Dea incarnata in tour negli USA

[Chaos88 (POL)]

Notizia curiosa: una ragazzina nepalese di 10 anni considerata il veicolo dalla dea Kali in terra è in tour negli Stati Uniti per promuovere un documentario intitolato "Living Goddess".

Rare Glimpse of a Goddess
First Nepal Living Goddess Arrives in the U.S. and
Giggles Through Her Tour

ABC News
June 14, 2007

by Claire Shipman

Sajani Shakya, 10, is the first living goddess to visit the
United States from Nepal, where she is worshipped and
believed to inhabit the Hindu goddess Kali, who is
thought to live in girls until they reach puberty.

She's not just a goddess. She's also now a film star, on
the East Coast to promote her documentary "Living
Goddess" at Maryland's Silverdocs Film Festival. The
film details the life of a goddess in Nepal amid moves
for modernization and democracy in the country.

So what does it really mean to be a goddess? She mixes
her responsibilities with school and time for friends.

Among the perks -- Shakya giggled while explaining she
likes it "best" when she is carried around at festivals.

"I think she really loves it as any girl would love being a
princess or a fairy in a fairy tale," said "Living Goddess"
filmmaker Ishbel Whitaker. "It's definitely that kind of
magical, enchanting element to it that really appeals to
the girls."

She was discovered to be a goddess at the tender age of
2, from a specific caste. Only a handful of those
considered ultimately meet the so called "32
perfections" of the girl who holds the goddess Kali.
They include having the gait of a swan, and teeth and
golden, tender skin so perfect the skin has never even
had a scratch.

The distinction appears not to have gone to her head.
Whitaker said Shakya "seems to take it all in her stride"
and "also leads the life of a normal girl."

While she goes to school and visits with friends, she
also spends time with those who seek her blessing.
Shakya admitted her favorite part of those visits are the
cookies and candy that are served.

On Vacation, but Back to School

For her first U.S. visit and first trip out of Nepal, Shakya
made stops at the White House, the Capitol and a
school.

While she's enjoying her time as a goddess, it will run
out soon when she reaches the difficult transition of
puberty, and the goddess is believed to no longer inhabit
her body.

"Sajani did say to her mom that she was worried when
she wasn't going to be a goddess anymore, that people
wouldn't see that she's special," said filmmaker Mark
Hawker

She toured Lafayette Elementary School in Washington,
D.C., where a third grade class greeted her with
questions about her life, and she enjoyed learning about
the lives of American kids.

But the questions quickly reverted to typical 10-year-old
play as the special visitor was invited to the gym to
watch a volleyball game, where she laughed and asked
questions throughout.

Storia e video:

http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/Story?id=3280049

http://preview.tinyurl.com/yoruu2

[stuart mill]

lo leggerò con calma. Sarebbe interessante conoscere l'opinione in proposito di chi è più esperto. Alla fine gli avatara fanno parte della tradizione, quindi anche questo caso, potrebbe essere vero... oppure no.

[Yggdrasill]

KUMARI:
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/kumarigallery.htm

Kumari, o Kumari Devi (कुमारी - Kumārī), è la Dea vivente degli Hindu, il suo culto ha sede in Nepal. Kumari ha letteralmente il significato di vergine, ad indicare la purezza della Dea. È l'incarnazione della Dea Taleju Bhawani, meglio conosciuta come Durga, in India. La Kumari viene scelta tra le bambine delle caste buddiste delle famiglie newar, gli Sakya residenti a Kathmandu, la stessa cui apparteneva il Buddha, in qualunque momento dallo svezzamento alla pubertà. Anche se scelta tra i buddisti è equamente venerata da buddisti e induisti, questo è dovuto al ruolo di legittimante del potere reale nell'annuale festa del Kumari Jiatra.

È molto difficile stilare una lista definitiva delle Kumari. Gli studiosi ne citano tredici, ma probabilmente sono di più. Alcuni dati fanno pensare che vi sia una Kumari in ogni villaggio newar, anche se non sempre sono permanenti e il cerimoniale che regola le loro vite non è uguale. Le più importanti sono le Kumari Reali di Patan, Kathmandu e Bhaktapur, direttamente connesse con il re. Nel Nepal, dal 1300 al 1760 vi furono tre regni nella valle di Kathmandu; ognuno con un palazzo reale, un tempio della Dea Taleju e le Kumari. A seguito dell'invasione e dell'unificazione del 1769 solo la Kumari di Kathmandu mantenne il titolo di Reale, conquistando la superiorità su tutte le altre.

L'attuale Kumari Reale è Preeti Shakya, salita al trono divino il 10 luglio 2001. Verrà detronizzata all'arrivo del primo mestruo o a seguito di perdite di sangue o malattie, infatti per restare pura la Kumari non può ricevere le cure di alcun dottore.

Fonte: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumari

[stuart mill]

grazie mille. Ottima opportunità per una riflessione: ve la immaginate una santa (dee in pratica) cristiana scelta fra i musulmani o fra gli ebrei?

[ulfenor]

Non ci voglio pensare stuart...

[Chaos88 (POL)]

Aggiornamento interessante: pare che ora la bambina sia stata condannata (in termini religiosi, s'intende) proprio per aver visistato un paese straniero (gli USA) - cosa, questa, non ammessa dalla tradizione...


[Reuters
Kathmandu, July 03, 2007]

A 10-year-old Nepalese 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 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.

[stuart mill]

sai, essendo andata negli usa, non mi sarei meravigliato se l'avessero condannata in termini penali(gli americani)

strana questa cosa comunque

[Chaos88 (POL)]

Haha probabilmente avrebbero potuto pensare che si trattasse di una 'terrorista araba'...

[stuart mill]

no, non mondialista=terrorista

[Chaos88 (POL)]

Pare che la ragazza-dea nepalese non sarà deposta, ma semplicemente purificata ritualmente dopo la sua visita negli USA:

Nepalese 'goddess' is reinstated
BBC News
July 19, 2007

A 10-year-old girl who is worshipped as a living goddess in
Nepal has had her title reinstated after defying tradition and
visiting the US.
Temple authorities at her home town say that she will not be
stripped of her title because she is willing shortly to undergo
a "cleansing" ceremony.

Sajani Shakya was one of the three most-revered Kumaris,
who are honoured by Hindus and Buddhists alike.

She was chosen after undergoing tests at the age of two.

Since then she has been expected to bless devotees and
attend festivals until she reaches puberty.

But she provoked the ire of temple elders by travelling to
the US.

Sajani returned [to Nepal] from her visit to America on
Wednesday. Correspondents say that she was "seemingly
unaware" of the controversy.

Such has been the publicity surrounding her visit, she was
greeted by a large crowd of friends and onlookers in
Kathmandu on Wednesday who beat drums and blew
trumpets.

Sajani is one of several Kumaris in Nepal, and among the
top three who are forbidden from leaving the country.

Her 39-day visit was to promote a documentary film in the
US.

Elders at her home town in Bhaktapur said at the time that
the visit had tainted her purity, and that they were beginning
the search for a successor.

But now they say she will not be stripped of her title
because she will soon undergo a "cleansing ceremony" in
which any sins she may have committed will be removed.

The British makers of the documentary have apologised for
any controversy caused.

"She is a normal child and a living goddess. She has both
lives," film director Ishbel Whitaker told the Reuters news
agency.

Shakya visited Washington, met Nepalis living in the US,
toured a school and met American children.

"It was a lovely opportunity for her," said Ms Whitaker. "It
was a great experience when American children told Sajani
about their lives and she told them about her life."

Living goddesses are selected from the Buddhist Shakya
family - the same caste which Buddha came from - and must
follow certain rules, such as being kept in a dark room
without crying.

The young girls live in temples, and return to normal life
when they reach puberty.

In return, the goddesses get allowances and a monthly
pension after retirement.

But human rights activists say the tradition constitutes child
abuse.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6907007.stm
or
http://tinyurl.com/343x3p