The name didn't register. Later, walking with the girls while M was in language I saw a temple-site with a throne and a little girl's poster-sized picture, and I remembered an article in NatGeo about Nepali children worshipped as goddesses and I thought I should make it a point to look up the name of this practice again ...
Everything culminated this week in Language class when I talked to my teacher (guru) about our school being 'kumaripati-maa' (in Kumari Pati).. And everything clicked...
The little goddess girls are called Kumari... I saw the temple with the throne and little girl's picture... Pati means 'place'.... This was the place of the Kumari...
This part of town where I had been coming for weeks, is named after the deity worshipped there... A little girl who is most likely demon possessed (look up the NatGeo article from earlier this year, and pay close attention to the selection process). These little girls are deprived of a childhood - relationships are contrived and distant... conversations with them are forbidden - play is very restricted... And they are cast aside as no-longer-goddesses when they hit puberty... Kumari is technically virgin worship... These then 12-13 year old girls usually never marry (it's a bad omen to marry a Kumari.). But they find themselves expected to act normal after being deprived a normal childhood. (which is hard if not impossible... integrating into society again after such long-term emotional trauma is almost impossible)
Kumari are selected only from a certain cast of Buddhists, but Buddhists and Hindus worship them. There are multiple kumari girls in different parts of the city - each representing the same goddess... This is basically idol worship where the idol is in the form of a live child.
This situation reminds me of the deep-rooted lostness that is here. Idols and gods surround you at every step... Temples, incense, and offerings are everywhere. These things are so commonplace that they seem to blend into the background... Just a place name... Just a part of the city... And yet even in the names of places this land is so tightly in the grip of the enemy... Join us in praying - that we may be salt and light.... And we will pray that God will grant you eyes to see the eternal destiny of those people you pass by everyday... May all our spiritual eyes be opened to view everyone we meet in light of eternity.
Blessings from Gfamilyjounrney!