a reporter at large

My journey in Nepal began with a virgin goddess from ancient mythology. Once upon a time, a king was visited nightly by this goddess for a game of dice, and he was taken by her charm and beauty. One evening he made a sexual advance, much to the horror of the goddess, who vanished instantly. That night she appeared to him in a dream and told him that his kingdom would come to an end because he had lost her blessing. To this day, the Kumari, meaning virgin in Nepalese, is worshipped as the living virgin goddess.

Every 10 years, a girl between the ages of 3 and 6 from the local Shakya or Bajracharya clan is chosen as the incarnation of the goddess. The selection process sounds like it comes straight out of a horror movie. A candidate is put in a dark room in a temple surrounded by the bloody heads of buffaloes and men wearing grotesque masks dance around her. If she remains calm and shows no fear during the test, then she is recognized as a real Kumari.

As a living goddess, she is not allowed to play outside or go to school, and her feet cannot touch the ground. She is worshipped as a goddess until she menstruates or loses a large amount of blood.


The morning we arrived at Kathmandu's Durbar Square, we just missed the living deity's daily public appearance in the window of her home, the Kumari Bahal temple. As our tour guide Ms Chan sweet-talked the staff and explained that we had come all the way from China, I gazed up at the magnificent intricate carvings of the temple, where she lives in isolation from her family. It must be rough to be a living virgin goddess who comes down to earth.

After giving in to Ms Chan's charms, the staff agreed to ask the girl to stand near the window so we could see her. My heart raced as she appeared wearing heavy makeup with shades of red, yellow and black around her eyes. There was no trace of emotion on her face. No eye contact, nothing. I was kind of disappointed.

Later Ms Chan told me that the last time the living goddess showed her emotions, she cried nonstop for days, and then the king died. Thank god she didn't even smile at me.

Anyway, welcome to Nepal, the land of gods!
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