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Politics

Nepalese goddess' U.S. trip earns her a pink slip

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 4, 2007

WASHINGTON - It figures that in this day and age, even a goddess can get fired.

Until recently, Sajani Shakya, 10, was a living goddess, one of about a dozen such goddesses in Nepal who are considered earthly manifestations of the Hindu deity Kali. Last month, Sajani visited Washington to help promote a British documentary about the living goddesses of the Katmandu Valley. Often dressed in a red and gold gown, she visited an elementary school, went on a private tour of the White House and was feted by the Nepalese Embassy.

All that, however, was apparently too much for a group of Hindu and Buddhist priests in her hometown, Baktapur. They stripped Sajani of her title, saying that leaving Nepal to visit the United States had rendered her impure, said Ishbel Whitaker, the director of the documentary, Living Goddess.

The goddesses of the Katmandu Valley are chosen when they are about 2 years old from a Buddhist caste, though they represent a Hindu deity, an example, Whitaker said, of the harmony between the two religions in Nepal. Devotees believe the goddess Kali inhabits the girls, though they do not exhibit unusual behavior, and then the goddess leaves them when they reach puberty. After that, the girls retire.

Hindu and Buddhist priests pick the goddesses after finding a girl who meets "the 32 perfections, " Whitaker said, including skin "of golden color" and a body "like a banyan tree." Whitaker said that although Sajani was initially upset, "there are parts of her that may want to move on."

[Last modified July 4, 2007, 01:09:28]