What is nagar vadhu?

Nagar Vadhu, also known as Devadasi in southern India, refers to a mid-19th century Indian tradition of temple dancers who were considered to be married to the deity they were dedicated to. They performed ritualistic dance forms as part of temple festivities, and were required to remain celibate throughout their life. Over time, however, the tradition became corrupted and many of these temple dancers were exploited and forced into sexual servitude. Eventually, the practice was banned in India in 1988 under the Devadasi Abolition Act. Today, there are still some communities that continue to uphold the tradition, but it is no longer socially accepted as it once was.