NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Bacchá

In northern Turkic-speaking areas of Central Asia, entertainers known as bacchá (a Turkic Uzbeki term etymologically related to the Farsi bachcheh, "catamite") were once common, and constituted the commercial and transgender side of the local pederastic tradition, known as bacchabozlik. Download high resolution version (1024x899, 135 KB)Dance of a bacha (dancing boy), Samarkand, ca 1905 - 1915, Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the... Download high resolution version (1024x899, 135 KB)Dance of a bacha (dancing boy), Samarkand, ca 1905 - 1915, Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the... Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (August 31, 1863 – September 27, 1944) (Russian: Сергей Михайлович Прокудин-Горский listen) devoted his career to the advancement of photography. ... Library of Congress, Jefferson building The Library of Congress is the unofficial national library of the United States. ... This is the disambiguation page for the terms Turk, Turkey, Turkic, and Turkish. ... National anthem National Anthem of the Republic of Uzbekistan Capital Tashkent President Islam Karimov Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyayev Official language Uzbek Area – Total – % water Ranked 55th 447,400 km² 4. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (examples: oral sex, sexual intercourse) for money. ... Transgender is generally used as a catch-all umbrella term for a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups centered around the full or partial reversal of gender roles; however, compare other definitions below. ... Pederasty, as idealized by the ancient Greeks, was a relationship and bond between an adolescent boy and an adult man outside of his immediate family. ...

A bacchá, typically an adolescent of twelve to sixteen, was a performer practiced in erotic songs and suggestive dancing. He wore resplendent attire and makeup, which may have been cross-dressing or actual transgender expression. The bacchá was appreciated for his androgynous beauty and was available as a sex worker. This articles is about cross-dressing in general, that is the act of wearing the clothing of another gender for any reason. ... Transgender is generally used as a catch-all umbrella term for a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups centered around the full or partial reversal of gender roles; however, compare other definitions below. ... A sex worker is anyone who earns their living by providing sexual services. ...

The bacchás were trained from childhood and carried on their trade until their beard began to grow. Though after the Russian conquest the tradition was suppressed for a time by tsarist authorities, early Russian explorers were able to document the practice. It was resurgent in the early years of the twentieth century as the boys were increasingly sought as entertainers by the new Russian settlers, a practice criticized in the Central-Asian Russian press of the time.

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