The Independent September 30 2017 The Independent September 30 2017 | Page 8

8 The Independent. the Diaspora’s Multicultural Voice September 30 2017
KATHMANDU, Nepal — A 3-year-old girl be-
ther. "I am happy but at the same time I feel like
came Nepal's new living goddess Thursday, crying."
malayan nation. palace, her predecessor, 12-year-old Matina
emony to a temple palace in the heart of the carried by her family and supporters.
revered by both Hindus and Buddhists in the Hi-
Trishna Shakya was carried in a religious cer-
Nepalese capital where she is to live until just be-
fore puberty.
She was among four finalists from the Shakya
clan for the position of living goddess, called "Ku-
Soon after Trishna's arrival at the temple
Shakya, left from a rear entrance on a palanquin
The ceremony took place on the eighth day of
the two-week-long Dasain festival, the main fes-
tival in Nepal.
She was selected ahead of three other candi-
mari." dates after a 21-day process that included spend-
her after checking her horoscope and searching buffaloes, the Kathmandu Post reports.
A panel of Hindu priests took days to select
for physical imperfections. As a goddess she
ing a night among heads of slaughtered goats and
“She will take her place on the Kumari’s throne
should not have any physical flaws. after we perform prayers and tantric rituals,” Ud-
reaches age 12 we have to find a new one and the fore the event.
"It is our tradition that after the living goddess
search begins. We have to make sure that the god-
dess is suitable to bring good fortune for the coun-
try," said Gautam Shakya, a priest in the panel.
"We have found our new Kumari," he said.
Hundreds of followers and devotees lined up
to get a glimpse of the girl, dressed in a red dress
and covered with flower garlands.
Before she left her house in Kathmandu, peo-
ple lined up to give her chocolates, eggs, sweets
and fruits.
The head priest came in a car and took her to
the temple palace, where she was carried in after
a visiting surrounding temples.
Her family said they were emotional that
their daughter was leaving but also proud.
"She is going to be the living goddess. She is
just not our daughter but the living goddess of the
whole country," said Bijaya Ratna Shakya, her fa-
News
dhav Man Karmacharya, a Hindu priest, said be-
Eligible girls must fulfil all the criteria of the
“32 perfections” of a goddess, which include hav-
ing a “body like a banyan tree”, “eyelashes like a
cow” and a “voice soft and clear as a duck’s”.
The girl will now only be allowed to leave 13
times a year on festival days, where she will be
paraded through the city and worshipped by both
Hindus and Buddhists.
Her predecessor, 12-year-old Matina Shakya,
left the palace from a rear entrance carried by her
family and supporters as the Trishna arrived, ac-
cording to The Hindu.
Despite criticism from some child rights ac-
tivists, the practice has continued since the end of
the Nepalese Hindu monarchy in 2008.
The same year, the country’s Supreme Court
ruled the Kumari should be given an education
inside the palace and be allowed to sit exams.
Trishna Shakya being carried during the religious ceremony
Gas & Dash: Driver thought he
hit a pylon, not the attendant
The man c harged with second-degree mur-
der in the death of a gas station attendant says
he was behind the wheel of the vehicle, but
thought it was "impossible" he had hit the at-
tendant, believing he had struck a pylon in-
stead.
Max Edwin Tutiven is on trial in the death
of Jayesh Prajapati on Sept. 15, 2012 at a gas
station near Roselawn Road and Marlee Av-
enue. He is alleged to have driven his silver
Isuzu Rodeo to the station, where he stole
$112.85 in gas.
He has pleaded not guilty.
On Tuesday, Tutiven admitted to the jury
that he was behind the wheel of the Isuzu
SUV that struck the attendant and dragged
him nearly 80 metres, but that he did not see
Prajapati and instead, thought he had struck
a pylon.
As the Crown continued its cross-examina-
tion Wednesday, Tutiven told the jury
he remembered hearing "Hey, hey!" as
he pulled away from the pump.
During a frequently combative ex-
change with Crown attorney Joe
Callaghan, Tutiven said he assumed
Prajapati had yelled, but since he was
inside the gas station, Prajapati could
not have run outside fast enough to
block Tutiven's vehicle.
"I just didn't think it was possible," he
said, wearing a baggy white T-shirt on
the witness stand.
Security video displayed earlier in
the trial captured Prajapati rushing out
the front door of the station when he
saw the theft, but no video captured the
initial impact with the vehicle.
Tutiven later recalled hearing a "very
loud" scraping sound as he sped away
on Roselawn Avenue, which he as-
sumed was a pylon. The sound stopped
after Tutiven crossed nearby train
tracks, he said.
Tutiven said he was "happy the noise
wasn't there anymore," but claimed he
did not look back after Prajapati became
dislodged from the vehicle.
Patricia Smith, who was in a building
across the street from the incident, re-
called hearing the "sounds of a man's
body being dragged," as Tutiven sped
away.
It was "a horrible sound," she told the
jury on Monday.
Tutiven argued that a black car that
pulled up in front of his SUV during the
theft caused him to drive erratically and
speed away from the scene.
That vehicle pulled up "almost
bumper to bumper" with his Isuzu, and
parked unusually far from the pump, ef-
fectively blocking him in place, Tutiven
said.
In a bizarre sequence, Tutiven at-
tempted to prove the unusual position
of the black car by examining photos
and marking a napkin, which was dis-
played to the jury as a makeshift ruler.
The trial is scheduled to resume on
Tuesday.