Nepal's Kumari: Living goddess or victim of tradition?

Kumari: Living goddess or victim of tradition?

 

By Bikash Sangraula

http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=101648

 

KATHMANDU, Feb 24, 2007 - Two cases pending at the

Supreme Court, one to reform and the other to preserve

the Kumari tradition, have set the stage for a classic

battle between tradition and modern rights notions.

Under the Kumari tradition, a pre-pubescent girl from a

Buddhist Shakya family is worshipped as an incarnation

of the Hindu goddess Taleju.

Lawyer Pun Devi Maharjan filed a case at the apex court

in May 2005 demanding protection for the rights of girls

chosen as Kumaris. Among Maharjan's concerns are the

education and normal childhood of the girls.

 

In April 2006, Prof Dr Chunda Bajracharya, who

teaches culture at Tribhuvan University, filed another

case at the court demanding preservation of the tradition

as it qualifies as heritage by virtue of being more than

100 years old. The tradition is believed to have started in

the 17th century when Kathmandu was ruled by King

Pratap Malla.

 

In October last year, the court ordered formation of a

committee to probe the practice and furnish

recommendations. A month ago, a five-member

committee, headed by Under-Secretary at the Ministry

of Culture Jal Krishna Shrestha, was formed. The

committee, which includes as members the two

petitioners and culture expert Tri Ratna Manandhar, has

convened only once so far. It has less than two months

to submit its report to the court.

 

The controversy

 

Maharjan says that by confining girls inside the Kumari

Ghar at Basantapur for years, the tradition denies them a

normal childhood and also hampers their education.

There are 12 serving Kumaris in the country at present,

the principal one of them being the Kumari of

Basantapur, according to Maharjan.

 

"My main demand is sufficient provision for the mental

and physical development of girls functioning as

Kumaris," said Maharjan. "I am, by no means,

demanding abolition of the tradition."

 

Maharjan also said that a former Kumari has a tough

time finding a groom as it is believed that such a groom

must have a birthchart stronger than the Kumari's, else

misfortune may befall him. Strangely, records at the

Kumari Ghar suggest the belief has not prevented men

from marrying former Kumaris. Among 11 former

principal Kumaris still living, only the youngest three

are unmarried.

 

Meanwhile, Dr Bajracharya argues that the tradition

does not violate the rights of the girls. "Instead, any

verdict impeding continuation of the tradition will

violate people's religious and cultural rights," she said.

 

Bajracharya claimed there is adequate provision to

educate the Kumaris. "They are provided teachers and

are required to sit for exams. Once a Kumari is replaced

by a successor, she can continue her education like any

other girl her age," she said.

 

Meanwhile, Jal Krishna Shrestha, who has taken a closer

look at the tradition after being given the responsibility

of coordinating the committee, also said that contrary to

what rumors suggest, the Kumaris are provided with

proper education and care.

 

"There is no evidence of rights violation," he said. "Like

any important personality, say a president or a prime

minister, a Kumari is required to follow a code of

conduct in her everyday life. She is not allowed to walk

around as freely as ordinary girls. That is very normal,"

he argued.

 

What is it like being a Kumari?

 

A former Kumari appeared least impressed by the

questions being raised about the tradition.

 

Rashmila Shakya, 26, who served as the country's

principal Kumari from 1984 to 1992, termed the cases

filed at the court as "politics" and chose not to utter

another word about them. However, she was glad to

recount her days as a living goddess.

 

"It was fun. No one was mad at me. I didn't have to

work either. I spent my days playing with dolls," she

said in her four-story house at Kohiti, Kathmandu.

 

Daughter of a civil servant, Rashmila became Kumari of

Basantapur at the age of six. She does not remember

whether she cried while leaving her biological parents.

However, she vividly remembers the pangs of separation

the day she left her caretaker parents, the hereditary

Chitaidars, after being replaced at the age of 12 by her

successor, Amita Shakya.

 

"For weeks following her succession, she used to grow

nostalgic for the Kumari Ghar at night and ask us to take

her back," said her elder sister Surmila Shakya.

 

Rashmila said the years as Kumari were a privilege. She

never felt under duress, and the responsibilities of being

a living goddess were, for her, more pleasant than

arduous. "I feel lucky to have been able to live the life of

a goddess and then as a human being," said the shy, soft-

spoken young woman.

 

Education concerns?

 

Rashmila said lack of formal education during her

tenure as Kumari is the only thing she regrets. Her sister

Surmila termed it "unfortunate" as formal education was

introduced for the Kumari of Basantapur immediately

after Rashmila's replacement.

 

While at the Kumari Ghar, Rashmila was provided with

textbooks from the nearby Navaratri School and a

teacher used to come to teach her Nepali and Maths for

an hour every day. However, if devotees dropped in

while the class was going on, Rashmila was required to

attend to them. Worse, Rashmila was not required to sit

for exams.

 

"For Rashmila's successors, the time from 11 in the

morning to 3 in the afternoon has been reserved for

education," said Surmila. "Visitors are not allowed to

disturb the Kumari during these hours. More

importantly, after Rashmila's tenure, serving Kumaris

have been regularly sitting for exams," she added.

 

Mahendra Shakya, a caretaker at Kumari Ghar,

concurred.

 

Rashmila was not as lucky as her successors. Surmila

had to teach her English right from the alphabets once

she came home at the age of 12.

 

"After that, we enrolled her in class two," said Surmila.

"She sat on the same bench in class as her little sister,

who is six years younger than her."

 

Rashmila had other problems as well. She was

accustomed to living as a goddess, holding her head

high and straight and was unaware of the basics of living

as a mere mortal.

 

"She didn't know which road led where. She walked

awkwardly with her head held high, and didn't know

what to do when vehicles honked behind her," said

Surmila. After all, during her years as Kumari, Rashmila

left the Kumari Ghar only 13 times a year, including

during Indrajatra. And each outing was very formal.

 

Rashmila also loathed wearing leather shoes as part of

her school dress. Kumaris are not allowed to wear

leather, Rashmila said.

 

An inspiration

 

A fateful meeting with a former Kumari, who was living

the mute, decorated, ornamented existence of a goddess

even 10 years after being replaced, made Rashmila

resolve to lead a normal, educated life.

 

"I saw her sitting in her room, quietly, all made-up the

way we used to be at the Kumari Ghar. She still believed

she was a goddess," Rashmila said. "I told myself this is

not the way I am going to spend the rest of my life."

 

Thanks to her resolve and hard work, Rashmila got

double promotion twice in school. Recently, she

appeared for final semester exams in Bachelor of

Information Technology (BIT) from KIST College. She

was university topper in the sixth semester.

 

The Future

 

Shrestha said that in all likelihood the committee will

recommend to the court to preserve the heritage. "If we

find that the Kumari is facing exploitation, we will of

course recommend necessary intervention," he said.

 

However, the tradition is set to face another, more

serious test in the coming months.

 

Ever since inheriting the tradition from Kathmandu's last

Malla king, the Shah kings have been receiving

blessings from the serving Kumari on the day of Indra

Jatra every year to keep the monarchy intact. With

monarchy's future slated to be decided by a constituent

assembly, the tradition's power to protect the monarchy

will be put to the test.