The Dominance of the ‘Superstructure’: Delineating the Socially and Culturally Embedded Occupations of the Hijra Community

The kinship system of the hijra community has established strong network through which the traditional community of transwomen has been able to maintain its control in almost every part of India with prudence and firmness. The kinship system of the hijra community represents a social, hierarchical structure with relationships based on inequality. The interesting fact is that the power dynamics of the community centres on the kinship rules and regulations. The core values are premised on the asymmetric relationships and interactions of the community, more so the occupation rather the economic ideals of the community are governed by the kinship order. The structure of the kinship hierarchy dictates and dominates the relationships and interactions not only within a particular hijra house but all throughout the community. Nonetheless, the kinship structure represents the social system of the hijra community which is interlaced with the normative order of the community and together they govern the economic system of the community. The occupations of the hijra community are traditional and are founded on beliefs and practices in Hinduism. Therefore, I argue in this paper that contrary to Marx’s proposition suggesting the concept of ‘base’ (economy) dominating the superstructure which comprises the cultural, societal ideals etc.; the hijra community contradicts this Marxian idea and proves how the economy is embedded in the social and the cultural. In my paper I further argue that in the hijra community it is not always economy that supersedes, religious or the societal order and ideas, but on the flip side it is culture and social structure that dominates economic arrangement. Moreover, this kinship order is intertwined with an autonomous cultural system which is intrinsic to the hijra community. I discuss the phenomenon in the context of hijras in West Bengal.