Transgressing gender with religious sanction: The case of the Jogappas

Ten years ago, the Supreme Court recognised transgender persons as a third gender beyond the male-female binary. In the National Legal Service Authority vs Union of India verdict in April 2014, the court upheld the fundamental rights of transgender persons.

Yet, in the Indian context, the term “transgender” remains a definitional maze.

Due to its Eurocentric nature – shaped by a Western idea of gender – the word “transgender” does not fully grasp the non-binary gender identities and subcultures in the Indian context. There is no clear consensus on who is to be included under “transgender” or “third gender” in India.

The term is often misconceived as an English translation of gender incongruent identities such as “hijras”, “kinnars” and others without questioning its conceptual baggage. Universalising transgender as an “umbrella term” tends to subsume non-Western and previously colonised discourses.

Western-dominated research and practices have often been critiqued as reductionist, especially where Indian gender-varying identities are concerned. It can result in imposing a sense of trans-normativity, whereby certain transgender identities are recognised and folded into the transnational gender-diverse discourses and others omitted.

Here, unpacking the sexual and gender identity of the Jogappas unsettles notions that are shaped by dominant Western ideas. The Jogappas in North Karnataka – and parts of Andhra Pradesh – claim a higher position than any men, women or gender-diverse communities owing to their mythical connection with the divine.

The distinctiveness of the Jogappas lies at the intersection of gender nonconformity and religious sanctity, confounding Western analyses of trans identities that are based on psychological and medical characteristics.

Identity and religion

The Jogappas are biologically born male but identify as women claiming to have been chosen by the goddess Yellamma to be her daughters in their dreams. A Jogappa named Chandappa told us: “Mata [goddess Yellamma] took my body when I was a child. She caught me. I am now a woman because mata is living inside me. She is the greatest woman of all. She is a goddess and now she made me a part of her.”

The expression of being “caught” by the goddess derives from the Jogappas’ description of being bound by the goddess and having no choice and control against their will. They also believe that once the goddess “catches” a person, they have no option but to transcend their biologically-assigned gender.

Thus, the state of powerlessness of the Jogappas against the divine sanctifies their gender transition. This sanctification of gender transition is unique to the Jogappa identity, something that is otherwise unavailable to other gender-nonconforming identities in the Western context.

We learned that young boys, who showed physical signs of being possessed by Yellamaa, and most importantly, the appearance of the goddess in their dreams, are dedicated to the goddess by their families. Dedicating the child to Yellamma is believed to ensure the wellbeing of the child as well as their family. It is also seen as resolving their domestic and financial problems and, in some cases, elevating the family’s social status.

The Jogappas assert a sense of pride in their identity claiming lineage from the emasculated sons of Renuka/Yellamma who bravely choose to face their father’s wrath rather than commit matricide. One of the many versions of the folklore goes that the sage Jamadagni ordered four of Yellamma’s sons to behead her but they refused and were cursed to lose their masculinity.

The Jogappas claim auspiciousness owing to their unique right to serve the goddess and perform priestly rituals – yielding them sanctity and respect.

Locals around the Yellamma temple, near Saundatti in Karnataka, often seek the blessing of Jogappas to cure ill-health, misfortune and fertility. Being “auspicious” invokes respect in the traditional transgender communities in India, which is otherwise not experienced by the transgender communities in the West. Being “possessed” by the goddess provides scope for socially approved gender transition.

Religious association with Yellamma is persistent in all aspects of the lives of the Jogappas – sanctification is instrumental to their gender identity. While the Jogappas consider their fusion of identity with the goddess as “sacred”, they reject all sexual practices as “profane”. The Jogappas describe themselves as renouncers of grihastha, or natal families, and adopting sannyasa – albeit a non-Brahmanical one – forbidding sexual practice and physical desires.

Assessing the Jogappa identity provides an opportunity to revisit the dual category of “sacred” and “profane” proposed by sociologist Emile Durkheim to understand the influence of religion on identity construction. The notion of sacredness or profanity entail a form of meaning-making embedded in socio-cultural symbolism and rites associated with them.

The asceticism of the Jogappas is not solely dictated by physiology but with their pride derived from the triad of spiritual connection, natal detachment and abstinence from physical desire. It is, therefore, the tension between the pride of sacredness and prejudice against sexual impurity stemming from their engagement with the divine which creates a peculiar identity that cannot be fully engaged with through a Western understanding of transgenderism.

Gender nonconformity in the Indian context lies at the intersection of sexuality, religion, spirituality, class, caste, regional identities and other aspects that cannot be straight-jacketed into one homogeneous umbrella term.

Transgender identities and practices challenge the socially-accepted notion of gender binary.

But the case of the Jogappas points to the need for caution and cultural sensitivity in studying non-Western societies and unravelling the meaning and significance of the term “transgender”.

The Jogappas provide a distinctive context, wherein religious sanction underscores their links to identity formation and also contextualises their uniqueness within gender-nonconforming identities.

A meaningful understanding of reality (worldview) and behaviour (an ethos), in the case of Jogappas, is embedded in religious symbolism. The belief system, rituals and practices of Joggapas not only construct their understanding of themselves but also give a spectator an insight about Joggapas as a particular transgender identity.

In commemorating the tenth year of the Supreme Court’s judgement, an emphasis on the value of particularistic experiences, expressions, and identification should be given more attention as an alternative to universalising non-binary gender articulations.

Swarupa Deb teaches Contemporary Transgender and Non-Binary Discourses at NLSIU, Bengaluru. Aniket Nandan is a sociologist and Assistant Professor at NLSIU, Bengaluru. They can be contacted by email at swarupa.deb@nls.ac.in and aniket.nandan@nls.ac.in