Writing about child goddesses as this year's post about modern day slavery is an unusual choice, I agree. It's not exactly slavery but these very young girls aren't free either.
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| Caretakers, tantric priests, and other helpers cocoon the royal Kumari of Kathmandu. (Image: National Geographic) |
Last year I wrote about how queen Elisabeth made a former New Zealand sex worker a dame in her birthday honours. That must have made it even harder for her majesty to deal with the fact that her second son, prince Andrew, partied with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. British tabloid the Daily Mail has published footage of the Duke of York in Epstein's Manhattan mansion in 2010. When you see how young some of these girls are, you know just how wrong it is.
Meanwhile, on her 18th birthday, crown princess Elisabeth of Belgium promises that the country can count on her. It breaks my heart. Being unfree is not the same as slavery but despite the luxurious lifestyle involved, most parents want their children to live a life in which they can make their own choices. [1]
Things are very different when you become a child goddess in Nepal. Young girls from a high caste, roughly between the age of three and six, are choosen to represent Kumari. A Kumari is a Living Goddess, a Nepalese tradition of worshiping young prepubescent girls believed to be the reincarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga, worshiped by both Hindus and Buddhists.
Every culture cherishes its traditions, no matter how odd. Accepting those of others is more difficult. This is not about criticizing religion. When I read the article about the child goddesses of Nepal in the Washington Post, I wondered what it meant for the girls who become living goddesses.
Britain, Holland, Belgium, it's difficult everywhere to refuse the crown if you are born as the next in line. No doubt it's the same in Nepal. What makes it more difficult is that these girls are very young. If they are selected and pass a series of tests, they become living goddesses until the day they have their first period. Before that happens a new goddess is selected and installed.
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| Living Goddess of Patan. Priest: "It's no different from the Vatican's secrets." Human rights activist: "Popes are adults. These are small girls." Besides, it's always a bad idea to use Catholic priests for comparison, even if it's the boss. (image: Washington Post) |
Once a goddess, their young lives are full of restrictions. "The girl isn’t allowed to go outside except for festivals. On those occasions, her feet must not touch the ground. That means someone has to carry the 11-year-old goddess.
Another major rule: the Kumari is not permitted to speak to anyone besides her family and close friends."
"They [the Kumari] are confined inside a temple. Their relatives and a private teacher are the only ones who can talk to them."
When they are forced to retire, they are thrown back into the real world and the process of accepting you are no longer a goddess begins, along with such mundane chores as walking to school. After being confined to the inside of your temple for many years, it can take many months to regain the proper strength in your legs to proper walk and run.
All because you no longer have value in the eyes of your former worshipers. Worshipers who once believed you would bring them luck and fortunate just by looking at them. They were never there for you, you were there for them.
In a, no doubt heavily sanitized Wikipedia entry, it says that "traditionally, the Kumari received no education, as she was widely considered to be omniscient. However, modernization has made it necessary for her to have an education once she re-enters mortal life." Modernization made it necessary huh?
Besides, unlimited knowledge is not the same as making a living, so for the past decade or so the Kumari "have received government support in the form of a monthly stipend while in office and a pension for life when they retire. In real terms, though, the value of this grant barely covers the cost of clothes and worshipping materials" as the National Geograhic writes.
A living goddess is big business indeed. Discover Nepal, the official tourism website for Nepal cheerful advertises the Kumari as a tourist attraction.
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| Click to see larger image. |
"During her time as a goddess the Kumari is supported by the temple income and, on retirement, she is paid a handsome dowry. It is said that marrying an ex-Kumari is unlucky, but it’s believed more likely that taking on a spoilt ex-goddess is likely to be too much hard work!" [2]
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[1] Unless you're queen Patricia of the OWK, that is. Mother wants daughter to take over her empire, despite the fact she doesn't want to have anything to do with naked males in chains.
[2] Lonely Planet Nepal, sixth edition by Bradley Mayhew, Lindsay Brown, Wanda Vivequin & Hugh Finlay.
December 02 is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. As a reminder for us kinky people about the ugly truth of real world slavery, once a year I write about modern day slavery.
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