Two Indian Hijras/Ladyboys/Eunochs/Transsexuals/Transvestites posing in the Street, Pune, India
eunuch is a castrated man; the term usually refers to those castrated in order to perform a specific social function, as was common in many societies of the past. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian cities of Lagash in the 21st century BC. [citation needed] Over the millennia since, they have performed a wide variety of functions in many different cultures such as courtiers or equivalent domestics, treble singers, religious specialists, government officials, military commanders, and guardians of women or harem servants. In some societies, the notion of eunuch has been expanded to include men who are impotent with women or are simply celibate. The English word eunuch is from the Greek eune ("bed") and ekhein ("to keep"), effectively "bed keeper." Servants or slaves were usually castrated in order to make them safer servants of a royal court where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence – seemingly lowly domestic functions such as making the ruler's bed, bathing him, cutting his hair, carrying him in his litter or even relaying messages, giving him "the ruler's ear" could impart de facto power on the formally humble but trusted servant, as reflected in the humble origins and etymology of many high offices ( chancellor started out as a servant guarding the entrance to an official's study). Eunuchs supposedly did not generally have loyalties to the military, the aristocracy, or to a family of their own (having neither offspring nor in-laws, at the very least), and were thus seen as more trustworthy and less interested in establishing a private 'dynasty'. Because their condition usually lowered their social status, they could also be easily replaced or killed without repercussion. In cultures that had both harems and eunuchs, eunuchs were sometimes used as harem servants (compare the female odalisque) or seraglio guards.
Size: 3360px × 5040px
Location: Pune, Maharashtra, India
Photo credit: © philipjbigg / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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