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I recently learned about We’wha, a 19th century craftsperson and ambassador of the Zuni people. We’wha was a “lhamana”—an individual born male who takes on female roles—and their story is an incredible demonstration of the diverse ways in which societies organize gender. [thread]
![I recently learned about We’wha, a 19th century craftsperson and ambassador of the Zuni people. We’wha was a “lhamana”—an individual born male who takes on female roles—and their story is an incredible demonstration of the diverse ways in which societies organize gender. [thread]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EpRPz4xWMAAM_aX.jpg "I recently learned about We’wha, a 19th century craftsperson and ambassador of the Zuni people. We’wha was a “lhamana”—an individual born male who takes on female roles—and their story is an incredible demonstration of the diverse ways in which societies organize gender. [thread]")
19th century Zuni society was gendered, with specialized roles for males and females. Born in 1849, We’wha sought out both. They underwent the religious training typical for boys and were initiated into the society of masked dancers—a group in which all adult men were members.
At the same time, they pursued female activities, like childcare, pottery, housekeeping, and, later, knitting. They became a master-weaver, knowledgeable in both Zuni styles: the large blanket loom (common for men) & the waist loom (associated with women).
In 1879, the anthropologist Matilda Stevenson met We’wha. They became fast friends. Stevenson commissioned We’wha to make ceramics for the National Museum (still searchable in the online collections), and in 1886, brought We’wha to Washington DC as a Zuni ambassador.
We'wha, said to be a Zuni princess, made a splash in DC. They went to the Smithsonian & demonstrated weaving for a photographer (pics above). When they made an offering during the summer solstice, the ceremony was covered by @ScienceMagazine. They even met Pres. Grover Cleveland.
In 1896, at the age of 47, We’wha died. They were buried in the male section of the cemetery yet, with the exception of cotton trousers, were dressed in female clothes, as they always preferred. Even after death, the community considered We’wha to be beyond just male or female.
We'wha's story illustrates how, even in a society structured according to a male-female binary, gender was seen as acquired or contextually expressed rather than simply essential. Humanity has experimented with many ways of creating gender—far more than often appreciated.
(Addendum: Another example of such fluidity in Zuni society was how medicine-men contextually shifted gender. Only females could be present at childbirth, so an invited medicine-man became a female, using female kinship terms, such as grandmother.)
