The LGBTQ+ Column: Beyond Boy And Girl: Māhū

Hina Wong-Kalu, subject of the 2014 documentary Kumu Hina. Photo from Honolulu Magazine. In South Asia, ‘hijra’ is the term for many types of gendernonconforming (GNC) people, including those who consider themselves neither male nor female. The Eurasian nomadic horse riders ‘Scythians’ were known to other societies for their honor towards GNC people. Many Native American groups held traditions for GNC people, today fitting under the umbrella term ‘Two-Spirit.’ In many places and times where the gender binary is not used, gender-variant people are honored as priests and healers.

The māhū of ancient Hawaiʻi took on different roles in their communities from those traditional for men and women. They often portrayed traits traditionally male and female, and were teachers of hula and chant. Often, they were entrusted with cultural practices like genealogy. Many times, people asked māhū to name their children.

Darrell ʻIhiʻihilauakea Lupenui, kumu hula and māhū individual who died in 1987. Lupenui's memorial was attended by thousands, including māhū from every island. Photo from the Honolulu Star Advertiser. The introduction of Europeans and Christianity destroyed many ways of life for Native Hawaiians, including the fluidity of sexuality and gender with which they viewed and interacted with the world. Slowly, however, māhū have re-emerged in Hawaiian culture.

In 1987, thousands gathered in the Waikiki Shell on Oʻahu to honor the memory of kumu hula and māhū person Darrell ʻIhiʻihilauakea Lupenui. Carol E. Robertson, who shared Lupenui’s story in a 1989 edition of the academic journal Feminist Studies, defined māhū as “a person of mixed gender who had found sanctuary in the domain of Laka, god/goddess of the ancient hula.”

In 2014, the documentary Kumu Hina premiered, which told the story of Hina Wong-Kalu, a māhū teacher. The film delves into the cultural significance of māhū, the place māhū have in modern Hawaiʻi, and Hina’s triumphs and losses.

Historically, māhū was an experience had only by AMAB (assigned male at birth) people, though it encompasses more today. While many Hawaiians wear the label proudly, it can also be used as a pejorative term.