In their heyday, between the 13th and 16th centuries, devadasis were high caste, educated women, who performed dances for Yellamma, the deity. They were forbidden from marrying mortals.
Historians record that by the 16th Century the role of devadasis had become sexualized and they were regarded in the community as auspicious high-class mistresses who men could visit for sex with impunity.
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