Two spirit

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We'wha, a two-spirit of the Zuñi (between 1871 and 1896)

Two-Spirit is from Ojibwa -word nīšomanitō ( ᓃᔓᒪᓂᑐ̇ "Two spirit") into English translated Neubedeutung to the general designation of a third sex . Such was and still exists today in the gender models of almost all ethnic groups of the indigenous population of North America . The term two-spirit originally referred to the presence of two souls of different sexes in one and the same person. However, this view is not very widespread in the various indigenous cultures.

Concept history

The English expression Two Spirit was coined in the 1990s as a replacement for the term Berdache , which had been common in anthropological literature until then , but was perceived as discriminatory . This was a loan word from Persian into Arabic and further into various Romance languages , which should then mean "hustler, lust slave, katamit". New Persian bardih (برده) means “slave, servant, prisoner” (word origin: Middle Persian vartak , Old Persian varta- , Avestian varəta- “prisoner”). These are formations to an Indo-European root * wel- "to beat, to wound" as well as in Latin vulnus "wound" or German Valkyrie .

history

Dance to the berdache - ritual dance to celebrate the berdache (painting by George Catlin , 1796–1872)

The indigenous people living in America had a culture that differed greatly in many parts from the culture of the European colonialists and immigrants and therefore appeared very alien to them. Part of the cultural differences concerned gender roles, which further enhanced the sense of mission among European settlers and immigrants regarding the superiority of their own culture.

The supposed inferiority of the Indian culture subsequently served as a welcome justification for the land grab, which was partly carried out by contract, often made possible through displacement or murder. The traditional way of life of indigenous peoples has been largely suppressed, and later forced the relocation of entire tribes in Indian reservations . One of the consequences was the increasing loss of cultural identity, combined with attempts to assimilate . The last known Two-Spirit were isolated from members of their own ethnic groups in the period after the Second World War and died in contempt.

Little is known about the life and social function of the Two-Spirit, as most of the reports about them often only expressed their loathing for men who walked around in women's clothing and women who were warriors.

Culture

It was customary there to regard boys or girls (mostly before puberty ) whose behavior and abilities tended to be of the sex other than that assigned to them at birth as two-spirits. The gender to which a person felt they belonged and what gender a person was attracted to, i.e. which gender a person liked to have sex with, were two separate things in the Indian culture of the time. A woman who dressed and behaved like a man, or vice versa, was not to be equated with a man or a woman in the usual sense, but occupied a special position in Indian society. Two-Spirits were often revered as people with special powers and abilities. Two-Spirits with a male body from birth were often healers and Two-Spirits with a female body from birth were often warriors or chiefs . They partnered with the same sex assigned to them at birth. Nevertheless, they are not to be regarded as homosexual or heterosexual in the conventional sense , because they neither retained their gender assigned at birth nor exchanged it, as is the case with transsexuals , but instead represented a third gender according to the Indian view. In Indian culture, for example, men who had sexual intercourse with a two-spirit born as a man were not to be regarded as gay . Born as a man, Two-Spirit took on the “passive” role during sexual intercourse and not the “active” role typical for men.

present

Modern two-spirit flag based on the rainbow flag
Modern Two-Spirits at San Francisco Pride 2014

The revival of the Indian culture of that time with its gender understanding was not possible despite the efforts of many lesbian , gay , transsexual and intersexual Indians. Today's Indians have internalized the norms and values ​​of the Europeans. The two spirits no longer exist today. They disappeared with the colonization of America and the resulting oppression and forced assimilation of the Indians. It has been replaced by an understanding of only two genders, which is common in Western culture.

On the other hand, the term two-spirit is still or again used by some modern Indians as well as non-Indians, and some non-heterosexuals try to tie in with the traditional understanding in their identity. However, the term two-spirit or double-soul is used today in North America (mainly USA and Canada ) mainly by indigenous people or people who are partially descended from indigenous people to denote a certain type of intersexuality in which the person is with their innate body is satisfied, but identifies as both a man and a woman. Two-Spirits are viewed as members of the ( LGBTIQ ) community ( Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Questioning ).

See also

literature

  • Michelle Cameron: Two-spirited Aboriginal people: Continuing cultural appropriation by non-Aboriginal society. In: Canadian Women Studies. Volume 24, No. 2-3, 2005, pp. 123-127.
  • Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, Sabine Lang (Eds.): Two-spirit people: Native American gender identity, sexuality, and spirituality. University of Illinois Press, Urbana 1997, ISBN 0-252-02344-7 ( page previews in Google Book Search).
    • therein: Beatrice Medicine: Changing Native American roles in an urban context and changing Native American sex roles in an urban context. Pp. 145–148 ( excerpt from Google book search).
  • Sabine Lang: Men as women, women as men: changing gender roles among the Indians of North America. Wayasbah, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 978-3-925682-22-3 .
  • Sabine Lang: Men as women, women as men: Changing gender in Native American cultures. University of Texas Press, Austin 1998, ISBN 0-292-74700-4 .
  • Will Roscoe: The Zuni man-woman. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque 1991, ISBN 0-8263-1253-5 .
  • Will Roscoe: Changing ones: Third and fourth genders in native North America. St. Martin's Press. New York 1998, ISBN 0-312-17539-6 .
  • Will Roscoe, Gay American Indians: Living the spirit: A gay American Indian anthology. St. Martin's Press, New York 1988, ISBN 0-312-01899-1 .
  • Claude E. Schaeffer: The Kutenai female berdache. In: Ethnohistory. Volume 12, No. 3, 1965, pp. 193-236.
  • James W. Schultz: Blackfeet tales of Glacier National Park. Houghton Mifflin, Boston 1916.
  • James W. Schultz: Running Eagle, the warrior girl. Houghton Mifflin, Boston 1919.
  • Tom Spanbauer: The man who fell in love with the moon. A novel. Atlantic Monthly Press, New York 1991, ISBN 0-87113-468-3 .
  • J. Spencer: The Last of the Dodo's: Voice of the Two Spirit. Lulu Publishing, 2005 ISBN 1-4116-2358-4 .
  • Richard C. Trexler: Sex and conquest: Gendered violence, political order, and the European conquest of the Americas. Cornell University Press, Ithaca 1995, ISBN 0-8014-3224-3 .
  • Walter L. Williams: The spirit and the flesh: Sexual diversity in American Indian cultures. Beacon Press, Boston 1986, ISBN 0-8070-4602-7 .

Web links

Commons : Two-Spirit / Berdache  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence