A 3-year-old girl was enthroned Tuesday as a "living goddess," or Kumari, in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, in a centuries-old ritual approved by the country's new atheist government.
Matine Shakya, the daughter of a watch repairer, became a "Royal Kumari" after a series of religious rituals carried out by Hindu and Buddhist priests. Scores of people joined in a procession as the young girl was carried by family members from her home to an ancient palace in central Kathmandu where she will be confined for several years.
Three towns in the Kathmandu valley follow the age-old Kumari custom, but the "Royal Kumari" in the capital is considered the most powerful, having had the closest link to Nepal's deposed monarchy. Nepal became a republic after former rebel Maoists won landmark elections last April and abolished the Hindu monarchy soon after.
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