is waved, and the priests chant. All the men quit the room for a short
time, while the matrons remove a quantity of the robes and veils, under
which the bride is well nigh stifled. At a given signal, the husband is
admitted, and allowed to see, for an instant, the countenance of his
wife.
All the company then pass in. The bride is not again enveloped with the
linen veil, but her face is covered with the tinsel and gold paper. The
female guests kiss her, and put presents in her hand. After this, all
the male relations, to the remotest degree, are allowed a glance at the
bride’s face, and the favor of kissing her hand.
Feasting and amusements then commence, and continue for three days. All
this time the bride is obliged to sit motionless on the sofa; it would
be considered the height of indecorum for her even to whisper to any
one, except the old matron who accompanied her from her father’s house,
and who is generally her nurse.
Toward the end of the third day, the priest leads the bridegroom to the
bride, removes the silken strings from their brows, and carries away
the tinsel veil. The bride is now, for the first time, permitted to
speak. According to the old laws, she was not allowed to open her lips
in the presence of her mother-in-law, or her married sister-in-law,
for one year; the practice is now less rigid, but the most profound
respect, and implicit obedience, is still exacted from the bride toward
the relatives of her husband.
The marriages even of the poorest Armenians take place with all this
ceremony and parade. Cooking utensils, robes, veils, &c., are kept
stored in the churches, for the use of those who cannot afford to buy
them for the occasion.
The dress of the Armenian ladies is remarkably heavy and loaded,
and their ornaments large and massive. They have black eyes, ruddy
complexions, and in general coarse features, with little expression.
When they go out, the face is muffled up with bandages so as to show
only the eyes, and sometimes a part of the nose. In the house, as well
as abroad, and by night as well as by day, they wear a nose band, the
pressure of which makes that feature universally broad and flat. They
allow none of their hair to be seen, except a long braid that falls
down the back nearly to the ground. The custom of muffling themselves
up, so that all look nearly alike, led Tournefort to say, facetiously,
“An Armenian returning from a journey is not sure to find the same
wife; he cannot tell whether she may not be dead, and whether some
other woman may not have stepped into the place of the deceased.”
The Armenian salutation, on entering a room, is to place the right
hand rapidly to the breast, mouth, and forehead. The ladies throw off
their slippers before they sit down. The manner of lowering themselves
upon the divan, so as to assume the oriental posture, is said to
be altogether inimitable by a European. For the sake of change in
position, they sometimes kneel.
Xenophon, in his Cyropædia, relates a beautiful anecdote of an Armenian
wife in very ancient times. The princes of the country having evaded
the payment of their customary tribute to Persia, Cyrus made war upon
them, and took the royal family prisoners. Tigranes, the king’s son,
had been recently married to a woman for whom he had very great love.
The Persian monarch asked the prince what price he would give to regain
her. Tigranes with great fervor replied, “Oh, Cyrus, I would save her
from servitude at the expense of my life!” The noble conqueror replied,
“Take your own to yourself; and do you, Armenian king, take your wife
and children, without payment, that they may know they come free to
you.”
When the Armenians returned home, all were talking of the magnanimity,
mildness, and beauty of Cyrus. Tigranes said to his wife, “And do you,
Armenian dame, think Cyrus so very handsome?” “Truly,” said she, “I did
not look at him.” “At whom then did you look?” inquired her husband.
“At the man who said he would ransom me at the expense of his own
life,” she replied.
* * * * *
The Turks as Mohammedans may have four wives, and as many mistresses as
they can maintain; but the common class of people rarely have more than
one wife.
The Grand Sultan cannot marry one of his own subjects, and Christian
princesses would not in general be willing to form one of his numerous
harem, even if such an alliance were not regarded as an abomination by
the Moslems. His household is therefore composed of beautiful female
slaves, usually presented by the first grandees of the empire, as one
of the surest methods of obtaining royal favor. The heir apparent is
consequently always the “son of a slave;” a contemptuous epithet often
applied to him in the hour of adversity.
Orkhan, the second emperor of the Turks, is the only one on whom
a Christian princess was bestowed. Theodora, of the Greek empire,
daughter of Cantacuzene and Irene, was given to the powerful Turk by
her ambitious father, though he was well aware that he previously had
many wives and favorites. No marriage ceremonies were performed; but
the troops were assembled round a throne, on which Theodora was seated
concealed by silken curtains. At a signal from the emperor, the screens
were withdrawn, and the bride discovered in the midst of kneeling
eunuchs and blazing torches; while the joyful sound of trumpets and
other instruments of music welcomed her appearance. Her father had
stipulated that she should be allowed to preserve her religion in the
midst of the harem, and he wrote much in praise of her charity and
devotion in this difficult situation.
Achmet I. is said to have had three thousand women in his harem, and
the grandees of the empire generally have some hundreds. The rigid
seclusion of Mohammedan women is said to have originated in the
conduct of Ayesha, called Best Beloved Wife of the Prophet, and Mother
of the Faithful. She went out into the desert to look for a pearl
necklace she had lost, and on her return was accused of listening to
the smooth words of an officer she met. Mohammed did not withdraw his
affection, and publicly protested her innocence; but keenly alive to
the disgraceful report, he expressly forbade any Mussulman to speak to
his wives, or to remain in his house after dinner, or to enter it in
his absence.
Harem is an Arabic word signifying sanctuary. These retreats are so
carefully guarded, that little is known of their interior arrangements.
Physicians, and the wives of European ambassadors, have sometimes
gained access to seraglios, which they describe as follows: Favorites
of the highest rank are called _khatouns_, of which there are seven.
She who first presents the Sultan with a son becomes the _sultana
hasseki_, and takes precedence of the others. Next in rank to the
khatouns are the _odahlycs_, whose number is unlimited. Each of the
khatouns has a seventh part of the odahlycs, and a certain number of
eunuchs and slaves as her own peculiar attendants; and each has a
separate court, garden, and bath, belonging to the pavilion in which
she resides. These pavilions are adorned with marble, paintings in
arabesque, gilding, mirrors, &c. The odahlycs, generally to the amount
of some hundreds, sleep on sofas in a long high gallery, divided by
a double row of chests of drawers, where they keep their clothing.
The staircases to this gallery are secured by massive trap-doors,
fastened with bars of iron. The inner courts of the harem are guarded
by black eunuchs, with muskets always in their hands, and the outer
by white eunuchs. Innumerable subordinate officers are appointed to
settle disputes, and keep order within and around the harem. When any
of the Sultan’s women accompany him into the gardens, officers are
in readiness to warn the gardeners and all other men to retire; and
should any one be slow to obey, he would be killed on the spot. When
the king’s women are removed from one seraglio to another, they are
accompanied by officers with staves to keep off the people, and to
prevent the ladies from showing themselves by drawing the curtains of
their litters. When ill the women are always attended by their own sex.
Physicians are admitted into the harem only under the strictest guard,
and on extraordinary occasions; even then they are not permitted to
see their patients, except through gauze. Notwithstanding all these
precautions, intrigues are sometimes successfully carried on. If
discovered, the woman is tied up in a sack and drowned; but the Koran
ordains that he who accuses a woman without being able to prove her
guilt, shall receive the bastinado.
The mother of the reigning Sultan is called _sultana valydeh_; a title
which she assumes at his accession, and loses whenever he dies, or
is deposed. Her sons treat her with the most unbounded respect, and
give her almost supreme control in the harem. Her political influence
is likewise by no means inconsiderable. The grand seignior often
communicates to her the secrets of state; covered with a veil, she
holds conferences with the grand vizier and the mufti; and in the
absence of her son, she issues orders in his name. In the time of
Achmet III., the sultana valydeh warmly espoused the cause of Charles
XII. of Sweden, and made great exertions to arm Turkey against Russia,
in his behalf. She even wrote letters to the king of Sweden, and to
count Poniatowski, though such a step was in open defiance of the laws
of the harem. The revenues of certain provinces belong to the sultana
mother, and in times of emergency she often lends large sums to his
Highness.
The sultana valydeh and the sultana hasseki almost always dislike
each other, because each is jealous of the other’s influence over
the reigning monarch. The hasseki finds it prudent to dissemble her
hatred, for fear of giving offence to the Sultan; and the valydeh on
her part, while she refrains from openly wounding the affections of her
imperious son, generally contrives all manner of secret and indirect
means to injure his favorite. It sometimes happens, however, that the
hasseki is so perfectly passive and submissive as to be a favorite both
with mother and son.
If the heir apparent dies, the hasseki loses her rank, and the next
khatoun who has a son takes her place.
This gives rise to the strongest feelings of rivalship, envy, and
hatred. No pains are spared by the khatouns to destroy the offspring,
injure the health, or vex the feelings of those odahlycs in whom they
are fearful of finding rivals.
The sultana Guneche (a name which signifies _the sun_) had acquired
great influence over Mohammed IV. by her beauty, excellent
understanding, and perpetual flow of spirits. In the height of her
power, the sultana mother was malicious enough to introduce to her son
a lovely Circassian slave, named Gulbeyaz, or the _white rose_. The
effect produced upon the mind of the voluptuous monarch was precisely
what she wished: Guneche soon received intimation that apartments and
a sultana’s train were in preparation for the new favorite. She stole
to the chamber of her rival, and after loading her with the bitterest
invectives, beat her so cruelly that the whole harem was in an uproar.
The Sultan provided Gulbeyaz with another residence six leagues
distant, and threatened to treat Guneche as a slave. She, however,
made her peace with him, by attributing her rash conduct to excess of
love, and expressing her determination in future to sacrifice her own
feelings to the gratification of her _lion_, as the sultanas fondly
call his Highness.
But afterward her jealousy showed itself in a still worse form. The
Sultan had received from the grand vizier a most beautiful slave, named
Khadyjeh. With a view to her safety, he conveyed her to a seraglio on
the canal of the Black sea. For a time, Guneche appeared to have no
suspicion of the frequent visits he paid her. But one day when the
grand seignior had gone a hunting some distance from Constantinople,
she ordered caïques to be secretly prepared for an excursion on the
canal. On her arrival at the seraglio where Khadyjeh was confined, she
affected to wish to enter the pavilion to rest. The new favorite was
engaged in the innocent amusement of angling, in a closet that overhung
the sea. Her vindictive rival came softly behind her, and suddenly
pushed her into the waves, from which she rose no more.
The heir to the throne remains under the tuition of his mother until
he is eight or nine years old, and custom, as well as the rules of the
Koran, require from him the most implicit and reverential obedience.
The day on which this important little personage is delivered over to
male instructers is celebrated with great pomp. A recent traveller thus
describes the ceremonies that took place when the oldest son of Sultan
Mahmoud was nearly nine years old: “The extensive plain of Ibraham Aga,
on the Asiatic shore, was covered with tents for the accommodation of
troops of children, of whom six thousand were present. The Sultan was
seated on a throne in a splendid pavilion, supported by gilded columns,
hung with gold and silver tissue. The young prince was introduced to
all the chief officers of the empire, and after respectfully embracing
his father’s feet he took his seat on a cushion near him. A chapter
from the Koran was read, and a prayer pronounced by the grand mufti.
At every pause all the children throughout the camp cried Amen, and it
was echoed by the neighboring hills. Food is distributed and criminals
pardoned in honor of the occasion. The festival lasts three days; and
during all this time, men, women, and children remain in the field.
The troops, the long line of tents, the noisy children, and women
in all manner of gay costumes, riding in their painted and carved
arabahs, drawn by oxen, combine to make the scene very cheerful and
exhilarating.”
In many instances the Sultans, when they ascended the throne, have
caused all their brothers to be put to death, to prevent any disputes
about succession. Amurat III. caused his five brothers to be killed in
the presence of their own mothers, one of whom, unable to endure the
sight, stabbed herself in despair. He likewise put to death two of his
father’s slaves, who were likely to become mothers. Mohammed III., son
and successor of Amurat, caused nineteen brothers to be strangled, and
ten of his father’s odahlycs to be thrown into the sea, for the same
reason.
The khatouns occasionally make each other a ceremonious visit, probably
from motives of curiosity; but their meals, baths, and amusements, are
distinct from each other. They change their dresses many times a day,
smoke, chew gum mastic, and loll on sofas, while female slaves dance
around them, and perform pantomimes, which almost always represent
love scenes. They have likewise magic lanterns and puppet shows, the
subjects of which are said to be any thing but modest. One of their
favorite occupations is making beads of rose leaves. The petals of
the rose are carefully picked, and pounded into a smooth paste in
an iron vessel. The iron, acting upon a certain acid in the rose,
turns the paste quite black. It is made into little balls, which are
perforated for stringing, and hung up in the shade to dry. When hard
they are rubbed between the hands with a little attar of rose, till
they become perfectly smooth. They never lose their fragrance. The
Turkish ladies spend hours in passing these beads backward and forward
on a string, inhaling the delicate perfume. They practise dancing,
music, and embroidery, in the cool kiosks or pavilions, situated in
the midst of the gardens. Here Frank and Greek women are sometimes
admitted to exhibit goods and jewelry for sale, and Jewesses skilled in
fortune-telling, amulets, and love-potions, are always welcome.
A visit from any lady of distinction, either from a foreign nation
or some distant part of the empire, is an extraordinary occasion,
and conducted with much ceremony. If the visiter be a European, they
manifest the greatest curiosity concerning those Christian countries
where they have been told each man has but one wife. At parting, the
guests are usually presented with embroidered handkerchiefs, and
sprinkled by the attendants with perfumed waters.
The Sultan sometimes indulges his women in what is called the Feast of
Lamps, which consists in a general illumination of the gardens of the
seraglio with colored lamps and reflecting mirrors. Booths are erected
for the festival, furnished with a variety of goods, and with vases
full of beautiful flowers. The sisters, nieces, and female cousins of
the grand seignior are invited. The women of the harem, in appropriate
dresses, tend the bazar, while the Sultan and his guests walk about
purchasing jewelry and rich stuffs, which they present to each other.
Dancing, music, and sports of various kinds continue till late at night.
The women of the harem try to obtain as many jewels as they can,
because in case of their master’s death these are not taken away from
them. In the midst of slaughter, the most ruffianly soldier considers
the walls of the harem as sacred; and when executioners are sent to
strangle a state criminal and seize his effects, they do not enter his
seraglio, or touch any property that belongs to his women.
The Sultan’s daughters and sisters enjoy more liberty than any of his
favorites. Not being heirs to the throne, they are not exposed to the
perils that await his brothers and sons. While these girls are yet in
their cradles, a husband is provided for them, generally among wealthy
pachas; and as soon as he dies, they are provided with another; who
(with a view to securing his wealth for the royal coffers) is very
likely to be accused of some crime and soon strangled. Thus a sister of
Amurat IV. had four husbands in less than one year.
If the sultana be ever so old or ugly, a man dare not refuse the honor
of her alliance, if he values his head. During the reign of Abdul
Hamyd, an old sultana fell in love with a handsome and wealthy young
man, whom she saw pass her windows during a public ceremony. The young
man was thunder-struck when the Sultan made known the honor that
awaited him; for he had an excellent wife, whom he most tenderly loved.
But there was no escape for him. Had he attempted to fly, his capture
and death would have been almost certain. He was compelled to dismiss
his wife, who survived their separation but a few days.
The individual thus chosen is summoned to the presence of the Sultan,
where he waits till the presiding khatoun comes and makes a signal
that he is to follow her into the harem. At the threshold, the eunuchs
take off his slippers, and make him wait some minutes, in token of the
obedience he owes his royal consort. When he enters, he makes three
obeisances, kneels, bows his face to the ground, and repeats a short
prayer. The khatoun then conducts him to his bride, who sits on a
sofa, entirely covered with a veil of red taffeta. She treats him
with the utmost haughtiness, which he tries to soften by magnificent
presents. The slaves bring a tray containing sugar-candy and a pair
of pigeons. The bridegroom offers some of the pigeon to the sultana,
and she offers him candy. He expresses his felicity in terms the most
reverential. The sound of various instruments then gives him notice to
retire from the apartments of the women, and feasting and amusement
is kept up till late in the night. If the bride be past the years of
infancy, she is conducted to her husband’s residence with great pomp.
Some writers have affirmed that a part of these marriage ceremonies
consists in the Sultan’s saying to his sister, or daughter, “I give
this man to be thy slave. If he offends, cut off his head;” and that
the bride actually wears a sabre in token of her authority. Whether
this be true or not, there cannot easily be any other bond than fear,
in an alliance where one word of complaint from the wife would bring an
executioner to strangle the husband.
The female relations of the Sultan are never allowed to quit
Constantinople, lest their sons should escape the power of the despot,
and occasion disturbances in the succession to the throne. When the
Sultan dies, his women are shut up in what is called the old seraglio.
If his successor be his son or brother, it is sacrilegious for him ever
to look upon them; if otherwise, the love of novelty sometimes leads
him among them to select new favorites.
But the seraglios of the Sultan and his grandees do not furnish a
true picture of the character and condition of the Turkish women; any
more than the royal marriages and etiquette of European courts are
indicative of the manners of the people. Women of the middling classes
in Turkey appear to enjoy a very considerable degree of freedom and
consideration. It is even said that hen-pecked husbands are as numerous
there as elsewhere. Their houses are indeed divided into separate
apartments, one portion devoted to the men and the other to the women.
Sometimes these apartments communicate only by one door, of which the
husband holds the key; and the food of the women is conveyed to them by
means of a revolving cupboard, similar to those by which the poor are
supplied with food at the gate of convents. But, generally speaking,
the Turkish women go in and out at their pleasure. The streets and
bazars of Constantinople are full of them. They seldom address a
stranger, or reply if spoken to; but if any thing peculiarly attracts
their curiosity, they ask questions with much simplicity. Their
favorite recreation is an excursion on the Bosphorus, the arrangements
for which are made with very little ceremony. A lady sends her servants
to invite her female friends, orders the provisions to be carried
with them, gives directions for her husband’s dinner, steps into her
caique,[1] calls for her friend, proceeds up the Golden Horn, selects
some pleasant scene where the children can frolic under the shade
of lofty trees, and there they remain working, talking, singing, and
playing on the thambourah,[2] till the declining sun gives them warning
to return. Sometimes the husbands join in these excursions, and sit in
a group apart from the ladies, smoking, and sipping sherbet and coffee,
while female slaves amuse them with dancing and singing. Trustworthy
attendants always accompany the ladies on these occasions, to protect
them from intrusion. It would be considered extremely indecorous for a
stranger to approach the group.
These excursions on the canals are said to be sometimes the scenes
of love-intrigues, carried on by means of signals from those in the
neighboring houses to those in the boats. The police officers are on
the watch for such misdemeanors; how often their vigilance is eluded,
is best known to those who reside near the Bosphorus. The natural love
of overcoming obstacles is a strong incentive to intrigue, and the
custom of wearing veils favors concealment. In case of detection, the
prompt punishment of despotic countries follows without much ceremony.
All the public know, is that some woman is seen hanging lifeless from
her own window, with her lover, or supposed lover, by her side; or that
her body, inclosed in a sack, is found floating on the Bosphorus.
In former times the Turks considered it so improper to display a
female face, that they used to fire at English merchant-ships the
figure-head of which represented a woman; but the custom of veiling the
face, by a muslin tied over the mouth and chin, is gradually going out
of fashion, especially with the young.