Amma Gender Boundaries

Amma is a Hyderabadi Muslim woman who practices spiritual healing. Healing responsibilities are usually relegated to male Sufi pīrs, however, Amma is successful in the role, despite her gender. Women come to her healing room because she is more patient and understanding, and that they don’t have to traverse the gender boundary to get treatment. Not only does Amma’s practice transcend gender boundaries, but it is also a caurasta between Islamic and Hindu religions. Despite Amma stepping outside of her gender role, she regularly says the only castes that matter are gender boundaries, which differentiates her healing practices from institutionalized Islam.
In order to understand Amma and her healing room in the context of studying gender in “vernacular” …show more content…
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Flueckiger’s conclusion is supported with a direct quote from Amma: “‘There are only two castes [jāti, species; true distinctions]: men and women. Muslims, Christians, Hindus-- they’re all the same,’” (Ibid). In this quote, Amma asserts that the religious boundaries are relatively unimportant, while gender is “the ultimate boundary of distinction between human beings,” (Ibid.) This implication is especially interesting because Amma’s role as a healer is usually reserved for …show more content…
Amma isn’t just required to be masculine herself to negotiate authority in her healing room: her authority as a healer is dependent on Abba’s permission. So, even with the “heart of a man,” Amma’s authority is dependent on her relationship with a man. It’s not especially apparent until after the death of her husband, Abba. While before Abba’s death, Amma was able to have de facto