Kumari: the loneliness of the girl goddess
The carriage is ready. Within hours, la Kumari, the girl goddess, leave in procession through the streets of Kathmandu, a strong tradition that even the Maoists have dared to liquidate. But the small awaits a bleak future when his divine halo fades.
Everything is set in the historic center of Kathmandu for Indra Jatra festival annual, the day the Kumari, one girl who Nepali Hindus worship as a goddess, leaves his confinement to the delight of the thousands of faithful who flood the streets. In one corner of the always busy Basantapur Square, small living goddess expects its annual bath glory. Selected from dozens of candidates for the five years as an incarnation of Goddess Durga, It Kumari Debe reunir 32 physical attributes to deserve this honor. But the ultimate test is to lock her in a dark room, haunted by menacing masks and heads of carcasses. If you control the panic and not crying will have earned consideration incarnation of Durga. From that moment, be torn from his family and taken to the palace of red brick Durbar Square, leaving only a few times a year for religious festivals like the one about to take place.
It is believed that this tradition started in the eighteenth century, when King Jaya Prakash, of the Malla dynasty, have killed a girl to keep her sex. In penance, the sovereign decided to worship a small, thereafter it was regularly among families Eligia breed Newari. The girl should not be bleeding never (or, therefore, have reached puberty) and your chart, course, must be favorable.
The procession stopped to venerate an image of a representation of Shiva temple Degutaleju that spits beer in the bova to the delight of the faithful.
Flanking the entrance to the house of the Kumari two stone lions in hopes of seeing her duck into one of the windows in the courtyard, perhaps anxious to see if the Indra Jatra preparations are already on the verge. Admission is free, Bijay but warns that under no circumstances can photograph the girl goddess. The Kumari is not a good peek, but the delicate carvings of the balconies and windows offset the expected.
Outside, the coach who will walk through the streets of Kathmandu is ready, with three eyes painted on each wheel and small golden pagoda on the throne that the faithful filled with garlands. From the balcony of the palace of the king receive the greeting Gyanendra (and overthrown at the time of writing). According to custom, the royal throne then stood in the chariot of Kumari and he stood on his sword symbolically. Later, the procession stops to venerate an image representation of Shiva Temple Degutaleju spitting beer at Bova for rejoicing of the faithful.
What future awaits the teenager then? Nobody wants to marry a goddess, so the wretched have to try to hide their identity, with the difficulties that entails being a public figure.
And is that Alcohol is very present in the celebration and, historically, has led to an upset over the Nepalese, to the extent that Gurkhas took the revelry of this celebration to invade the city. "The party, that went on for a week already, was held with abundant libations of alcohol. Three quarters of the population were drunk, troops offered little opposition to the invaders and the Rajah fled Newar ", recalls David-Neel in "the heart of the Himalaya".
But when she gets her first period, the fate of the girl Kumari changes drastically, it is no longer valid to continue to represent the goddess and you have to choose his replacement. What future awaits the teenager then? Nobody wants to marry a goddess (There is a belief that bad luck), so the wretched have to try to hide their identity, with the difficulties that entails being a public figure. The whole life ahead and a divine curriculum are not enough to smile.
The arrival of the Maoist rebels to power in Nepal has not been able to this tradition. Yes, The Government is now, despite his avowed atheism, responsible for choosing the Kumari. In the case of the girl goddess of Bhaktapur (each of the three historical kingdoms of Nepal has its goddess girl) not even wait for her period. They took a tour of the small to the United States to promote a movie about these living goddesses, considered an act unworthy of the priestly caste, to replace Shreeva, married the daughter of a peasant. No news that among the tests that subjected him to identify a picture should appear Mao.
