Hidden Worlds

I am a documentary addict. I will watch any documentary provided it keeps me glued to the screen. There I was flicking through the channels while waiting for the water to boil. My parents use traditional kettles to heat water so yea, there is a certain while to spare before the water's temperature reaches boiling point. 

Anyway, that's not the point.

This documentary was about Transvestites from two different regions in Asia. 

Both the regions were covered alternately. But I'm not gonna go back and forth of course. The first region was from this particular place called Koovagam from Tamil Nadu, South India. This area was famous for its large population of Transvestites or Hijras/Aravanis. They are often referred to as the Third Gender. I am assuming this reference is within the Indian population. Correct me if I'm mistaken. These people pray to a particular Hindu deity called Aravan which probably was the origin for the term Aravani. Why you may wonder, that they pray to this particular God and not to the well known Shiva or Elephant God. 

Apparently the reason goes back all the way to the Ancient Indian Scripture, Mahabharat. Aravan deity was looking for a bride and many refused to marry him. Seeing his plight, the Lord Krishna, took the form of a female and married Aravan. Funny how they choose to pray to Aravan and not Krishna. Hmm..The Anthropologists who were interviewed didn't clarify this choice either. 

So, one of the many rituals that these Hijras look forward to is the day when they will be married to Aravan. On this particular day, the "females" dress themselves up, purchase the sacred Mangalsutra and head to the temple of Aravan. There the priest ties the holy thread around the Hijras, to signify the sanctimony with their God. And only the Priest of that particular temple has the right to tie the knot. These brides remain brides only for a day. The next day the thread is cut, their bangles are removed and they are widowed. "This is the only way and Aravan  is the only person we can be married to", says one of the Hijras who was recently "widowed".

The other community were the Bugis people  from Sulawesi Islands, Indonesia. Many or at least the majority of the human race on Earth and the mentality we have been nurtured with is that 'there are two genders in this world'. What the Bugis men believe is that, there are not 2 but 5 genders in this society. The first two are the traditional male and female roles. The other three refers to males who are brought up as females, females brought up as males and finally a speciel group of male priests who are capable of being male and female concurrently. Strange would be an understatement. It is both interesting and baffling to learn about these communities.

Initially I thought these priests were being similar to bi-sexuals. But not exactly. The priests grow beards like males, they dress themselves up as females. They use cosmetics similar to that of females. A particular ritual meant requires them to prove that there is a spirit present in their body; a good spirit I'm assuming. To prove the presence, they use a traditional Indonesian knife or Kris and stab themselves in the palm, cos the hands are used to touch things. The throat, cos food enters via the throat and finally the stomach cos thats where the journey of the food ends. Their knowledge on digestion is not thorough but thats besides the point. 

These priests are the ones who also hold rituals for the two other genders apart from the conventional males and females.

I learn something new everyday and people amaze me every other day as well. I am impressed with the world I inhabit.