khamunaif

khamunaif RELIGION AND BELIEF — A religious figure. A khamunaif is any young man who is selected or chooses to be preserved for sacred service. The term is broad and provides little insight into each → naif’s role in his respective religious order. Roles vary from high priest to servant, but one thing that is generally true of all naif or → niif (the female equivalent) is that they begin their training at a young age, often right after birth, and are preserved from sexual contact with either sex (outside of religious rites). 

→ niif, → naif