' ('in the middle') in
Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii ...
and
Tahitian cultures are
third gender
Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usually ...
people with traditional spiritual and social roles within the culture, similar to Tongan ' and Samoan '.
Historically māhū were assigned male at birth (AMAB),
but in modern usage māhū can refer to a variety of genders and sexual orientations.
According to present-day māhū
kumu hula
Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual ...
Kaua'i Iki:
In modern popular culture, ''māhū'' is commonly used pejoratively of LGBTQ people.
History
![Pape Moe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Pape_Moe.jpg)
According to some, 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. Others describe the māhū as not having access to political power, being unable to aspire to leadership roles, and "Perceived as always available for sexual conquest by men."
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."
A surviving monument to this history are the
"Wizard Stones" of Kapaemāhū on Waikiki Beach, which commemorate four important māhū who first brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi. These are referred to by Hawaiian historian
Mary Kawena Pukui
Mary Abigail Kawenaulaokalaniahiiakaikapoliopele Naleilehuaapele Wiggin Pukui (20 April 1895 – 21 May 1986), known as Kawena, was a Hawaiian scholar, author, composer, hula expert, and educator.
Life
Pukui was born on April 20, 1895, in her ...
as ''pae māhū'', or literally a row of māhū. The term māhū is misleadingly defined in Pukui and Ebert's Hawaiian dictionary as "n. Homosexual, of either sex; hermaphrodite." The assumption of same-sex behavior reflects the conflation of gender and sexuality that was common at that time.
[The term "]transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
" was not in use yet during the time the earliest sources were written, and has undergone significant changes in definition over time. While technically coined in the 1960s, the term transgender was rarely published until the 1990s and did not see wide usage until the 2000s. The idea that māhū are biological mosaics appears to be a misunderstanding of the term
hermaphrodite
In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes.
Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...
, which in early publications by sexologists and anthropologists was used generally to mean "an individual which has the attributes of both male and female," including social and behavioral attributes, not necessarily a biological hybrid or intersex individual. This led to homosexual, bisexual, and gender nonconforming individuals being mislabeled as "hermaphrodites" in the medical literature.
Kaomi Kaomi (died 1833) was the half Hawaiian, half Tahitian, aikāne partner of King Kamehameha III, who named the young man the "engrafted king" (Ke-lii-kui) of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His father, Moe, who was a native to Borabora and mother, Ka-hu ...
Moe, aikāne to King
Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K ...
and a māhū, is another historical example.
In 1891, when painter
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...
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.
His 1893 painting ''Papa Moe (Mysterious Water)'' depicts a māhū drinking from a small waterfall.
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.
In American artist
George Biddle
George Biddle (January 24, 1885 – November 6, 1973) was an American painter, muralist and lithographer, best known for his social realism and combat art. A childhood friend of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he played a major role in establi ...
'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.
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.
In contemporary cultures
In the 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.
In 2003,
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 coincides with Hawaiian cultural renaissance. Kumu Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu clarified that:
"Since the term ''māhū'' can have multiple spaces and experiences, Kumu Hina originally coined the terms: ''māhū kāne'' (transgender man) and ''māhū wahine'' (transgender woman). However, Kumu Hina believes that those terms should be revised due to scientific advancement and so she coined four new terms. ''Māhū'' who feel internally ''wahine'' (female) — emotionally, spiritually, psychologically and culturally — could use the term ''haʻawahine''. If they feel more internally that they are ''kāne'' (men), they are ''haʻakāne''. When they have taken on externally what they feel internally i.e. dressing as a female, have began to or had undergone hormone therapy and other forms of medical transitioning (including cosmetic surgery), then the term ''hoʻowahine'' would be used. Likewise, for ''māhū'' who feel that they are internally male and taking that form externally, then ''hoʻokāne''. ..."
Notable contemporary ', or mahuwahine, include activist and
kumu hula
Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual ...
Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu
Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu, (born May 15, 1972) also known as Kumu Hina, is a Native Hawaiian ''māhū'' – a traditional third gender person who occupies "a place in the middle" between male and female, as well as a modern transgender wom ...
, 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".
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.
Strong familial relationships are important in māhū culture,
as kinship bonds within all of Hawaiian/Tahitian cultures are essential to family survival. When possible, the māhū maintain solid relationships with their families of origin, often by becoming foster parents to nieces and nephews, and have been noted for being especially "compassionate, and creative".
[ This ability to bring up children is considered a special skill specific to māhū people.] Māhū also contribute to their extended families and communities through the gathering and maintaining of knowledge, and the practicing and teaching of ''hula
Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of t ...
'' traditions, which are traditionally handed down through women.[
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
''Kumu Hina'' is a 2014 American LGBTQ related documentary film co-produced and co-directed by Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson. It is based on the story of Hina Wong-Kalu, and stars Wong-Kalu, Haemaccelo Kalu and Ho'Onani Kamai. The film premiered a ...
'', Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu, (born May 15, 1972) also known as Kumu Hina, is a Native Hawaiian '' māhū'' – a traditional third gender person who occupies "a place in the middle" between male and female, as well as a modern transgender wo ...
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
*Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu, (born May 15, 1972) also known as Kumu Hina, is a Native Hawaiian '' māhū'' – a traditional third gender person who occupies "a place in the middle" between male and female, as well as a modern transgender wo ...
– contemporary ', teacher and Hawaiian cultural worker
**''Kumu Hina
''Kumu Hina'' is a 2014 American LGBTQ related documentary film co-produced and co-directed by Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson. It is based on the story of Hina Wong-Kalu, and stars Wong-Kalu, Haemaccelo Kalu and Ho'Onani Kamai. The film premiered a ...
'' (2014) – documentary film about Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
*LGBT rights in Hawaii
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S. state of Hawaii enjoy the same rights as non-LGBT people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1973; Hawaii being one of the first six states to legalize it. In 1993, a ...
* Rae-rae
* Fa’afafine, similar group in Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
and American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...
*Bakla
In the Philippines, a baklâ (), bayot ( Cebuano) or agî ( Hiligaynon) is a person who was assigned male at birth and has adopted a feminine gender expression. They are often considered a third gender. Many bakla are exclusively attracted to ...
, similar third gender concept in the Philippines
*Bissu
The Bugis people are the most numerous of the three major ethnic groups of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, with about 3 million people. Most Bugis are Muslim, but many pre-Islamic rites continue to be honoured in their culture, including the vi ...
, similar third gender concept among the Bugis people of Indonesia
*Two-spirit
Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...
, a pan-Indian umbrella term for all traditional Native American identities that do not fit into the Western gender binary or heterosexual roles
Footnotes
References and sources
*Eisenman, Stephen F., (1999). ''Gauguin's Skirt''. London: Thames and Hudson. .
*Matzner, Andrew (2001). ''O Au No Keia: Voices from Hawai'i's Mahu and Transgender Communities''
External links
''Kumu Hina: A Place in the Middle''
– a '-oriented website.
"Coming Out & Overcoming – A Visit With Hinaleimoana Wong"
– interview with ' Hinaleimoana Wong, by Ehu Kekahu Cardwell, from ''Voices of Truth'' documentary program by the Koani Foundation
– short "Queer Voices" column on the topic in ''The Huffington Post''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahu
LGBT Native Hawaiian culture
Native Hawaiian culture
Gender systems
Third gender
Transgender in Oceania
Transgender in the United States
Indigenous LGBT culture