We'wha (1849-96), a Zuni
berdache,
lived in New Mexico. He is shown
holding a ritual vessel, dressed in women's clothing.
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In some Native American cultures, male children who display feminine
characteristics at an early age are valued by the tribe as a sacred trust. It
is believed that the Great Spirit has sent this child to them as a go-between
for males and females, a bridge between the sexes who understands both sides of
the human condition.
Such a child is apprenticed to a shaman, or holy man of the tribe. In his
training, he learns the traditional work of both sexes, dresses as a woman, and
usually performs the functions of healer and arbiter for his people.
The European word for this person is "berdache". Among the Zuni,
for example, it is "lhamana".
The ideal of male and female sharing one body has long been fertile soil in
my psychic garden. These images explore the fusion of male and female which the
berdache represents, and are part of a larger series.
The subject is a young Native American from New Mexico who has recently
discovered and is exploring this aspect of his culture.
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