Guest Posted July 12, 2001 Report Share Posted July 12, 2001 Sukhumvit, the candidate for the Kumari of Kathmandu can be anywhere between 2 and 4 years old. The custom goes back to a legend, in which a 18th century king, Jaya Prakash Malla, is said to have gambled with goddess Taleju. Everything went fine until he was overcome by feelings of lust for the goddess. Taleju was angry, disappeared into thin air and vowed to only come back in the shape of a very young virgin. Since then, girls of the Shakya caste have been chosen to be the Kumari ("virgin"), who is regarded as the incarnation of Taleju. The whole thing basically is a Tantric custom: Taleju is another form of goddess Durga or Kali, who both were often appeased with human sacrifices in India and Nepal; then you have a cult around a little girl, which is the incarnation of an object of lust, and there is blood (when her menstruation starts and she has to retire). Nepal came under the influence of Tantra around the 11. century - it still is, as the above cult shows. Another remnant are festivals like Dassain, in which animals are slaughtered in the streets and the blood is offered to Durga/Taleju. Incidentally, there are several reigning Kumaris in the Kathmandu Valley at any given time (such as in Patan and Bhaktapur); but the one in Kathmandu is the most important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 12, 2001 Report Share Posted July 12, 2001 quote: Originally posted by elef: "I think we take this discussion over a beer in august." No problem. I'll in Bangkok in the first half of August (then two quick trips to India and Europe). Hi elef & Scum_Baggio & Sukhumvit, Thanks for the interesting contiuation of the thread, it's a fascinating glimpse into a culture that was completely ignored by me until my recent trips to Thailand and discovery of this board. I hope to be in Bangkok for a week from about 23 July but due to still unresolved matters concerning work, I am not sure yet. I'd be honored with having beer in such company if our schedules permit, but I'm afraid I won't be able to contribute anything worthwhile in these fields. Best regards to all. Ciao! micsnee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sukhumvit Posted July 13, 2001 Report Share Posted July 13, 2001 Scum grassy arse. Where do you learn all this stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 13, 2001 Report Share Posted July 13, 2001 Originally posted by Sukhumvit:"Scum grassy arse. Where do you learn all this stuff?" Making a living out of this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 13, 2001 Report Share Posted July 13, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Scum_Baggio: Making a living out of this helps. Ain't we lucky ! We're getting the same high caliber info as CIA, Mossad, KGB and hosts of multi-national corporations Ciao! micsnee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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