mihdeke
Mandan
Alternative forms
- mihdäckä
Etymology
From mihe (“woman”) (alternative orthography: mih-ha); numank (“man”).
Noun
mihdeke
- a male-bodied "two-spirit" person who typically held ceremonial rights and bundles associated with women
See also
- two-spirit
References
- Will Roscoe Living the Spirit
- Sabine Lang, Men as Women, Women as Men: [among] the Mandan, [...] fathers typically sold such [ceremonial] bundles to "berdache" sons. [... ...] Mandan fathers used to thrash their sons on account of the latter's feminine inclinations [...]
- Will and Spinden, The Mandans: A Study of Their Culture, Archaeology and Language