#culturally hindu

[little-desi-historian]

I love being brown and knowing my ancestors followed the second least combative world view on earth (save for indigenous peoples beliefs and Jewish beliefs via the Torah). If a Hindu tries to forcefully convert you they have never read any section of Hindu philosophy or history.

[rrcraft-and-lore]

In addition to my Monkey Man post from earlier, the always kind & sweet Aparna Verma (author of The Phoenix King, check it out) asked that I do a thread on Hijras, & more of the history around them, South Asia, mythology (because that's my thing), & the positive inclusion of them in Monkey Man which I brought up in my gushing review.

Hijra: They are the transgender, eunuch, or intersex people in India who are officially recognized as the third sex throughout most countries in the Indian subcontinent. The trans community and history in India goes back a long way as being documented and officially recognized - far back as 12th century under the Delhi Sultanate in government records, and further back in our stories in Hinduism. The word itself is a Hindi word that's been roughly translated into English as "eunuch" commonly but it's not exactly accurate.

Hijras have been considered the third sex back in our ancient stories, and by 2014 got official recognition to identify as the third gender (neither male or female) legally. Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India have accepted: eunuch, trans, intersex people & granted them the proper identification options on passports and other government official documents.

But let's get into some of the history surrounding the Hijra community (which for the longest time has been nomadic, and a part of India's long, rich, and sometimes, sadly, troubled history of nomadic tribes/people who have suffered a lot over the ages. Hijras and intersex people are mentioned as far back as in the Kama Sutra, as well as in the early writings of Manu Smriti in the 1st century CE (Common Era), specifically said that a third sex can exist if possessing equal male and female seed.

This concept of balancing male/female energies, seed, and halves is seen in two places in South Asian mythos/culture and connected to the Hijra history.

First, we have Aravan/Iravan (romanized) - who is also the patron deity of the transgender community. He is most commonly seen as a minor/village deity and is depicted in the Indian epic Mahabharata. Aravan is portrayed as having a heroic in the story and his self-sacrifice to the goddess Kali earns him a boon.

He requests to be married before his death. But because he is doomed to die so shortly after marriage, no one wants to marry him.

No one except Krishna, who adopts his female form Mohini (one of the legendary temptresses in mythology I've written about before) and marries him. It is through this union of male, and male presenting as female in the female form of Mohini that the seed of the Hijras is said to begun, and why the transgender community often worships Aravan and, another name for the community is Aravani - of/from Aravan.

But that's not the only place where a gender non conforming divine representation can be seen. Ardhanarishvara is the half female form of lord Shiva, the destroyer god.

Shiva combines with his consort Parvarti and creates a form that represents the balancing/union between male/female energies and physically as a perfectly split down the middle half-male half-female being. This duality in nature has long been part of South Asian culture, spiritual and philosophical beliefs, and it must be noted the sexuality/gender has often been displayed as fluid in South Asian epics and the stories. It's nothing new.

Many celestial or cosmic level beings have expressed this, and defied modern western limiting beliefs on the ideas of these themes/possibilities/forms of existence.

Ardhanarishvara signifies "totality that lies beyond duality", "bi-unity of male and female in God" and "the bisexuality and therefore the non-duality" of the Supreme Being.

Back to the Hijra community.

They have a complex and long history. Throughout time, and as commented on in the movie, Monkey Man, the Hijra community has faced ostracization, but also been incorporated into mainstream society there. During the time of the Dehli Sultanate and then later the Mughal Empire, Hijras actually served in the military and as military commanders in some records, they were also servants for wealthy households, manual laborers, political guardians, and it was seen as wise to put women under the protection of Hijras -- they often specifically served as the bodyguards and overseers of harems. A princess might be appointed a Hijra warrior to guard her.

But by the time of British colonialism, anti-Hijra laws began to come in place folded into laws against the many nomadic tribes of India (also shown in part in Monkey Man with Kid (portrayed by Dev Patel) and his family, who are possibly

one of those nomadic tribes that participated in early theater - sadly by caste often treated horribly and relegated to only the performing arts to make money (this is a guess based on the village play they were performing as no other details were given about his family).

Hijras were criminalized in 1861 by the Indian Penal Code enforced by the British and were labeled specifically as "The Hijra Problem" -- leading to an anti-Hijra campaign across the subcontinent with following laws being enacted: punishing the practices of the Hijra community, and outlawing castration (something many Hijra did to themselves). Though, it should be noted many of the laws were rarely enforced by local Indian officials/officers. But, the British made a point to further the laws against them by later adding the Criminal Tribes Act in 1871, which targeted the Hijra community along with the other nomadic Indian tribes - it subjected them to registration, tracking/monitoring, stripping them of children, and their ability to sequester themselves in their nomadic lifestyle away from the British Colonial Rule.

Today, things have changed and Hijras are being seen once again in a more positive light (though not always and this is something Monkey Man balances by what's happened to the community in a few scenes, and the heroic return/scene with Dev and his warriors). All-hijra communities exist and sort of mirror the western concept of "found families" where they are safe haven/welcoming place trans folks and those identifying as intersex.

These communities also have their own secret language known as Hijra Farsi, which is loosely based on Hindi, but consists of a unique vocabulary of at least 1,000 words.

As noted above, in 2014, the trans community received more legal rights.

Specifically: In April 2014, Justice K. S. Radhakrishnan declared transgender to be the third gender in Indian law in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India.

Hijras, Eunuchs, apart from binary gender, be treated as "third gender" for the purpose of safeguarding their rights under Part III of our Constitution and the laws made by the Parliament and the State Legislature. Transgender persons' right to decide their self-identified gender is also upheld and the Centre and State Governments are directed to grant legal recognition of their gender identity such as male, female or as third gender.

I've included some screenshots of (some, not all, and certainly not the only/definitive reads) books people can check out about SOME of the history. Not all again. This goes back ages and even our celestial beings/creatures have/do display gender non conforming ways.

There are also films that touch on Hijra history and life. But in regards to Monkey Man, which is what started this thread particularly and being asked to comment - it is a film that positively portrayed India's third sex and normalized it in its depiction. Kid the protagonist encounters a found family of Hijras at one point in the story (no spoilers for plot) and his interactions/acceptance, living with them is just normal. There's no explaining, justifying, anything to/for the audience. It simply is. And, it's a beautiful arc of the story of Kid finding himself in their care/company.

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Nefertem x Brahma supremacy 🗿🪷🪷🪷

[ritish16]

Mahakali

[tum-naam-sochlo-merese-ni-hora]

Uh.....lol thoughts on ponytail kanhu?

[stfulara]

Krishna after defeating putana, vatsasur, bakasur, kalia, aghasur and Kamsa himself:

"mein toh bas ek sadharan sa gowala hun 🤷"

[randomx123]

One problem with Hindus (especially conservative ones) is that they support various gender expressions and identities as long as it's related to mythology

Like we see girls in drag cosplaying Krishna and that's widely accepted. They do drag for other mythological characters as well. We see men in drag in mythological theatrical productions but if a man is in drag that's NOT related to mythology, he'd get shamed. Same thing with men being and acting feminine (no doubt, positively in this case) as long as it's related to a mythological act, or scene. Graceful male traditional dancers for example, are fine. But if that same man dances "femininely" to a Western song, he gets called slurs.

And then the trans topic is an entirely different topic.

Ykwim?

Yeah, IKR?

Vishnu turns into Mohini to get the Amrit from the Asurs? A-OK

Lakshmi having feelings for Her Narayan even in that form? *Le gasp* Paap! Anuchit! Dandaniya!

Men acting/looking feminine? *Insert all the hu mofo bian insults you can think of*

Ardhanarishvar being partly both Male and Female at once, and hence neither as a whole? *BrIlLiAnCe Of SaNaTaN dHaRmA!! Rahhh!! InInIn!! 🦚🦚🦚*

Non-binary people? Intersex people? *ThEy ArE (r-slur) pEoPlE wItH bRaInRoT fRoM pRoPaGaNdA!!!*

Don't these people love yapping about their favourite scriptures? Don't they read them? Don't they know that Para Brahman (I'd have said Debi, but not everyone is open to accepting anything besides what they've stuffed in their craniums for so long, so generalising...) is in everything in this Universe?

I don't mean only humans, or even living beings. Every atom is supposed to hold Para Brahman, the same way They hold the Universe within Themself

[forgotten-bharat]

About Vedic Scriptures

[g0j0s]

devi: the goddess within

i have often heard people refer to women as devi insisting on their divinity. but often the implications are about Sati or Sita; the ones who perform sacrifices as their earthly duties. but what if she’s not?

what if she’s a mere human with many many faults and flaws that she works on diligently? what if instead of being single dimensional, she’s kaleidoscopic? what if she’s wrathful like Chandi but also demure like Gauri? what if she’s the source of life like Aditi but also dwells in cremation grounds like Kali? what if she’s wise like Saraswati but also possesses immense beauty like Laxmi?

if you really think about it, perhaps her dharma is only to figure out her life and honor her own light. perhaps, the reason she exists is for herself but she chooses to welcome others and love them. perhaps, she is the embodiment of all the devis; but on her own terms, just how she wants to be.

[wildfeather5002]

Indigenous folks, ex-christians & anyone who's knowledgeable on social issues, I have two questions that have bothered me for a long while and I believe y'all might know how to answer them.

The question: I read a webcomic about community A living on an island along with another community B with different culture & beliefs from them. Community A believes that their culture & religion are the correct ones and that members of community B are dooming themselves to eternal damnation (in a religious sense) if they don't adopt the beliefs & practices of community A.

I saw someone talking about the comic in its comment section, saying that one of the characters who's a member of community B is selfish for not adopting the burial practices from community A's religion, because according to that someone, not burying their loved one like community A believes is correct is " potentially dooming their loved one to eternal damnation".

If you're indigenous, has rhetoric / talking points like this been used against your own religious / cultural practices? Could you give any concrete examples?

If you have religious trauma / are ex christian of any kind, have people used talking points like this to guilt trip, to frighten, or to shame you into obeying religious rules? (People belonging to other religions than christianity are welcome to give their perspectives as well!)

[ahamasmiyodhah]

राणे वर रा काई पर्णीजूँ जनम जनम मर जाये,

वर पर्णीजूँ साँवरो म्हारो अमर चुड़ो होइ जाय।

मान कह्यो मोरो माय म्हणे साँवरियो परणाये...!

𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐑𝐀 𝐁𝐀𝐈; those who loses themselves to the lotus feet of Krishna are never lost, for Krishna himself guides them.

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ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪɪ ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪɪɪ

@harinishivaa @mahi-wayy @zeherili-ankhein @houseofbreadpakoda @warnermeadowsgirl @thecrazyinktrovert @thegleamingmoon @yehsahihai @willkatfanfromasia @krsnaradhika @desigurlie @hum-suffer @ramayantika @mrityuloknative

[little-desi-historian]

Happy ~early~ Raksha Bandhan!

Speaking historically.

In our house: Raksha Bandhan (this festival) as all other festivals/holidays, Hindu or otherwise in my household are gender neutral, everyone gives gifts to everyone and everyone ties Rakhi on everyone. You can argue how well this upholds the text(s) and I do have messy feelings about my culture but I’ll never hate it and I wouldn’t trade it for any ‘blandness’ or ‘simplicity.’ But I think anything that promotes equity is a good thing, so to my fellow desi ‘siblings’ of any gender or lack of gender here, Happy Raksha Bandhan!

[aahanna]

Celebrating the Divine Power

Navratri is not just about dancing and festivities; it's a profound reminder of the importance of women and a call for respect. It urges us to recognize the strength within us and stand up for our rights, dreams, and desires.

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Hindu men if they were secure enough in their masculinity:

[ritish16]

Sri Krishna at Kurukshetra

[kaal-naagin]

I like the fact that how Lord Vishnu is portrayed like this calm CEO who speaks in a soothing tone and has everything planned and handled but some of His Avatars:

1. VARAHA DEVA:Speared Hiranyaksha with His tusks

2. NARASIMHA DEVA: Ripped apart Hiranyakashipu ,drank his blood and garlanded Himself with his intestines

3. PARASHURAMA DEVA: Killed the entire Kshatriya clan 21 times before retirement

4. KRISHNA: Kanha is well... Kanha

In my humble and unqualified opinion , the closest any Avatara of Lord Vishnu to His Bhujangashayana form is Lord Rama. Calm and serene. I can sit at His feet for hours and look at His face.

Tagging:@nirmohi-premika @jukti-torko-golpo @krishnapriyakiduniya @krishna-sahacharini @krishna-priyatama @shyamsakhii @sanskari-kanya @shut-up-rabert @budugaapologist @witchconnectingdotes @janaknandini-singh999 @themorguepoet @harinishivaa @suvarnarekha @softbeanofexistentialcrisis