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Nepal – it is the country known as the kingdom of deities. In this country, where per capita income is $250 and unemployment is over 50%, a lot of people live in dire poverty.

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And yet hope and comfort are never too far away.

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The streets of Nepal, where 90% of people are Hindu, are filled with temples and deities. And these are the entities from which the Nepalese people draw their strength and reassurance.

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There are numerous deities in Nepal including Shiba, the god of destruction, Vishnu, the god of prosperity and preservation, and even animals who are believed to possess divinity.

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And then, there is one more. It is a goddess, known as the incarnation of the ancient Hindu goddess Taleju. She is supposed to possess cow-like eyelids, a snail-like neck, a tree-like body, just like the portrayal of the image of god and goddess in the holy Hindu scripture.

SHE IS KUMARI.

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This is Patan in Nepal, a city of beauty. A big festival is being held at the moment. Every June, thousands of people come to worship Merchindranat, an effigy made from wood, and carry him across the city. Merchindranat is the god of rain.

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The Merchindranat festival is the Hindu tradition where people make an offering to him for an abundant harvest.

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In all sincerity, people light up thousands of lamps one by one and pray to their own deities for the well-being and happiness of their families.

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One more deity has been invited to this festival. It is Kumari, the living goddess of Patan.

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To begin with, Kumari was worshiped by only one of Nepal’s 20 ethnic tribes, the Newar. But now, everyone in Nepal believes in her and worships her as a goddess regardless of their ethnicity.

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Woman

‘I prayed for well-being and happiness in my life.’

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Old woman

‘All Nepalese people worship Kumari. In Nepal, she is the goddess.’

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People are jostling to receive marigold, through which Kumari’s blessing is conferred. Even the King of Nepal kneels before her. Kumari, whose glance is believed to bring people good luck, really is the most powerful deity in Nepal.

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Durbar square, which is filled with temples, it is the site where the greatest Hindu kingdom was found. A royal Kumari who has a close contact with the royal house lives here – the place is visited by hundreds of visitors and tourists everyday. She seldom makes an appearance in public. Occasionally she does so just for few seconds.

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The Kumari tradition originated from the tradition of Virgin Worship in the 6th century and evolved into the present ritual in the 17th century.

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There are ten Kumaris in Nepal. Of those ten, it is the Kumaris of Kathmandu, Paktarpur, and Patan that hold the highest position.

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This street is part of the temple of Patan. It is where Patan Kumari lives.

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Certain formalities have to be gone through before one can see Kumari, even for a Hindu. It is therefore very hard to see Kumari whose life is confined to a temple.

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The status of Kumari as a goddess is not granted by birth. Kumari is selected from the girls aged 2 – 4 who satisfy all the conditions of ’32 perfections.’ These include having ‘Shakya’ as her family name, having black hair and eyes and blemish free body. If she passes all these tests, she is selected as Kumari until she has her first menstrual period around the age of ten.

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Once a girl is selected as Kumari, the Nepalese believe, the spirit of the ancient Nepalese goddess Taleju enters into her body purifying her old memories and impurities. They believe the girl is reborn as a goddess.

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After long hours of persuasion, we were given a permission to see Kumari.

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She came to the temple at the age of 5. Now she’s twelve.

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Her father, who is the guardian of Kumari, is in charge of all rituals.

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This is the secret moment in which an ordinary girl is transformed into a goddess. The temple was reluctant to show this.

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The mystery and power of a goddess are embodied in the body of a girl through make-up.

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A Tikka is glued on the girl’s forehead. A Tikka is the eye of wisdom that sees through all things in nature.

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Her ornaments are believed to have divine power. The more ornaments, therefore, the more divinity.

And thus, a Kumari is given the form of a goddess.

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Coordinator

‘Are you not allowed to say anything as Kumari? You can talk now, can’t you?’

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Kumari cannot talk to anyone.

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Once he waves the bell and starts chanting Mantra, ‘Puja’ starts. ‘Puja’, which means ‘prayer’, is a Hindu ritual carried out by humans to communicate with the deities. The same rituals performed for the images of deities inside the temple are performed for the Kumari.

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He gives his prayers which are believed to infuse new life into Kumari, purified through holy water. Through this ritual, she who has assumed the likeness of a goddess with make-up and ornaments, is now officially possessed by the spirit of a goddess.

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Her parents are both her guardians and the closest devotees. They bow and ask her for her blessing. Once she becomes Kumari she must be served in this way, severing all ties to the mundanities of life.

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Once morning ritual is over, Kumari goes quickly up to her room. Since she is not allowed to go out, Kumari spends day and night inside the temple.

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Interview with Kumari’s mother

‘She didn’t feel it was hard. She didn’t feel it was hard because she possess spiritual power. In the last festival, she couldn’t move for 4 whole hours. She couldn’t have stood it if she didn’t have spiritual power.’

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The majority of Nepalese believe that Kumari possesses spiritual power. But every Kumari becomes the living goddess even when they don’t know what a goddess is.

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Interview with Pun Devi, Lawyer

‘They take little girls who can barely express their hunger and illness. They lock them up in the temples saying it is for doctrinal reasons and give them all the religious work to do. If you tell my child to sit like that in a cramped place for a long time, she won’t be able to do that. Kumari is just like any other child.’

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Kumari is thought to be specially chosen by mystic powers. But they have no freedom and live in isolation from the outside world.

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This is Dhan, crouching down in the corner of the room. When we met her we knew instantly that she was not sane. She persists in keeping her Kumari status because her periods have not started yet. She just gives her blessing mechanically to visitors. Some people argue that the fear of being stripped of her goddess status along with the numerous taboos and repression has affected her mental condition.

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Interview with Sotdha Mon Josi

‘She can’t be Kumari forever. If she looses her teeth, laughs too much, starts menstruation, or has a mental disorder, she is stripped of her status and a new Kumari is selected.’

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Rashimila was one of the most revered royal Kumaris. She left the temple still playing with toys in 1996. Over ten years later she has finished university. But she still finds it hard to adapt to normal life.

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Interview with Rashimila

‘It was really hard then. As a Kumari I was always taken on someone’s back when I needed to move so I could not practice walking. I also found it hard to communicate with my family. It was okay to talk to my immediate family but I wasn’t comfortable talking to relatives when they visited me.’

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The life of Kumari, once her status reverts to that of an ordinary citizen, is neglected and ostracized by the indifference of the public.

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Interview with Pun Devi, Lawyer

‘It is as if you use the kids for a short period of time in the name of religion and culture and then throw them away. Nobody cares about what would happen to the retired-Kumaris.’

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For this reason, Nepal has never escaped the criticism that the Kumari tradition is a form of child abuse. Pun Devi eventually filed a petition last May on the issue of Kumari’s human rights.

The Supreme Court is looking into the matter right now by conducting an investigation. It is also preparing to adopt legislation on the issue.

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Then all of a sudden, the controversy hots up both within and outside Nepal because the Kumari of Baktharpur, Sajani Shakya, made a trip to the United States.

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This unprecedented incident created quite a stir in Nepal.

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The temple argues that the spiritual power of Sajani Shakya who is forbidden to travel overseas has evaporated because she travelled to the United States. It was indeed the first time in the history of Nepal that Kumari has ever travelled overseas. The public blamed Sajani’s parents, who they believe made her trip abroad possible.

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Interview with Temple representative

‘It is wrong, not to ask questions about this matter. Kumari is the deity of this country, a deity treated and worshipped by the whole country. Travelling overseas without proper consultation was something that should not have happened.’

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Interview with Sajani’s father

‘To be honest with you, I didn’t know the Americans eat beef. We have never visited other countries. We thought she could go to the United states just like she goes outside to play and goes to school. That’s why we sent her.’

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But the temple’s reaction was adamant. They said they would call her to account for travelling overseas and would therefore expel her from the temple after marrying her off to a fruit tree, according to the Newar tradition.

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This is one of the goddess’s few outings. People give her a respectful bow on her way to the festival. Lest her feet touch the ground, the Kumari is carried safely in her mother’s arms.

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It’s the last day of the 5-day-long festival.

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The Prime Minister and high-ranking government officials came to visit, to receive the Kumari’s blessing. The Kumari gives them blessing and flowers that symbolize authority.

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Kumari – she is respected and beloved by every Nepalese in spite of the controversy over child abuse. As long as there are people who depend on her and who strive to preserve the religious belief in Kumari, she will stand as a living goddess forever.