RELG 271 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Aestheticism, Dukkha, Ardhanarishvara
23 Jun 2018
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-UN special rapporteurās interim report on religious freedom or belief (2015)
-UN resolution on elimination of FGM (december 2012)
-2010 WHO āglobal strategy to stop health care provides from performing FGMā
-2008 WHO statement on elimination of FGM
-1997 WHO statement on elimination of FGM
-Various governmental responses
-The Hijra's of India (the third gender)
-Unique community in India - not woman or man thus, a third gender
-The notion of the third gender in hinduism
-The concept of the āthird natureā (tritiya-prakriti) can be found in ancient hindu texts
-Kamma - erotic love, sutra
-It is an unclear term which could refer to transgendered, biologically inter-sexed, bisexual,
homosexual individuals, or to describe non-heteronormative sex
-These are individuals who have strong elements of both male and female
-Etymology of Hijra
-The contemporary Hindi/Urdu word hijra comes from he arabic root meaning migration
-It is unclear how or when this word came to be used to index this community
-There are several other regional terms, such as jogappa in Kannada or aravani in Tamil
-Origins:
-The ļ¬rst document social histories of these communities are from the court records of the 15th
and 16th century Mughal courts of north india
-Hijras today often speak nostalgically of their patronage under the Mughal rulers as a source of
prestige
-Becoming Hijra
-Most hijras are born male and from childhood may experience a desire to be female
-Some experience impotence others may have been born with ambiguous genitals
-In rare case, women who fail to menstruate become hijras
-The hijra community attracts people with many different gender identities, roles, and
behaviours
-Initiation
-Most hijras willingly undergo a ceremony involving the cursing of the penis and testicles that
initiates the into this community and is understood as a rite of passage
-Initiation is overseen by a dai-ma (midwife) after seeking blessings from a hindu mother
goddess (midwife doesnāt have medical training, always performed in secret - a criminal act
under the penal code)
-The removal of the male organ also an act that marks liminality (being neither male nor female)
and it through this act that the Hijra becomes a vehicle of the sacred power of the goddess
(shakti)
-Bahucara ma - vehicle in the form of an animal (rooster which signiļ¬es what she is associated
with)
-Who can bless and curse? it is believed that mother goddess are mother ļ¬gures but they can
have a negative aspect to them. They can bless a couple or a women with fertility but also curse
them with infertility - double power that they have.
-Hijras are linked to the mother goddess and the fertility she embodies. The power that Hijras
have rely on the mother goddessā power of procreativity.
-In the majority of hindu texts we ļ¬nd that if sexual relations doesn't result in procreation then it
is seen as something negative. If two male godās have a children or two females - then it is seen
in a positive light.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Un special rapporteur"s interim report on religious freedom or belief (2015) Un resolution on elimination of fgm (december 2012) 2010 who global strategy to stop health care provides from performing fgm . Unique community in india - not woman or man thus, a third gender. The notion of the third gender in hinduism. The concept of the third nature (tritiya-prakriti) can be found in ancient hindu texts. It is an unclear term which could refer to transgendered, biologically inter-sexed, bisexual, homosexual individuals, or to describe non-heteronormative sex. These are individuals who have strong elements of both male and female. The contemporary hindi/urdu word hijra comes from he arabic root meaning migration. It is unclear how or when this word came to be used to index this community. There are several other regional terms, such as jogappa in kannada or aravani in tamil.
