"People with Two Souls": Why Men Accept Feminine in Different Cultures

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Courageous heroes of ancient myths were repeatedly forced by inexorable fate to take on a female guise. So, the sea goddess Thetis passed off her young son Achilles for a girl in order to protect him from death in the upcoming Trojan War. Hercules, in captivity with the queen Omphale, was forced to sit at a spinning wheel in a woman's dress. In real life, entire groups of men, for various reasons, acquired and are acquiring not only external, but also internal resemblance to women.

Shamans: Ritual Travestism

Both women and men were engaged in ancient shamanic practices, widespread among many peoples. But in Siberia, Altai and the Urals, in the countries of Africa, Asia, America, male shamans often dressed and behaved like women, but were also perceived as women by those around them. In some places this phenomenon has survived to this day, as well as shamanism itself under various names.

According to the philosopher, ethnographer and religious scholar M. Eliade and the founder of analytical psychology C. G. Jung, dressing up in shamanism symbolizes a sacred marriage with a deity or female spirit, which allows to unite masculine and feminine principles. Other interpretations are also possible. Developed intuition is considered a predominantly feminine quality, and the male shaman tries to borrow it, taking the guise of a woman. Finally, it helps the shaman to approach the egregor, or, in another language, the collective unconscious of the entire community, including the female part of it.

The Chukchi shamans have the concept of "soft people" ("irka-liauli"). These are men, whose spirit and even flesh are gradually "softened", turning into women. But for a reason directly opposite to the one given above, such shamans enter into an alliance not with a female, but with a male spirit, and begin to adapt to it. The "earthly wives" of heavenly men in the Middle, that is, the human world, often have earthly husbands. The most powerful shamans, transformed into women, according to local beliefs, are able to give birth, although their physiology remains unchanged.

In the Korean tradition, male shamans are called "pan-su" (witchcraft is usually taught to boys who are blind from birth), women - "mu-dan". They are trained in different systems, they are proficient in different methods. Mu-dan's responsibilities are broader. In order to temporarily gain access to the possibilities of shaman women, the pan-su dress up in the traditional mu-dan outfit: a bright long chhima skirt and a short chkhogori blouse. They also arm themselves with all its attributes: a fan, a flat drum and cymbals, a sword and a rod hung with ribbons and rattles, to which a gong is attached.

Among the North American Indians from ancient times lived men who adopt the female image, and women who dressed and hunted like men: "berdache", which translates as "people with two souls." Men, as if turning into women, are called Uinkte by the Lakota, Dino by the Navajo, Bote by the Crowe, and Himani by the Cheyenne.

It was believed that the boy's fate was radically changed by a vision in which he received a direct order from the spirits. To disobey their will meant incurring illness or even death. Therefore, when Berdache became a young man, his mother sewed women's clothes for him, and in some tribes his father built a separate hut for him. Because of the supernatural properties attributed to the berdach, the neighbors treated them with respect and apprehension, fearing to inadvertently offend them with a sidelong glance.

Berdache men could get married. Some became shamans - and "shape-shifters" were valued above their colleagues. Others simply ran the house and house, taking care of the daily affairs of women.

Hijri: Blessed Untouchables

Hijra is an Indian caste from among the untouchables. Belonging to most other castes is determined by the fact of birth, but hijras are not born - they become. However, one can turn into a hijra even in infancy: if a family in which an “uncomfortable” child with signs of hermaphroditism or some other deviations from the norm has appeared, it will consider it best to quietly dispose of it.

People also come to hijras voluntarily, in adolescence or adulthood. The caste is replenished by transgender people - ordinary outwardly men who feel trapped in someone else's body - and homosexuals. Not without mystical revelations: some are sure that he was summoned by the gods Shiva and Shakti or Bahuchara Mata, the goddess of fertility, the hypostasis of Durga. All three hijras are revered as their heavenly patrons.

Hijras wear bright saris, do intricate women's hairstyles, and make abundant use of cosmetics and jewelry. Some wear fake breasts, others use hormones to change their body. Many, but far from all, Hijras decide to be castrated or castrated. Others are afraid of the operation, which is not surprising. It is carried out secretly from the authorities, in a barbaric manner and often in unsanitary conditions. For ritual reasons, dressings cannot be done: the blood must drain naturally. Not everyone can survive this "initiation".

Hijras, as a rule, live in close-knit communities. Those who are poorer engage in prostitution, begging, and theft. But wealthy Hijras run their own businesses, for example, run baths, which are staffed by their less fortunate comrades.

There are also hijri artists: singers and dancers. Despite their status as untouchables, they are eagerly invited to weddings and other celebrations. It is believed that hijras are creatures not entirely of this world, that fate, having deprived them, gave them in return some strange power. They are blessed and cursed at the same time, and they themselves can bless and curse. If a hijra dances in front of a newborn, this is a very good sign. If, with a contemptuous look, he pulls up the hem in front of the newlywed, it is very bad.

In recent years, the social status of the Hijras has improved significantly. They created their own union. The state entrusted them with collecting taxes, creating a special service. In 2009, criminal prosecutions for homosexuality were abolished in India, and in 2014 the Hijras were officially recognized as the third sex.

Theater: men in female roles

Both in ancient and medieval theaters, all roles, including women, were performed by male actors. Exceptions to this rule are extremely rare. For example, women participated in the performances of ancient Greek mimes, in theatrical performances of the times of Ancient Rome as dumb dancers and acrobats, in miracles - religious performances of the Middle Ages.

In Italy, the first actresses appeared during the heyday of the commedia dell'arte, around the middle of the 16th century. At the same time, male actors partly gave up their privileges in Spain. In Great Britain, women took to the stage in the 17th century. But during Shakespeare's life, in his plays, young men played girls disguised as young men: Viola, Rosalinda, Portia, Imogena.

In Russia, the Empress Elizabeth gave the right to the profession to actresses, and this happened only in the second half of the 18th century.

This kind of "theatrical travestism" gave rise to a curious psychological phenomenon: men who mastered female demeanors and taught female monologues for the stage, often outside of it, could not completely get out of the role. The comedies, loved by many, are reminders of the once ubiquitous practice: "There are only girls in jazz", "Tootsie", "Hello, I'm your aunt!"

In the classic Japanese kabuki theater of women, men still play. Compared to European, this tradition is relatively young. Interestingly, it was a woman who founded the kabuki: O-Kuni, originally a servant of one of the Shinto shrines and a performer of ritual dances.

The actresses performed at the kabuki theater in Kyoto from 1603 to 1629, when overly ardent fans of their talent started a fight right during the performance. Then it was decided to give the roles of women to young men.

However, in the role of onnagata - performers of female roles - actors sometimes remain to a very old age. Their bodies, trained from an early age, remain flexible and graceful for many years, and wrinkles are hidden by the traditional thick make-up, which does not interfere with expressing the whole spectrum of feelings of the heroines of the plays.