often equated these with the berdaches [two-spirits].”65 Intersexual Bison, for example, are recognized as such when seen by Native Americans in herds of wild animals. The Cree call them ayekkwe mustus (ayekkwe referring to the quality of being neither male nor female, or both, i.e., hermaphrodite; mustus meaning buffalo), while the Lakota and Ponca refer to them as pte winkte and pte mixuga, respectively—pte meaning buffalo and winkte or mixuga designating two-spirit—thereby drawing an explicit parallel between transgender in animals and people. The sight of a massive hermaphrodite “buffalo ox” towering above its companions undoubtedly reinforces this parallel for many indigenous observers, since it so closely resembles the way two-spirit males in some cultures are taller or stronger than both men and women. (Early white observers, in contrast, erroneously attributed the intersexuality of such Bison to castration, either by people or wolves.) 66
As mentioned previously, the Navajo also recognize intersexual animals in several game species and are even aware of the “cactus bucks,” transgendered Mule Deer with distinctive antler configurations. They call these creatures biih nadleeh—biih for deer, nadleeh meaning transformed, constantly changing, or hermaphrodite (the same term applied to two-spirit people)—once again establishing the fundamental continuity between animal and human gender/sexual variability.67 Likewise, although cassowaries are elusive and difficult to observe in the wild, many New Guinean tribes hunt the birds and also keep them in captivity, utilizing semidomesticated cassowaries for food, trading, harvesting of plumes and other materials, in ceremonial functions, as pets, and even as a form of currency.68 It is likely, then, that at least some details of this creature’s unusual genital anatomy are generally known to indigenous peoples from firsthand observation (rather than simply figuring in mythological contexts). Indeed, at least one tribe, the Mianmin, are aware of the bird’s phallus—an organ whose existence and structure in males, let alone females, is not even widely acknowledged among Western ornithologists.69 Finally, we have already mentioned how indigenous Vanuatu knowledge and terminology relating to intersexuality in domestic Pigs rivals and in some cases even exceeds that of Western science.
In addition to intersexuality, other supposedly mythic traits of animals ritually associated with transgender/homosexuality have also been directly observed by native peoples in the creatures around them. The Inuit report seeing Polar Bears use their left paws to kill seals and throw ice and other objects at Walruses. The Halkomelem (Fraser River Salish) people of British Columbia also describe a curious behavior in Bears that suggests an awareness on their part of the creature’s “left-handedness.” They tell of Bears staying close to the right perimeter of a cave wall when departing their hibernation dens, thereby leaving the left paw free for defense. 70 White Buffalo—symbolically associated with two-spirit among the Lakota—were also regularly observed by native peoples in wild herds. When reports of these creatures first reached non-Indians, they were usually considered to be a figment of the “native imagination” or else were attributed to “artificial” circumstances, such as an escaped domestic cow, a hybrid offspring of such an animal, or the result of deliberate “whitening” of the hide by Indians. Now, of course, scientists recognize that the indigenous observations were correct: white Bison—both albino and nonalbino—are a recurring, albeit rare, phenomenon in wild populations of this species (as are other colors such as pied and gray).71
The discovery of widespread animal homosexuality and transgender by modern science puts a whole new spin on these parallels. Could it be that indigenous cultures actually know more about certain aspects of animal sexual and gender variance than zoologists do now? In other words, are species “erroneously” associated with homosexuality /transgender in various indigenous cultures actually genuine examples waiting to be “discovered” by Western science? Certainly when the scientific literature has previously failed to offer corroboration of a particular native belief about the behavior of an animal, it is often the case that the scientific record, and not the aboriginal observation, was in error. Time and again, indigenous beliefs have been dismissed as fanciful “superstitions,” only to be confirmed once the technology and observational skills of modern science finally catch up with the age-old teachings of aboriginal peoples. For example, the Hopi have a folktale about hibernation in the poorwill—a bird they call holchko, “the sleeping one”—a belief also shared by the Navajo. This was thought to be purely mythological until scientists discovered a torpid poorwill regularly hibernating during the winter (it was found in a rock crevice in California with a body temperature of about 64 degrees F). Ornithologists now officially recognize the poorwill as the only bird in the world that consistently undergoes long-term hibernation.72 Likewise, the traditional songs and oral narratives of the O’odham (Pima) people of Arizona refer to moths becoming drunk on the nectar of jimsonweed blossoms. Far from being an inventive anthropomorphization, this “belief” about insects was subsequently verified by Western science. Biologists observed “drunken” behavior in hawkmoths that had consumed jimsonweed nectar (which is now known to contain narcotic alkaloids), including erratic and uncoordinated flight, “crash landings,” falling over, and other movements suggesting intoxication.73 The Kalam people of New Guinea believe that earthworms make croaking noises and can produce various other sounds such as whistles and stridu-lations. Biologists initially scoffed at these beliefs, yet specialists in worm biology have confirmed that earthworms, particularly some of the larger species found in Southeast Asia and Australia, can make an extraordinary range of sounds, including clicks, rasps, slurps, and even birdlike notes.74 Numerous references to a giant lizard known as kawekaweau occur in the folklore and legends of the Maori (the indigenous people of New Zealand). Initially dismissed by contemporary Western investigators as an imaginary creature, the kawekaweau has now been identified by zoologists as corresponding to a recently discovered species of gecko. Though it measures just over a foot long, it is in fact the largest of its kind in the world.75
Finally, Navajo legend tells of how Bears taught people about the medicinal properties of a plant known as na’bi or bear medicine, instructing them in the proper administration of the drug (including chewing and/or applying a powder or infusion directly to the skin). Scientists recently confirmed the connection of this indigenous pharmaceutical to Bears and also experimentally verified the effectiveness of the plant’s active ingredient (ligustilide) as an antibacterial and antiviral. Extraordinary observations have been made of Grizzly Bears actually utilizing the plant as a topical medication on themselves. They chew the root, spit the plant juices and saliva on their paws, then rub the mixture thoroughly into their fur. In fact, this and other examples of “self-medicating” behavior in animals (most notably in Chimpanzees) have recently led to the establishment of a new scientific discipline called zoopharmacognosy, the study of animals’ use of medicinal plants to treat themselves. Investigators working in this exciting field of inquiry have stumbled upon something that many indigenous peoples have known for an immensely long time, the fact that (in the words of one biologist) “not all pharmacists are human.”76
Drunken moths, hibernating birds, giant geckos, croaking worms, white Buffalo, self-medicating Bears, left- handedness, menstrual attraction, sex change, gender mixing, homosexuality … often the most “preposterous” aboriginal beliefs about animals turn out to have a basis in reality. One could hardly imagine more fantastical creatures than mother Bears with penises or cassowaries of both sexes with vaginal phalluses—yet these “myths” are biological facts. Thus, while many indigenous ideas about animal homosexuality and transgender have yet to be confirmed, scientific “proof” may well be forthcoming—even for the most unlikely sounding of mythological scenarios.
An All-Encompassing Vision
Indigenous “myths,” sacred stories, and folk knowledge about animals (including information relating to homosexuality and gender mixing) are part of an oral tradition that is thousands of years old. The Nuu-chah-nulth culture of Vancouver Island, for example, stretches back uninterrupted to at least 3,000 B.C. according to archaeological dating methods, and is by no means a unique example.77 Contemporary native storytellers are, in a sense, the repositories of a scientific tradition whose continuity can be measured in millennia. It must be remembered that the “accuracy” of indigenous views about animals is being assessed against a Western science that has only recently begun to systematically investigate animal homosexuality /transgender (and that has generally been reluctant even to recognize these phenomena). New cases are being discovered all the time, often in species previously claimed never to exhibit homosexual behavior in the wild. Consequently, animal homosexuality reported in the scientific literature does not represent the sum total of homosexual wildlife in the world—only those cases that scientists happen to have noticed. Undoubtedly many examples have been missed or ignored, especially
