A 2-year-old girl has been chosen as Nepal’s new living goddess, known as the Kumari. Aryatara Shakya replaces the previous Kumari, who has followed the tradition of stepping down upon reaching puberty.
Archived version: https://archive.is/20251001214125/https://apnews.com/article/nepal-living-goddess-hindu-tradition-0cd93fa79e3446ffdf995210f44b8f99
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
I saw this on wikipedias homepage and yeah this feels so weird. Idk if it’s disrespectful but the selection process especially is just uhhh
Body evaluation of a child? Idk how to CW this
Girls who pass these basic eligibility requirements are examined for the battis lakshanas, or “thirty-two perfections” of a goddess, which involves their bodies being stripped of all clothing and caressed by the priests.
Some of these “perfections” are poetically listed, as such: A neck like a conch shell
A body like a banyan tree
Eyelashes like a cow
Thighs like a deer
Chest like a lion
Voice as soft and clear as a duck’s
In addition to this, her hair and eyes should be as black as possible, and she should have dainty hands and feet, small and well-recessed sexual organs, and a set of twenty teeth
Edits: numerous corrections to formatting and text because im bad at this game
What’s disrespectful is everything about this disgusting “selection process” holy fuck ew