The ObserverTravel writingReviewTravel writer Isabella Tree spent over a decade researching Nepal’s tradition of Kumari – young girls believed to be vessels for the female divine spirit
The goddess of the title is a girl, sometimes as young as three and with an unblemished body, believed to be an incarnation of or host for Durga or Devi, the female goddess. While the force is with her, the girl is known as a Kumari, lives apart from her family, is worshipped by both Hindus and Buddhists and, according to some, holds the wellbeing of Nepal in her hands.
The tradition goes back centuries and provides an unusual and fascinating window through which to look at Kathmandu culture. Isabella Tree first encountered a Kumari in 1983 on her gap year and was struck – as many in the west will be – by the idea of a human being inhabited by a goddess. But it wasn’t until after the massacre of the Nepalese royal family in 2001 that she began work on this book. The result is a fascinating work of obsessive energy that both amazes and frustrates.
The frustration comes with the structure, which flips unevenly from history to first-hand observation to the retelling of many myths. The myth-telling seems flat and overly long, particularly in contrast to the encounters with former Kumaris and their families. But there is amazement in the way Tree traces Kumari worship through many aspects of Nepalese life and recent history, in the passion and splendour of the place, and in the thoughts this provokes about the role of women in our world.
Kumaris are “stepped down” when they reach puberty, at which point they return to their families, usually under-educated and physically underdeveloped. Most difficult of all, like the rest of us they have to face the reality of being a mere mortal.
The Living Goddess is published by Eland (£12.99). Click here to buy it for £10.39
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