Kumari: The Child Goddess

Last week the fearless Em Dickey and I braved the crowds in Basantapur Durbar square to witness the Newari Indra Jatra celebration. After a delicious snack of neon pink cotton candy, we saw the temple to Sweta Bhairava, the terrifying face of Shiva. Sweta Bhairava is only unveiled once a year, on the day before the full moon in September. He’s got a giant cigar in his mouth, which is actually a pipe where people pour offerings of alcohol and milk.
 
We also ran across the chariot of Kumari, the living goddess. The Kumari is a little Newari girl chosen from a pool of applicants when she is about four years old, and it considered a goddess until her first period. This Kumari was maybe nine and wiggled her feet when people came up to kiss them. We watched the little girl for about 15 minutes.  What would it be like, to have people worship you and then suddenly, when you hit your period, be a normal person again? Talk about having a rough time during puberty.
 
Is this practice abhorrent or beautiful? Does worshipping a child goddess until her period disrespect women, or place femininity in the highest regard? How can menstruating be unclean if it is the bodily process that produces the living goddess? If menstruation is unclean, then why worship a goddess at all? My mind buzzes with unanswerable questions.