"...a status she will hold until she reaches puberty and returns to being a mere mortal" Can't decide which is worst, being imprisoned for life or being released when you're so clueless.

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/192/world/4_year_old_girl_chosen_as_new_:.shtml

4-year-old girl chosen as new Kumari, living goddess of mountain kingdom of Nepal

By Binaj Gurubacharya, Associated Press, 7/11/2001 01:32

KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) A 4-year-old girl was elevated as the new living goddess of Nepal, to spend her childhood revered as the source of prosperity in the Hindu kingdom high in the Himalayas.

Preeti Shakya, the daughter of a poor family, was enthroned Tuesday as the new Kumari, or virgin goddess a status she will hold until she reaches puberty and returns to being a mere mortal.

The ceremony took place in the goddess's small palace at the heart of the Nepalese capital, an official with the department that looks after the Kumari told The Associated Press.

The palace is just few feet from the Hanumandhoka palace, where King Gyanendra was crowned Nepal's new king last month after a royal massacre that left his predecessor and nine other royals dead.

The Kumari is revered by both Hindus and Buddhists who believe that she has blessed the king and 22 million people of this Himalayan nation with peace and prosperity.

The royal priests and officials spent April and May searching for a new Kumari to replace the old one, who began menstruating and therefore lost her divine status.

The new Kumari will be introduced to the public in October during Desain, Nepal's biggest festival. Like many goddesses, Shakya comes from Nepal's lower classes, the daughter of Surendra and Reena Shakya, who live in a mud and brick house in a low income neighborhood of Katrmandu. She has an elder sister, Priya, who is 6.

The goddess lives a life of extreme privilege, but also of isolation. Past Kumaris have complained of being dumped, unprepared and neglected, back into the harsh realities of life. Many Nepalese parents would now rather see their daughters educated.

The goddess lives sequestered in her palace, allowed only a few selected playmates, and sees the outside world a few times a year when she is wheeled through the capital on a chariot pulled by devotees. She wears only red, her hair is always tied in a topknot and she has a third eye painted on her forehead.

By tradition, the Kumari must come from the Shakya clan the clan to which the Buddha belonged. Shortlisted candidates must pass tough tests, including spending a night among the heads of ritually slaughtered goats and buffaloes. She must also have perfect skin, hair, eyes and teeth.

One former goddess, Rashmila Shakya, described in a past interview with The Associated Press the jolting transition back to a mortal life.

As a goddess, she had dozens of servants and never had to step on the ground because she was carried by them. Her tutor, who came to teach her for an hour a day, didn't dare order her to study.

Now she lives with her family in a small mud and brick house on a narrow alley. Like most of the eight ex-goddesses still alive, she remains unmarried: Tradition holds that men who marry an ex-goddesses will die young.

In December, the government announced a monthly pension of $40 for serving and retired Kumaris. Previously, the goddess received only a gold coin during an annual festival when the king receives blessing from the Kumari.

-- Anonymous, July 11, 2001