Goddesses

This is our last night in Nepal. Tomorrow we go back to Delhi and then start traveling home. It’s been a different kind of whirlwind here. In India we were traveling every day for hours on end so I had plenty of time in the van to blog. Here in Nepal, my Blackberry doesn’t work and even though our guide here likes to start out at the civilized hour of 9:30AM, we have been out and about all day so I’ve sort of fallen behind - posting mostly photographs without a lot of narrative. I will endeavor to throw in some stories now.

I will start with the Kumari Devi…the living goddess who resides in Durbar Square here in Kathmandu. This young girl is chosen at a very young age based on over 30 different criteria ranging from eye color to the shape of her teeth and the sound of her voice. In spite of these stringent requirements apparently more than one girl is found to be suitable so a contest of demeanor and will takes place. All of the eligible girls are placed in a dark room along with a bunch of grotesque, bloody, buffalo heads while a bunch of old men run around outside of the room making scary noises. The girl who remains most calm is anointed as the Kumari living goddess.

She and her family then move into the Kumari residence and are supported by the temple through donations made in her behalf. She is tutored within the residence and only ventures out to make certain public appearances. Her “reign” as the goddess comes to an end the minute she reaches puberty and a new goddess is selected to replace her. She reverts to being mortal but doesn’t leave empty-handed. She receives a substantial dowry from the temple as a parting gift. Unfortunately, it is considered to be very bad luck to marry an ex-Kumari Goddess (the joke being that maybe it’s just not wise to marry someone who has lived such a favored existence).

Since I don’t have a photo of the current Kumari Living Goddess, I’m offering up images of three, regular, every day Nepali goddesses.