"What is that?"
"They're something like Papist priests. Women who give themselves to
God, or at least to the pope's Church." Hawksworth paused awkwardly.
"And claim to be married to Christ, so they never lie with a man."
Kamala looked at him with surprise.
"Not even the high-caste men who come to the temple? But how, then, do
they serve this Christian God? By dance only?"
"Nuns aren't known to do much dancing. They mainly . . . well, I don't
really know what they do, except claim to be virgins."
"Virgins!" Kamala exploded in laughter. "This Christian God must be a
eunuch. We _devadasis _serve the temple with our bodies, not with empty
words."
"Then what exactly did you do?" Hawksworth looked up and examined her.
"I was at the famous Shiva temple of Brihadishwari in Tanjore, the
great fountainhead of Bharata Natyam dance in India. There we danced
for the god of the temple, and we danced too at the courts of the
Dravidian kings of the south." She hesitated, then continued.
"Devadasis there also honor the temple god by lying with men of high
caste who come to worship, and by wearing the jewels they give us. It's
all part of our sacred tradition."