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Two-spirit

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Two-Spirit (also two spirit or twospirit) is a term for third gender people (for example, woman-living-man) that are among many American Indian and Canadian First Nations indigenous groups. It usually implies a masculine spirit and a feminine spirit living in the same body. It is also used by some contemporary gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex Native Americans to describe themselves. There are also native terms for these individuals in the various Native American languages.

Terminology

The older term "berdache" is a generic term used primarily by anthropologists, and is frequently rejected as inappropriate and offensive by Native Americans. This may be largely due to its pejorative etymology as it is a loan from French bardache via Spanish bardaxa or bardaje/bardaja via Italian bardasso or berdasia via Arabic bardaj meaning "kept boy; male prostitute, catamite" from Persian bardaj < Middle Persian vartak < Old Iranian *varta-, cognate to Avestan varəta- "seized, prisoner," formed from an Indo-European root *welə- meaning "to strike, wound" (which is the same in English as vulnerable). It has widely been replaced with two-spirit.[1][2][3]

"Two-spirit" originated in Winnipeg, Canada in 1990 during the third annual intertribal Native American/First Nations gay and lesbian conference. It is a calque of the Ojibwa phrase niizh manidoowag (two spirits). It was chosen to distance Native/First Nations people from non-Natives as well as from the words "berdache" and "gay."[4][5][6]

Definition and societal role

Detail of Dance to the Berdache, painted by George Catlin

These individuals are often viewed as having two spirits occupying one body. Their dress is usually a mixture of traditionally male and traditionally female articles. They have distinct gender and social roles in their tribes.

Two-spirited individuals perform specific social functions in their communities. In some tribes male-bodied two-spirits were active as healers or medicine persons, gravediggers, undertakers, handling and burying of the deceased, conducted mourning and sexual rites, conveyers of oral traditions and songs, nurses during war expeditions, foretold the future, conferred lucky names on children or adults, wove, made pottery, made beadwork and quillwork, arranged marriages, made feather regalia for dances, special skills in games of chance, led scalp-dances, and fulfilled special functions in connection with the setting up of the central post for the Sun Dance. In some tribes female-bodied two-spirits typically took on roles such as chief, council, trader, hunter, trapper, fisher, warfare, raider, guides, peace missions, vision quests, prophets, and medicine persons.

Some examples of two-spirited people in history include the accounts by Spanish conquistadors who spotted a two-spirited individual(s) in almost every village they entered in Central America.

There are descriptions of two-spirited individuals having strong mystical powers. In one account, raiding soldiers of a rival tribe begin to attack a group of foraging women when they perceive that one of the women, the one that does not run away, is a two-spirit. They halt their attack and retreat after the two-spirit counters them with a stick, determining that the two-spirit will have great power which they will not be able to overcome.

Native people have often been perceived as "warriors," and with the acknowledgment of two-spirit people that romanticized identity becomes broken. In order to justify this new "Indian" identity many explained it away as a “form of social failure, women-men are seen as individuals who are not in a position to adapt themselves to the masculine role prescribed by their culture” (Lang, 28). Lang goes on to suggest that two-spirit people lost masculine power socially, so they took on female social roles to climb back up the social ladder within the tribe.

Cross dressing of two-spirit people was not always an indicator of cross acting (taking on other gender roles and social status within the tribe). Lang explains “the mere fact that a male wears women’s clothing does not say something about his role behavior, his gender status, or even his choice of partner…” (62). Often within tribes a child’s gender was decided by depending on either their inclination toward either masculine or feminine activities, or their intersex status. Puberty was about the time frame by which clothing choices were made to physically display their gender choice.

Two-spirit people, specifically male-bodied (biologically male, gender female), could go to war and have access to male activities such as sweat lodges. However, they also took on female roles such as cooking and other domestic responsibilities. Today’s societal standards look down upon feminine males, and this perception of that identity has trickled into Native society. The acculturation of these attitudes has created a sense of shame towards two-spirit males who live or dress as females and there is no longer a wish to understand the dual lifestyle they possess.

Most of these individuals had relationships with the same, opposite, or either sexes. Curiously, female-bodied two-spirits almost always had sexual relations or marriages with only females. Partners of two-spirits did not take on any special recognition, although some believed that after having sexual relations with a two-spirit they would obtain magical abilities, given obscene nicknames by the two-spirited person which they believed held "good luck," or in the case of male partners, boosted their masculinity. Relationships between two two-spirited individuals is absent in the literature. Male-bodied two-spirits regarded each other as "sisters," it is speculated that it may have been seen as incestuous to have a relationship with another two-spirit. It is known that in certain tribes a relationship between a two-spirit and non-two-spirit was seen on the most part as any other (heterosexual, in modern day terms), Europeans however saw them as being homosexual.

According to certain reports there had never been an alternative gender among the Comanche.[7] This is true of most Apache bands as well, except for the Lipan, Chiricahua, Mescalero, and southern Dilzhe'e.[8][9] One tribe in particular, the Eyak, has a single report from 1938 that they did not have an alternative gender and they held such individuals in low esteem, although whether this sentiment is the result of acculturation or not is unknown.[10][11] It has been claimed that the Iroquois did not either,[7] although there is a single report from Bacqueville de La Potherie in his book published in 1722, Histoire de l'Amérique septentrionale, that indicates that an alternative gender existed among them (vol. 3, pg. 41).[12] Although all tribes were influenced by European homophobia/transphobia,[13][14][15][16][17][18] certain tribes were particularly so, such as the Acoma, Atsugewi, Dilzhe'e (Tonto) Apache, Cocopa, Costanoan, Klamath, Maidu, Mohave, Nomlaki, Omaha, Oto, Pima, Wind River Shoshone, Tolowa, and Winnebago.[19]

It has been claimed that the Aztecs and Incas had laws against such individuals,[20][21][22] though there are some authors who feel that this was exaggerated or the result of acculturation as all of the documents indicating this are post-conquest and any that existed before had been destroyed by the Spanish.[17][23] The belief that these laws existed comes from the Florentine Codex. According to Dr. Nancy Fitch Professor of History at California State University,

"There is evidence that indigenous peoples authored many codices, but the Spaniards destroyed most of them in their attempt to eradicate ancient beliefs." ... "The Florentine Codex is unquestionably a troubling primary source. Natives writing in Nahuatl under the supervision of the Spanish Fray Bernardino de Sahagún apparently produced the manuscript in the 1500s. The facts of its production raise serious questions about whether the manuscript represents the vision of the vanquished or of the colonizers" ... "colonization of the natives’ minds loomed large in the Spanish project" ... "To make matters worse, while it appears that the original manuscript was completed in Nahuatl some time around 1555, no evidence of it remains. Authorities in New Spain confiscated his manuscripts in 1575, and at various times, the Spanish monarchy ordered him to stop his work. The earliest known version of the manuscript is, thus, Sahagún’s summary of it written in Spanish. In 1585, he published a revised version of the codex, which, he argued, corrected some errors and integrated some things ignored in his earlier summary. Sahagún’s revised version is the manuscript commonly known as the Florentine Codex."[24]

Historical Two-Spirits

Modern People Self-identified As Two-Spirits

See also

References

  1. ^ Jacobs, S.; Thomas, W.; Lang, S. (Eds.): Two-spirit people: Native American gender identity, sexuality, and spirituality, page 4. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997
  2. ^ Williams, W.: The spirit and the flesh: Sexual diversity in American Indian cultures, page 9. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986
  3. ^ "vulnerable." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vulnerable>. (accessed: March 24, 2007)
  4. ^ Jacobs, S.; Thomas, W.; Lang, S. (Eds.): Two-spirit people: Native American gender identity, sexuality, and spirituality, pages 2-3, 221. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997
  5. ^ Lang, S.: Men as women, women as men: Changing gender in Native American cultures, page XIII. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1998
  6. ^ Roscoe, W.: Changing ones: Third and fourth genders in native North America, page 109. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998
  7. ^ a b Williams, W.: The spirit and the flesh: Sexual diversity in American Indian cultures, pages 39, 48. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986
  8. ^ Lang, S.: Men as women, women as men: Changing gender in Native American cultures, pages 291-293. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1998
  9. ^ Jacobs, S.; Thomas, W.; Lang, S. (Eds.): Two-spirit people: Native American gender identity, sexuality, and spirituality, pages 236-251. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997
  10. ^ Lang, S.: Men as women, women as men: Changing gender in Native American cultures, pages 202-203. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1998
  11. ^ Roscoe, W.: Changing ones: Third and fourth genders in native North America, page 15. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998
  12. ^ Roscoe, W.: Changing ones: Third and fourth genders in native North America, pages 250-251n.43. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998
  13. ^ Jacobs, S.; Thomas, W.; Lang, S. (Eds.): Two-spirit people: Native American gender identity, sexuality, and spirituality, page 206. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997
  14. ^ Williams, W.: The spirit and the flesh: Sexual diversity in American Indian cultures, pages 14, 39, 148, 187-192, 209-210, 228, 304n.29. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986
  15. ^ Roscoe, W.: Changing ones: Third and fourth genders in native North America, page 114. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998
  16. ^ Lang, S.: Men as women, women as men: Changing gender in Native American cultures, pages 119, 311-313, 322. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1998
  17. ^ a b Trexler, R. : Sex and conquest: Gendered violence, political order, and the European conquest of the Americas, pages 155-167. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1995
  18. ^ Swidler, Arlene: Homosexuality and World Religions, pages 17-19. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1993
  19. ^ Lang, S.: Men as women, women as men: Changing gender in Native American cultures, page 318. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1998
  20. ^ Williams, W.: The spirit and the flesh: Sexual diversity in American Indian cultures, page 148. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986
  21. ^ Lang, S.: Men as women, women as men: Changing gender in Native American cultures, page 324. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1998
  22. ^ Spencer, Colin: Homosexuality in History, page 142. London: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1995
  23. ^ Greenberg, David: The Construction of Homosexuality, pages 165-168. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988
  24. ^ Fitch, Nancy: "General Discussion of the Primary Sources Used in This Project." The Conquest of Mexico Annotated Bibliography. <Historians.org http://www.historians.org/tl/LessonPlans/ca/Fitch/conquestbib.htm>. (accessed: March 26, 2007)

Sources/Recommended literature

  • Cameron, Michelle. (2005). Two-spirited Aboriginal people: Continuing cultural appropriation by non-Aboriginal society. Canadian Women Studies, 24 (2/3), 123-127.
  • Conley, Craig. Oracle of the twofold deities.
  • Jacobs, Sue-Ellen; Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang (Eds.). (1997). Two-spirit people: Native American gender identity, sexuality, and spirituality. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02344-7, ISBN 0-252-06645-6.
  • Lang, Sabine. (1998). Men as women, women as men: Changing gender in Native American cultures. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-74700-4, ISBN 0-292-74701-2.
  • Medicine, Beatrice. (1997). Changing Native American roles in an urban context and changing Native American sex roles in an urban context. In S.-E. Jacobs, W. Thomas, & S. Lang (Eds.) (pp. 145-148).
  • Roscoe, Will. (1991). The Zuni man-woman. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-8263-1253-5.
  • Roscoe, Will. (1998). Changing ones: Third and fourth genders in native North America. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-17539-6.
  • Roscoe, Will; & Gay American Indians. (1988). Living the spirit: A gay American Indian anthology. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-01899-1.
  • Rowe, J. Spencer (2005). "The Last of the Dodo's:Voice of the Two Spirit". USA: Lulu Publishing. ISBN 1-4116-2358-4
  • Schaeffer, Claude E. (1965). The Kutenai female berdache. Ethnohistory, 12 (3), 193-236.
  • Schultz, James W. (1916). Blackfeet tales of Glacier National Park. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
  • Schultz, James W. (1919). Running Eagle, the warrior girl. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
  • Spanbauer, Tom. (1991). The man who fell in love with the moon: A novel. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 0-87113-468-3.
  • Trexler, Richard C. (1995). Sex and conquest: Gendered violence, political order, and the European conquest of the Americas. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-3224-3.
  • Williams, Walter L. (1986). The spirit and the flesh: Sexual diversity in American Indian cultures. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 0-8070-4602-7.
  • Wolf, Rope. Two-spirit: Belonging [Film]

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