Deepstroke Demo: We Were/Are the Shamans Throughout history..
Added 2021-08-17 21:31:21 +0000 UTCDeepstroke Demo: We Were/Are the Shamans
Throughout history, across many cultures and epochs queer humans have assumed the role of shamans, medicine people, mediators, peacemakers, spiritual teachers, priests, and sacred sex workers.
On the African continent, among the Zulu there were spiritual mediums known as the Isangoma. In ancient Mesopotamia, the Kalbu were gender variant priests. In Canaan, there was the Qedeshim, who used same sex sexual practices to elevate states of consciousness. Some believe Joseph from the technicolor dreamcoat fame was a Qedeshim. No wonder his brothers didn’t understand him.
In Ancient Greece and Rome there was the Emperor Hadrian and his lover Antonious. There was also Aphrodite who is considered the patron of gay men. And of course, Alexander the Great who besides for his conquests on the battlefield was said to enjoy appearing in public dressed as Diana, the Amazonian warrior priestess. In ancient Russia there were the deeply respected Enarees who it is said used cannabis in their temple rituals.
The ancient Celts honored storytellers and soothsayers known as Filidh. In ancient China there was the Shih-Niang, a group of gender-variant shamans. In India to this day, the Hijras are transgendered conveyors of magical powers. In Polynesia the Hawaiian Mahu are hula dancing healers. And in North America there is the Berdache, or Two Spirit, very well-respected members of the tribe with the gift of prophecy, intelligence, and spiritual protection.
So the importance of queer folk in the life of societies and cultures didn’t begin with us moving into crappy parts of town and elevating the property values. We’ve been leaders all along.✌️
