Editing Māhū
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==History== | ==History== | ||
In the pre-colonial history of Hawai'i, Māhū were notable priests and healers, although much of this history was elided through the intervention of missionaries. The first published description of māhū occurs in Captain William Bligh's logbook of the Bounty, which stopped in Tahiti in 1789, where he was introduced to a member of a "class of people very common in Otaheitie called Mahoo... who although I was certain was a man, had great marks of effeminacy about him."<ref>William Bligh. Bounty Logbook. Thursday, January 15, 1789.</ref> | In the pre-colonial history of Hawai'i, Māhū were notable priests and healers, although much of this history was elided through the intervention of missionaries. The first published description of māhū occurs in Captain William Bligh's logbook of the Bounty, which stopped in Tahiti in 1789, where he was introduced to a member of a "class of people very common in Otaheitie called Mahoo... who although I was certain was a man, had great marks of effeminacy about him."<ref>William Bligh. Bounty Logbook. Thursday, January 15, 1789.</ref> | ||
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Websters International Dictionary of the English Language. 1890. Merriam Company.</ref> | Websters International Dictionary of the English Language. 1890. Merriam Company.</ref> | ||
In 1891, when painter Paul Gauguin first came to Tahiti, he was thought to be a māhū by the indigenous people, due to his flamboyant manner of dress during that time.<ref name=":0">Mario Vargas Llosa. "The men-women of the Pacific." ''Tate Britain.'' http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/men-women-pacific | In 1891, when painter Paul Gauguin first came to Tahiti, he was thought to be a māhū by the indigenous people, due to his flamboyant manner of dress during that time.<ref name=":0">Mario Vargas Llosa. "The men-women of the Pacific." ''Tate Britain.'' http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/men-women-pacific </ref> His 1893 painting ''Papa Moe (Mysterious Water)'' depicts a māhū drinking from a small waterfall.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Stephen F. Eisenman. Gauguin's Skirt. 1997.</ref> | ||
Missionaries to Hawai'i introduced biblical laws to the islands in the 1820s; under their influence Hawai'i's first anti-sodomy law was passed in 1850. These laws led to the social stigmatization of the māhū in Hawai'i. Beginning in the mid-1960s the Honolulu City Council required trans women to wear a badge identifying themselves as male.<ref>Aleardo Zanghellini. "Sodomy Laws and Gender Variance in Tahiti and Hawai'i." ''Laws'' Vol. 2, Issue 2 (2013), p. 51–68 doi: 10.3390/laws2020051</ref> | Missionaries to Hawai'i introduced biblical laws to the islands in the 1820s; under their influence Hawai'i's first anti-sodomy law was passed in 1850. These laws led to the social stigmatization of the māhū in Hawai'i. Beginning in the mid-1960s the Honolulu City Council required trans women to wear a badge identifying themselves as male.<ref>Aleardo Zanghellini. "Sodomy Laws and Gender Variance in Tahiti and Hawai'i." ''Laws'' Vol. 2, Issue 2 (2013), p. 51–68 doi: 10.3390/laws2020051</ref> | ||
In American artist George Biddle's ''Tahitian Journal'' (1920–1922) he writes about several māhū friends in Tahiti, of their role in native Tahitian society, and of the persecution of a māhū friend Naipu, who fled Tahiti due to colonial French laws that sent māhū and homosexuals to hard labor in prison in New Caledonia.<ref>George Biddle. ''Tahitian Journal.'' 1999. https://books.google.com/?id=C2lKxkVIwMAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=tahitian+journal+george+biddle#v=onepage&q=mahu&f=false | In American artist George Biddle's ''Tahitian Journal'' (1920–1922) he writes about several māhū friends in Tahiti, of their role in native Tahitian society, and of the persecution of a māhū friend Naipu, who fled Tahiti due to colonial French laws that sent māhū and homosexuals to hard labor in prison in New Caledonia.<ref>George Biddle. ''Tahitian Journal.'' 1999. https://books.google.com/?id=C2lKxkVIwMAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=tahitian+journal+george+biddle#v=onepage&q=mahu&f=false</ref> Rae rae is a social category of māhū that came into use in Tahiti in the 1960s, although it is criticized by some māhū as an abject reference to sex work. | ||
During World War II, māhū and gender variant peoples of the South Pacific were encountered by American men and women in the U.S. military and helped influence the beginnings of gay liberation. | During World War II, māhū and gender variant peoples of the South Pacific were encountered by American men and women in the U.S. military and helped influence the beginnings of gay liberation. | ||
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==In contemporary cultures== | ==In contemporary cultures== | ||
In 1980s, Māhū and fa'afafine of Samoa and other queer cultures of the Pacific began organizing, as māhū and queer Pacific Islanders were beginning to receive international recognition in various fields.<ref name=":1">Eleanor Kleiber. ''Gender Identity and Sexual Identity in the Pacific and Hawai'i: Introduction'' University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Library. 10 September 2019. https://guides.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/c.php?g=105466&p=686754 | In 1980s, Māhū and fa'afafine of Samoa and other queer cultures of the Pacific began organizing, as māhū and queer Pacific Islanders were beginning to receive international recognition in various fields.<ref name=":1">Eleanor Kleiber. ''Gender Identity and Sexual Identity in the Pacific and Hawai'i: Introduction'' University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Library. 10 September 2019. https://guides.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/c.php?g=105466&p=686754 </ref> | ||
In 2003,<ref name=":1" /> the term ''mahuwahine'' was coined within Hawaii's queer community: māhū (in the middle) + wahine (woman), the structure of the word is similar to Samoan fa'a (the way of) + fafine (woman/wife). The term ''mahuwahine'' resembles a transgender identity that coincide with Hawaiian cultural renaissance.<ref>Lyndall Ellingson and Carol Odo. {December 2008 "HIV Risk Behaviors Among Mahuwahine (Native Hawaiian Transgender Women)" http://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/aeap.2008.20.6.558 ''AIDS Education and Prevention'' volume 20, issue 6, pages 558–569 doi=10.1521/aeap.2008.20.6.558 issn=0899-9546 | In 2003,<ref name=":1" /> the term ''mahuwahine'' was coined within Hawaii's queer community: māhū (in the middle) + wahine (woman), the structure of the word is similar to Samoan fa'a (the way of) + fafine (woman/wife). The term ''mahuwahine'' resembles a transgender identity that coincide with Hawaiian cultural renaissance.<ref>Lyndall Ellingson and Carol Odo. {December 2008 "HIV Risk Behaviors Among Mahuwahine (Native Hawaiian Transgender Women)" http://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/aeap.2008.20.6.558 ''AIDS Education and Prevention'' volume 20, issue 6, pages 558–569 doi=10.1521/aeap.2008.20.6.558 issn=0899-9546</ref> | ||
Notable contemporary māhū, or mahuwahine, include activist and kumu hula Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu,<ref>Amelia Rachel Kokule'a. "'Gender Identity Disorder' to Go the Way of Homosexuality" 2012-10-29 The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/10/gender-identity-disorder-to-go-the-way-of-homosexuality/264232 </ref> kumu hula Kaumakaiwa Kanaka'ole, and kumu hula Kaua'i Iki; and within the wider māhū LGBT community, historian Noenoe Silva, activist Ku‘u-mealoha Gomes, singer and painter Bobby Holcomb, and singer Kealii Reichel. | |||
In many traditional communities, Māhū play an important role in carrying on Polynesian culture, and teaching "the balance of female and male throughout creation".<ref name=Robinson>Carol E. Robertson. 1989 "The Māhū of Hawai'i." ''Feminist Studies.'' volume 15, issue 2, pages=318. doi=10.2307/3177791 issn=0046-3663 jstor=3177791</ref> Modern Māhū carry on traditions of connection to the land, language preservation, and the preservation and revival of cultural activities including traditional dances, songs, and the methods of playing culturally-specific musical instruments. Symbolic tattooing is also a popular practice. Modern Māhū do not alter their bodies through what others would consider gender reassignment surgery, but just as any person in Hawaiian/Tahitian society dress differently for work, home, and nights out.<ref name=UHP95>Besnier, Niko, Alexeyeff, Kalissa. ''Gender on the edge : transgender, gay, and other Pacific islanders.'' Honolulu, 2014 isbn=9780824840198</ref> | In many traditional communities, Māhū play an important role in carrying on Polynesian culture, and teaching "the balance of female and male throughout creation".<ref name=Robinson>Carol E. Robertson. 1989 "The Māhū of Hawai'i." ''Feminist Studies.'' volume 15, issue 2, pages=318. doi=10.2307/3177791 issn=0046-3663 jstor=3177791</ref> Modern Māhū carry on traditions of connection to the land, language preservation, and the preservation and revival of cultural activities including traditional dances, songs, and the methods of playing culturally-specific musical instruments. Symbolic tattooing is also a popular practice. Modern Māhū do not alter their bodies through what others would consider gender reassignment surgery, but just as any person in Hawaiian/Tahitian society dress differently for work, home, and nights out.<ref name=UHP95>Besnier, Niko, Alexeyeff, Kalissa. ''Gender on the edge : transgender, gay, and other Pacific islanders.'' Honolulu, 2014 isbn=9780824840198</ref> | ||
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In situations where they have been rejected by their families of origin, due to homophobia and colonization, Māhū have formed their own communities, supporting one another, and preserving and teaching cultural traditions to the next generations. In the documentary ''Kumu Hina'', Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu visits one of these communities of elders up in the mountains, and meets with some of the Māhū who were her teachers and chosen family when she was young. | In situations where they have been rejected by their families of origin, due to homophobia and colonization, Māhū have formed their own communities, supporting one another, and preserving and teaching cultural traditions to the next generations. In the documentary ''Kumu Hina'', Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu visits one of these communities of elders up in the mountains, and meets with some of the Māhū who were her teachers and chosen family when she was young. | ||
== See also == | == See also == |