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VOA慢速英语--Native American Two-Spirits Look to Reclaim Lost Heritage

时间:2018-07-09 23:21来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

 

As a child, Timothy “Twix” Ward1, thought he was “normal.” But his family saw something “special” about him.

Ward is a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe in the southwestern state, Arizona.

“It wasn’t until I got older that I knew who I was, that I was different from everyone else,” Ward said. Ward identifies not as a man or a woman, but both — and neither: Twix Ward is a two-spirit.

The term was first used in Winnipeg, Canada, during a 1990 inter-tribal2 conference of Native American/First Nations gays and lesbians. Taken from the Ojibwe language, the term was chosen to serve for all Native Americans people who do not fit into traditional gender3 roles.

“Two-spirited people are not LGBTQ [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered or Gender Queer], although some two-spirited people are LGBTQ,” said Ward. Ward added that a real two-spirit is someone who understands Native American culture and traditions.

Ward lives year-round in a traditional Apache house and takes part in traditional ceremonies. Ward also makes traditional clothing for ceremonies marking the change from girlhood to womanhood.

“I try to teach the girls what the dress is for, the meaning behind it in their ceremony,” Ward said.

Not everyone in the community accepts Ward, and the two-spirit admits to loneliness.

“Some people that claim to be traditional are upset with me because they think I’m acting4 like I know more than them,” Ward said. Ward wears the traditional clothing and face paint markings that identify two-spirits.

Balancing the male and female

In South Dakota, 2000 kilometers away, Kellie Bingen identifies as a two-spirit bisexual. Born on the Lower Brule Reservation, she now lives in the city of Sioux Falls.

“Two-spirits are people who can balance both their male and their female sides,” she said. “Dad taught us girls to do anything that a man can do.” But she said she still has a “girl” side. “I can wear a dress, put makeup5 on, and go out.”

Like Ward, Bingen believes only Natives who understand their traditions can claim two-spirit identity. The two-spirit does not believe the term should ever be used to describe non-Natives.

New York City musician and activist6 Tony Enos presents a different understanding of “two-spirit.”

Enos was raised in a racially mixed family in Pennsylvania. He identifies as two-spirit because of his father’s Cherokee ancestors.

“Before colonization7, we were balance-keepers. We were the only ones that could move between the men’s and women’s camps. There was a special role for… this blessing8 to be able to see life through male and female eyes.”

And that’s what the two-spirit movement is all about, he said: reclaiming9 the special position two-spirits held in pre-colonial tribal communities.

But is that even possible?

Not always honored

Much of what is known about historic two-spirits comes from books written by Western missionaries10 and ethnographers. Those writers called two-spirits by the insulting word “berdache,” an Arabic word for slave boys.

In some tribes, two-spirits were honored as healers, seers and name-givers. Twin-spirits of the Yokuts and Mono peoples of California were diggers of burial places. They were believed to be guided by the dead.

“But not all tribes honored them,” said Wesley K. Thomas, a Navajo anthropologist11. He believes two-spirits were honored only in tribes like the Navajo, where family history is followed from the mother’s line.

In tribes that followed the father’s line, they were often simply left alone, but in others, they were killed as soon as their two-spirit nature became clear, Thomas explained.

European colonization, however, meant the end of the two-spirits as Christianity was introduced. Spanish missionary12 Francisco Palou, who worked in California, wrote in 1777 that all two-spirits should be killed.

By the mid-20th century, gay Native Americans began to go to large cities when they were not accepted by their tribes. But in the cities, Thomas explained, they were often not accepted by the non-Native LGBTQ communities.

Thomas is not critical of the two-spirit movement, which he says “gives them a sense of belonging, of identity.”

However, Thomas does not believe they will ever see again the honor they were given in the past.

“It’s not possible,” he said. “We have been distanced too much from our traditional ways and cultures.”

I’m Susan Shand. And I'm Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

gay – adj. a man who has sex with other men

lesbian – n. a woman who has sex with other women

gender – n. the male, female or other that one identifies with

dress – n.clothing worn by women

missionary – n. one who travels to spread Christianity

ethnographer – n. one who studies other races and cultures


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 ward LhbwY     
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开
参考例句:
  • The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
  • During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时,我要点根火把,抵挡蚊虫。
2 tribal ifwzzw     
adj.部族的,种族的
参考例句:
  • He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
  • The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。
3 gender slSyD     
n.(生理上的)性,(名词、代词等的)性
参考例句:
  • French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语,所有的名词都有性。
  • Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。
4 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
5 makeup 4AXxO     
n.组织;性格;化装品
参考例句:
  • Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
  • Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗?
6 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
7 colonization fa0db2e0e94efd7127e1e573e71196df     
殖民地的开拓,殖民,殖民地化; 移殖
参考例句:
  • Colonization took place during the Habsburg dynasty. 开拓殖民地在哈布斯堡王朝就进行过。
  • These countries took part in the colonization of Africa. 这些国家参与非洲殖民地的开发。
8 blessing UxDztJ     
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿
参考例句:
  • The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
  • A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。
9 reclaiming 4b89b3418ec2ab3c547e204ac2c4a68e     
v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 );要求收回;从废料中回收(有用的材料);挽救
参考例句:
  • People here are reclaiming land from the sea. 这儿的人们正在填海拓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • How could such a man need reclaiming? 这么一个了不起的人怎么还需要别人拯救呢? 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
10 missionaries 478afcff2b692239c9647b106f4631ba     
n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时,从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
11 anthropologist YzgzPk     
n.人类学家,人类学者
参考例句:
  • The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
  • The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。
12 missionary ID8xX     
adj.教会的,传教(士)的;n.传教士
参考例句:
  • She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
  • I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。
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TAG标签:   VOA英语  慢速英语
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