A 10-year-old girl who is worshipped as a living goddess in Nepal has had her title reinstated after defying tradition and visiting the US.

Sajani Shakya was one of the three most-revered Kumaris, who are honoured by Hindus and Buddhists alike.

She was chosen after undergoing tests at the age of two.

Since then she has been expected to bless devotees and attend festivals until she reaches puberty.

But she provoked the ire of temple elders by travelling to the US.

… temple authorities at her home town say that she will not be stripped of her title because she is willing shortly to undergo a “cleansing” ceremony.

Blessing devotees, attending festivals—you going to Bumbershoot, Goddess? would you like another funnel cake, Goddess?—a deity’s life isn’t so bad.

Except maybe this part:

Living goddesses are selected from the Buddhist Shakya family - the same caste which Buddha came from - and must follow certain rules, such as being kept in a dark room without crying.

Also, they have to wear heavy forehead makeup for years:

And there’s this part of the selection process:

Her greatest test comes during the Hindu festival of Dashain. On the kalratri, or ‘black night’, 108 buffaloes and goats are sacrificed to the goddess Kali. The young candidate is taken into the Taleju temple and released into the courtyard, where the severed heads of the animals are illuminated by candlelight and masked men are dancing about. If the candidate truly possesses the qualities of Taleju, she shows no fear during this experience. If she does, another candidate is brought in to attempt the same thing.

It’s gonna take a lot of funnel cake to make that one worth it.