English

Noun

acault ‎(plural acaults)

1. A male who exhibits transgender behavior in Burmese culture (an identification associated with animistic beliefs).

Usage notes

This word is a mistranslation of the Burmese term အခြောက် ‎(a.hkrauk, “dry article”) which designates men who seek other men ("homosexual" or MSM). While Coleman et al. did publish a 1992 essay (which was reprinted and referenced by various other authors) referring to the Burmese "acault", they also admitted to an "inability to speak the local languages" (314) and a "lack of training in anthropology" (320). The term ăchauk is Burmese slang and does not literally indicate someone who works as a spirit medium, which is more properly known as နတ်ကတော် ‎(natka.tau). In Burma, these spirit mediums may be female or male, and may or may not be transgender or cross-dressing, although they do wear costumes during ceremonial rituals when channeling spirits called "nats" in Burma. Homosexuality is not necessarily implied with spirit mediumship.

See also

• berdache, two-spirit, and the usage notes about those terms
• Thai กะเทย ‎(kàthoey)
• Burmese နတ်ကတော် ‎(natka.tau).

References

• Coleman E, Colgan P, Gooren L. Male cross-gender behavior in Myanmar (Burma): a description of the acault. Archives of Sexual Behavior 1992 Jun;21(3):313-21.
• Brac de la Perrière, Bénédicte. “The Taungbyon Festival: Locality and Nation-Confronting in the Cult of the 37 Lords." Burma at the Turn of the 21st Century. Ed. Monique Skidmore. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2005: 65-89
• “Young Activists Reflect on Identity, Community, and Diversity Among Asia’s MSM: THE TREAT ASIA REPORT INTERVIEW” TREAT Asia Report Feb 2007. TREAT Asia. amfAR. Accessed 1 July 2009. http://www.amfar.org/world/treatasia/article.aspx?id=5726

Anagrams

• actual