Nepali capital's new Kumari takes seat as living goddess
7/10/2008 16:08
Three-year-old Matina Shakya will take her seat as the living goddess in
Kumari Ghar in Nepali capital Kathmandu today.
According to eKantipur.com
report, a four-member committee selected her for the position as the reigning
Kumari arrived at close to retirement age.
"Preeti Shakya, the reigning
Kumari is already 11 and there could be an accident any time," said Hem Raj
Subedi, general manager of Guthi Sansthan, a government authority that looks
after religious and cultural affairs on behalf of the state.
By the term
"accident", Subedi was referring to the onset of menstruation cycle on the
reigning Kumari as a Kumari cannot remain in the seat after menstruation
appears. Preeti has been in the seat since 2001.
Like her predecessors,
Matina will be separated from her biological parents during her stay in
Kumarighar as the living goddess.
In the past, the royal priest used to
appoint the Kumari but after the abolition of monarchy, this practice has been
abandoned. The Guthi Sansthan had on Sunday informed President Ram Baran Yadav
about the selection of a new Kumari.
Xinhua
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