B.C. on Gender: The Berdache Tradition
History of the Berdache
In 1530, The Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca wrote in his diary of seeing "soft" native Indian males in Florida tribes dressing and working as women. Later, numerous reports by 17th century Spanish Conquistadors in the southwest, and 15th century writings by Catholic missionaries, French fur traders and British Colonists in the northwest confirmed the same phenomenon in other tribes. Cultural anthropologists later documented this "third gender" status in at least 120 other North American tribes and in numerous other cultures around the world.They were named by Europeans as berdache" from the Persian "bardaj," originally a derogatory term meaning a passive homosexual partner usually a "pretty" or feminine young boy. Yet, Indian berdache are very different from the European view of "berdaj" as "sodomite heretics" as written about by the Crusaders invading Persia in the Middle Ages.
- Wendy Susan Parker, "The Berdache Spirit"
While 'berdache' is in common use among white gays, Native Americans find the term offensive as it comes ultimately from the Arabic where it means roughly, 'male prostitute'. We do not appreciate having our sacred people referred to in this way. The consensus of opinion is that 'berdache' should not be used and the tribal name should be used when known. There is no consensus of opinion on a generic term, it is safest to refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Native Americans. However, some use the term GAI (Gay American Indian) or Two Spirit- Gary Bowen, Chair, Two-Spirit Conference '98
Kindred Spirits
As I've heard it told, Kindred Spirits -- a group of trans people exploring questions of spirituality -- evolved from an invitation and challenge from Rena Swifthawk in 1992, to find a place for the berdache tradition within Western culture.
If this challenge were to happen today
Native Terms for Berdache
Sabine Lang [1998] compiles the following list of terms for Native American tribes:
| Tribe | Term | Healers? | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achomawi | MTF: | (men-women) | Yes | M/F |
| Acoma | MTF: | Mujerado ("womaned") Qo-Qoy-Mo (Effeminate person) Kokwina (Men-women) |
||
| Aleut | MTF: | Shupan | ||
| Arapaho | MTF: | Haxu'xan | ||
| Assiniboine | MTF: | Win'yan inkwenu'ze Winktan |
||
| Atsugewi | MTF: | Yaawa | Yes | M |
| FTM: | Brumaiwi | |||
| Bankalachi | MTF: | No | M | |
| Bella Coola | MTF: | Sx'ints | ||
| Chumash | MTF: | No | M | |
| Chetco River | MTF: | Yes | F | |
| Cheyenne | MTF: | Heemaneh' | Yes | M |
| Cocopa | MTF: | Elha | ||
| FTM: | Warrhameh | |||
| Coeur d'Alène | FTM: | St'amia (hermaphrodite) | ||
| Cree | MTF: | Aayahkwew | Yes | M/F |
| Crow | MTF: | Bate | ||
| FTM: | (woman chief) | |||
| Chugach-Eskimo | MTF: | Aranu'tiq | ||
| Dakota (Santee) | MTF: | Winkta | ||
| Diagueño | MTF: | No | M | |
| Eskimo (Chugash) | MTF: | No | M/F | |
| Eskimo (St. Lawrence) | MTF: | Anasik | Yes | M/F |
| FTM: | Uktasik | |||
| Eyak | MTF: | (No good) | ||
| Flathead | MTF: | Ma'Kali, me'mi, tcin-mamalks (Dress as a woman) | Yes | M/F |
| Gabrielino | MTF: | No | M | |
| Hidatsa | MTF: | Miati (To be impelled against one's will
to act the woman) Biatti |
Yes | M |
| Hopi | MTF: | Na'dle (being transformed) | ||
| FTM: | Nadle | |||
| Houma | FTM: | Femme chef (?) | ||
| Huchnom | MTF: | Iwap kuti | ||
| Ingalik | MTF: | (woman pretender) | ||
| FTM: | (men pretenders) | |||
| Isleta | MTF: | Lhunide | ||
| Juaneño | MTF: | Kwit | ||
| Kaniagmiut | MTF: | Shupan (?) | ||
| Kaska | FTM: | (Females in a man's role, woman chief) | ||
| Kato | MTF: | No | M | |
| Kawaiisu | MTF: | No | M | |
| Kitanemuk | MTF: | No | M | |
| Klamath | MTF: | Tw!inna'ek | Yes | M |
| FTM: | Tw!inna'ek | |||
| Kutenai | MTF: | Tupatke'tek (to imitate a woman) | ||
| FTM: | (manlike woman) | |||
| Kwakiutl | MTF: | (Act like a woman) | ||
| Laguna | MTF: | Mujerado (Man-woman ?) Kokwimu, kokwe'ma |
||
| Lakota (Ogala) | MTF: | Winkte (Desirous of being women, would-be woman or hermaphrodite) | ||
| Lakota (Teton) | MTF: | Yes | M | |
| Lassik | MTF: | Murfidai ("Hermaphrodite") | No | M/F |
| Luiseño | MTF: | Cuit Cuut |
||
| Maidu | Both: | Suku | Yes | M |
| Mandan | MTF: | Mihdäckä (Mih-hä = woman) | ||
| Maricopa | MTF: | Ilyaxi' (impolite) Yesa'an (polite - barren man or woman) |
No | M |
| FTM: | Kwiraxame | |||
| Mattole | MTF: | Yes | F | |
| Miami | MTF: | Waupeengwoatar (The White Face) | ||
| Miwok | MTF: | Osabu (Osa = woman) | ||
| Modoc | MTF: | Yes | M/F | |
| Mohave | MTF: | Alyha (Coward?) | Yes | M/F |
| FTM: | Hwame Hwami |
|||
| Mono | MTF: | Tai'up | No | M |
| Natchez | MTF: | (Chef des femmes) | ||
| Navajo | MTF: | Nadle (Being transformed) | Yes | M |
| FTM: | Nadle | |||
| Nomlaki | MTF: | Walusa, tohket (Hermaphrodite, "boy who goes around the them women all the time) | ||
| Ojibwa | MTF: | Agokwa (man-woman or split testicles) | ||
| Omaha | MTF: | Mixu'ga (Instructed by the moon) Minquga (Hermaphrodite) |
||
| Oto | MTF: | Mixo'ge | ||
| Paiute, Northern | MTF: | Tübas, t'üBáse, moyo'ne, tüBázanàna (polite) Düba's (sterile person) | No | M/F |
| FTM: | Düba's Moroni noho Tüvasa |
|||
| Paiute, Southern | MTF: | Tüwasawuts, maipots, onobakö, töwahawöts, Maai'pots | No | M |
| Panamint | No | M | ||
| Patwin | MTF: | Panaro bobum pi (He has two (sexes)) | ||
| Piegan | MTF: | Ake'skassi (acts like a woman) | Yes | M |
| FTM: | (manly-hearted woman, female 'berdache') | |||
| Pima | MTF: | Wik'ovat (like a girl) | ||
| Pomo, Northern | MTF: | Das (Da = woman) | No | M/F |
| Pomo, Southern | MTF: | T!un | No | M/F |
| Ponca | MTF: | Misu'ga Morphodite (hermaphrodite) |
||
| Potawatomi | MTF: | M'netokwe (Manito plus female suffix) | ||
| Quinault | MTF: | Keknatsa'nxwixw (part woman) | ||
| FTM: | (man-acting) | |||
| Salinan | MTF: | Joyas (Spanish: gem, jewel) | No | M |
| Sauk | MTF: | I-coo-coo-a | ||
| Shasta | MTF: | Gitukuwaki | No | F |
| Shoshoni (Lemhi) | MTF: | Tübasa (sterile) tenanduakia (tenap = man) |
||
| FTM: | Tübasa tenanduakia waip:ü sunwe (woman half?) |
|||
| Shoshoni (Bannock) | MTF: | Tuva'sa (Vasap = dry) | ||
| Shoshoni (Promontory Point) | MTF: | Tubasa waip (waip = woman) | ||
| Shoshoni (Gosiute) | MTF: | Tuvasa | ||
| Shoshoni (Nevada) | MTF: | Tuyayap Tubasa'a (half man, half woman) Tangwu waip (man-woman) Tangowaip (man-woman) Waip: sinwa (half woman) |
No | M |
| FTM: | Nüwüdüka (female hunter) tangowaip tangowaipü |
|||
| Tewa | MTF: | Kwido Kweedo Kwidõ |
||
| Tillamook | MTF: | Yes | F | |
| Tlingit | MTF: | Gatxan (Coward) | ||
| Tolowa | MTF: | Yes | F | |
| Tübatulabal | MTF: | Huiy | No | M |
| Ute (Southern) | MTF: | Tuwasawits Tuwasawuts |
No | M/F |
| Wailaki | MTF: | Clele | ||
| Winnebago | MTF: | Shiánge (Eunuch, unmanly man) | ||
| Wintu | MTF: | No | M/F | |
| Wishram | MTF: | Ikte'laskait | No | M/F |
| Wiyot | MTF: | Yes | F | |
| Yana | MTF: | Lo'ya | No | M |
| Yokuts (Kocheyali) | MTF: | Tonoo'tcim ("undertaker") | ||
| Yokuts (Paleuyami) | MTF: | Tono'cim | ||
| Yokuts (Tachi) | MTF: | Tonochim Lokowitnono |
No | M |
| Yokuts (Michahai) | MTF: | Tono'cim | No | M |
| Yokuts (Yaudanchi) | MTF: | Tongochim | No | M |
| Yokuts (Wakasachi) | MTF: | Tai'yap | No | M |
| Yuki | MTF: | I-wa-musp (man-woman) Iwap-naip (man-girl) Iwop-naiip (men-girls) |
No | M/F |
| FTM: | Musp-iwap naip | |||
| Yuma | MTF: | Elxa | No | M/F |
| FTM: | Kwe'rhame | |||
| Yurok | MTF: | Wegern | Yes | F |
| Zuni | MTF: | Ko'thlama Lha'mana |
||
| FTM: | Katsotse | |||
According to this table, for example, among the Yurok tribe, shamans/healers were usually femal, and MTF people (Wegern) were also shamans/healers.
Copyright © 2000 by B.C. Holmes. Last
updated August 14th, 2000.
Kindred Spirits logo Copyright © by Holly Bowell.
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