Centuries-Old Mysterious Rituals, Secret Language and Life of South Asia’s ‘Third Gender’

Before I start telling this mysterious saga, let me give a little background.

South Asia consists of the current day’s India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. This part of the earth has always been considered full of mysteries and colorful cultures. Being home to the 5000 years old Indus valley civilization, this land is home to the world’s oldest religion too. Origin of Hinduism goes so back in history that no one actually knows about the start of it. Hindus worship millions of Gods and Goddesses.

World’s oldest scriptures also belong to Hinduism. Kokshastra, Arthshastra, and Kamasutra are the most popular three books that are read even today. Reading these books you get to know that the ancient Indian society was so open-minded and quite advanced in many branches of knowledge. Kamasutra is still considered a good sex education book. Kamasutra clearly talks about homosexuality and gay sex.

You can see many Hindu religious tales and depictions in the shape of paintings or sculptures showing homosexuality as a normal thing. According to religious scriptures, God Shiva himself cut his sexual organs (there are different stories about the reason behind it). He is also depicted as half man and half women. Some other Gods also took womanly appearance for different periods of time, including Krishna and Arjun.

Indian society respected intergender people for centuries. Even male members of the society who were born as men but felt like a female soul from inside, used to emasculate themselves in order to find spiritual peace. The process of emasculation is called Nirvan, which means getting the eternal peace. These intergender or sexually ambiguous people are called ‘Hijra’ in almost all of South Asia since ages. The patron Goddess of Hindu Hijras is Bahuchara. She is believed to have the power of changing the genders.

When Islam spread in South Asia, the Mughals, like many other emperors brought a large number of eunuchs in their palaces. These were mostly Muslims. These eunuchs had so many duties and were mostly appointed inside the ladies' Harem. The head eunuchs used to be quite well-read and clever so that they could give good company to Mughal queens and princesses. Most of the times the duty of teaching the children of the palace was also given to the head eunuchs. They were very loyal to the kings and their kin. Mughal period was the golden era for Hijras.

The role of a common Hijra in society was giving blessings to people on happy occasions like childbirth or weddings, dancing, and singing. People would give them money for giving their blessings.

With the downfall of the Mughal Empire, the British brought their Victorian moralities with them and whitewashed the colorful culture of India. They listed Hijras under ‘Criminal Caste’. Hijras were subjected to torture and arrests. British declared it illegal for men to wear female clothing and involve in public singing and dancing. The famous section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalized the Hijras for centuries to come. It was just a few years ago when India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh gave the official citizen status back to Hijras. India gave the freedom of same-sex marriages too.

Hijra Farsi:

During the 1500s, the Hijras started using a secret language. There is no record of who invented it or when exactly, but it is believed that it was started in Mughal courts because they call their language Koti Farsi (Hijra Persian) or Hijra Farsi. The language doesn’t have any words of Persian in it. But the official language of the Mughals was Persian so it is believed that the court eunuchs invented it.

According to Dr. Muhammad Shiraz, a professor at Islamabad International Islamic University, Hijra Farsi has more than 10,000 words. And only a few of these words are from some local languages of South Asia. Most of the words are totally invented and have no origin in any other language. Hijras of India and Pakistan still use this language to communicate with each other. They had always been extremely secretive about this language and no one out of the Hijra community is allowed to learn it. It is quite complicated. It was never written and it doesn’t comply with all the rules of a language but according to historians, it has survived for 500 years without any major change in it. This language has its own words for amounts of money too. Hijras try not to speak it in the presence of outsiders and it is considered a crime to teach it to outsiders. Hijra Farsi is an integral part of Hijra culture which is full of many other mysterious rituals.

Hijra culture of South Asia is so old and rooted in religion, so the Hijras consider themselves kind of a religious community with its own rites and rituals that they have kept secret from the outside world for hundreds of years.

Guru and Chela relation:

In any South Asian household, be it Hindu or Muslim, having a child with Hijra personality is considered a shame, and mostly these kids are cast out by their parents. And if their family doesn’t push them away, the society does. Most of the times these kids run away from home.

The Hijra community has developed its own family system and they are still keeping it. Every Hijra household has a chief Hijra who is called Guru. The guru has many disciples who are called Chelas (disciple). Gurus take these lost souls under their wing. Guru then becomes responsible for teaching the new kid their language and other arts that include dancing, singing, and some other Hijra traits.

Accepting a new Chela into the household is an important step because once included, they become family for life. On this occasion, there is a ritual done in the presence of senior gurus and Hijras of the area. In this ceremony, the Chela sits on a mat, and guru puts one end of her Dupatta (scarf) on the head of the Chela and says, “You are my Chela”, three times. Then guru covers the head of new Chela with that Dupatta. After that both guru and Chela sit on the mat and Chela presents 2100 rupees to the guru. 2100 is called ‘the angel number’ and represents new beginnings and endless possibilities in Numerology.

The last and most important ritual is the piercing of ears and nose. Guru pierces the ears and nose of new Chela with the same needle and thread that was used when guru herself became part of that household. This completes the official entry of the Chela into his new family. The Chela touches the feet of guru and the celebrations start. This ritual is same in both Hindu and Muslim Hijras.

Nirvan:

The second most important ritual in the life of a Hijra is Nirvan by emasculation. Hindu Hijras say that if they are born with a female soul in a male body then the Goddess Bahuchara comes in their dream and ask them to emasculate and become Hijra or they will be born like that for the rest of their 7 lives. This ritual is called Nirvan because they consider it as a rebirth.

This ritual is always performed in secrecy because it is considered to be a very spiritual transition and also because it was always illegal due to the risk of death. The time for most of the secret Hijra rituals is between 3 am to 4 am. This operation is performed by a senior Hijra called Dai Ma (midwife), connecting it to rebirth.

In India before the operation, both the Nirvan and Dai Ma perform a Pooja to the Goddess Bahuchara. Then Dai Ma asks the Nirvan to look at the Goddess and see if she appears smiling or not. If he finds her smiling then it is considered a sign of her approval. Dai Ma removes Nirvan’s clothes to make him look like a newborn. She then ties the testicles and penis of the Nirvan and asks him to keep looking at the image of the Goddess and chant her name. When he enters a trance, Dai Ma cuts his genitals with two diagonal cuts and let the Nirvan bleed. It is believed that this blood was the last of the male left in his soul so it should get out of the body. Dai Ma inserts a wooden stick inside Nirvan’s urethra to keep it open.

After the operation, Nirvan is left alone in a room where only her guru can enter. She is not allowed to go out for 40 days. She is not allowed to see a man, see milk, eat banana, comb her hair, or look in a mirror. Just like a new mother, she is bathed on the 40th day and dressed in bridal clothes. She wears bridal jewelry and Henna. This ritual ends with a huge celebration.

In Pakistan, the emasculation ritual is a bit different. Muslim Hijras also consider it as rebirth but instead of Pooja, they mourn over the dying male soul. The guru asks Nirvan 10 times if he is sure about his decision or not? After confirmation, the Guru and other Hijras of the household dress the Nirvan as a dead Muslim man, in white sheets of cloth.

He is then taken to a nearby graveyard or forest like a funeral precession between 3 am to 4 am. All the members cry and wail loud just like on the death of a loved one. In the forest or the open area away from people, they dig a grave and lay the Nirvan down in it. Then Dai Ma performs the operation and lets him bleed.

Muslim Hijras say that if that male blood is not mixed in the earth then the earth will not accept their body after their death as Nirvan. If the Nirvan dies after operation, then she is simply buried in the grave. If she survives then they bring her home and the same 40 days ritual starts for her too.

Emasculation is illegal everywhere in South Asia so it is not easy to find a doctor who would do it. Still, nowadays Hijras prefer operations done by professional doctors instead of Dai Ma. They do perform all the rituals before and after the operation.

Funeral Rituals:

Muslim Hijras bury their dead in secret too. Unlike a common Muslim, they give bath to Nirvan themselves and wait till 3 am to bury her without any Islamic rituals that are normally performed by religious clerks. Islam does not accept any third gender and Muslim burial rituals are different for men and women so clerks refuse to perform any rites for Hijras who are Nirvan.

The funeral rituals of a Hindu Hijra are also performed by the guru. They are cremated as any other Hindu. They also do this after 3 am. Hindu Hijras don’t let any outsider see the funeral rites of a Hijra, they believe that if an outsider sees these rituals or the body of Hijra then she will be born like that for the rest of her 7 lives.

Most of these rituals are harmless and give Hijras strength as a community. Some of them are dangerous but with the passage of time Hijras are also considering and adopting safer ways. The social status and current-day struggle of Hijras in South Asia needs a whole new article so I will conclude it here.