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July 20, 2007
Sajani is a Living Goddess Again
In case you haven't heard the news, Sajani Shakya, the Kumari of Bhaktapur, Nepal is being reinstated as a living goddess. Sajani received enormous attention in the press after losing her status as a living goddess because of her recent goodwill tour of the United States. Kumaris are young Buddhist girls who are selected to serve as living goddesses until they reach puberty. In Sajani's case, she was effectively "fired" for defiling herself by coming to the United States.
Negotiations with Nepali religious authorities to restore her status had been going on for over a week, according to Marc Hawker, co-producer of the documentary Living Goddess. Marc and his colleagues had brought Sajani to the US for the premiere of their documentary, so they felt compelled to assist her when religious authorities said they would remove her. When I spoke with Marc last weekend, film director Ishbel Whitaker had already been in Nepal for a week trying to work out the details, while Sajani awaited the results in India. Marc said he was flying out to join them for her return to Nepal, at which point she would fly back "as a bona fida goddess." They didn't want news of the deal to leak out until she returned home, in order for her family to avoid a media circus.
I can only imagine that Sajani and her family must be quite relieved. Marc says he'll try to get me some pictures from her homecoming. I'll be sure to post them if he does. -andy
Posted by acarvin at July 20, 2007 1:36 PM
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