Virgins in Nepal have long been worshipped and thought sacred, especially the Kumari, or Living Goddess.
This is a girl chosen as the reincarnation of Taleju, a former mythological queen of Nepal who caught her husband playing games with a snake, so she left with a vow that she would only come back to her life as a girl, pure and happy.
Today, the Kumari are selected by a process in which the girls go through odd rituals in an effort to determine whether these girls are really the reincarnation of Taleju. An examination of the girl's teeth, hair, skin, and body (including the intimate areas) determines whether she is physically akin to the once-queen. After the girl is decided to be physically flawless and bodily healthy, she is matched with a test of her fears and insecurities in a dark room of slaughtered animal heads. If she keeps calm and unafraid, she is even closer to the title of Living Goddess.
If she wins over the other contenders, she is given the title and the respect of millions of adoring Buddists and Hindus. Carried on her own throne at all times, she is cared for and attended to at all times. Rarely leaving her own palace, she allows audiences with people in need of blessings and hope. The people kiss her feet, which remain uncovered at all times, and watch her for signs of their own fates. If she is still and silent, it is the highest blessing of all.
Once she begins to menstrate, however, she loses everything and is returned to the family she only knew in formal, public engagements. It is rumored that any marriage to her is cursed and the husband will not survive six months. Essentially, these girls are doomed to maid-hood for their lives if the superstition is believed. However, most of the former kumaris have had long-lasting marriages with several children.
Right, three-year-old Matani Shakya was named the highest kumari on Oct. 7, 2008.
Children's and women's rights activists worry about this girl's future. She is blessed and adored now, but she will be shunned by men once she reaches womanhood. Is this a healthy practice?
Healthy or not, it's an ideology that's been around since the 17th century, yet it's an ideology opposed by activists, who should be saving their energies for the problems of prostitution and malnourished, orphaned children in Africa. There are 12-year-olds taking care of their younger siblings because their parents have succombed to the AIDS virus.
Activists fret over the pychological implications of the kumari. What about the pychological implications of children without parents and without food?
