#formica subpolita

[tenth-sentence]

As anthropologist Jay Miller has observed, "Hunting tribes were also astute enough observers . . . to notice that other Animal People had hermaphroditic members, and often equated these with the berdaches [two-spirits]."⁶⁵

65. Miller, "People, Berdaches, and Left-handed Bears", p. 286. Whether direct knowledge of animal homosexuality (rather than transgender) has contributed to indigenous belief systems remains an open question, although it seems likely that observation of a species' same-sex activity may also have been a factor in its status as a shamanic "power animal". Although there are no specific reports of this in the ethnographic literature (which is, however, notoriously incomplete with regard to matters of sexuality, particularly homosexuality), there are several suggestive cases. In a number of Native American cultures, animals are selected as symbolically important for shamanistic practices because their biology and behavior exhibit particularly salient or "unusual" features. In the Pacific Northwest culture region, for example, "animals that shamans relied on as spirit helpers [including shore birds, sea mammals, otters, and Mountain Goats] were those that inhabit border areas of the environment such as the shoreline, the water's surface, or the tops of trees. Their behavior was thought to represent the supernatural ability to move through the different zones of the cosmos" – echoing the shaman's ability to traverse different worlds. (This also corresponds to the well-established ecological principle in Western science that the greatest diversity, flexibility, and environmental richness is to be found in the border zones between major ecosystems, such as the region where forest meets grassland.) This is especially true for the (American) oystercatcher, whose preeminent status as a spirit animal in Tlingit shamanism is based not only on its inhabiting border zones, but also its furtive behavior and habit of being among the first creatures to sound alarm at the approach of danger (likened to the shaman's function as "guardian" for his or her people) (Wardwell, A. [1996] Tangible Visions: Northwest Coast Indian Shamanism and Its Art, pp. 40-43, 96, 239 [New York: Monacelli Press]; for similar observations concerning totemic or shamanic animals in Yup'ik and New Guinean cultures, see Fienup-Riordan, Boundaries and Passages, pp. 124, 130-31, and Jorgensen, "Echidna and Kuyaam", pp. 374, 378. Homosexuality is also part of the biological repertoires of many of these species (e.g., various shore birds, sea mammals, and Mountain Goats) or else of their close relatives (e.g., the [Eurasian] Oystercatcher). It is possible, therefore, that observed sexual variance in animals – paralleling the shaman's straddling of sexual boundaries – might also have contributed to the spiritual importance of such creatures. Another interesting example concerns red ants, which feature prominently as shamanic helpers in a number of indigenous cultures of south-central California (all of which, incidentally, recognize two-spirit people). The religious and cultural importance of ants is tied to their powerful medicinal and hallucinogenic properties as well as their use in ritual activities. This includes the extraordinary practice of swallowing large quantities of live ants to induce visions and the acquisition of spirit-animal helpers. Although no homosexual activity has yet been reported for these species (identified as belonging to the genus Pogonomyrmex), nor is human gender or sexual variance directly associated with these ant-related beliefs or practices, there are some intriguing clues. Recently, for examples, homosexual activity was discovered in a different species of Red Ant (Formica subpolita) endemic to the semidesert regions of the western United States (O'Niell 1994:96). Moreover, among the Kawaiisu people (where shamanic ant practices are especially prominent), unusual habits of animals are singled out as a potent spiritual sign, and two-spirit people (who may occupy positions of power, e.g., as chiefs) are reported to be particularly attuned to such animal behaviors (Groark, K. P. [1996] "Ritual and Therapeutic Use of 'Hallucinogenic' Harvester Ants [Pogonomyrmex] in Native South-Central California", Journal of Ethonobiology 16:1-29;

Zigmond, M [1977] "The Supernatural World of the Kawaiisu", pp. 60-61, 74, in T. C. Blackburn, ed. Flowers of the Wind: Papers on Ritual, Myth, and Symbolism in California and the Southwest, pp. 59-95 [Socorro, N. Mex.: Ballena Press]). Once again, it is not unreasonable to suppose that indigenous knowledge or observations of homosexuality (or other sexual variance) in red ants might have been an additional factor in their elevation to religious prominence. Certainly these examples are highly speculative, but they suggest some fascinating connections between animal biology, shamanic practices, and two-spiritedness that deserve further investigation.

"Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" - Bruce Bagemihl