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The venerated living goddess will not leave her temple this year, AP reports:
The old palace courtyard filled with hundreds of thousands of people every year during the Indrajatra festival is deserted, the temples are locked, and all public celebrations are banned by the government to curb the coronavirus.
Autumn is the predominantly Hindu festival season Nepal, where religion, celebrations and rituals are an important part of life, but this year people will have to reduce their rituals within their homes.
Many in this Himalayan nation believe that they would anger the gods by avoiding rituals that would cause catastrophe. Violent clashes even broke out between the police and devotees defying government orders during a separate car festival south of Kathmandu.
A lockdown was ordered around the eight days that the canceled Indrajatra festival would have been celebrated and instead a small ceremony was held to ask for the forgiveness of Indra, the Hindu god of rain, under the security of the government. .
During the festival, Kumari, a girl worshiped as the living goddess, is carried through central Kathmandu on a chariot drawn by devotees. After the cancellation, she never left the temple palace. Her car is locked in the shed and armed police guard the yards.
“There would be hundreds of thousands of devotees filling the courtyard and the streets during the festival, which would have put many of them at risk of contracting the coronavirus,” said the chief in charge of Kumari. Gautam shakya. “We had to stop this centennial festival for the first time.”
Shakya and her family have cared for Kumari for generations. An impeccable young woman is chosen from a single clan and is worshiped as the living goddess until she is replaced at puberty. High officials and commoners touch her feet to receive her blessing.
A small group of devotees who went through confinement and security to pray before the living goddess said they needed to continue the tradition followed by their ancestors.
“The festival and Kumari is not just a tradition, it is our culture and a large part of our lives that we simply cannot stop for nothing, not even for a pandemic,” he said. Shanker Magaiya, a washer who knew how to offer flowers and sweets to the goddess.
Magaiya was heartbroken by the cancellation and said that while they understand the government’s order, they need to protect their religion, culture and tradition.
“We have let the gods down and we need to keep the gods happy so that we can all be happy and prosper,” he said.
Nepalese authorities imposed a strict coronavirus lockdown in March that eased in July.
More than 76,000 people have been infected and 491 have died. But the ban on open-air festivals and religious gatherings continues, and temples remain closed.
Near the Kumari temple, a huge statue of the Hindu deity Swet Bhairav is open to the public only once a year during the festival. The devotees jostle each other to take a sip of the rice wine that is released from a tube attached to the head of the statue.
This year the doors were only ajar and very few people were lucky enough to drink the holy wine.
Temple priest Prakash Tamrakar He said the festival should have been allowed with social distancing precautions and police blocking the courtyard.
“My family has done this for generations and not once did I know it was canceled,” the priest said.
“These festivals are held to pray to the gods to spare people all problems and protect us all from diseases and catastrophes.”
Just south of Kathmandu, in the city of Lalitpur, a five-story tall chariot with a statue of the deity Rato Machindranath was built for a festival that was stationed by order of the government.
Frustrated devotees rebelled and thousands gathered to pull the wagon earlier this month. They clashed with riot police who fired tear gas and water cannons and beat some with lathi, bamboo poles. Several people were injured and many arrested.
The biggest and most famous Dasain festival in Nepal in October is celebrated for two weeks with holidays. People travel to see extended family, celebrate daily festivals, and visit temples. However, this year reduced activities are expected with some bans.
“We are not celebrating the festivals this year because of the virus and we don’t have extra money to spend, but if we are alive and healthy there will be festivals next year and the following year and we will have a great celebration,” he said. Kumar shrestha, owner of a candy store.
