam Bhattarai' who cuts off the fund (about 10,000 rupees) for cultures in the name of cutting the expenditures, and allocate billions of rupees for non-productive maoist slaves and on top of that they're getting a raise this year. Congratulations to all you hypocrites, we're soon going to keep our name and fame by spreading communism.

Well, from a neutral perspective, how would you judge the following facts? My feelings are in small letters.

• 3-year-old girl who was appointed a living goddess [Halleluiah, man started appointing Goddesses, I think God /Goddesses are superior to mandkind and they create man. But here it does not fit my normal logic. Please someone provide me a tuition for Theism 101 course ]
• Select the goddess from several 2- to 4-year-old girls who are all members of the impoverished Shakya goldsmith caste. [Some one please help me, why only Shakya's can be Goddesses. Why so unfair? Why so biasedness /favorism towards a certain caste/culture? I am not Shakya, so if I happen to have a daughter in future and although can pass "physical perfection test", can't be a Goddess, I can't be a father of a Goddess.]
• As a final test, the living goddess must spend a night alone in a room among the heads of ritually slaughtered goats and buffaloes without showing fear. [I almost fainted, someone please Dial 911 for me]
• Having passed all the tests, the child will stay in almost complete isolation at the temple. [Why not keep her in Nakkhu Jail?, Bichara, why are we playing with her beautiful life on this earth making her so lonesome? What about her formal education? Does she go to school? Does she get a chance to learn math, java programming, discrete mathematics? who are her childhood friends? "Dead goat heads"? "Buffalo Heads?"]
• Critics say the tradition violates both international and Nepalese laws on child rights. [I loved this point. If this fact is correct, then it's illegal. We are promoting illegal culture in Nepal]
• Nepalese folklore holds that men who marry a former kumari will die young [Scary Myth Again to ruin her beautiful life, in the name of culture. No one can predict none's death. Simply stupid.]
• and so many girls remain unmarried and face a life of hardship. [Obviously, so many of us who are promoting this blindly are forcing her life of hardship. Bravo to ourseves. Well Done.]

I am proud of my culture, but I dont agree with this Kumari System. How can people be so selfish. They take a 3 year old who doesnt know anything to decide. Does she have any choice??? How is a 3 year old child suppose to decide? Shame on her parents too. She is suppose to be going to school, making freinds, playing, socializing. Rather she is bound to the four corners of her house with limited freinds. She is totally segregatted from outside world except indrajatra and few other days. This is totally BS system, cant imagine people can be so selfish.

There are 3 types of people : YES, NO and SORT OF. At least I'm against it with a solid NO unlike some who are SORT OF. Living under the shades of western democracy and capitalism somewhere in the US, educated (maybe an IT by profession-coming here at Sajha) and enjoying all aspect of a free society where such acts have already been abolished, it is absurd that you have the audacity to support such backward belief.Thennnnnnnnnnnnnnnn you call me hypocrite? Do you know what hypocrite really mean?

Take this word of advice, education means nothing unless it is utilized. So you can have 10 Phd degree from ivy league colleges, that doesn't mean you will do anything important to the society.It's people like you who never want to change and always want to uphold the old tradition (like the old farts- politicians to everyday dad back home), that your country in such mess. You call yourself patriotic and culture lover by favoring such practices, I oppose it.  It's all in the perspective.

I knew that this would create some controversy when I wrote the comment. I 100% agree with mysticboy. There are some traditions where we have to make some judgment and corrections. Remember we used to have Sati Pratha until about 100+  years ago. We used to have Bal Bibah. But we have given up on such traditions. This is 21st century.. Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.....

Living alone at that age without parents being near, i am sure the girls go through a lot emotionally which might affect their entire life. Not to forget that they will be called Kumari and worshipped at a such a young age and once her days are over (i am not sure for how long), she will be sent back and have to be normal again. All this will definitely impact the psychology of the child. Seriously, our country should get rid of this tradition.

Certain ramifications are obviously necessary, but I'm not for abolishing it. I can see some of you've clearly got ill-intentions here, of being entertained on attacking others' cultures and traditions.

If  you're really worried about the sufferings of nepali girls, shouldn't you first  be worried about the nepali girls in Jumla n' Humla who're suffering because they've to live with animals during menstruation? There're nepali women in Terai who eats only once a day to avoid going out to toilets. There're hundreds of other traditions, which are causing suffering to nepali women, but you instead chose to rescue one girl because it happen to be from a tradition and cultures of people you always envied (or perhaps hated). I'm not saying that everything with 'kumari pratha' is good, but I can clearly see some cunning minds working here to abolish and destroy others' traditions.

 

Someone's culture, pride, history is [your] taboo....