Hindu group holds healing ceremony at Hanover County plantation before selling

July 1, 2021

A Hindu group that had hoped to build a temple on a former plantation in Hanover County held a ceremony last week to honor and bless the enslaved who had worked there and to heal the land that they now are selling.

Dominique Gay, who lives at Quietude plantation with her partner and Hindu priest, Gananathamritananda Swamiji, said the group has put the property up for sale after five years of dealing with obstacles and opposition in the county.

“It is because of discrimination and ignorance of the Hindu faith that we were not able to obtain a permit to have public prayer on this land,” Ms. Gay told the Free Press. “Neighbors have been very vocal in their opposition to us. They have told us that we have no legal rights in this county because we practice a ‘false religion.’ ”

Source: Hindu group holds healing ceremony at Hanover County plantation before selling - Richmond Free Press