India's Devadasi System
Yellamma worshippers hold neem leaves in their mouths as a gesture of devotion to the goddess, Yellamma, during the Yellamma Jatre (fesival) in Saundatti, India. This gesture harks back to the tradition of young girls being paraded naked except for neem leaves which were tied around their waists during their "marriage ceremony" to the deity, Yellamma. The practice is now outlawed but young girls from impoverished families continue to be "married" to the goddess Yellamma under the darkness of night or on the girls' home.
