Potter hands at Thimi Ceramics. Thimi, Nepal.
A burmese woman of Indian origin applies tanika to keep skin cool. Yangon. Myanmar.
Drenched in yellow turmic powder, with images of goddess Yellama balanced on their heads, devadasis ‘handmaidens of the Goddess’ in trance weave through the crowds at the Yellama festival. The followers of Yellama come from the lowest tier of a poor agricultural society-low caste, bonded labourers who will till the soil for their landlords. A devadasi does not require a dowry, which sends so many of the poor even deeper into debt. Many impoverished parents are paid by wealthy patrons may receive a boon from the deity. Since marriageto Yellama ritually turns a daughter into a groom and a son, poorparents without sons dedicate their daughter in the hopes that she will provide for them in their old age. Saundatti, Karnataka, India.
