KATHMANDU, NEPAL, August 12, 2008: Religious authorities in Nepal have begun the search for a girl who could be as young as three or four to serve as the new Kumari, or the virgin “living goddess”, in a centuries-old tradition.
Astrologers were consulting horoscopes of candidates from Buddhist Shakya families to replace the current Kumari, Preeti Shakya, who is 11 and should retire during the annual Hindu festival of Dasain in October, temple officials said. “If we don’t change her now, we’ll have to wait until next year which could be late,” said Deepak Bahadur Pandey, a senior official of the state-run Trust Corporation that oversees the country’s cultural matters.
Under the Kumari tradition, a girl selected from a Buddhist Newar family goes through a rigorous cultural process and becomes the “living goddess”. She is considered by many as an incarnation of the powerful deity Kali and is revered until she menstruates, after which she must return to the family and a new one is chosen.
Traditionally it was believed that the girl’s horoscope should be in harmony with that of the king of Nepal. It is not clear how this formality will be completed now that Nepal has abolished the monarchy. In the past even the kings of Nepal sought her blessings.