Androgyny Online is the largest data base on Hijdas , Eunuchs Transgenders on cyberspace.. a rich source for those doing thesis on Hijras..
Bahuchara (of Gujarat)
There are two stories connected with this village goddess who is worshipped by eunuchs.
She and her sister go to a mela. They are attacked by a man who tries to molest them. Bahuchar takes a knife and cuts her breast and bleeds to death. While she is dying she curses the man and he begs for forgiveness. She tells him he must dress as a woman and worship her.
A young woman sees her husband neglecting her and going off on a white horse every night. She decides to follow him. A jungle fowl tells her she can ride on it. She finds her husband engaged in what can be termed unmanly behaviour. She confronts him and asks him why he had married her if his preferences were otherwise. She castrates him in anger and becomes a devi and makes a proclamation that men like him must worship her.
Source: Devi The Mother-Goddess: An Introduction By Devdutt Pattanaik.
Courtesy
http://www.sparrowonline.org/poster03.htm
Articles about Hijras
Books on Hijras
Movies about Hijras
Videos about Hijras
Still Images of Hijras
Yahoo groups mailing lists concerned with Hijras
Other information – sometimes only loosely related to Hijras
From Androgyny Online Main Page
“I would like to warn people that the articles about hijra initiation linked to this page can be rather graphic and are often shocking. Hijra (the word is Urdu for “impotent ones”) are usually boys and men who were made to be eunuchs — some of them against their will. The process isn’t ordinarily a pretty one, usually carried out without the aid of modern anesthesia or antibiotics. Some, however, are intersex and do not go through this process, and there are also female hijra, called hijrin, which are not the same as sadhin.
This page is linked to the Androgyne Online site because most hijra end up being androgyne by default even if they didn’t start that way because — simply put — (most) hijra do not have genitalia.
The word “hijra” has other, wholly unrelated meanings in other contexts. For example, “Hijra” (aka Hegira) can mean “Migration,” and refer to the prophet Muhammad’s journey from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE to set up the first Islamic state.
The terms chakka, kinnar, and mukhanni may or may not be synonyms for hijra, and the term koti is similar but not the same. Another such term is ali. The relatively new (as of 2003) Aravani was popularised in India as a politically correct term to describe members of the third gender, yet it applies more to the devotees of Kutandavar Aravan (India’s god of the ali) than those of Bahuchara Mata (the goddess of the hijras). If you are reading this and have more specific information on these terms than is found at this site, please send an e-mail message to <scfeldman@juno.com>.
A good all-around introductory explanation of the hijra is stored on this site here.
There is also the term jogappa (or joggapa).
According to the fourth footnote at the bottom of the article, “Confessions of a Tantric Androgyne,” by Ganapati Sivananda Durgadas, at the now-defunct Anything That Moves site, hijra is a Persian-influenced North Indian term, while joggapa is the South Indian languages’ equivalent. Durgadas says that joggapa are priestly in vocation and predominantly transvestitic, while the hijra lean towards the transsexual side and labor in various vocations. Another writer, Walter Penrose, says that the jogappa are followers of Yellamma, “a goddess of skin disease who is believed to have the power to change the sex of individuals.” According to Amara Dasa, the jogappa “do not practice castration.”
Articles | return to top
Bahuchara Mata, the Goddess of the Hijra
Ma Baucharaji: Goddess of Eunuchs [also at Yahoo groups' Transgender News and androgynes]
Hijra [start reading at the fourth paragaph for info on Bahuchara Mata]
Shri Bahucharaji Mataji Temple Tirth
Alleged Incarnation of Bahuchara Mata: Stephen Cooper, aka Pamela, aka Pema, aka Prema [14 articles]
photos of Steve Cooper as Pema / Prema
hijra (South Asia) entry at Wikipedia – http://www.wikipedia.org [Wikipedia's entry for hijra is too short]
Eunuchs: India’s Third Gender by Nabanita Dutt – thingsasian.com
The Hijras – Transgenderism in India by Kristina Latham
A Eunuch’s Tale from the Slums: A Glimpse Into a Secretive World Reveals a Hard Life by Marianne Bray
Gender: In a Twilight World by Siddharth Narrain [also stored at hinduonnet.com and Transgender News]
Living: Eunuchs: Bizarre Union [hijra marriages] by Kumar Sanjoy Singh – india-today.com
Kotis and Giriyas [aka Kothis and Girias] by Ninad Jog [kotis are not quite the same as hijra]
When Appearance Does Matter (a short, sympathetic introduction to the hijra) – The Hindu, 6/6/02
India’s ‘Third Sex’: Ridiculed, Persecuted, Shunned by Smita Sahay
India’s Eunuchs Demand Rights by Habib Beary, BBC correspondent in Bangalore
Cry Inclusive by Divya Trivedi – www.thehindubusinessline.com (November 16, 2007)
Articles About Hijra “Initiation” (rather shocking, in places)
The Final Blow to My Manhood by Anonymous (Hindustan Times; taken from The Eunuch Archive)
Hijra for Nearly Ten Years by Khira from Madras
Rediff on the Net: Eunuchs Cry for Justice by Vinod Behl in Delhi, for Prime Time Features
Two Comments Made re Hijra on the ANDROGYNE List
Nirvan: Castration (according to The Samabhavana Society’s transgender page website)
[ First, click on the link above, then search on the word "nirvan" by clicking on Edit in the menu bar
and using the "Find (on This Page)..." feature. ]
17-yr-old Allegedly Castrated by Eunuchs by Naveeta Singh
Indian Directory of CD/TV/TS/TG created by Lovely Mehta [a defunct site]
The Hijra Community by Anne Ogborn [a defunct site]
Glossary of Hijra terms
Sampark Project Homepage
The Sampark Project / Sampark Project Organization
Arawanis Social Welfare Society [a defunct site]
Hijras * Mumbai * India (hijras from Mumbai; members of “Arawanis Social Welfare Society”)
The Samabhavana Society’s transgender page – samabhavana.org [highly recommended]
kinnar.com (“kinnar” seems to be another word for “hijra”) [a defunct site]
Myths & Facts about the Kinnar (this makes them seem like very nice people)
Saheli Asia — Hijras – saheli-asia.org
Saundatti Festival — Festival of the Hijras
The Nowhere Men: Understanding the Plight of the Hijra Community
Hijras: Challenging Gender Dichotomies by Arvind Kumar
A Marginal World: a Review of the Film Darmiyaan
The Man Outside, The Woman Inside: the Screenwriter of Amol Palekar’s Film Daayra Talks
An Anachronism Worthy of Recognition
They May Be Down, but They Are Not Out by Ranjana Mittra
Muslim and Pakistani Hijra
Muslim Hijras in India and Pakistan
Defining the Hijra Community
Hijras Between Stigmatization and Memories of a Glorious Past
Hijras and Islam in India and Pakistan
The Zananis of Lahore Cry for Respect by Zainab Khar (about Pakistini hijras called zananis)
Koovagam, the Mecca of the Eunuch World
History of Koothandavar Festival
Indian Eunuchs’ Day in the Sun by Charles Haviland, BBC correspondent in southern India
Some Information on Kutandavar Aravan (India’s God of the “Ali”)
The Mystery of the Threshold: “Ali” of Southern India
Hijra Beauty Contests
Beauties Vie for Miss Koovagam Title with Gay Abandon (the term Aravani is used)
Giving ‘em a Place in the Sun by Nina Benjamin – The Hindu, 8/29/02
Hijra Beauty Contest: Eunuchs In India by Philippe Fraser – http://eurogay.co.uk/
Which One’s the Sexy Indian? A Comparison Between Berdaches and Hijras by Adam Bruno
Hijra Who Hold Political Office
And She’s a Eunuch: Ms. Nehru Goes Far In Indian Politics by Jonathan Karp (Wall Street Journal)
Katni Journal; A Pox on Politicians. A Eunuch You Can Trust. by Barry Bearak (New York Times)
Once Ostracized, India’s Secretive Eunuchs Get Enfranchised By Leela Jacinto (abcNEWS.com)
When I get elected, I’ll dance in your house by R Swaminathan
When The Third Sex Comes First by Radha Rastogi
“Men” who would be kings: celibacy, emasculation, and the re-production of hijras in contemporary Indian politics – gender identity, social stigma, and political corruption by Gayatri Reddy [Social Research, Spring, 2003]
Blurring the gender lines in Bangladesh by George Arney (from BBC News Online)
Hausa and Hijra: Gender and Culture (scroll down to “North India,” near the bottom)
Eunuchs in India (by Anonymous) [can also be read here -- with Altaf Bhimji being its possible author]
Hijras of India: Paradox and Surrogate Families by Anne Jelly
India: Begging eunuchs of Bombay (taken from The Eunuch Archive)
India Gay Resource: The Hijras (several links to other articles)
In From the Outside: India’s Long Mistreated Eunuchs are Teaming Up to Demand Equal Rights and Better Health Care
Surfaces: Feminism and Hybridity by Sabina Sawhney (Les presses de l’université de montréal)
TG Wire: Bangladesh’s Third Sex by George Arney (BBC News)
Third Wave: A Call to Arms by Kadambari Murali – hindustantimes.com ["mukhanni" are talked about]
Books | return to top
Ardhanarishvara — The Androgyne: Probing the Gender Within by Alka Pande
Hijras: the Labelled Deviants [aka Third Sex and Human Rights] by Satish Kumar Sharma
Hijras: Who We Are by Meena Balaji and other Eunuchs as told to Ruth Lor Malloy [an eBook]
The Invisibles: A Tale of the Eunuchs of India by Zia Jaffrey
The Man Who Was a Woman and Other Queer Tales from Hindu Lore edited by Devdutt Pattanaik
Neither Man Nor Woman: the Hijras of India by Serena Nanda
Book review by Prentiss Riddle of Neither Man Nor Woman: the Hijras of India
Tritiya-Prakriti: People of the Third Sex by Amara Das Wilhelm
With Respect to Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South India by Gayatri Reddy
A Free Downloadable 116-page Study on Hijras
Human Rights Violations against the Transgender Community: A study of kothi and hijra sex workers in
Bangalore, India – September 2003, by Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka (PUCL-K) [in Flash format]
Movies | return to top
Ali, edited by Peter Spenceley (UK, 2007)
Between the Lines: India’s Third Gender, directed by Thomas Wartmann (Germany, 2005)
Bombay Eunuch, directed by Sean MacDonald and Michelle Gukorsky (2001)
Eunuchs: India’s Third Gender, directed by Michael Yorke (UK, 1991)
Shabnam Mausi, directed by Yogesh Bharadwaj
Eunuchs in Indian Cinema, an article by Nishma Hindocha [in .doc format]
The Rise of Eunuchs in Hindi Films, an article (author unknown)
A Free Online Documentary about Hijras
Eunuchs, India’s third gender (Astra Film Sibiu 2007, 22-28 October)
1 hour; complete and free to watch on the web [in Flash format]
Videos | return to top
search results for hijras at YouTube [listing of hijra videos]
excerpt from the movie Between the Lines (2:09) [with footage of Laxmi (Laxminarayan Tripathi)]
Flames in the Looking Glass-resized by Shona Charlton (2:29) [in English]
Hijras or Humans (9:33) [in English, with some subtitles]
Making a Living (Being Eunuch in India) by parag Sankhe (2:05) [subtitled in English]
Research Project on Hijras by MBA Students of Bahria Univerity (5:49) [not in English and not subtitled]
Transgender Problems in India (5:59) [not in English and not subtitled]
Still Images – with thanks for help from Rekha on MySpace | return to top
Delhi Hijras, photographed by Jakob Berr
Eunuchs – India’s third gender, photographed by Maciej Dakowicz
Hijda-Eunuch.com: Firoze Shakir’s enormous complex of hijra photography sites
FirozeShakir.com: Firoze Shakir Poet
firoze shakir photographerno1’s photostream on Flickr.com [you have to be signed into Flickr to see all 28,800 photos]
Hijda Eunuch Blog: The Unique Third Gender of India
Photo Essay of Hijdas Eunuchs in Mumbai [lower down in this section]
PhotographerNo1.com
PhotographerNo.1@WordPress.com: Bollywood’s Most Wanted photographerno1
Shah-Ast-Hussain.com: Message Sent to Poem Hunter Support
Hijra 2005-06, photographed by Samkit Shah
Hijras, photographed by Kabir ChaoPhray
The Hijras of Pakistan, photographed by Dennis Drenner
Hijra, the Half-women of Pakistan [in English and in French], photographed by Bruno Morandi
In Pictures: Eunuchs in their own words, photographed by Habib Beary? [ from the article, "India's eunuchs demand rights" ]
Man or Women, photographed by GMB Akash
Muslim Hijras – neither male nor female, photographed by Nicola Okin Frioli
Transgenders – Chennai, India, photographed by Shiho Fukada [click on Index > Love for Sale >> Part 3.]
The Works on Hijra in Indian Sub-Continent: Not Men, Nor Women, photographed by Takeshi Ishikawa
Photo Essays
photography and text by Sonia Faleiro
The Dying Of The Evening Stars IV
The Dying of The Evening Stars VI [includes interview with Laxmi (Laxminarayan Tripathi)]
photography by Anita Khemka [click on a thumbnail in the right-hand column, or on ]
Kuttandavar-Aravam Festival, 2001
Munna Guru — Portrait of a Eunuch
photography and text by Firoze Shakir [most photos are accompanied by a wealth of explanatory text!]
Hijdas Eunuchs in Mumbai [there is a whopping total of 515 high-resolution photos here!]
photos of Laxmi (Laxminarayan Tripathi): page 1 | page 2 | page 3
Yahoo groups mailing lists | return to top
hijra (“this group is exclusively for Hijras and those who desire to be Hijras”)
hijras (discussion about hijra and related third gender cultures)
lgbt-india (“for lesbians, bisexuals, gays, kothis, hijras, double-deckers, transsexuals and other queer and transgendered people in India”)
transgendered_woman (“All peoples are welcome. Peoples are from India, Asia, America(USA), UK & other.”)
transgenderindia (“a place for TG/TS/CDs of India to unite and share their views”)
Other | return to top
Agape Bible Church (Bangalore, India) Eunuch Ministry
Articles on Jogappas and the Cult of Yellamma | return to this page’s first mention of jogappa
Of Men, Women and Neuters by Dr. K.L. Kamat – www.kamat.com
The Yellamma Cult by K. L. Kamat – www.kamat.com
What is the difference between a eunuch and an androgyne? Well, for one, most androgynes have genitalia and for two, most have a sex drive, and yet, just because a eunuch has no genitalia doesn’t mean that he (or she?) has a masculine or feminine or androgyne gender identity, does it? Is there a tendency to conflate androgynes with eunuchs? And if so, why?
Many would argue that it wouldn’t be entirely inappropriate to refer to a eunuch as an “it,” but even an agendered androgyne would probably object to being called an “it.” Androgynes might bend over backwards trying to use terms like sie (pronounced SEE) instead of he and she; and hir (pronounced like “hear”) instead of him or her; but surely, they would like to avoid “it.” Why is that, I wonder? If one truly is agendered and wants to make an issue of it, why not reclaim the term “it” like some blacks have reclaimed “n*gg*r” and some gays have reclaimed “queer”?
Finally, for those interested, there is a special type of agendered androgyne or eunuch known as neutrois.
Collected Information About
the Eunuchs of India Known as the Hijra
