''Chibados'' (or ''quimbandas'') are third-gender people, born male, who lived most often as women. They were found among the cultures of the

Ndongo The Kingdom of Ndongo, formerly known as Angola or Dongo, was an early-modern African state located in what is now Angola. The Kingdom of Ndongo is first recorded in the sixteenth century. It was one of multiple vassal states to Kongo, though ...

and other parts of what is today

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. They were first described in the west by the Portuguese. Chibados were involved as "spiritual arbiters in political and military decisions" and also performed

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s. Olfert Dapper described the ''chibados'' as shamans "who walk dressed like women." Portuguese priests and

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

described how chibados lived as women and were able to marry other men with no social sanctions. Instead, "such marriages were honored and even prized." ''Chibados'' made up a separate

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

and elders referred to themselves as "Grandmother." Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba had over fifty ''chibados'' in her court. The ''chibados'' were said to be used by Nzinga as

concubines Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubin ...

. As the Portuguese gained more control in Africa, colonial laws introduced and increased

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

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* * LGBT in Angola Third gender Same-sex sexuality {{Sexual identities Interpersonal relationships