Photographer: | Rights management: Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike 4.0 International
Hijras are referred to as the third gender and are accepted in South Asia within their designated niches. They are often male-to-female transsexuals or are born as hermaphrodites. They consider themselves neither male nor female, but use female first names. In Tamil, they primarily use the term "Ali". They were low in the caste system, but enjoyed a special cultic status as they are neither male nor female. As many hijras come from a poor background and are rarely able to read and write, this photograph is a speciality. It was probably taken in a studio and had to be paid for accordingly by those who commissioned the portrait. Contrary to the caption, it is probably not a woman with her daughter but a hijra with his male disciple. The guru-hijra wears a chequered sari and little jewellery. Her chela (disciple) looks quite young, she is wearing a lengha and a long-sleeved blouse. Her face appears to be painted white.
