Kumari - the little goddesses of Nepal, living on earth among ordinary people

Kumari are little girls whom Nepalese Hindus and Buddhists consider real goddesses. Every morning they are dressed in red clothes and decorated with priceless jewelry, they have a lot of toys and a TV, the king kisses their feet, and ordinary people dream of seeing them!

These girls are Kumari-devi, the bodily incarnation of the goddess Taleju Bhavani on earth.

Taleju Bhavani is the hypostasis of the formidable Kali Durga.

Any girl from the lower caste can become a goddess. She should be beautiful, healthy, without a single scar, wart or mole. Horoscopes of all pretenders are checked for compatibility with the king. The selected girls are subjected to the last test: they are locked up at night with chopped goat heads, and from time to time people burst into them and scare them. The most daring is chosen by the goddess.

Now, all household duties are removed from her, but ritual duties are imposed: any of her actions are signs of pleasure or displeasure of the goddess. If a girl cries, screams, it means that something urgently needs to be changed in state policy. If she is calm and happy, then everything is going fine! Of course, in the interests of the state, any vagaries of Kumari are executed without delay.

Here she lives in such a palace:

Kumari has no right to walk on the bad ground, that is, any land outside the palace. They take her out of the palace several times a year, during big holidays - on her hands or in a golden palanquin.

Anyone can enter the courtyard of the goddess’s house and ask her to look out. Usually there are always a lot of people in the yard.

Very often, the goddess peeps, because in the palace chambers she is bored.

Girls rarely see their parents, and usually these are official visits.

It is believed that Kumari possesses tremendous spiritual strength, therefore, many comers come to the girls who make offerings: money, rice powder, flowers. Instead, they ask for healing and blessings.

It is believed that Kumari possess omniscience, so they do not need to learn. However, recently a teacher nevertheless comes to the little goddesses, but he is forbidden to demand something from the girl, he can only carry away and interest the subject.

In a sign of her divine omniscience, Kumari servants apply a fiery eye to her face.

After any injury or the onset of the first menstruation, it is believed that the spirit of the goddess came out of the girl, and the search for a new Kumari begins. An authority transfer ceremony is taking place. Former Kumari is assigned a large lifetime pension.

Upon returning to the world of girls, a difficult adaptation awaits. They have to learn the simplest household skills, study the streets, try to communicate with people on equal terms, in the end - just walk with your feet! The autobiographical book of Rashmila Shakya, the former goddess, is devoted to adaptation difficulties.

Until the end of their days, former Kumari love red dresses and recite secret mantras protecting the country and people. They are proud of their status even after they lose it.

Watch the video: Life of a Kumari Goddess: The Young Girls Whose Feet Never Touch Ground (May 2024).