Religious practies in the Hijra community?

[bjornesparr]

Hi, any Indian Hijras out there?
Mabye this is the right forum for my issue?

My name is Erika Björnesparr, I live in Sweden and I'm studying at the University of Sodertorn. My majors are Gender- and Comparing science of religion which makes me very interested in all sorts of questions that stresses identity, power, society, religion, gender and so on.


A little study about religion...

I was very happy to find you on the net and I hope that you could help me. I have previously written a paper about how the academic field write and try to describe the Hijra societies and the gender aspect in India to prepare my self for deeper knowledge about the religious practises of the Hijra community. I find it very hard to find information about the subject of religion among the Hijras. Anthropologist Serena Nanda for example has written some about religious practise but not at all sufficient for me to really understand. I am most interested in the Hijras of India though I have travelled India my self and have at least a clue what India can be about.



E-mail interviews

I like to get in contact with Indian Hijras to make e-mail interviews with various Hijras about religious beliefs and practises. I understand that some are Hindus, some Christians and some Muslims (more?)and that you participate in each others pujas/rituals and such witch really interests me. (You can ofcourse be absolut ananymous in the study if you like!)


I am aware though that there are many names of people belonging to transgenderism in India. (India is big, I know) Therefore of course You can clame your own (Hijra, Kinnar, Ali and more) name when helping me.

I would also like to know if there are literatures you think I should read further to get a true glimpse of the Hijra community.

I really look forward to hear from you. And you are very welcome to pass around this letter to other Hijra friends, maybe where you live, maybe to Hijras from other Indian cities that would like to help me sort out my questions.

All the best for now, Erika

Erika.bjornesparr@chello.se

[flowerpower]

Hijra links:

http://hijraresearch.blogspot.com/

http://www.geocities.com/leylasuhagi/hijra.html

http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/indologie/kolam/kolam1/alieng.html

http://www.ars-rhetorica.net/Queen/Volume11/Articles/IntroDennis.html

Good luck with your hijra search! 

[Shelley]

At the risk of showing my ignorance who are Indian Hijaris.

Shelley

[bjornesparr]

Hi everyone,

First, thank you very much Flowerpower for your links about Hijras. Since I made my first paper about the Hijra community there has been a lot happining on the information-flow on the net. Fantastic I think with this communicating ability. The "Layla-page" I have been aware of for quite some time now, even trying to get anwers by the contact adress with no result. But a good page as it is.

I have since posting here last time found a really good book dealing with the questions that interests me according to the Hijras. Its written by Gayatri Reddy who has made field work among Hijras for 4 years. "With respect to sex" it is called, ad thats my best tip for anyone interested right now.  You also have the work of Serena Nanda that is dated a little older but also a good way to start looking into the Hijra community.

and Shelly...there is nothing ignorant about not knowing as long as the curiosity is there, thats my point of view.

Its hard to map or actually lable the Hijras of India having a lot of parametres in the name. The easiest (and most common?) way to describe Hijras is "neither man, no woman". They have a long history in indian context and mythological justification so to speak. They also interpret them selves/by others like having a history in the Moghul palaces with imprtant functions guarding things/women, reliable because the "inbetweeness".

Today Hijras live in diffrent kinshipfamilies with guru/shela (guru/deciple) relationships all over India. There are a lot academic talking about who is a "real Hijra", what i does actually contain. As I see it it is maybe more interesting who clames the title and why so to speak. The truth is the truth experienced I think.
I dont really know what to say more...hope that helps a bit. But as I said, these books mentioned are goood.

Wile anyway on the subject...
I now realized this maybe was the wrong forum to actually meet "Hijras of India". But my interest has taking a kind of new turn, or expanded a bit.

:icon_help:Are there anyone reading this forum that has thoughts and feelings about Hijras for their own? I mean, I have come across people in my search, from "the west", that has this need for Hijras in their identification/religious serch. Are you one of them, PLEASE e-mail me and talk about this subject. That would make me very happy!! I post my adress below.

At last I just want to say, what a wonderful forum you have here! Lot of good energy flowing with nice people taking good care about each other.

Warm wishes/Erika, the curious swede
erika.bjornesparr@chello.se

[Shelley]

Thankyou for taking the time to explain Erika and good luck on your journey.

Shelley

[bjornesparr]

oh, thank you very much Shelley!

I almost forgot...
this very site has a good overview of the Hijras of south Asia. (That was how i found Susan´s at the first place...)

http://susans.org/wiki/Hijra

Bye for now

[stephanie_craxford]

Aaaaaaaaarh yes...  The Wiki...  Root of all knowledge... 

Steph

[Shelley]

I should have known better and looked there first :-[

Shelley