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Write an ArticleThe Kumari are a number of young girls in Nepal worshipped by Hindu and Buddhist alike as "living goddesses; There a numerous tales as to the historical origin of the Kumari, however, the culture accepts the living goddesses are the embodiment of Durga. Sajani Shakya, a ten year old Kumari, broke tradition by traveling outside Nepal to participate in a British documentary on the living goddess culture. Due to her departure from Nepal, the Bhaktapur Taleju Temple has stripped Sajani of her title, demoting her once again to a normal child as they begin seeking her replacement.
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Living Goddess Loses Title
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What words mean by scottb :: NR9 :: Show
I think this story offers a really interesting perspective on theology. So very often disagreements over religious beliefs fall into very strictly dichotomous thinking – the "religious" vs the "non-religious". Especially here in the US, the "Abrahamic" religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) so dominate the culture that people tend to think that all religion is more or less the same.
But here we have goddesses who stop being goddesses after a little while. Not just young Sajani, but all of these girls stop being goddesses – normally it happens after their first menses. This is very obviously a different idea of what deity means than the Abrahamic religions have.
I suspect most westerners reading the linked articles react with a kind of superior "how quaint!", and don’t give it much additional thought. It really is worth thinking about what’s going on there, though – if you think it’s wrong, why so? Don’t just dismiss it as "foreign", engage with the idea and see what it really means. "Alien" ideas are a great lens through which to view our own beliefs.
I loved the reactions of the American kids in the linked NPR story about Sajani’s visit to the US. The reactions children have to ideas are themselves sometimes very enlightening.