The tourist gaze on the royal Kumari of Kathmandu - Analysis of a living goddess based on online discourse

Sammanfattning: There are many possible sources for anthropological research, however, this thesis examines tourists' comments on internet forums. In particular, tourist comments on the TripAdvisor page of the Kumari Chowk in Kathmandu, Nepal will be examined. These reviews will be divided into trends in order to consider the reason why tourist decides to visit the Kumari Chowk. This will be done in the light of anthropologist Erik Cohen's theory on modes of authenticity. Furthermore, one of the central thoughts of this thesis is that tourists' opinions and their comments may have an impact on the traditions that they are commenting on. By applying the tourist gaze theory, laid down by sociologist John Urry, this paper shows possible impact the outsiders' opinions might have on the Kumari tradition and in which way governments and local communities respond to the critique expressed by foreigners. Based on the results found in the reviews, it is argued that although tourist opinions have yet to make a direct impact on the Kumari tradition, there are theoretical and historical reasons to believe that critical reviews might have an indirect effect in the long run.