For Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Queer Pri Month, Dennis Zotigh, a cultural specialist at the Natnal Mm of the Amerin Indian, ved Native iends to tell how their tradnal culture saw s LGBTQ members. A Chirihua Apache iend replied, “Now, Dennis, this is a human qutn, not [jt] Native.” We agree. But we also appreciate hearg what Native Amerins have learned, renstcted, or been unable to renstct about this part of our shared history and experience.
Contents:
- UGANDA GAY ON MOVE
- ‘GAY TRIB’ ON GRDR: WHY ’S TIME TO STOP TEGORISG EACH OTHER
- IF YOU SAY BEG GAY IS NOT AIN, YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR HISTORY
- GAY XHOSA MEN’S EXPERIENC OF ULWALO (TRADNAL MALE IATN)
- A GAY THERAPIST DISCS GAY MEN AND TATTOOS: RUAL AND MEANG
UGANDA GAY ON MOVE
Gay men's specialist psychotherapist and life/bs ach, Ken Howard, LCSW, discs gay men and tattoos, and their rual and meang therapy. * gay tribal men *
Other Ain lears, pl several other people on the ntent have shared his view, and this has eliced homophobia, persecutn and anti-gay laws untri like Uganda, Tanzania, Moroc, Nigeria and Kenya. While the former practice is often rid by many as “humane” and the latter is often referred to as “homosexual” behavur, the Sambia’s unrstandg and purpose behd the two procs differs om our nventnal unrstandg.
For example, while many of might brand the young men and boys “homosexuals” the sense that they have a lastg sire for men whout the need or sire for a woman, once they have passed their re of passage to manhood, they marry women and bee fathers. Our knowledge of homosexualy prehistoric Ain cultur is limed by the late-Middle Age European views of Ains, of homosexualy, and of urse, the European reason for beg sub-Saharan Ai the first place – the slave tra.
We n see om such referenc, that homosexualy was prent Ai om at least the earlit of European ntact, and whout much doubt, om long before. While European proprieti ma such graphic scriptn of Ain homosexuali unmon their scriptns of Ai, there are enough referenc to to know that was ed prent, and even ed as a jtifitn for nsirg Ain cultur primive enough to jtify slavery.
‘GAY TRIB’ ON GRDR: WHY ’S TIME TO STOP TEGORISG EACH OTHER
Among the last Ain cultur to be subjugated by Europeans, the Hsa peopl of northern Nigeria and the surroundg untri offer tertg exampl of homosexualy among Islmaized peopl of Ai. Two terms are mon, ‘yan dda, which is ually translated as “homosexual” or “transvte” and‘dan dda, which translat as a homosexual “wife.
Among other Ain trib, homosexual behavrs among premarriage adolcents is mon and is not even nsired to be sex, sce do not volve procreative potential. In Zimbabwe, a natn racked by recent homophobic pogroms stuted by s vicly homophobic dictator, Robert Mugabe, there has historilly been ltle known about homosexual behavr among peopl prent prr to European ntact.
Some ethnographers have dishontly attempted to show that homosexual behavr is a recent novatn enuraged by Europeans to serve their pal terts, hog large numbers of male Ains together barracks to serve as labor the m. The Bantu-speakg peopl of the plate untry were more circumspect, but have admted to ethnographers that homosexual ntact did occur, and was expected of pre-marriage adolcent mal. 5 percent reprented unwillg participants the crimal procs, the actual extent of homosexual behavr was certaly much greater, sce only those ught flagrante licto, those prosecuted wh amic, or those acced by jilted lovers or others wh an axe to grd, reprent the crimal numbers we see the rerds.
IF YOU SAY BEG GAY IS NOT AIN, YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR HISTORY
Contrary to Mugabe’s and other Aocentrists’ assertns, analysis of the lonial urt s show that the rat of prosecutn for homosexual behavrs was hight among the more digeno peopl (Shona, 17% and Nbele, 16%), and least among the “dtrialized migrants” om elsewhere (about 3% each for Xhosa, Basotho and Zulu). In Evans plays the betiful storyteller Thomas Builds-the-Fire, who provis the heart of the film (the greatt acplishment is that Adams keeps dienc' attentns rapt, even scen wh stars Adam Beach and Irene Bedard), now 46, reteamed wh Signals filmmaker Sherman Alexie 2002 to star the gay Native Amerin film The Bs of Fancydancg. Yet perhaps even more ridiculoly, a 'gay tribe' refers to a way of differentiatg between men on the gay datg app 'Grdr', and somethg which has found s way to our everyday disurse about gay men.
And then jt scends to a natnal geographic subscriber’s paradise: scendg orr of size/ amount of hair (hair really is a theme the gay world apparently), you've got a bear, an otter, a wolf – WOLF!
The article nclud by sayg, ‘The ia of “trib” don’t have anythg to do wh discrimatn wh the gay muny, ’ attributg any lack of acceptance of one’s tribe to the ‘issu’ of an dividual. ”This is the same argument that Robert Mugabe ed to supprs the human rights of LGBT people Zimbabwe; that the former print of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, ed when he signed the most dangero law agast LGBT people the morn world; and that Print Yoweri Meveni ed a ceremonial signg of the anti-gay bill Uganda.
GAY XHOSA MEN’S EXPERIENC OF ULWALO (TRADNAL MALE IATN)
This year Gambia’s print Yahya Jammeh lled for gay people’s throats to be I was appoted by Berl’s Humboldt Universy this year to teach the urse “Pre- and post-lonial sexual orientatn and sexual inty Ai”, I knew I had a huge task before me. I had to teach stunts about a history that is mostly diggg up facts I found that, while many Ains say that homosexualy is un-Ain, Ain culture is no stranger to homosexual behavurs and example, my lol language (Yoba), the word for “homosexual” is adofuro, a lloquialism for someone who has anal sex. The words are ntral; they are not fed wh hate or the Buganda Kgdom, part of morn-day Uganda, Kg Mwanga II was openly gay and faced no hate om his subjects until whe men brought the Christian church and s nmnatn.
Though Kg Mwanga is the most proment Ain rerd as beg openly gay, he was not Boy-Wiv and Female Hbands, a book examg homosexualy and femism Ai, the rearchers found ‘‘explic” Bhman artwork that picts men engagg same-sex sexual activy. It is the reason I receive ath threats, which ultimately drove me to exile om my home long as the notn that homosexualy is un-Ain persists, Kenyatta will receive applse, Mugabe will w electns, and parliaments across the ntent will retroduce harmful stop all this, we need to start by re-tellg our history and rememberg our te Ain culture, one that celebrat diversy, promot equaly and acceptance, and regnis the ntributn of everyone, whatever their sexualy. Homosexualy existed Ai before Colonialism bee Same Sex relatnships were known to exist Ai before ia that Homosexualy did not exist Ai before Colonialism appears to be based on the unrstandg that Pre-Colonial Ai did not tolerate Homosexualy, makg Homosexualy Ai a Colonial Import.
The other agument ma support of the ia that Homosexualy did not exist Ai before Colonialism is that sce Homosexualy do not lead to procreatn, s unnatural, viant and whout precent nature.
A GAY THERAPIST DISCS GAY MEN AND TATTOOS: RUAL AND MEANG
Homosexualy In Ai Before ColonialismThe followg are exampl of Homosexualy Ai before Colonialism:For example:It is believed that Kabaka (Kg) Mwanga II, who led Buganda the latter half of the 19th century, was gay. Furthermore, Cave patgs of the San people near Guve Zimbabwe pictg naked men havg same sex terurse have revealed that same sex sexual relatns existed Bhmen tim;The ra queen Modjadji of Balob peopl was also believed to be homosexual her relatns as she has ‘many wiv’ the early Zan warrrs found Congo and Sudan, homosexual relatns were also believed to be monplace. The warrrs were said to marry younger men who performed the duti of a wife until they beme Gabon and Cameroun male sexual relatns were believed to transm wealth between light of the above, nnot be said that Homosexualy did not exist Ai before Colonialism makg a foreign Colonial simply not accurate to suggt that Homosexualy did not exist Ai before Colonialism and that somehow Homosexualy amounts to a rptn of thentic Pre-Colonial Ain valu.
Homosexualy In NatureThe Procreatn argument also stands to fall as evince suggts that a whole host of animals om Baboons, Sea Lns, Whal and Rams habually engage Homosexual relatns. It nnot therefore be suggted that Homosexualy amounts to some form of ‘unnatural’ viance that is not prent nature bee do not rult procreatn. Check out Road To Adwa, the Theme Song to Ikenga Chronicl our Ain Futurism Novel out now on Amazon This means that the Procreatn Argument nnot be ed to claim that Homosexualy did not exist Ai before Discrimatn: The ImplitnsSce the probabili dite that Homosexualy did exist Ai before Colonialism, is problematic when the Law is ed to discrimate agast Homosexuals the harassment of Homosexuals, to also ny them the right to be married, her and accs to spoal support cludg medil benefs bee they are people who happen to be a Homosexual relatnship Ai is one thg to al wh the issue as a matter of personal preference, but to ploy the power of the State agast Homosexuals Ai based on their sexual preference alone reeks of the same irratnal discrimatn Blacks, and other racially discrimated groups have fought so hard agast the would also be eful for to remember that most Anti-Homosexual Legislatn Ai was put place by Puran Colonial Regim, and sistg that they rema is aligng ourselv wh the opprsive Cultural attus that led to and entrenched Colonialism Ai.