[Newspoetry] NYTimes.com Article: Nepal Gets New living 'oddess'

[futrelle at ncsa.uiuc.edu]

This article from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by futrelle at ncsa.uiuc.edu.

Just what, exactly, is an 'oddess'?

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Nepal Gets New living 'oddess'


By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

Filed at 2:39 p.m. ET



KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- A 4-year-old girl was elevated as the new
living goddess of Nepal on Tuesday, to spend her childhood revered
as the source of prosperity in the Hindu kingdom high in the
Himalayas.

Preeti Shakya, the daughter of a poor family, was enthroned as the
new Kumari, or virgin goddess -- a status she will hold until she
reaches puberty and returns to being a mere mortal.

The ceremony took place in the goddess's small palace at the heart
of the Nepalese capital, an official with the department that looks
after the Kumari told The Associated Press.

The palace is just few feet from the Hanumandhoka palace, where
King Gyanendra was crowned Nepal's new king last month after a
royal massacre that left his predecessor and nine other royals
dead.

The Kumari is revered by both Hindus and Buddhists who believe that
she has blessed the king and 22 million people of this Himalayan
nation with peace and prosperity.

The royal priests and officials spent April and May searching for a
new Kumari to replace the old one, who began menstruating and
therefore lost her divine status.

The new Kumari will be introduced to the public in October during
Desain, Nepal's biggest festival. Like many goddesses, Shakya comes
from Nepal's lower classes, the daughter of Surendra and Reena
Shakya, who live in a mud and brick house in a low income
neighborhood of Katrmandu. She has an elder sister, Priya, who is
6.

The goddess lives a life of extreme privilege, but also of
isolation. Past Kumaris have complained of being dumped, unprepared
and neglected, back into the harsh realities of life. Many Nepalese
parents would now rather see their daughters educated.

The goddess lives sequestered in her palace, allowed only a few
selected playmates, and sees the outside world a few times a year
when she is wheeled through the capital on a chariot pulled by
devotees. She wears only red, her hair is always tied in a topknot
and she has a third eye painted on her forehead.

By tradition, the Kumari must come from the Shakya clan -- the clan
to which the Buddha belonged. Shortlisted candidates must pass
tough tests, including spending a night among the heads of ritually
slaughtered goats and buffaloes. She must also have perfect skin,
hair, eyes and teeth.

One former goddess, Rashmila Shakya, described in a past interview
with The Associated Press the jolting transition back to a mortal
life.

As a goddess, she had dozens of servants and never had to step on
the ground because she was carried by them. Her tutor, who came to
teach her for an hour a day, didn't dare order her to study.

Now she lives with her family in a small mud and brick house on a
narrow alley. Like most of the eight ex-goddesses still alive, she
remains unmarried: Tradition holds that men who marry an
ex-goddesses will die young.

In December, the government announced a monthly pension of $40 for
serving and retired Kumaris. Previously, the goddess received only
a gold coin during an annual festival when the king receives
blessing from the Kumari. 

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Nepal-Living-Goddess.html?ex=995792461&ei=1&en=39029a915466e6dc

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