Hijras Celebrate Holi

[Guest guest]

Bhopal, INDIA (Mar. 26, 2005): It was the time of celebrations of

colours and there must be something special to grace the occasion.

Dozens of eunuchs here scorched the ramp on the festival of

colours 'Holi', asserting their presence in a society where they are

shunned and often ostracized.

 

Eunuchs, known as "Hijras", are males castrated at puberty but are

normally referred to in the country as "she".

 

"Around 100-150 eunuchs participate in this show. And we have got a

good response and this is the fifth consecutive year," said Narendra

Chaurasiya, the organiser.

 

Reviled for centuries, Hijras have been making special efforts in

recent years to win social acceptance. On the country's political

scene, their presence is being felt. Besides Madhya Pradesh, which

has a eunuch mayor, the conservative Uttar Pradesh has two eunuch

legislators.

 

"We are no less than any woman. We also want that in the near future

we should prosper more. And Holi is same for everyone whether it is

Sikh or Hindu and we love celebrating this festival," said Gudiya, a

eunuch.

 

Meanwhile for the Hijras, characterised by their flamboyant costumes

and penchant for Hindi film getups, the event was a rare opportunity

to gain respect.

 

Traditionally, eunuchs earn a living by collecting cash "gifts" on

auspicious occasions. Groups of heavily made-up Hijras in colourful

sarees (drapes) often gatecrash wedding parties and leave only after

receiving generous cash donations.

 

There are no official estimates of the country's Hijra population,

but unofficial estimates peg the number at around 500,000.

 

The Hijras have been present in the country for generations. Within

the society they maintain a third-gender role that has become

institutionalised through tradition.

 

Hijras are often defined as eunuchs (castrated males) and

acknowledged both in Hindu and Muslim cultures. Numerous references

to eunuchs in the royal courts of the country's Muslim rulers are

cited as the Hijras' legacy. The fact that many don't consider

themselves true Hijras until they have undergone the "emasculation

operation" links them to this tradition, as do elements of Islamic

practice that they observe, such as burying rather than cremating

their dead.

 

Dual-gender figures in Hinduism provide other sources of

identification in a religious context. The deity Shiva sometimes

assumes the form of a woman; Arjuna in the Mahabharata epic lived as

a eunuch during his exile. Both Hindu and Muslim Hijras are devotees

of the mother goddess Bahuchara Mata; her temple in Gujarat is one

of their cultural centres.

 

Hijras refer to themselves using feminine pronouns and expect others

to do so. They typically live together in the traditional commune

arrangement of five or more "chelas" (disciples), supervised by

a "guru." When a new chela is accepted into a Hijra household, she

assumes not only the guru's surname but also membership in the

guru's "house," one of seven fictive lineages that confer a sense of

kinship and identity, each house having its own history and rules of

behaviour. She receives training in singing, dancing, and other

activities to enable her to earn a livelihood.

 

Chelas are expected to turn their earnings over to the guru, who

manages the funds for household upkeep. Gurus are expected to meet

chelas' needs for food, clothing, and pocket allowance. Sources of

livelihood include performing at marriage and birth celebrations,

begging for alms, and prostitution.

 

The Hijras' conduct at wedding and birth celebrations has won them a

colourful (and licentious) reputation. At the news of a wedding or

birth of a male child in the neighborhood, a troupe of Hijras will

show up unannounced — and uninvited — to bless the event by singing,

drumming, and dancing. The ostensible purpose of the performance is

a ritual entreaty for fertility on behalf of the bridegroom or

newborn son. Their dancing and behaviour are sexually suggestive, a

deliberate attempt to perturb the party's decorum, with the

implication that if appropriate recompense is not forthcoming they

will escalate their outrageousness to more shocking extremes.

 

Payment, or "badhai," consists of flour, sugar, sweets, cloth or a

sari, or money. If the hosts are stingy or refuse to pay, the Hijras

retaliate by exposing their genital areas, loudly ridiculing the

family to the neighbors, or cursing the hosts. The emasculation

ordeal is thought to confer special powers to the Hijras, and to

incur their curse is considered particularly unlucky. (ANI)

 

SOURCE: New Kerala

URL: http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews&id=90854