Shree Bal Kumari

For the current goddess it is usually puberty that marks the end of a Kumari's reign.

In accordance with the long-held practice, the incumbent Kumari of Kathmandu is replaced by a new one whenever the holy order of the priests appointed to perform all ritual worships of the goddess have perceived certain symptoms appearing in her making her unfit to continue in the holy position.

However not any girl can become the Kumari. Prospective candidates have to come from among the Sakya clan, regarded as high priests of the kingdom's Buddhist order, in particular from one of the Sakya families living in Kathmandu's 18 Buddhist monasteries.

The fact that a Hindu goddess is chosen from among senior Buddhist families shows how closely entwined the two cultures are in Nepal.

The processes involved in choosing a new Kumari can sound bizarre to those unfamiliar with the rituals.The candidate should be a toddler who is pure in all respects, with not even a minor scratch to her body or a missing tooth. Before her selection she must spend a night alone in a pitch-dark room to prove her courage, as befits the divine person of a Kali, the Hindu goddess of war. And whoever is eventually chosen faces a serious-minded life for a young girl. The Nepalese believe the Kumari should never smile nor laugh during her reign, as if she did it would mean great misfortune for the country.

Once installed the Kumari also has to live a life of seclusion, remaining within the walls of the official temple-residence, the Kumari Ghar. The Kumari only goes out 13 times in a year to attend certain public and religious functions, to which she is carried in a special chariot, preceded by two deities in human forms Ganesh, the god of success, and Bhairava, god of war.

The current goddess, born in 1989 and installed on the "holy throne" in 1995, will soon be joining eight other "retired" Kumaries in ordinary life.

And although her duties of office will be at an end, it is highly unlikely she will marry as most Nepalese believe such former goddesses remain sacred. Despite the fact that accession to the role means their daughter will almost certainly never wed, most parents consider it a great honor for them to become the Kumari.

The last Kumari was born in 1989 and is 10 years old in 1999. She was spending $406 for her studies per year and is receiving $206 from Ratnakar Mahavihar yearly.

She has managed $200 from a sponsor but she does not have any permanent sponsor for her study. Her secretary says this is her major problem now. We checked her toilet and bathroom, both were in very poor condition and needed to be updated and repaired. To fix them we needed to change the toilet pan and put tiles on the floor and halfway around the wall. The bathroom needed to have a shower tap. In rainy season water leaks on the walk up because there is a water pipe coming out from the sheet metal roof to the water tank, which is on the roof. We thought if we adjusted the water pipe on the wall it could be stopped. They were using plastic pipe then and there needed to be 30 feet of metal pipe. Water leaks in Kumari's room from the corner of the wall required plastering all around the corner of the wall for it to stop. Water leaks in her kitchen as well as there is an old tin roof with many holes on the roof. It was necessary to replace with new tin to stop the water leaking. We checked the kitchen which was not clean and there was an old gas stove, an old rice cooker and two cupboards. One was old and ready to break and the other was fairly new. To find the cost of fixing the above things We needed to work for two days talking with different people and bringing them to the location for estimates. There was no refrigeration available.

We purchased a bed, blanket, pillow, mattress, bed cover, carpet curtains and door hangings for Kumari. We cleaned the Kumari's kitchen, purchased kitchenware and cupboards and a refrigerator and began giving her a monthly amount for support.

There was only one bathroom at Kumari's house and it was in very bad condition. There was no shower room and the toilet had no water system. Now there is very comfortable, American style toilet and shower room for Kumari. His Holiness Buddha Maitreya sponsored the new toilet and shower room for Kumari and her family.

Church of Shambhala sponsors the ex-Kumari monthly in the amount of $120/month and the current Kumari at $100/month since 1999. We have sponsored one for 6 years and one for 4. $8,640 plus $4,800 and the one time sponsorship of the renovation of her home, totals a sponsorship of approximately $16,500