The Emergence of a Transgender Community in Manipur: The Case of the Nupi Maanbis

Abstract

Transgender subjects in Manipuri society have experienced cultural legitimacy as well as prejudice and therefore have had an ambiguous status from early to modern times. From their early prototypes, pheitas, to their modern counterparts, nupi sabis, transgender subjects have played vital roles in the administrative, cultural and artistic life of Manipuri society. Legitimacy as well as stigma marked their participation in social and economic life. This article traces the emergence of the nupi maanbi community, a community of man-to-woman transgender subjects and argues that the current nupi maanbi identity, embedded in this distinct community, is firmly located in the economic niche that the subjects inhabit as professionals in the increasingly popular fashion and beauty parlours in contemporary Manipur.