Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

*Laws referring to male homosexuality are negative and date from 1164. Homosexual references occur extensively in the ancient literature which is obsessed with it. An *Ebbe Hdertzberg writing anonymously made the first study of homosexuality and old Norse literature in 1902. *Preben Meulengracht Sørensen has made the most detailed recent study. Several of the poetic *edda are relevant but most references to homosexuality in them are negative and homophobic. *Havamal does present a positive reference. The concepts of nid (or nith) and ergi are crucial.

Songs comprise the largest part of Indian literatures and are composed extensively on many subjects: none on homosexuality has come to light so far, though they must be suspected in all *tribal cultures. The *trickster figure in Winnebago culture is a figure of interest. *Berdache are men who dress as women and this has been the most discussed aspect of homosexuality in north American Indian cultures so far (e.g., among the Zuni); see also *Songs—Mohave. However, the berdache is only one aspect of homosexuality, perhaps the most public in some cultures. Little detailed systematic research has been done on homosexuality and north American Indian peoples.

Translation into English to date has been very restrained and censorship of records is suspected due to *Puritanism of the white translators; the Navaho creation myth is highly sexual but this hardly comes through in the two translations to date (both of the late nineteenth century); translation of poetry has been similarly chaste. Only recently have adequate translations begun to appear.
Poets in *Living the Spirit, the first English language gay Indian anthology may also have written in Indian languages. English is now a major Indian literary language. See also *Indians, *Historical and Social—North American Indian. Religion and myth: see the article in Encyclopedia of Religion, "American Indian Religions". Kwakiutl: see *Serpent. Pawnee: see *Berdache. Wintu: see *Daniel-Harry Steward. Yokut: see *Berdache. A discussion of sexual roles is in Sue-Ellen Jacob and others, Two Spirit People: Native Anerican Gender Indetity, Sexuality and Spirituality, 1997 (review: Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review, summer 1998, 47–48 by Randy P. Conner); in this book a recurring theme is that gay and lesbian Indians insist they are not berdaches

Canada. For the Eskimo or Inuit who live in the north of Canada in the Arctic area see *Performance traditions. The Canadian gay poet *bill bisset has been influenced by Indian chants.

The Smithsonian Museum, Washington, and Museum of Natural History, Field Museum, Chicago, have films of Indian rituals. A Museum of the American Indian now exists in Washington with a research library attached. See A. La Vonne Brown Ruoff, American Indian Literatures, 1990, for detailed bibliography (pp. 147–89) and discussion of literatures to 1989: this is the place to start in research. On the literatures see also Queneau, Histoire des littératures, volume one, pp. 1513–1522. Translations and records are in French, English and Spanish though mainly in English. See also *Mark Thompson for an important sociological essay.

The earliest *law proscribing homosexuality dates from 1164. Norwegian stems from old Norse. For earlier poems see *Overview—Norse.

Songs and *chants associated with initiation ceremonies are the major poetic works of importance with regard to homosexuality: see *Gilbert Herdt (who has specially discussed the Eastern Highlands peoples in relation to ritualized homosexuality), *Bruce Knauft (who has studied ritualized homosexuality in relation to the south coast peoples) and *Gisela Bleibtreu-Ehrenberg. Few initiation songs have, however, been recorded and fewer still translated: as an example see *"Cosmogonic song" in Yagwoia. However, songs exist for virtually anything in these languages since song making is a daily activity; gossip songs are common as are love magic songs and songs of these two types are likely in relation to homosexuality.

Relevant oral material undoubtedly exists (e.g., oral *bawdry poems as well as ordinary homopoetry). Homopoems relating to the penis shaped yam, a crucial food in Papua New Guinea, are very likely. Initiation ceremonies are linked to fertility rites and *magic (especially to yam ceremonies, the yam being a staple food) and to the fertility of the dugong fish in the case of the Kiwai (these relate to similar ceremonies in northern Australia). Male sperm may be inseminated in the anus, given in the mouth—*fellatio—in the case of the Sambia and Iqwaye or smeared over the body in initiation ceremonies (sometimes, as in the Kiwai case, in connection with female sperm): see *Initiation—Sambia, —Iqwaye. All males must undergo such ceremonies which have been reported in the south coast and the eastern highlands; in some cultures initiation ceremonies have ceased. Reports also exist of some youths being allegedly so debauched in the initiation ceremonies that they have been alleged to become homosexual afterwards (see the Knauft article in *Initiation songs—Kiwai); such youths may, however, have been homosexual initially. See Barry Adam's remarks in "Age, Structure and Sexuality" in Journal of Homosexuality vol. 11 numbers 3 and 4, Summer 1985, 25–29 for a concise summary of Papua New Guinea ritualized homosexuality.

Secrecy—after western penetration of the country—is a feature in many cultures (e.g., Sepik) so this is an added complication in anything to do with homosexuality. Homosexuality was illegal under Australian law (see *Law—English) and Papua New Guinea was under Australian control from 1918 to independence in 1975 (and prior to this under Australian control from 1883 in Papua while the northern part was under German control until 1918); homosexuality was illegal in 1999 and does not appear to have been changed from the law under Australian control. German law prevailed in New Guinea from the nineteenth century to 1918 (from 1879 with unification homosexuality was illegal in Germany).

Ethnographies for the hundreds of cultures of Papua New Guinea wait to be written and a huge amount of oral poetry of relevance is suspected. Links exist and have existed in the Torres Strait where the northern state of Queensland in Australia and Papua New Guinea are joined: it is possible to walk from Australia to Papua New Guinea at low tide and the two countries were joined as one landmass up to 10,000 years ago. The bull roarer, used in southern Papua New Guinea, is also used widely across Australia in initiation ceremonies. In addition, links have existed by boat between New Guinea and Australia. Whether Australian Aboriginal cultures got customs from Papua New Guinea or vice versa remains to be elaborated, if this is possible ever to be proven; certainly Australian aboriginal and Papua New Guinea cultures do show close connections with similar ritualized homosexuality reported widely across northern and central Australia and similar implements such as the bullroarer used. Compare other *tribal cultures (e.g., in *Africa, *South America).

The journal Oral History, published in Port Moresby, records Papua New Guinea folk tales and mythology. See Peter Ryan, Encyclopaedia of Papua and New Guinea, 1972, for information on individual cultures. English is widely spoken since Australia took over control in 1883 in the south (Papua) and in 1919 in the north, formerly New Guinea. German was spoken as the language of administration in the north to 1918. The country as a whole became independent from Australia in 1975.

Indonesia. West Papua, to the west of Papua New Guinea, formerly called Irian Jaya, is now a province of Indonesia (the province was renamed in 1999). Material follows a similar pattern to Papua New Guinea—see entries *Initiation—Kimam initiation (referring to an outstanding article by J. Patrick Gray), *Initiation—Asmat. Bahasa Indonesia is the language of administration since Indonesia took over in 1965 (previously Irian Jaya was under Dutch control and Dutch had been the language of aadministration). Some five hundred languages are spoken.
Compare also *Oral poems—Big Nambas relating to Vanuatu.