Lhamana

Lhamana is the traditional Zuni gender role, now described variously as mixed-gender or Two-Spirit, for men who lived in part as women, wearing a mixture of women's and men's clothing and doing a great deal of women's work as well as serving as mediators. The most famous lhamana was We'wha.

Gilley (2006, p.8), as is common after Roscoe (1991, p.22–28), describes lhamana as a third gender, "occupied by a male-bodied person" who "dressed as women and performed women's crafts in Zuni culture. In contrast with European culture knitting, for example, was a male craft. such as weaving and potting, but also had the physical strength to fulfill certain male-orientated pursuits such as hunting big game and cutting firewood."

Though seen by European colonialists as gay or transgender, the Zuni lhamana played a significant role in the community that cannot be reduced to same-sex desire or cross-dressing. Functions fulfilled by lhamana individuals in Zuni society include mediation, skill in crafts, and the knowledge necessary for instructing others. The lack of homophobia in traditional Zuni culture marks a further difference between the lhamana role and contemporary Euro-American gender and sexual identities. European terms used to describe lhamana include berdache, third gender, mixed gender, and man-woman.

Sources

• Gilley, Brian Joseph (2006). Becoming Two-Spirit: Gay Identity and Social Acceptance in Indian Country. ISBN 0-8032-7126-3.
• Roscoe, Will (1991). The Zuni Man-Woman. ISBN 0-8263-1253-5.