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American Visit Bad News for Nepali ‘Living Goddess’
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Eleven-year-old Sanjani Shakiya, considered by many in Nepal to be the goddess Kumari, was retired from her position after traveling to America.
30-Second Summary
The Kumari, considered by some Nepali Hindus and Buddhists to be a reincarnation of the goddess Taleju, was a largely unknown phenomenon outside of the Himalayas until American filmmaker Ishbel Whitaker made it the subject of a documentary titled “Living Goddesses.”
To promote the film, Sajani Shakiya traveled to Washington, D.C., last summer. However, because tradition stipulates that the Kumari is not to leave her homeland, the temple workers where she was worshipped began to doubt her ability to fulfill the position’s heavenly mandate.
Upon her return to Nepal, she was temporarily stripped of her status, and this week the 11-year-old girl was officially retired as a living goddess.
Shakiya was chosen based on the assessment of 32 physical attributes and her success at identifying the possessions of past living goddesses. The Kumari is hardly allowed to leave the temple in which she is worshipped.
Traditionally, the Kumari loses her goddess status at her first menstruation, when the spirit of Taleju is “said to leave her body.”
According to legend, men who marry a former goddess die an early death. This can make it hard for former Kumaris to find a partner, and life after divinity can be fraught with financial difficulties.
But the Kumari is not the only deity around. The past 20 years have also seen at least two dictators elevated to the status of demigod.
North Korean “Great Leader” Kim Il Sung was posthumously named “eternal president” by his son. And former Turkmen President Sapamurat “Turkmenbashi” Niyazov claimed that his book the “Rukhnama” was a complement to the Quran.
To promote the film, Sajani Shakiya traveled to Washington, D.C., last summer. However, because tradition stipulates that the Kumari is not to leave her homeland, the temple workers where she was worshipped began to doubt her ability to fulfill the position’s heavenly mandate.
Upon her return to Nepal, she was temporarily stripped of her status, and this week the 11-year-old girl was officially retired as a living goddess.
Shakiya was chosen based on the assessment of 32 physical attributes and her success at identifying the possessions of past living goddesses. The Kumari is hardly allowed to leave the temple in which she is worshipped.
Traditionally, the Kumari loses her goddess status at her first menstruation, when the spirit of Taleju is “said to leave her body.”
According to legend, men who marry a former goddess die an early death. This can make it hard for former Kumaris to find a partner, and life after divinity can be fraught with financial difficulties.
But the Kumari is not the only deity around. The past 20 years have also seen at least two dictators elevated to the status of demigod.
North Korean “Great Leader” Kim Il Sung was posthumously named “eternal president” by his son. And former Turkmen President Sapamurat “Turkmenbashi” Niyazov claimed that his book the “Rukhnama” was a complement to the Quran.
Headline Link: ‘Nepal’s “Living Goddess” Retires’
In Nepal this week, Sajani Shakiya was forced to retire early as the Kumari, the living goddess. Al Jazeera reports on the incident.
Source: Al Jazeera
Background: The tradition of the Kumari
Worshipping the Kumari is an integral part of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism as practiced in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley. The Kumari is selected from a handful of girls, aged four to seven years, from the region’s Buddhist Sakya community. The girls are judged on the basis of 32 characteristics, including the condition of their skin, the pleasantness of their voices, eye color and the shape of their teeth. The finalists are placed in a room where they are subjected to demon-like dancers. According to tradition, the true Kumari will not be frightened. The final test involves picking out the possessions of the former Kumari.
Source: VisitNepal.com
Once selected, the Kumari is required to wear her hair in a top-knot and have a third eye painted on her forehead. She sits in a temple where she receives offerings of cloth and fruit from those seeking blessings or clues as to their fortune. She is only allowed outside the temple for a limited number of festivals, and may only play with those pre-approved by priests.
Source: The Independent
NPR offers clips from Sanjani Sakiya’s July 2007 trip to Washington, D.C., her life at the temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, and clips from the documentary “Living Goddesses.”
Source: NPR
Related Topics: Modern political demigods
Kim Il Sung
In December 1998, former North Korean ruler Kim Il Sung was named “eternal president” in the nation’s constitution, despite having been dead for four years. Il Sung’s son and successor, Kim Jong Il, gave him the title out of what The New York Times called his “filial piety” and, reputedly, shyness. With his dead father as the official president, Jong Il is excused from meeting with foreign dignitaries and traveling abroad. Kim Il Sung was revered “virtually as a god” during his 50-odd years as ruler.
Source: The New York Times (free registration required)
Sapamurat “Turkmenbashi” Niyazov
Sapamurat Niyazov, also known as “Turkmenbashi,” the “father of all Turkmen people,” was the first president of Turkmenistan following its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Considered the object of one of the last great personality cults, his picture adorned every unit of currency. His book, the “Rukhnama,” was proclaimed by Niyazov and his confidants to be an accompaniment to the Quran. As such, it became required reading in every public educational institution. Since Niyazov’s death in December 2006, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov is said to have given instructions to tear down likenesses of the late leader, only to have them replaced with portraits of himself.
Source: Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty
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