The complexities of nature and matter have a divine character in Nepal, and Hinduism is often associated with Buddhism: ritual offers led by priests; sometimes with blood, others with red paint, painted Buddha figures; sincerity, animal offerings… And what we call The Cumario: the grounding of the elder in the "reincarnated" girls.

Clusters are girls considered manifestations of divine and spiritual energy. Lived incarnation of the Hindu goddess, the most important goddess, the mother goddess. Also called Durga, Bhawani, Bhagawati, Kali, Parvati or Vajradevi for the Buddhists. When the girl is between 2 and 5 years old, she must pass the physical and psychological tests and, after her election, she will live in the palace of the goddess until the rule (or dripping blood) drops.

Legend has it that Taleju played every night in dice with King Jayaprakash Mesh (XVIII). In the 19th century), until his lack of respect makes him angry and disappear. But realizing Monarch's repentance, Taleju returned to send him a message: he would reincarnate in the body of a clean and rough girl, and in exchange for the goddess to protect the kingdom, the king would establish the cult of the girl.

Trishna Shakya, Kumaria de Kathmandu

In 2017, at the age of 3, Trishna Shakya became the new queen Rearing of Kathmandu and replaced Preeti Shakya, who had been in office since the age of 4. Taleju's energy encompasses the body of a girl from the Buddhist clan Shakya (Siddhartha Gautama, heirs of the Shakyamuni Buddha) and the Newar community. By lowering the ruler to the puppies, the blood "spreads the body" and leaves the body of the girl it used to put in body the energies of the goddess.

According to the Feminism in India platform, with feminist content written by Indian women, girls representing the goddess Durga Puja (West Bengalan) or Navratri (north of the country) are chosen at festivals such as Durga Puja (West Bengalan). Locals worship them and receive offers from monks and clergy. In India, girls are revered once, while in Nepal the Kumariak keep their place for years.

Applicants for humiliation must meet a number of requirements. He Lal Ghimir, a professor at the Nazan University of Japan, has included in his postdoctoral study on the Buddhist pilgrimages: never getting sick, not having marks on the skin and never having shed drops of blood. They must also have 32 lachchins or perfections of the goddess, such as excellent health, black hair, smooth and curly to the right, white teeth and without space, small tongue and childhood, the body of the Banyan tree or cow brows, among others.

In the past, to ensure compatibility between the girl and the king of Nepal, the horoscopes had to agree. Traditionally, the Kumariak don't go to school. Can you teach something more to a goddess who knows everything? They're very isolated, usually they can only talk to caregivers. And because they don't have permission to step on the ground, when they're out of the palace, they move holding their arms or climbing in chariots.

In Nepal there are three full-time Kumari. In the historical era of Tela (1736-1768), in three kingdoms of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur there was a Kumari. With the unification of the country, the Kathmandu became the real Kumari (no monarchies, now national). Eleven people receive the energy of the goddess "from time to time" at festivals and special events. In the rest, they are normal girls and have a normal life.

The most important figure of this tradition is the Kumaria de Kathmandu, which can only leave the palace in events as specific as the Kumari Jatra festival. In order to publicly show the close relationship between the goddess and the king, the first three days of the largest celebration of the Kathmandu Valley, Indra Jatra, are celebrated in honor of the Cumari.La figure of the Kathmandu Humiliator has been
fundamental to the legitimization of the kings of Nepal. Chiara Letizia, professor of South Asian Religions at the University of Québec, specializes in religious anthropology in Nepal. The goddess Kumari wrote in the Supreme Court’s investigation how traditionally the king picked up the red mark called the tika that was presented to the Cumari as a symbol of blessing. The tradition, probably initiated at the time of King Jaya Prakash Tela, continued during the Shah Dynasty (1768-2008, Kathmandu) and, even after the Maoist rebellion, each head of state has retained its rite of legitimation to date.

The first steps of the goddess in the secular state

Until 2001 there was constitutional monarchy in Nepal and Birendra was king. But that year, before the suicide of the pretender prince, he murdered his whole family in the Narayanhiti Palace, including the king. The crown was then taken by the brother of King Gyanenrá and tried to restore the absolute monarchy. The situation is more complicated as the country has been engaged in civil war between the government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) since 1996. In 2006, the peace agreements between the new democratic government and the Communist Party were signed, and since 2008 the country is the republic.

In October 2008, the new Maoist finance minister, Baburam Bhattarai, announced that the government would not finance festivals such as Dashain or Indra Jatra: if it was considered to be a secular government, the cost was too high. Upon knowing the decision, Kathmandu and Bhattarai regressed the four days of disruptions. This conflict is a good example of the importance of religious tradition for much of the country. This tradition also includes that of the Kumaria, one of the most important parts of the country’s personality.

Because of the nature of the cult of the young, the lives of the girls are altered. The most mentioned violations of rights have been lack of education, strict social isolation and separation from parents for many years. Former Lalitpur Breeding, Chanira Bajracharya, in an interview with the New York Times in 2022, noted that the hardest time was to become a mortal girl, adapting to non-divine character.

In the media, Kumarien's relatives have always been satisfied with the position of the girls, they say it is a great honor for them. The old puppies are also worthy of tradition and have pointed out that it was the best time of their life.

Despite the great emotiveness that exists around the process of selection and worship, the lack of awareness of girls in the circumstances of their lives has attracted the attention of many external and internal observers.

Custom tried

In 2005, Pun Devi Maharján, lawyer and human rights activist, presented to the Supreme Court of Nepal a matter of public interest. It took tradition to the jury's test. She described it as exploitation and child labor and argued that, given the limitation of personal freedom, it impaired the physical and mental development of girls.

However, the complainant did not intend to remove the tradition and requested its transformation. Maharján argued: The need for families to bear the economic costs of violating the rights and office of children (there are no temporary public funds for the Kumars) has already led to the suspension of custom in many places and that, if their rights are not fully guaranteed, tradition may disappear.

The ruling concluded that the violation of human rights was "incomodable". He defined puppies' ritual activities as acceptable traditional devotion; instead of child labor, the Kumari-lana. He stressed the value of tradition, which was fundamental to both Buddhist and Hindust followers. He added that Kumariak ' s participation is necessary in various religious activities in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.

The parties concerned concluded that the way to modernize tradition in the secular state of Nepal is not to deny Kumaria’s divine character, but to establish contemporary standards and adapt tradition to human rights.

Current situation

It has been 15 years since the ruling was agreed and Bhadra Sharma, a journalist from the New York Times in Nepal, says that there has been a great change, especially educational. “Now Kumaria has a professor who goes to the palace to teach classes. Despite not going to school, the right to education is guaranteed.” The federal government and local government have allocated funds for the education and welfare of the Kumari.

“There is still some dissident voice,” journalist Sharma talks about women and human rights organizations. “But since the trial there have been remarkable changes, in addition to education, she now spends more time with parents and when she leaves the post the state gives her a monthly salary in the form of a pension.” Being a child "full of honor and joy" to both girls and their parents.

On the one hand, the sentence recognized the human dimension of Kumarien, which deserves rights and care. On the other hand, he says that religion is useful for the state and that to protect tradition, religious traditions must be changed. "The shared recognition of a continuum between goddess and man, and not the strict distinction between man and divine belief represented by Western institutions. This allowed negotiation," says Chiara Letizia.