"Kumaris are chosen between the ages of 2 and 4 years old and live mostly in isolation within the temple until puberty. A 2-year-old girl has been annointed as Nepal's new living goddess on Tuesday during the country's longest and most significant Hindu festival. Aryatara Shakya, who is 2 years and 8 months old, was carried by family members from their home in a Kathmandu alley to a temple palace."
"Girls between the ages of 2 and 4 years old are required to have unblemished skin, hair, eyes and teeth in order to be selected. They are also required not be afraid of the dark. Family, friends and devotees paraded the new Kumari Shakya through the streets of Kathmandu before she entered the temple palace, which will be her home for several years."
"Devotees lined up to touch the girls' feet with their foreheads, the highest sign of respect among Hindus in the Himalayan nation, as well as offering her flowers and money. The new Kumari will bless devotees including the president Thursday. "She was just my daughter yesterday, but today she is a goddess," her father Ananta Shakya said. Kumaris face difficulty after puberty"
Kumaris are living goddesses selected from the Shakya clans of the Newar community in Kathmandu. Girls aged two to four are inspected for unblemished skin, hair, eyes and teeth and must not fear the dark. Selected girls live in a temple palace, largely isolated, and receive parades, offerings and devotion from Hindus and Buddhists; devotees touch their feet and seek blessings, including from state leaders. Families compete for the honor because selection elevates social standing. Selection ends at puberty when the Kumari is considered mortal and returns to ordinary life. A 2-year-8-month-old named Aryatara Shakya was carried to the temple by family.
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]