Christianity,
Islam, Buddhism, Judaism… no matter which religion you take – they all have
either their god or gods and goddesses. But have you ever realised that in
every religion they only worship gods that are already dead or even never had
been born? Yes, just think of the Christian God: Millions of people all around
the world pray for him although he was actually never “born”. Or like the
Buddhists who worship Siddhartha Gautama,
a man who lived more than 1500 years ago. BUT: There’s one sole religion
worldwide that actually worships a living goddess! Here’s the story of the
Kumari in Nepal…
The name
Kumari derives from Sanskrit and means “virgin” or also “unmarried girl”. Legend
relates that some hundred years ago Jayaprakash Malla, a Napalese king, met
every night secretly the goddess Durga to play a dice game with her and to
discuss the welfare of the country. This happened every night until the king
told his wife about the nightly meetings with the goddess. The goddess felt
hurt about the king’s betrayal of confidence as he had promised her earlier not
to tell anyone. In order to punish him, she disappeared and was reborn in a
young girl’s body. From this day on every Nepalese king had to search for this
girl and to worship her like the goddess Durga.
 |
| The goddess Durga |
This
tradition has survived until today and still, five Buddhist priests try to find
that certain girl which is possessed by the goddess. To find this girl, they
search the whole country and examine girls to find the goddess’ qualities in
her. Some of the qualities and features they look for are:
- A neck like a conch shell
- A body like a banyan tree
- Eyelashes like a cow
- Thighs like a deer
- Chest like a lion
- Voice soft and clear as a duck's
- Black hair and eyes
- A set of 20 teeth
- Dainty hands and feet
(I've copied
this list from Wikipedia!)
 |
| This is a picture of a Kumari with her traditional make-up, depicting a "fire-eye" on her forehead. |
After
having found a girl that meets all these requirements, she has to go through
another procedure in order to test her courage. During an important Hindu
festival, more than 100 buffalos and goats are scarified and the Kumari
candidate has to watch this ritual without showing any fear. In addition to this,
she has to spend one night on her own in the same room with the heads of the
slaughtered animals. There are also several other tests, that the girl has to
undergo. (However, many people claim that nowadays these rituals are not that
bloody like they used to be in former times.)
After proving
her qualities positively, the girl is chosen to be the new Kumari. From this
day on, her complete life changes completely: She’s only allowed to see her
family rarely, her playmates are chosen by her caretakers and she’s only
permitted to leave her palace in Kathmandu at ceremonial occasions. If she
leaves her palace, she’s always carried by servants as her feet should not
touch the ground. All her servants and playmates have to fulfil her wishes as
they fear to be punished by her or the other gods.
However,
this “fairytale-like” life ends with the girl’s first menstruation as it is
believed that the goddess escapes the girl’s body when she’s losing blood.
When
returning to their families, the ex-Kumaris have often problems with
integrating themselves again as it’s difficult for them to accept being a “normal”
person again. At least, since some years the Kumaris receive education while
their stay at the palace and have now less difficulties with finding
employment. Also the popular superstition that men that marry ex-Kumaris die
within some months has been displaced by the proof that the last nine Kumaris and
their husbands have reached a high age.
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