SAME SEX TERMS FOR SEX AFRIQUE

African Terms for Same-Sex Patterns*
kimbanda, diviners; esenge (pl. omasenge), man possessed by female spirit; eshengi (pl. ovashengi), "he who is approached from behind"
—Ambo/Ovambo (Wanyama)
wändarwäräd, "male-female"; wändawände,"mannish women"
—Amhara (Amharic)
jigele ketön, reciprocal anal intercourse
—Bafia (Fia)
mzili (pl., inzili); buyazi
—Bagishu/Bageshu, Gisu
kitesha (pl. bitesha), male and female
—Bala/Basongye/Ba-songe/Songe
mokobo, tongo, sterile men
—Bambala/Mbala
akho’si, lagredis, court
kitesha (pl. bitesha), male and female
—Bala/Basongye/Ba-songe/Songe
mokobo, tongo, sterile men
—Bambala/Mbala
akho’si, lagredis, court eunuch; gaglgo, homosexuality
—Dahomey (Fon)
m’uzonj’ame katumua, male lover; m’ndumbi, "podicator"
—Gangella/Ovigangella
onek, active male
—Gikuyu/Kikuyu
’dan daudu (pl. ’yan daudu); k’wazo/baja, older/younger men; kifi, lesbianism
—Hausa
okutunduka vanena, anal intercourse; epanga, lover; oupanga, erotic friendship (male or female)
—Herero (Damara)
mwaami, "prophet"
—Ila
mudoko dako
—Lango
mudoko dako
—Lango
sagoda
—Konso
londo, nonmasculine males
—Krongo/Korongo/Kurungo
ashtime
—Maale/Male/Maalia
kiziri
—Maragoli/Logooli
mugawe
—Meru
tubele, nonmasculine males
—Mesakin (Ngile)
mke-si-mume, "woman, not man," male and female homosexuals; mashoga (sing. shoga), male; basha (pl. mabasha), partner of mashoga; msagaji, msago (pl. wasagaji, misago), "grinders," lesbians
—Mombasa (Swahili)
soronés, pages
—Mossi (More)
tinkonkana, boy wives
—Mpondo/Pondo (Pana)
koetsire, sexually receptive males; soregus, friendship bond; ôa-/huru, /huru, mutual masturbation; /goe-ugu, "tribadie"
—Naman/Hottentot/Kaf-fir
agyale, "friendship marriages" (sex denied)
—Nzema
eshenga, gender-mixing male shamans
—Ondonga (Ndonga)
a bele nnem e bango, "he has the heart [aspirations] of boys"
—Pangwe/Pahouian (Fang)

—Nzema
eshenga, gender-mixing male shamans
—Ondonga (Ndonga)
a bele nnem e bango, "he has the heart [aspirations] of boys"
—Pangwe/Pahouian (Fang)
umuswezi, umukonotsi, "sodomite"; kuswerana nk’imbwa, kunonoka, kwitomba, kuranana inyuma, ku’nyo, male homosexuality; ikihindu and ikimaze (Mirundi), "hermaphrodite" priests
—Rwanda/Ruanda (spoken by Hutus and Tutsis)
nkhonsthana, tinkonkana, nkonkana boy wife; nima, husband
—Tsonga (Thonga)
chibadi, chibanda, chibados, jimbandaa, kibamba, quimbanda
—Umbundu/Mbunda/ Ovimbundu
omututa, (male) homosexuals; eponji, "lovers"
—Wawihé/Viye
gor—digen, men—women; yauss, insertors; oubi, "open," insertees
—Wolof/Woloff
ndongo—techi-la, boy-wives
—Zande/Azande/Sandeh
inkosi ygbatfazi, "chief of the women" (diviners); amankotshane, izinkotshane, inkotshane, boy-wife; skesana, cross-gender males; iqgenge, masculine partners
—Zulu

*The names of most African groups in the historical and ethnographic literature are language names. Language appears in parentheses in the case of groups whose names are not language names. Variants of group names are separate by slashes.
 
 
“A superb collection of primary research articles and literature review essays on the organizations of homosexuality and the complexities of same-sex patterns.”
—Peter M. Nardi, American Journal of Sociology
 
“...will likely become regarded as a groundbreaking and vital addition to several fields of study. It soundly refutes the notion of homosexuality as 'un-African' and forces readers to rethink many of the basic Western concepts they take for granted.”