Meeting a Living Goddess: The Bhaktapur Kumari of Nepal

Meeting a Living Goddess: The Bhaktapur Kumari of Nepal

Selected as toddlers, always from a Buddhist family of the Shakya caste, Kumaris are picked based on 32 personal traits in a process that’s sometimes compared to the rigorous process taken to select the Dalai Lama. Once selected, she’s revered by the local Hindu population until she reaches puberty, when a new Kumari must be selected. And it’s almost unheard of for them to travel.