Despite the gradual acceptance of homosexuality in the West since the mid-1970s, many cultures and religious groups still frown upon homosexuality, believing it “unnatural” and “sinful.” In fact, in many African and Asian countries, laws against homosexuality are still strictly enforced; in six of these countries, homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment; it ten others, it carries the death penalty. In light of the still widespread prejudice and discrimination experienced by homosexuals throughout the world, it is surprising to discover that cultures once existed that not only sanctioned homosexuality, but actually believed that same-sex relationships were morally superior to heterosexual ones.

Until the mid-twentieth century, an estimated ten to twenty percent of Pacific Island cultures (especially in Papua New Guinea) practiced ritualized male homosexuality. Most of these tribes believed homosexual sex with older males a necessary step in the process of maturing into men. However, the Marind-anim tribe took their celebration of male homosexuality even further, believing that heterosexual sex was polluting and hazardous to male health. As such, the Marind-anim only engaged in heterosexual sex for the purposes of religious rituals or procreation.

Adolescent Marind-anim males were traditionally initiated into manhood by participating in the “Sosum Ritual.” Sosum (the Marind-anim term for “bullroarer”), referred to a beloved ancestor who was castrated by his female partner’s mother while he was engaged in sexual intercourse. During this ritual, bullroarers and flutists provided energetic background music while the tribesmen danced around a giant crimson effigy of Sosum’s penis. After the dance was completed, the adolescent initiates would participate in orgiastic homosexual intercourse with the elder tribesmen.

Anthropologists believe that the Sosum Ritual reflected the origin of the Marind-anim’s celebration of homosexual practice. Marind-anim folklore is jam-packed with cautionary tales of other unlucky ancestors who had been castrated by the mothers of their female partners. However, the Marin-anim’s religious beliefs had its drawbacks; the strict restrictions put on heterosexual intercourse kept their population extremely low, and inevitably led to a high rate of infertility. Eventually faced with a demographic collapse, the Marind-anim resorted to kidnapping children from neighboring tribes in an effort to maintain a sustainable population. A small number of descendants of the Marind-anim tribe still live in New Guinea, but they have since disavowed their former religious beliefs, having been converted to Christianity by European missionaries.

What Do You Think? »

       

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.