Dear Friends,
Greg Wright who is a historian, mythologist, storyteller, curator of Godyssey Podcast, and an all-round great human being, recently asked his Twitter followers this question:
What draws you to myth and folklore?
“The truths and untruths of African peoples” was my answer, a poetic if facile response to the question. It is a sincere response nonetheless because, while they are often relegated to the realm of fanciful stories, myths and folklore contain important nuggets of information about the truths and untruths of who we believe ourselves to be as communities of humans.
When I started research for Episode 11 of the Mythological Africans Deep Dives Series about Intersexuality in African Mythology and Folklore, I hoped to find stories which showed that in some place and at some time, there were African people among whom being intersex was accepted. That or, at the very least, stories which provide clear explanations of the cultural underpinnings of their othering and mistreatment. Given the constant threat of murder, and the lifelong physical, emotional, and other abuse most intersex Africans face from birth and throughout their lives, I wanted explanations beyond Different = Wrong. I wanted to travel the road Different took to arrive at Wrong. I wanted to experience its twists and turns, to witness the sights and the shifting color of the terrain I passed. I wanted to know which spirits and monsters I would encounter, and who the possible helpers might be. I wanted to know all this so, when I arrive at Wrong, I would have no question in my mind about exactly how I got there…and how to leave.
In the time I allowed myself, I struggled to find stories or other information (on the internet, at least) which suggests that being an intersex person was ever openly accepted in any traditional African culture. I am still hoping, though! There is much that is not documented or on the internet. One instance did stand out. In their phenomenal book: “Boy-Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities”, Stephen Murray and Will Roscoe note the existence of the Ikihindu and Ikimaze of the Kingdom of Rwanda. These were cross-dressing shamans, also referred to as “hermaphrodite priests”. However, it is unclear whether or not these individuals were actually intersex since effeminate gay men, crossdressers and transgender people are often confused with actual intersex people and deemed “hermaphrodites”, which is an outdated and offensive term.
Meanwhile, despite the abundance of information about the negative attitudes towards intersex Africans and the hardships they face as a result, details about the various cultural underpinnings of these negative attitudes are not well documented. Individual testimonies refer to beliefs in generational curses, witchcraft, demonic possession and more.
Fortunately, I did find one research paper which provided a fascinating glimpse into the philosophical underpinnings of the Bambara (Mali) attitude towards intersex individuals based on the Bambara creation myth. You can find the paper or watch the episode to get the breakdown. Acquiring this knowledge left me with conflicting feelings of hope and grief. Hope, because the first step to change is knowing exactly what needs to change. Grief, because the reasons are so deeply rooted in Bambara spiritual and cultural notions of what it even means to be a person, I can only imagine what intersex people in this and other cultures with similar beliefs have endured over time. This is not improved by the adaptation of Islamic or Christian beliefs towards intersex individuals. These beliefs still focus on binary classifications which often end up being very discriminatory and harmful.
I had arrived at Wrong. I remembered how I got there. I wasn’t so sure how to leave.
What should we do with such knowledge?
I return to this question every time I encounter information which casts traditional African beliefs and culture in a negative light. On the one hand, I don’t want to arm racists and bigots with information they can misuse. But on the other hand, I must consider the lives of those who are affected by these beliefs. In the case of the Bambara, it is not only intersex individuals who are implicated, albinos are as well. Albinos, as some of you may know, are another very marginalized and in some cases endangered people in some parts of the continent. Also, if it is not intersex individuals or albinos, it is gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and other people outside of the bounds of heteronormativity. It is the disabled, or the elderly, or women, or children. It is anybody who, by choice or circumstance, is different.
As tempting as it is to only see the hand of misinformed or ill-intentioned colonizers in the ugly patterns and dark threads woven into the tapestry of different African cultures, a close and careful observation of historical record and current patterns suggest otherwise. As Zimbabwean author Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu puts it:
“History—actual history—is extremely messy and complicated and often brutal, violent, and ugly. History—actual history—is about change, change that is the result of contact and encounter … and there is power at play in every contact, … in every encounter… that is exactly what we inherit: this messy, messy, knotty thing. So, our desire to simplify it makes sense but does not lead to honesty.”
A cultural fabric with ugly patterns and dark threads is neither new nor unique to African peoples. Our forebears constantly had to adapt cultural and spiritual beliefs to new information or situations for better or worse. Additionally, other cultures in the world, ancient and recent, be they Aztec, Chinese, Greek, Hindu, Roman, or other European, are no less important or influential because they had similar unsavoury elements. If anything, these negative aspects, as much as the positive ones, affirm African people’s place in the shared human struggle to build better societies in a constantly changing and wildly uncertain world.
In psychotherapy, it is said that when they become aware of them, what people do to address the traumas negatively influencing their behaviors matters as much as the traumas themselves. This is true for societies as well.
And so, with Mythological Africans, I will continue examining the patterns in our cultural fabrics with hope that together, we can decide which patterns we want to unravel and reweave. I will keep traveling these roads with trust that together, we can find our way towards healthier and more inclusive communities.
I hope you will stay on for the adventure!
Be well,
Helen
P.S.
New Website Developments!
The MA Events page is now the Talks page where you can watch videos of past MA Talks.
Book Clubs Galore!
Do you fancy deep dives into the philosophies and cultures of African peoples or the delight of children’s books? We have you covered either way with Philosophical Africans and Anansi Book Club!