Hijras typically live together in tight-knit, mutually supportive, and hierarchical communities. Individuals maintain a narrative of leaving or being expelled from their homes, coming into a community, and being taken under the wing of an older hijra who becomes their guru. The initiate or student (chela) undergoes ritual inclusion through emasculation. The guru supports the hijra in her acclimation within the community, but also extracts fees and support. Within the hijra community, individuals refer to one another using female pronouns and kinship terms: Gurus are mothers, gurus’ gurus are grandmothers, fellow chelas are sisters, and so on. Some hijras form long-term committed sexual relationships with men.
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