Hijras Of India

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Hijras are a social group, part religious cult and part caste, which live mainly in north India. They are classified as "neither men nor women" or as men who become women by adopting women's dress and behavior. Hijras are devotees of Buhuchara Mata, a version of the Indian mother goddess. Through their identification with the goddess, ratified by an emasculation ritual (ritual where there genitals are completely removed), hijras are thought to be vehicles of the goddess's power. Their traditional way of earning a living is by collecting alms, receiving payments for blessing newborn males, and serving at the temple of their goddess. Hijras are mainly associated with a few traditional occupations, the most common being ritualized performances at childbirth and marriage. The hijras' performance consists of dancing and singing, and blessing the child or the married couple in the name of the goddess. In return for these blessings the hijras receive cash and goods. Hijras have effectively maintained economic predominance, if not total monopoly, over their ritual role. Although prostitution is considered deviant within the hijra community, as it is in India generally, many hijras earn a living from it. Prostitution is carried out within a hijra household, under the supervision of a house leader, who will collect part or all of the earnings in return for shelter, food, a small allowance, and protection. Hijras occupy the lowest end of the Indian social hierarchy and, having no ordinary social position to maintain within that hierarchy, hijras are free to behave as they please. A culturally widespread belief in India is that hijras have the power to curse people with sterility and bad fortune, most dramatically by lifting their skirts and exposing their mutilated genitals. They know that their lack of shame makes ordinary people reluctant to resist their demands for
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