Transgenderism in Ancient Cultures
by Siobhan Donegan
As someone who identifies on the Trans-Feminine spectrum evidence for transgenderism in ancient cultures is a subject that has fascinated me for a significant amount of time. The evidence can be either ancient texts, including religious writings, mythological-folklore, and even archaeological.
It has been said that a pluralistic notion of diverse non-conforming gender identities in older traditional cultures was crushed by Western Colonial rule in which European ideology, including concepts of sex and the gender binary, were ‘forcibly introduced’. The writer Ariel David adds ‘European concepts’-‘based on ‘Judeo-Christian values’. This is true but also partly unfair as the stage of historical development that we are scrutinising had of course become highly institutionalised, but furthermore if we go back to the roots of this tradition we find that according to traditional Jewish rabbinical legal writings, six different genders were recognized: the main gender binary, plus four other genders that can only really be understood as Intersex/intersexual.
I think a good starting point here would be to give a brief summary of the associated terminology in a modern context and then examining some of the more ancient traditional terminology for transgenderism. First of all, we have the word ‘Transvestite’ that was first used in 1910 and apparently created by Sexologist Magnus Hirschfield. The term ‘Transsexual’ was created in 1949, the term ‘Transgender’ emerged in 1971, and the very British term ‘Trans’ came about in 1996. When we turn to study the ancient world, we find that various traditional cultures had developed their own terminology for Transgender people. A few examples I think should suffice here.
For example, there is the Hijra of India, the Fa’afafine of Polynesia and the Tatatapui of New Zealand. Also, a third gender/social role in Arabia that has been attested since about 600 AD is the Khanith-(earlier there was the term Mukhannathun). Finally in this brief list, there have been since ancient times in Thailand Trans-Feminine ‘Third Gender’ communities made up of people referred to as ‘Kathoeys’. Whilst on the subject of terminology we can add here that in various ancient languages throughout the world, there are words that apparently denote ‘Transgenderites’ with examples from ancient poetry and religious leaders who use words such as ‘Ali’ and ‘Pedi’ to describe the ‘phenomena’ of transgenderism.
In such ancient cultures as Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Assyria, Babylonia and Akkadian there is historical evidence (including texts from 4500 BC) that document priests-priestesses known as ‘Gala’, a Male-to-Female priesthood that was accepted as sacred and given reverence. Furthermore, during the Old Testament Era there is evidence from an ancient Mesopotamian text known as ‘Erra and Ishum’ that references the worship of the fertility Goddess Ishtar and describes men ‘who changed their masculinity into femininity’. However, some writers have suggested that the requisite Male castration was a conspiracy to usurp Matrilineal leadership. The evidence is however against this theory as there are textual records for Transgender Priestesses dating back to the late Palaeolithic Era.
Research into indigenous Native American Pan-Tribal culture has shown that within this culture there were collectively ‘more than 100 different gender expressions’. Furthermore, five separate genders were recognised by some tribes. As such examples of gender variant identities amongst the Native American culture can be described as ‘Third Gender’ whose gender expression can also transform such as Navajo Nadleehi or Zuni Ilhamana.
As for archaeological evidence it has been discovered through a critical analysis of the funerary artefacts and skeletal remains at an archaeological site in Iran Hasanalu, that there is a strong possibility that offerings were made to individuals of three genders. If the analysis at this site is correct then this would mean that the skeletal remains of ‘third gender’ individuals prove that transgender people were recognised by this ancient civilization in Iran 3000 years ago, which has been described as an enigmatic civilisation that embraced diversity. According to Art Historian Megan Cifarelli from Manhattan-Ville College near New York City; the identifying of the sex/gender of the human remains at an archaeological dig can be based on the morphology of the skeletons and obviously close scrutiny of the funerary objects.
Furthermore, the analysis of the ‘mortuary accoutrements’ at the Iranian (Persian) Hasanalu site, showing the possibility of a third gender, is based on an algorithm that indicated that a third cluster, in about 20 percent of the burials, had a combination of artefacts, usually separated into their associated genders, and found accompanied with skeletons of either sex. Megan Cifarelli has thus theorised the existence of three different genders based on these three groupings of funerary artefacts. The argument against funerary objects associated with both genders being found in a third cluster and this simply being due to random factors, is the fact that within this ancient culture the funerary rites followed highly standardized ceremonial patterns.
Finally I would like to look at evidence for transgenderism in what can be referred to as the Mytho-Poetic Tradition and its sister subject Folklore. In specific reference to the Mythological tradition there are some esoteric scholars who will no doubt argue that as these stories tell of metaphysical levels of reality in symbolic language, as such transgenderism doesn’t really apply, however this is a matter of conjecture. As such, one example I think should suffice here; within the Religio-Mythological iconography of such ancient cultures as India there are hermaphroditic/androgynous beings that are depicted as Male on one side and Female on the other, such as Ardhanarishvara. However, within a pan-cultural context especially in the more ancient pagan polytheistic mythologies some of the deities that we encounter here have all too Human attributes. One really interesting example is within a narrative of ancient Greek Mythology that has been considered by some as a symbolic explanation for the creation of Transgender individuals. This is the story that the Greek Sun God Apollo, although some would claim that it was actually Prometheus, was drunk when he created people with the ‘wrong’ genitalia. As one online writer stated this means, ‘Trans people are not a new thing, we’ve always been here and we’ve always found ways to justify our existence’. It should also be added that a ‘metaphysical’ argument against transgenderism becomes harder to maintain, in my opinion when a specific tale deals with the creation of Human beings.
It has stated by some writers that there are what can be referred to as ‘Transgender themes’ involving gender identity that have been incorporated into Myths, Folklore and even Religious texts since ancient times on a Pan-Cultural scale. One good example of this is from West African Dahomey Mythology, which tells the story of Mawu-Lisa the celestial Creator God who is described as a merged combination of twin brother and sister deities Lisa the Moon and Mawu the Sun. They ‘present’ either in combination thus Intersex or changing gender in other words Transgender.
Finally when I was researching material for this article I came across the fascinating Creation Myth from the Native American Inuit Shamanic Culture. In this Myth the first two Humans are unusually Male, these are Aakulujjuusi and Uumanituq who become a couple with the result of Uumanituq developing pregnancy. However, not being biologically capable of giving birth, a magic spell is used to change his sex to Female.
