Yet another interesting similarity concerns the existence of transsexual Priestesses within the Sumerian clergy. We find several types mentioned in very early primary sources. The Gala Priestesses apparently petitioned the gods through singing, dancing, and various incantations. The Kurgarra and the Assinnu Priestesses were associated with the goddess Inanna. Their role is not completely clear, although they sometimes acted as surrogates for the goddess during sexually-oriented religious practices.

Although born male, these types of Priestesses lived as women, adopted female names, and spoke the sacred feminine dialect of Emesal. Their existence is traceable to pre-Kurgan times, circa 5000 BCE or earlier. While modern historians struggle to explain their significance, it seems clear that they could not have attained the privileged and honored position they did, without having some genuine spiritual and metaphysical gifts.

The Flying Dutchman wrote:Maybe in their culture females were thought to have better metaphysical ability than males? And they could achieve a better balance of female and male energies as transexuals than biological girls?
Just guessing.. Found this topic fascinating too so I'm gonna give it a

NoctemAeternus wrote:This is an interesting topic and it would be cool to see some more discussion and knowledgeable contributions/opinions here.

Caiyros - seems like you might have some interesting insights on the subject.

How common were transsexual and intersexual priestesses in the ancient world? Almost every form of the Goddess was associated with them. Inanna, also called Ishtar, had Her Assinnu. The Assinnu were the hierodule priestesses of Inanna whose change was performed by crushing the testicles between two rocks in the earliest references. Inanna also had transgendered priests who did not do this and who wore clothing that was female on one side and male on the other called the Kurgarru. They were two distinct groups. Becoming an Assinnu was a mes, a call from the Goddess. This mes is a common thread among all transsexual and intersexual priestesses. It was recognized that transforming one's life and body was not a choice but a destiny, the call usually in the form of dreams of Inanna when young. We have several different accounts of Inanna's decent to the underworld and rescue from Her sister, Ereshkigal. In one, Asushunamir (She whose face is Light), the first Assinnu, was created to save Inanna. In another version, two beings, the first Kurgarru and Kalaturru, neither males nor females, are created by Enki from the dirt under his fingernails for the mission. As hierodules, the Assinnu were seen as mortal representatives of Inanna and sex with Assinnu was congress with the Goddess Herself. As magicians, their amulets and talismans were the most powerful of magick to protect the wearer from harm, even just touching the head of an Assinnu was believed to bestow on a warrior the power to conquer his enemies. As ritual artists they played the lyre, cymbals, 2 string lutes and flutes and composed hymns and lamentations all in Emesal, the women's language, said to be a direct gift of Inanna, as opposed to the common language of men, Eme-ku.

One of the earliest recorded communities of transgender individuals is that of the Gala, the third-gender priestesses serving the goddess Inanna of Babylonia during the 8th century BC. The goddess Inanna herself was a symbol of gender deviance, and was often portrayed as androgynous. She was simultaneously the hyperfeminine goddess of sexuality and a hypermasculine god of war. For this reason, the worship of Inanna often incorporated transgender elements (Harris 82). The temple practices of Inanna were highly complex; there were a number of different types of Gala, each of which served a different function in the rites of their goddess. One type of Gala priestess was the Kurgarru, a biological male who wore a robe that was feminine on one side and masculine on the other. The Kurgarru were highly esteemed in Babylonia; in one story of Inanna, the genderless Kurgarru were created in order to save Inanna from the Underworld. However, even more prestigious were the Assinnu, or the transsexual priestesses of Inanna. The Assinnu underwent ritual castration as part of a mes, or a divine calling of the goddess. The Assinnu were believed to have been imbued with great powers of protection and fortune. Warriors of Ancient Mesopotamia would touch the head of an Assinnu before battle, believing just this brief contact would spare them from danger. However, the most important role of the Assinnu was that of a hierodule, or sacred prostitute. The Assinnu were believed to be the physical incarnation of the goddess Inanna, and by sleeping with an Assinnu a follower of Inanna was essentially coupling with the Goddess herself (Platine 2). Not much is known of the Gala in ancient Babylonia; however, it is evident that the transgender priestesses of Inanna held a lofty position in the spiritual institutions of Mesopotamia.