POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, Oct 6 - Three-year-old Matina Shakya will take her seat as the living goddess in Kumari Ghar today.
Guthi Sansthan officials said a four-member committee comprising priests of Taleju and Kumari Ghar selected her for the position as the reigning Kumari arrived at close to retirement age.
"Preeti Shakya, the reigning Kumari is already 11 and there could be an accident any time," said Hem Raj Subedi, general manager of Guthi Sansthan, a government authority that looks after religious and cultural affairs on behalf of the state.
By the term "accident", Subedi was referring to the onset of menstruation cycle on the reigning Kumari as a Kumari cannot remain in the seat after menstruation appears.
Preeti has been in the seat since 2001, shortly after the Royal Massacre.
Like her predecessors, Matina will be separated from her biological parents during her stay in Kumarighar as the living goddess.
On September 28, a new Kumari, Shreeya Bajracharya, has taken her seat in Bhaktapur, another state-recognized Kumari. The seat was vacant for eight months.
In the past, the royal priest used to appoint the Kumari but after the abolition of monarchy, this practice has been abandoned. The Guthi Sansthan had on Sunday informed President Dr Ram Baran Yadav about the selection of a new Kumari.
Posted on: 2008-10-06 20:14:16 (Server Time)
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