What do you do with a Kumari when she stops being a Kumari...

Forgive the paraphrase on the song "What Do You Do?" -- sung by Bing Crosby in the 1954 musical "White Christmas":  What do you do with a General when he stops being a General, oh what do you do with a General who's retired?

But - what do you do with a Kumari once she reaches puberty and ceases to be a Living Goddess? [Image: Chanira Bajracharya, 15, Kumari for the last 9 years]

Nepal's "living goddess" eyes banking career
Gopal Sharma
Wed Apr 7, 2010 10:42am EDT

Chanira Bajracharya, 15, has been the Kumari or "living goddess" of Patan, an ancient town south of Kathmandu, for nine years, blessing devotees at the temple and riding in decorated chariots 18 times a year during Hindu and Buddhist festivals.

Now, with her time as living goddess drawing to a close -- the young virgin deities retire on reaching puberty -- Bajracharya is contemplating a career in banking if she makes grades good enough to study commerce or accounting.

Last week she became the first living goddess ever to take the school leaving certificate examination, which was administered to her in her temple, which is housed in her home. . . .

Job Vacancy: Apply To Be a Kumari Today!

From the Independent (UK) Situation vacant: Girl, 3, wanted for role of living goddess. Must offer blessings By Andrew Buncombe, Asia Correspondent Thursday, 14 August 2008 Nepal's astrologers are reviewing horoscopes to find the replacement for the current goddess, who is 11. "If we don't change her now, we'll have to wait until next year which could be late," said Deepak Bahadur Pandey, a senior official at the state-run Trust Corporation that oversees cultural affairs in the politically turbulent Himalayan nation. "If the girl starts menstruating while serving as kumari, it is considered inauspicious." For hundreds of years, living goddesses have been held sacred in Nepal and their blessings have been sought by officials and others seeking good fortune. Many campaigners believe the practice is outdated and harmful to the young girls, who must be willing to give up a normal childhood, live a cloistered life and offer occasional blessings. The contract is terminated when they reach puberty. There are more than a dozen kumari in Nepal, but it is the Kathmandu or chief Kumari that is the most important goddess. The abolition of the 240-year-old monarchy earlier this year and the declaration of Nepal as a republic has complicated the selection process this time. Traditionally, Nepal's king received the Kumari's annual blessing and astrologers would look for a child whose horoscope matched that of the monarch. Now officials have to find someone else to fill the king's shoes. Chunda Bajracharya, a professor of cultural studies at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, said the republican status of Nepal was no excuse to drop centuries-old traditions. "We cannot end these traditions just because there is no king." For the Kathmandu Kumari, cut off from the outside world, carried everywhere and not allowed outside her temple, life is not easy. Yet many families still put forward their daughters for the role, both for the supposed honour and for the modest compensation given to the family. In recent years campaigners have pointed out the detrimental effects of the tradition and former kumaris have told of their difficulty in adjusting to normal life once their contracts have been terminated. Three years ago, Pundevi Maharjan, a human rights lawyer in Kathmandu, filed a lawsuit claiming the children's rights were being abused and demanding reform. "I said exploitation and discrimination has been going on. This should be eliminated," she said last year. "We don't want to end the tradition but we have to change for the protection of the culture." But Mr Pandey said the secret selection process was already well under way for a new kumari. The girl must have perfect eyes, teeth, hair and not even the smallest scratch on her skin. Nepal held elections in April and former rebel Maoists are now poised to form the country's new government. Having campaigned stridently against the discrimination of the Nepalese Hindu caste system and for the establishment of a republic, it is unclear whether they will allow the kumari tradition to continue. Another person already out of a job is the former royal priest, Madhab Bhattarai. Perhaps not surprisingly, he regrets the abolition of the increasingly unpopular monarchy. "For centuries Nepal has remained socially harmonious, despite being a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-faith country," he said. "It was the king who was a central point of unity."

Nepal's Living Goddess in Limbo

BBC News By Charles Haviland BBC News, Kathmandu Friday, June 6, 2008 The appointment of a new "living goddess" in Nepal is being held up by the recent abolition of the monarchy, a Nepalese official says. According to tradition, the king's priest appoints the girl, who is chosen in her infancy and is treated as a goddess, or Kumari, until puberty. But the priest no longer has any say in the republic, the head of the trust overseeing the tradition says. Hindus and Buddhists regard the Kumaris as incarnations of a deity. 'Unthinkable' Shreeya Bajracharya, 6, has been selected by a religious panel as the "living goddess" in the town of Bhaktapur, near the capital Kathmandu. She was chosen to replace the previous goddess who retired early in March. Under the ancient tradition, she has to have certain physical attributes and undergo special tests to be selected. But the head of the trust overseeing the Kumari tradition told the BBC that because Nepal is now a republic that priest no longer has any role in the matter. He said the chairman of the trust's board would have to decide soon who would approve the new living goddess. This quandary is just one of many set to arise now that the politicians have abolished the monarchy without thinking through the religious or political implications. It is unthinkable that this deeply religious country would scrap the rich series of traditions and festivals which pepper the people's lives and are also a magnet for tourists. Yet many traditions are associated with the king and may face adjustments in future. Nepal is now supposed to be a secular state but for the past two years the elderly Prime Minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, has been trying to take on the king's religious roles with a stream of temple visits. A few months ago the prime minister was said to be angered when the royal priest refused to give a blessing. The biggest elected party, the Maoists, are fiercely non-religious. However, the party's deputy leader was blessed by a priest at the start of his election campaign.

"Living Goddess" Fired!

Nepali "living goddess" fired after U.S. visit

Tue Jul 3, 2:11 AM ET

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - A 10-year-old Nepali girl worshipped as a living goddess, or Kumari, has lost her "divine" status for defying tradition and visiting the United States.

Sajani Shakya was installed at the age of two as the Kumari of the ancient town of Bhaktapur, near the capital Kathmandu, where she was revered by Hindus and Buddhists alike in deeply religious Nepal.

But a recent trip to the United States to promote a British-made documentary exploring Nepal's traditions and contemporary political turmoil has upset local religious leaders.

"It is wrong and against the tradition for her to go on a foreign tour without any permission," the chief of a trust that manages the affairs of Bhaktapur's Kumari tradition, Jai Prasad Regmi, told Reuters on Tuesday.

"This is impure in our tradition. We will search for a new Kumari and install her as the living goddess," Regmi said.

Bhaktapur's is one of several Kumaris in the Kathmandu valley, home to 1.5 million people. The most important lives in a 15th century temple in Kathmandu's ancient Durbar Square.

Living goddesses are chosen from the Buddhist Shakya family after a tough selection process.

They are required to stay in temples blessing devotees until reaching puberty, after which they rejoin their family and lead a normal life.

"We are discussing whether or not to pay Sajani monthly pension. We are positive on this," Regmi said.

While other living goddesses get a monthly pension of $17 (8 pounds) each after retirement, Kathmandu's gets about $50 a month.

Nepal's Supreme Court last year ordered the government to submit a detailed report on whether the Kumari tradition violated the children's human rights. Officials say the study is underway.