The Priests Revered in the Land of Five Genders

The lineage of the bissus of Sulawesi — a star-shaped Indonesian island — goes back more than a millennium. They are considered spiritual leaders and a bridge between the earthly and celestial because they are thought to embody both male and female traits www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/w...

In the 1960s, the bissus were also swept up during the anti-Communist purge ordered by the Indonesian dictator Suharto. As recently as the 1990s, it was very difficult to find bissus because they hid; few wanted to be one out of fear and religious pressure www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/w...

The training includes memorizing the “I La Galigo," the Bugis creation myth poem that dates to the 14th century and is 300,000 lines long. And one must be celibate www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/w...

This is well, fascinating. People are incredible www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/w...

Ancient folkways, rooted in innocence. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/w...