If you like this article, please click "Follow" at the top right. Thank you for your support and encouragement, and hope to bring you a comfortable reading experience.
In Nepal, there is a unique custom of picking "living goddesses".
These "living goddesses" are all children, and as long as they are selected, they will leave their parents and go to live in a special place.
They have no freedom, no expression, and can only live mechanically in heavy clothes, like puppets.
"Living Goddess" also has another nickname, that is, Kumari, which means virgin goddess.
This means that the "living goddess" cannot bleed, otherwise it will be abolished.
From the age of 3, they will be worshipped by the people, and they will not be able to marry until they are lonely and old.
Why did Nepal choose the "living goddess"? What are the selection criteria?
Backward "living goddess"
Nepal is a mountainous country with a relatively backward economy and certain shortcomings in its thinking.
The Vaniers are one of the oldest ethnic groups in the Republic of Nepal, practicing Buddhism and Hinduism, and are more numerous.
Within the Vaniers, there has always been a mysterious ritual of worship, that is, the worship of the "living goddess".
They believed that the "living goddess" was the embodiment of the gods, the representatives of the gods on earth.
Only by maintaining the most devout reverence can the gods bless themselves and the country.
In their hearts, the "living goddess" is the supreme being, the perfect God, and the salvation of their faith.
Believers will worship the "living goddess" at the agreed time and ask for her guidance.
Of course, the so-called "living goddess" is not a real god, but a girl who was born recently.
In these believers' worlds, children are the embodiment of purity and immaculate.
Only children can approach the gods and tell them the wishes of the Nepalese.
The reason why they passed on the "living goddess" system is because of the backwardness of ideology and culture.
Nepal's proximity to mountainous areas is not optimistic about economic development, and religious beliefs occupy a certain right to speak, which has a certain impact on people's behavior.
The official discourse power has also been restricted, leaving enough space for the development of folk worship rituals.
In addition, Nepalese believe that believing in the gods is not just talking, but also needs to combine the beliefs and actions with their own lives, so that the gods can be completely integrated into their own world and deepen their connection with the gods.
Therefore, Nepalese people have a blind pursuit and worship of the "living goddess" in an attempt to obtain salvation in this way.
Of course, they are not aware of the drawbacks of the "living goddess" system, and do not know that this is a backward cultural tradition.
They simply use the "living goddess" as a medium to convey their wishes to the gods and meet their own needs.
It is unacceptable that the choice of "living goddess" has a certain degree of harshness, usually for girls who are very young.
They did not care about the feelings of these girls and blindly let these girls pay for their faith.
The chosen girl will have to face a miserable life alone until she dies.
So, how were these "living goddesses" chosen?
The embodiment of the immaculate gods
As mentioned earlier, the living goddess of the Nepalese people is also named Kumari, which means the goddess of the virgin, the representative of divine holiness.
They believe that girls who have reached adulthood are unclean, and if they canonize them as "living goddesses", they are defiling the gods and are greatly disrespectful.
So, in order to express their reverence for the gods, the Nepalese have identified the "living goddess" as a girl between the ages of seven and thirteen (some say that the target of the selection is a girl under the age of three), and the little girl must be of Sakya origin.
They believe that girls of this age, who have not yet been exposed to the love between men and women, are complete and can be used as an alternative to the virgin goddess.
In addition, they also have strict standards for the appearance and figure of the "living goddess".
The girls demanded no sickness and bleeding, that their bodies were nearly perfect, and that there were no spots or blemishes.
Only girls with 32 traits at the same time can enter the final competition.
First of all, the appearance of the "living goddess" must be dignified and atmospheric, the eyes must have aura, and the face must not have wounds or scars.
Secondly, the figure of the "living goddess" must be symmetrical, there must be no obvious birthmarks and mutilations on the body, and there must be no disabilities in the body.
At the same time, the "living goddess" must not reach the menstrual period, cannot bleed, and cannot have other diseases.
Of course, the birthday of the "living goddess" must be auspicious and need to be professionally judged, and only girls who are judged to be auspicious are eligible to be "living goddesses." ”
Finally, the parents must be the most devout believers who are willing to dedicate their children to the gods.
One of the more terrifying aspects of this is the victory over terror.
They brought the chosen girls to the main hall, which was surrounded by buffalo heads and skulls, creating a terrifying atmosphere.
Then there will be some people pretending to be demons to scare these girls, and only the girls who are quiet will become their final choice.
Only girls who meet the above points at the same time are eligible to become the embodiment of the gods, become the goddess of Nepal's heart, and stay in the goddess temple.
They usually select young girls who, after their first menarche, abolish them and return them to their original families.
In the eyes of Nepalese, girls after menarche have lost their use value and are not eligible to stay in the temple where the "living goddess" lives.
What kind of tests will these selected girls go through?
Trained tool people
After the candidate for the "living goddess" is born, the relevant person in charge will start to act.
First, they will come to the candidate's home and take him away, completely severing his or her ties with his family and making the candidate a full-time avatar of the gods.
Second, they would take the candidate to a temple exclusive to the "Living Goddess" and let her live here.
It is worth mentioning that the feet of the "living goddess" cannot touch the ground, so the relevant personnel will carry the candidate in.
Because of their younger age, they do not let them work immediately, but rather conduct relevant training.
They will take the candidate to the training room and train her in professional grooming.
Candidates cannot cry out loud or laugh, because these two acts are ominous symbols in the eyes of Nepalese and a harbinger of disaster.
As a god, her every word and deed is seen by worshippers as a sign of good fortune.
For example, if the living goddess laughs or shouts at the worshipper, it means that the other person will become seriously ill or even die.
If the living goddess has a gloomy face and looks left and right at the same time, it indicates that there will be a quarrel in the worshipper's home.
If the living goddess takes food with her finger and eats it, it means that the worshipper will be ruined.
Of course, the candidate cannot be as cold as an ice sculpture, she must always smile or expressionless, and treat the believer with the most gentle eyes.
In addition, the candidate must be dressed appropriately and in accordance with the image of the gods.
They would dress the girls in a heavy gold pattern of red, usually about five layers, with their hair curled in buns, and they would wear Buddhist relics from Nepal.
Finally, they will paint the candidate with the required divine makeup, known as "fire eyes".
The purpose is to proclaim to believers her foresight and bring her closer to the gods.
These "living goddesses" do not have to work, but only need to sit in their seats and wait for people to serve, and live a life of clothing to reach out and food to open their mouths.
From time to time, believers will come to bow down, and at this time the "living goddess" needs to enlighten believers and give them hope for life.
As candidates, their lives are only these, with no friends and no family, except for believers who are themselves.
So what is the status of these "living goddesses" in Nepal?
A goddess of infinite scenery
In Nepal, the "living goddess" has a supreme status and is the object of everyone's reverence.
When some important festivals and major commercial events are held in Nepal, the "living goddess" will be invited out by the people to watch the whole process on behalf of the gods.
At the same time, believers will continue to praise her, praise her, and strive to gain her approval, win her attention, and please her mood.
Similarly, they are also concerned about the health of the goddess, and the hospital even launched its private consultation room to protect the health of the goddess.
The kings of Nepal, as well as their heads of government and high-ranking officials, believe in the "living goddess".
As a sign of sincerity, they regularly visit the living goddess and receive baptism.
In some national affairs, they also consult the living goddess and discuss her opinion carefully, and finally apply it to practical life.
For the personal actions of the living goddess, the people of Nepal have expressed their cooperation, and they unconditionally obey the instructions of the goddess and saddle the goddess before and after the horse.
There are also families who target goddesses, hoping that their daughters will become the next "living goddesses." ”
The parents of the living goddess are proud of their daughters and often show off their daughters.
Whether in society or in the family, the "living goddess" is the supreme glory and the eternal pursuit of believers.
However, they also have their own helplessness and their own dreams.
On the surface, they have unlimited scenery, everyone is in awe, social recognition is high, and their living conditions are good.
But the truth is not as simple as it seems, they not only broke away from the family from an early age, lost the love of their parents, but also lost their personal freedom.
They can't show their emotions on the surface, they must always maintain their appearance and smile.
What scares them even more is that they will face elimination at any time.
You know, the "living goddess" is a flawless virgin goddess who cannot bleed.
If they have a love object, or if they do something out of the ordinary, then they will face elimination and lose their goddess qualifications.
But what kind of situation will these girls who have lost the qualification of "living goddess" face?
The dilemma of survival and life
These disqualified girls will be sent home by the relevant personnel and will lose the living conditions provided by the relevant departments.
Because they grew up in temples, these girls rarely worked and lacked the ability to do so.
At the same time, they have been cared for by the relevant personnel and have little hands-on ability.
Under such circumstances, they left the temple without the ability to survive at all.
And the reason why they are eliminated is because of bleeding, which means that they have lost their virgin bodies and are no longer pure.
It also shows that they have defiled the gods and defiled the faith of the believers.
Then they will be ostracized by believers and it will be difficult to find work.
In the case of a single economic source, the living conditions will also become worse, and the probability of survival will be greatly reduced.
Because they lack the ability to do it and the ability to work, they cannot be called qualified labor force, nor can they bring corresponding economic value.
Nepal's economy is relatively difficult, and for a family, income is the most important presence.
The "living goddess" is not strong in labor ability, and they will not be willing to raise an idle person and increase the economic burden.
In order to change the status quo of life, they will not accept eliminated family members.
The family of the "living goddess" has always been proud that their daughter can become the embodiment of the gods.
If the daughter is eliminated, they will think that the daughter is an ominous person and cannot stay at home for a long time.
They will find ways to expel them from their homes and leave them to fend for themselves.
Since the "living goddess" is the embodiment of the gods, even if she leaves office, she must maintain her proper manners.
Of course, there will be no believer who is willing to marry a "living goddess" who thinks that marrying an incarnation of a god is a great disrespectful act and will be cursed by the gods.
Therefore, they are not willing to become married to the "living goddess".
A more brutal superstition is that any man who marries a former "living goddess" will die of hemoptysis within 6 months.
This has left many "living goddesses" forced to empty their boudoirs after retirement.
After the change of the times, the "living goddess" system has undergone earth-shaking changes, and there are opportunities to learn skills, how do they do it?
The living goddess of education in the new era
Nepal adopted a monarchy in the early days, paying more attention to feudal superstitions, believing that living goddesses did not need to be educated, but only needed to convey the will of the gods.
As a result, these girls are unable to survive and can only rely on family relief to live.
As living goddesses, they are also thinking about their own lives and wanting to change their situation.
King Birendra
In the late 1990s, the mother of a Kumari girl repeatedly wrote to King Birendra asking the government to provide kumari girls with teachers of cultural classes.
Unfortunately, this petition did not bear any results, and the living goddess was still unable to receive education and learn survival skills.
These days lasted until 2008, when they finally ushered in the dawn of victory.
In 2008, Nepal abolished its 240-year-old monarchy and became a democratic republic.
The Supreme Court of Nepal ruled that the Kumari tradition should be preserved but modified, and that the government, in addition to giving them incumbent allowances and pensions, would also give them an education allowance to help them with their education.
The living goddesses have the funds to learn, and they also have the opportunity to learn, and they begin to integrate with society and gradually get rid of their previous predicament.
Kathmandu
Even after leaving office, they can support themselves with their skills.
Nowadays, these girls are not only able to receive cultural education, but also to take official examinations, cultural activities, and their freedom has been greatly improved.
After leaving office, some living goddesses were admitted to universities with their excellent learning ability, and even went abroad for further study, becoming a social elite.
One of them is 27-year-old Ms. Sammita Badracharya, who, with her persistence and cleverness, was admitted to the prestigious Kathmandu University to study business administration and obtain an MBA.
Now, she works for her favorite foreign finance company, becomes the girl of her dreams, and lives the life she wants.
Another living goddess, Bajrachaya, fell in love with learning after enjoying the benefits of education.
She often told her other living goddesses that they must not give up on learning and must have a skill in life.
Bajrachaya often stressed: "We really need education to survive." ”
In fact, everyone has faith, and they also have their own gods.
But sacrificing the freedom and life of others to satisfy one's own desire for the gods is still very selfish.
For feudal superstitious ideas, the people really should not pay too much attention to it, we should take its essence, remove its dross, and rely on our own efforts to move step by step into the future, rather than pinning our hopes on the gods.
I also hope that everyone can find their own direction and firmly move towards the future.
Do you have any thoughts or what do you want to say about the "living goddess" of Nepal?
Or you also know what feudal bad habits, better leave your message in the comment area!
Bibliography:
The Secret of the Living Goddess of Nepal Maggie (From People# 153)
Nepal's living goddess makes up for the cultural lesson Global Times/ 2022/08/19/009 Edition Global Style