Hijra South Asia: Encyclopedia II - Hijra South Asia - Making a living

Hijra South Asia - Making a living

Few employment opportunities are available to hijras, who must often resort to begging or prostitution (as Hindu temple prostitutes in premodern times). The men who engage in sexual relations with hijras are not considered gay in the Western sense, just as hijras are not gay but instead members of the third gender. In fact, some Hijras find husbands.

They also perform traditional religious ceremonies at marriages and the birth of male babies. Hijra attendance at birth and wedding ceremonies are usually uninvited, involving music, singing, and sexually suggestive dancing. These are intended to bring good luck and fertility. As per societal norms, the host pays the hijras a fee. It is believed in India that the new born baby will be blessed if exposed to the Hijra's manhood. In recent times, foreign negative attitudes have affected the Hijra's cultural status. Some now view them with contempt and bribe hijras to shorten their ceremonies. No matter what attitude individuals have toward hijras, most people believe they have supernatural powers attributed to their castration that, if offended, bring bad luck.

In Islamic societies, they were associated with the ruling class and hired as court eunuchs.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Making a living", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki