A brief cross-cultural survey 2

Female-Female Relationships
Azande, C Africa. (Evans-Pritchard (1970) pp. 1428-34.)	Lesbianism is widely practiced and is the subject of much folklore. Lesbianism is thought to be a form of witchcraft fatal to any male who witnesses it, and therefore theoretically punishable by death (as treason) if practiced by the King's wives. In practice sanctions are less severe or ignored.
Bantu speakers of Africa. (O'Brien.)	Female-female marriage is very widespread.
Dahomey, to recent times, Benin.	Passing mention of female homosexuality within a more thorough description of male homosexual traditions of the serial bisexual kind. Dahomey was regarded as a land of amazons by Europeans, but evidently this had little to do with lesbianism and everything to do with Dahomey being ruled by a queen at the time of the first European contact. Something of European attitudes is revealed in that Englishmen, having been ruled by the Tudor queens, would assume that a black nation ruled by a queen was necessarily amazon.
France, early 20th century. (de Beauvior.)	Description of a lesbian student community at Sävres. Although the author's answers do not reveal a particularly advanced view of lesbianism, she has a knack for asking the right questions.
Gisu (Masaba), W slope of Mt. Elgon, 1953-1955. (La Fontaine. pp. 34, 60-61.)	A woman reported living in the male role.
Ibo, SE Nigeria, 1930-1950. (Uchendu. pp. 7 & 50, and note 4, p. 7.)	Female-female marriage is recognised. Informant's mother had several wives, but he denies a sexual component of these marriages.
KiMbundu, Angola. (Hambly. p. 81.)	Women make artificial penises to use with other women (according to a male informant).
Nandi, Kenya. (Huntingford. pp. 16, 19.)	A female witch who has a female husband.
Mombasa (Strobel. p. 133 and note 33.)	Women's dance associations provide access to lesbian networks and cover for lesbian assignation (or so some male husbands suspect).
Nama, Kalihari desert, S Africa, 1930. (HRAF FX13 HOTTENTOT 2:SCHAPERA E-4,5 1930.)	Lesbianism common, especially between young married women. Lesbian relationships may be sealed by "water-sisterhood" ritual called soregus. This bond may be contracted between any two individuals and does not necessarily imply a romantic or sexual relation, although it often includes such elements. The soregus partner may not be refused anything, including sexual favors, and this obligation supersedes prohibitions against adultery. The usual lesbian sexual practice is mutual masturbation. Male-male practices are remarkably symmetrical.
Nkundó, Africa, 1938. (HRAF FO32 MONGO 2:HUSTAERT 87 M-5 1938.)	Nkundó play "husband and wife" and the game is played even by adult married women. The term for the act involved is ya¡kya bons ngo based on the verb ya¡kya, to press against. Nothing wrong is seen in the practice.
Nuer (Zulu), South Africa. (Gluckman. p. 184. Evans-Pritchard. (1950) p. 390.)	Zulu women can take wives and the children of this union (via a male perhaps from a different community) belong to the line of the female husband.
Nupe, Nigeria. (Nadel: 1942, p.152).	Homosexuality said to occur among women but not men. For this reason, the natives say, women are more complete.
Plateau Tonga, N. Zimbabwe, circa 1960 ? (Smith and Dale. v. I, p. 373; v. II, p. 74.)	Women make dildos of leather and wood, but whether for use with other women or for solitary use is not specified.

A brief cross-cultural survey 1

Name, Place, Time (Principal sources)	Remarks
Cultures with Male Serial Bisexuality
Azande, C Africa, to circa 1900. (Evans-Pritchard: 1970)	Male-male marriages are recognised between soldiers and recruits. Marriages are dissolved when recruits become soldiers and themselves take young male-wives. Men, once they were married to women, were expected to prefer heterosexual relations, but throughout life homosexuality was considered a sensible alternative when heterosexual relations were impossible, inconvenient, or as they often were, taboo. The usual form of relations was intercourse between the thighs. Azande knew some men preferred homosexual relations, and such was said to be the case with certain chiefs and military leaders. Male-male marriage was forbidden by European missionaries, but homosexual activities persisted in other forms without sanction.
Dahomey, Benin W Africa, 1931. (Herskovits. v. I, pp. 239-242, 288-289.)	Typical example of male serial bisexuality in that homosexual relations among young males and young men are tolerated in a period of sexual segregation, whereas homosexuality between married adult males is strongly condemned. However among the Dahomey adult homosexual relations between those who were lovers in youth may have been concealed in a tradition of "best friendships."
Fang, W Africa, circa 1905. (HRAF FH9 FANG 2:TESSMANN 23 E-2 (1904-1909) 1913)	Young men are generally bisexual and no significance attaches to the roles they assume in their homosexual relations. Fang tolerate, but do not approve of youthful homosexual relations. Homosexual relations between men of marriageable age is supposed to be taboo. However, homosexual intercourse is supposed to be a wealth-producing medicine which benefits the partner in the inserter role, although invoking this medicine is supposed to entail a risk of disease. Adult men found in homosexual relations claim not to be homosexual, but only to be practicing the wealth-producing medicine.
Great Britain,to present.	Childhood sex play is not tolerated by the English. However at a young age young males of high-status families are sent to sexually segregated compounds called "public schools." Younger young males act as pages, called "fags," to the older young males. Younger young males are often cast in the insertee role in homosexual relations. Additionally, many male-male romances have been reported, although some of these may not have been consummated. In adulthood men are supposed to be completely heterosexual and to resent any allusion to their youthful homosexual relationships. Yet relationships formed in the public schools retain some importance throughout life and this is known as "the old school tie."
Greek, circa 500 BC (Dover.)	Homosexuality in the social approved form consisted of intercourse between the thighs in which the inserter was a mature man who sought the relation with a young man. The youth was supposed to be indifferent to the sexual aspects of the relationship and he was not supposed to derive sexual pleasure from the relationship. The youth was supposed to benefit from the patronage of the older man. Anal intercourse was known and was not forbidden, but citizens were not supposed to prostitute themselves in the insertee role.
Houston, Texas, circa 1960. (Fictionalized account by native informant: Eighner [1985] See also: Reiss.)	Childhood sex play is not tolerated. From puberty to about age 16, some young males may engage in a practice they call "queer rolling." The stated purpose of this activity is to attract and then rob older homosexual males, but in fact this never actually occurred to the knowledge of the informant. The young males were fellated by the older males and sometimes accepted money for this activity. The plan of robbery served only as an excuse for violating strict taboos on all forms of male homosexuality. Among the initiates, young males admitted deriving pleasure from the men and often said the "faggots" (adult fellators) performed oral sex better than women. Boys would admit to agreeing to meet men again. Cash payments, if any, were token amounts, although sometimes exaggerated by the young males. Sexual contact between the young males was taboo, although group masturbation was not unheard of. Signs of affection between the men and the young males were strictly taboo.
Ik (pseudonym), Kidepo Valley, Uganda, near Sudan-Kenya border, 1964-1967. (Turnbull, p. 254. Better explained: Tripp, p. 68.)	Young men may masturbate each other, even in public, provided they do not exchange signs of affection. Turnbull ascribes the lack of affection to the famine the Ik are enduring, but in fact, this is one of the requirements of the native form.
Japan, from at least 1500s to circa 1865. (Childs.)	Intergenerational love common among monks and in the military. In the former case men were supposedly homosexual or celibate through their lives. Adult samurai might be bisexual.
Kaluli, Papua, 1976 (Schieffelin. pp. 124-126.)	Like the Keraki. Monogamous relationship between an initiate and his sponsor is noted.
Keraki, Papua, 1936 (Williams, F.E.)	Sodomy to imbue initiates with masculine characteristics. Similar to fellatio among the Sambians.
Mohave, SW United States, to present. (Devereux. Williams, W.L. pp. 89-90, 96-98, and passim.)	Very general bisexuality thought unremarkable from early childhood to early 20s. Virtually all forms of homosexual relations occur. Men are expected to become heterosexual and to marry women, but adult males may marry or have sexual relations with berdaches who are men in a nonmasculine role, and this is not considered homosexual. Mohave berdaches tend to have insisted on assuming the insertee role in homosexual relations.
Moslem cultures of Asia minor, N and E Africa. (Edwardes. Cline.)	Intergenrational male sex tends to be the rule and after heterosexual marriage men continue to have homosexual affairs throughout life. In some societies, men brag as openly about their homosexual affairs as about their heterosexual ones. Although homosexuality is forbidden by the Koran and the death penalty is prescribed, rigid segregation of the sexes may encourage homosexual practices among parts of the male population who might not otherwise participate.
Mossi, C Africa, Tauxier pp. 569-70 in the French; HRAF FA28 MOSSI 6:TAUXIER, 106.	Soroné are cross-dressing pages, young males [at certain young ages] who are concubines of important men from village dignitaries to the paramount chief. When they come of age they assume masculine roles and marry women given to them by their patron. The first born children of these unions become soroné or wives of soroné.
Nama aka Hottentots, SW Africa. (HRAF FX13 HOTTENTOT 2:SCHAPERA E-4 1930, pp. 322, 242-243.)	Although homosexuality is well accepted throughout life, young males form especially intense relationships sealed by soregus (water sharing), a bond in some respects more sacred than marriage. Mutual masturbation is said to be the most common form of homosexual relations, but anal intercourse is not unknown.
Nashville, Tennesee, 1958 (Reiss.)	Adolescent males who define themselves neither as career prostitutes nor as homosexuals offer themselves to be fellated for money by (usually) older males who are identified as homosexual provided this activity can be excused as a money-making enterprise, the youth are never cast in a feminine role (at least not in view of their peers), and affection is not overtly expressed by either party. Norms of the relationship of the youth to the older males are enforced with the threat of violence. The youth eventually pursue adult careers and cease this activity.
Nkundo, C Zaire, circa 1930. (HRAF FO32 MONGO 2:HULSTAERT M-5 1938, p. 86.)	A sketchy and homophobic report suggests a fairly typical pattern. However, it is reported that in the past the younger partner took the inserter role in anal intercourse, which is unusual.
Nyakyusa, N shore of Lake Malawi aka Lake Nyasa, SE Africa, circa 1936. (Wilson. HRAF FN17 NGONDE 1:WILSON E-5 1951, 197.)	During the homosexual period no role divisions appear among the young males and young men. Younger young males and young men exchange roles freely in anal intercourse and intercourse between the thighs. Mutual masturbation is popular. Oral sex is taboo. Boys establish villages, often laid out to reflect their relationships. Eventually the young men marry and their wives move into the village. Homosexuality involving married males is considered witchcraft and is punishable by a cattle fine. Enough cases come to light to suggest that a number of men persist in homosexual relations beyond the prescribed period.
Sambia (pseudonym), New Guinea highlands, 1974-1976 (also 1938). (Herdt.)	95%+ of young men fellate older males, but only during daily secret rituals. The beginning of the fellating period is 7-10 years of age; fellated period begins at puberty and continues until about age 25. Males in this period must avoid all contact with females. Fellators do not assume the roles of women. There is a strongly marked sexual antagonism, "misogyny." Initiates are segregated in men's house, but homosexual relations do not occur there. Young children may play together freely regardless of sex. 5% or less of married males continue to be fellated, but this is socially disapproved. Married men as fellators of youths are strongly condemned, although this is known to occur occasionally.
WaTutsi (dominant ethnic caste of traditional Ruanda), C Africa, mid-20th century. (Maquet.)	Homosexuality described as "general" in the Tutsi and Hutu castes, especially among young men at court. Men of marriageable age were expected to become exclusively heterosexual, but blood brother relationships and cross-caste patronage relationships may have served as cover for adult homosexual relationships.
Zulu, S Africa, to 1897. (Morris. pp. 35-36, 46, 51-52, 54, 66, 107-108, 117, 279-281, 287-288, 587.)	In martial traditions similar to the Azande. Contrary to events depicted in a popular motion picture, Shaka was avidly homosexual and some of his political decisions were said to have been made to extend his enjoyment of barracks homosexuality.

No 'Nobel' for African Leaders

When Sudanese-born billionaire Mo Ibrahim announced an annual $5 million prize to reward Africa's best leaders, he warned that there would be years when "we wouldn't award the prize." Just three years on, and despite considering "some credible candidates," the prize committee said on Monday that no prize would be awarded in 2009. In announcing the decision, committee member and former Botswana President Ketumile Masire said the panel "noted the progress made with governance in some African countries, while noticing with concern recent setbacks in other countries."

The non-award is, of course, a powerful indictment of Africa's still patchy governance and the continent's most recently retired leaders. The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership considers democratically elected former heads of state or government who have left office in the last three years. The prize is worth $5 million over 10 years and $200,000 a year for life thereafter. By making the reward so big — it is the largest annually awarded prize in the world — Ibrahim has said he wanted to create something to encourage African leaders to do good while in power, in part because they might be rewarded in retirement.

(Simon Robinson, senior editor Europe writes in TIME magazine. Click to read more..)

Nigeria, Gabon in the UN Security Council

Nigeria and Gabon have both been elected to a United Nations Security Council non-permanent seat, following voting by the 192-member General Assembly.

Assembly President, Ali Treki, announced the results - 186 votes for Nigeria, 184 for Gabon, 183 for Bosnia, 182 for Brazil and 180 for Lebanon and declared the five countries elected to terms beginning 1st of January 2010.

In a press conference Nigerian Foreign minister Ojo Maduekwe expressed gratitude for the "solidarity of the entire African bloc" and hailed the election, saying preventive diplomacy will be central to Nigeria's approach to issues.

Nigeria has served three terms in a U.N. Security Council non-permanent seat, most recently between 1994 and 1995. This will be Gabon's first time serving on the council. Professor Kabir Mato, head of the political science department at the University of Abuja said in an interview with VOA News, that Nigeria worked very hard to reach this point. "It is quite a strategic achievement, and if properly used, I do believe that Nigeria will be able to impact positively by pushing through some very cogent economic and political issues that will not only affect Nigeria as a country, but above all Africa and the rest of the third world in general," he said.

"It's going to be an even stronger Security Council, I think, next year," Britain's UN Ambassador John Sawers said in a statement. "We have two large countries in Brazil and Nigeria who carry the weight of being a regional power. We have two countries in Lebanon and Bosnia that have been through conflict and can bring their own national experiences to the Security Council," he added.

THISDAY reported that on the eve of Nigeria's election of Nigeria to the Council, Amnesty International released a 10-point agenda for the country to fulfil as a member of the Security Council. These included the following: complying with international and regional human rights obligations; preventing and prosecuting acts of extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture or other ill treatment; adopting a moratorium on improving access to justice and protecting human rights in the Niger delta. The Amnesty International statement went on:

“In 12 months Nigeria will celebrate 50 years of independence. Following successive military regimes, efforts have been made by the Nigerian government to improve the human rights situation in the country."

“The Constitution that came into force in 1999 recognizes the right to life; prohibits torture and other ill treatment, and guarantees a fair trial; however, economic, social and cultural rights fall under the directive principles and are not justifable. In addition, a wide range of human rights concern remain.”

Ten of the Security Council's 15 seats are filled by regional groups for two-years, and five non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly every year. To win, candidates must get a two-thirds majority vote of the assembly members which is done by secret ballot.

The five other Security Council seats are occupied by its permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.

Source: Africa the Good News

Uganda's homophobic frenzy

I broke out in a bout of hysterical laughter when I read the following excerpt from this press release from Human Rights Watch.

"This new draft bill includes a provision that could lead to the imprisonment for up to three years of anyone, including same-gender-loving persons, who fail to report within 24 hours the identities of everyone they know who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, or who supports human rights for people who are."

This outbreak of frenzied homophobia is the epitome of the hypocrisy that pervades political life in Africa. At a time when expensive legislative time should be judiciously expended on the issues that really matter to the people of the country; when Ugandan lawmakers and the Ugandan government should be concerned about the welfare of vulnerable Ugandans, (including those very same same-gender-loving men and women in their society who are susceptible to wanton physical abuse and discrimination); when the Ugandan authorities should be looking to protect those of the country's citizens whose welfare is their responsibility; when the challenges that face our continent in this 21st Century are enormous; what we hear of instead is an Anti-Homosexuality Bill being introduced to Parliament. This bill is deemed necessary according to the MP David Bahati who introduced it. He claims that the purpose of the bill is to protect children and the "traditional family".

Now lets face it, the vast majority of the incidents of child rape in Uganda, as everywhere else, are not perpetrated by same-gender-loving persons. (In Uganda, child rape is referred to as 'defilement'). In fact, more often than not, the child victim has fallen prey to a predatory heterosexual rapist. It is this heterosexual rapist who children need protection from. And as far as I am aware, the laws that are currently in force in Uganda already make it an offence to engage in sexual relations with a minor.

Mr Bahati goes on to demand the death penalty for what he calls "aggravated homosexuality". I read this and I wondered if the said Mr Bahati has ever had the opportunity to sit inside a classroom in his life, given that unless he is starkly illiterate, he ought to know that there are no law books in any Common Law jurisdiction, (including Uganda), that refer to an offence known as 'homosexuality'. Homosexuality cannot be an offence. You cannot make it an offence and punish a person for having feelings of sexual and emotional attraction towards others of the same gender. You cannot prove 'homosexuality' in a court of law to the standard of proof that is required in a criminal court.

What the law describes as an offence is the act of "carnal knowledge against the order of nature", i.e., the physical act of sexual penetration by one person of another person of the same gender. Now, unless you can prove beyond reasonable doubt that this penetration has occurred, you do not have a case. Most of the homosexual sex that happens in this world is consensual, and not all of it is penetrative. Therefore, unless homosexual rape has occurred, a successful prosecution under the existing laws is virtually impossible. The operative word here is "rape", and a rapist should always be punished for his crime, be it homosexual or heterosexual rape. Similarly, a convicted paedophile must always be severely punished, and where he continues to pose a threat to children, be removed from society altogether until such a time as when that risk no longer exists...but most paedophiles are not homosexuals. Homosexuals are only a tiny minority of the overall population, and to ascribe to them such a disproportionate portion of the burden of guilt for child sex offences in Uganda is not only wrong, it is also manifestly prejudicial and irrational.

My point here is that you cannot prosecute for 'homosexuality'. There can be no such offence. Therefore, there cannot  be the aggravated form of a non-existent offence. The law cannot compel the impossible, 'Lex non cogit ad impossibilia'.  Section 140 of the Penal Code Act of Uganda already outlaws homosexual acts. The proper thing for lawmakers to do is to introduce an Amendment to the existing legislation, which in any event, I do not even see the need for, seeing as the existing law in Uganda is already one of the more draconian anti-same-sex laws anywhere in the world. On the whole, this bill is suggestive of the fact that Ugandan lawmakers are allowing their homophobic prejudice to run away with them. Surely, there are some intelligent people in the Uganda Parliament who know enough to be tolerant and to be moderate in their views? I am relying on their good sense to kill this ridiculous bill.

Africa crisis warning

Some months ago I wrote this blog post expressing concern that Africa may not be doing enough in preparation for the world's changing climate. Events have come to light which vindicate those like me who have been crying out for a long time about the need for us to take heed of what the climate change scientists have been saying for years. Millions of people across East Africa are already facing starvation and dire poverty as rising food prices and a drought leave them without food.

Oxfam are warning that aid is needed urgently across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, where many people who rely on imported food have seen prices go up by as much as 500 per cent.

Lindsey Hilsum Channel 4 News's International Editor was based in Kenya between 1982 and 1989. She wrote this report on returning to parts of Northern Kenya recently, after 20 years.

Among other things, she writes:

"It’s a world away from Nairobi, where Kenyan MPs – who are, incidentally, paid more than their British counterparts – drive around in fancy cars and plot for the next election."

"Climate change scientists say northern Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia can expect more extreme weather events like this. Later this month heavy rains associated with El Nino are expected, but they may not improve the pasture so much as cause erosion by flooding. The aid agencies call this a “climate and poverty hotspot”, a desperate conjunction of misfortune. The people here need money to build dams to conserve water when the rains come. They need new laws on land tenure to minimise the risk of conflict between different groups and tribes over scarce resources. They need alternative employment opportunities, or they’ll end up leaving pastoralism, which remains the best way of using this arid land, and add to Kenya’s growing population of unemployed slum-dwellers."

"Aid agencies, both foreign and national, can help alleviate the worst of the suffering but in the end a government is responsible for the welfare of its people."

"As we drove south I thought how China has lifted 400m people out of poverty in the last 30 years. That’s the population equivalent of 10 Kenyas. What has the Kenyan government done in that time? It hasn’t even built a decent road from Baragoi to Maralal."

This doctor's blog from Kenya is worth reading..