A little girl was chosen during Nepal's Hindu festival to be the new 'living virgin goddess' and will now have to follow some strict rules.
Two-year-old Aryatara Shakya was selected for the honour last week (30 September) after successfully passing several requirements.
Some of the tests she had to pass to be chosen as the Kumari included not being afraid of the dark, being shown several sacrificed buffalo, as well a watching masked men dance in blood to assess her bravery.
If Aryatara had shown fear, she would have failed, but she completed them and will now take over the role from Trishna Shakya, who has now reached puberty so will no longer hold the title.
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The legend of her title comes from beliefs that King Jaya Prakash Malla and the Goddess Taleju used to play dice, but only in secret.
His Queen became suspicious of his regular disappearances and followed the King to where he was going.
She barged into the room and found the goddess and the King playing their dice game, causing the goddess to leave and refuse to return to the King.
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The goddess said she would come back in the form of a young community girl.
What rules does the living ‘virgin goddess’ have to follow?
Now that she has been chosen, there is a strict way of life the youngster must follow.
Her parents carried her to the Ghar Kumari House, where she will live now, separated from them and her twin brother.
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The Kumari is seen as the living embodiment of the Hindu goddess Taleju.
She will be worshipped by both Hindus and Buddhists, and is said to bless those who see her with fortune and good luck.
Aryatara will live in the temple and be looked after by the Shakya clans of the Newar community, and will only be allowed out a few times a year, and will have a select group of permitted playmates.
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Whenever she is outside of the palace, she must be carried as her feet are not allowed to touch the ground.
Traditionally, the Kumari is a girl aged between two and four, with unblemished skin, hair, eyes and teeth with no scars or marks, as she resembles what the King described the goddess as.
They also check that she has the 'eyelashes of a cow, the neck of a conch shell and a chest of a lion', and she shares the same star sign as the king.
Until recent times, the Kumari received no education and was cut off from the outside world, making life much harder once they hit puberty and become 'mortal' again, and were expected to rejoin society.
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Much of their life was spent in one room, until a human rights group applied pressure, and the Kumari now has a personal tutor, and can read books and magazines and access the internet.
It is also rumoured that any husband of a former Kumari will die young by coughing up blood, meaning many ex-Kumari remain unmarried due to superstition.
Aryatara will always wear red, have her hair pinned up in a topknot, and during festivals a 'third eye' is painted on her forehead.
Many young girls struggle to adjust to life when their tenure ends when they start their first period, as they believe that the bleeding is Taleju leaving the child's body.
Spending so much time away from their family, to move back in with them, and to go from being worshipped to being treated as a normal person makes it hard to adapt.
Topics: World News
Jen Thomas