"There are likewise among the Scythians, persons who come into the world as eunuchs, and do all the work of women; they are called Enaræans, or womanish," &c.
It would occupy too much space to detail here all the speculations to which this passage has given rise; sufficient for us be the fact, that in Scythia there were men who dressed as, and associated with, the women; that they were considered as victims of an offended female deity; and yet, strange contradiction! they were revered as prophets or diviners, and even acquired wealth by their predictions, &c. (See Universal History, xx. p. 15., ed. 8vo.)
The curse still hangs over the descendants of the Scythians. Reineggo found the "female disease" among the Nogay Tatars, who call persons so afflicted "Choss." In 1797-8, Count Potocki saw one of them. The Turks apply the same term to men wanting a beard. (See Klaproth's Georgia and Caucasus, p. 160., ed. 4to.) From the Turkish use of the word "choss," we may infer that Enareans existed in the cradle of their race, and that the meaning only had suffered a slight modification on their descent from the Altai. De Pauw, in his Recherches sur les Américains, without quoting any authority, says there are men in Mogulistan, who dress as women, but are obliged to wear a man's turban.
It must be interesting to the ethnologist to find this curse extending into the New World, and actually now existing amongst Dr. Latham's American Mongolidæ. It would be doubly interesting could we trace its course from ancient Scythia to the Atlantic coast. In this attempt, however, we have not been successful, a few isolated facts only presenting themselves as probably descending from the same source. The relations of travellers in Eastern Asia offer nothing of the sort among the Tungusi, Yakuti, &c. The two Mahometans (a.d. 833, thereabout), speaking of Chinese depravity, assert that it is somehow connected with the worship of their idols, &c. (Harris' Collection, p. 443. ed. fol.) Sauer mentions boys dressed as females, and performing all the domestic duties in common with the women, among the Kodiaks; and crossing to the American coast, found the same practised by the inhabitants of Oonalashka (ed. 4to., pp. 160. 176.). More accurate observation might probably detect its existence amongst intermediate tribes, but want of information obliges us here to jump at once over the whole range of the Rocky Mountains, and then we find Enareanism (if I may so term it) extending from Canada to Florida inclusive, and thence at intervals to the Straits of Magellan.
Most of the earlier visitors to America have noticed the numerous hermaphrodites everywhere met with. De Pauw (who, I believe, never was in America) devotes a whole chapter to the subject in his Recherches sur les Américains, in which he talks a great deal of nonsense. It assisted his hypothesis, that everything American, in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, was inferior to their synonymes in the Old World.
The calm and more philosophical observation of subsequent travellers, however, soon discovered that the so-called hermaphrodites were men in female attire, associating with the women, and partaking of all their labours and occupations. Père Hennepin had already mentioned the circumstance (Amstel. ed. in 12mo., p. 219.), but he seems to have had no idea of the practice being in any way connected with religion. Charlevoix went a step farther, for speaking of those he met with among the Illinois, he says:
"On a prétendu que cet usage venait de je ne sais quel principe de la religion, mais cette religion avait, comme bien d'autres, prit sa naissance dans la corruption du cœur," &c.
Here he stopped, not caring to inform himself as to the real origin of the usage. Lafitau says these so-called hermaphrodites were numerous in Louisiana, Florida, Yucatan, and amongst the Sioux, Illinois, &c.; and goes on,—
"Il y a de jeunes gens qui prennent l'habit de femme qu'ils gardent toute leur vie, et qui se croyent honorez de s'abaisser à toutes leurs occupations; ils ne se marient jamais, ils assistent à tous les exercises où la religion semble avoir part, et cette profession de vie extraordinaire les fait passer pour des gens d'un ordre supérieur et au-dessus du commun des hommes," &c.
Are not these, he asks, the same people as those Asiatic worshippers of Cybele? or those who, according to Julius Firmicus, consecrated themselves, the one to the Phrygian goddess, the others to Venus Urania?—priests who dressed as women, &c. (See Mœurs des Sauvages américains, vol. i. p. 52., ed. 4to., Paris, 1724.) He farther tells us that Vasco Nuñez de Balbao met many of them, and in the fury of his religious zeal had them torn to pieces by dogs. Was this in Darien? I believe neither Heckewelder, Adair, Colden, nor J. Dunn Hunter, mention this subject, though they must all have been aware of the existence of Enareans in some one or more of the tribes with which they were acquainted; and I do not remember having ever met with mention of them among the Indian nations of New England, and Tanner testifies to their existence amongst the Chepewa and Ottawa nations, by whom they are called A-go-kwa. Catlin met with them among the Sioux, and gives a sketch of a dance in honour of the I-coo-coo, as they call them. Southey speaks of them among the Guayacuru under the name of "Cudinas," and so does Von Martius. Captain Fitzroy, quoting the Jesuit Falkner, says the Patagonian wizards (query priests) are dressed in female attire: they are chosen for the office when young, preference being given to boys evincing a feminine disposition.