Hall gives a most delightful picture of the honesty, kindness,
simplicity, and politeness of the inhabitants. All his efforts to
obtain a sight of the women of this island were fruitless. The natives
guarded them at every step, and always sent runners before them, to
give indication of their approach. Once, at a sudden turning of the
road, the English officers met two women; but they instantly threw the
baskets from their heads, and ran into the woods, in the utmost terror.
It appears, however, that they are not thus scrupulous about being seen
by their own countrymen; for by the help of a telescope, captain Hall
saw them coming from the country with baskets on their heads, beating
rice in wooden mortars, playing with dogs in the midst of a crowd of
people, and washing clothes in the river, after the East India fashion,
by dipping them in the stream, and then beating them on stones. Infants
are carried across the hip, as in India. The natives were unwilling to
speak of their women, and seemed distressed when questions were asked.
One of them said they were regarded as inferior beings, and not allowed
the use of fans, which are considered a great luxury in Loo Choo. But
their treatment of the English boatswain’s wife seemed to contradict
this statement; for it was not only kind and indulgent in the extreme,
but was tinged with something of respectful gallantry. On one occasion,
a Loo Choo lady visited the boatswain’s wife, when all the men were out
of the way. She wore loose floating robes, with a girdle tied at the
side, and had sandals on her feet. She was rather fair, with small dark
eyes, and shining black hair, fastened in a knot on one side of the
head. She seemed to be exceedingly timid. When captain Hall insisted
upon knowing why the natives were afraid to let them walk into the
village, one of the chiefs answered, in broken language: “Loo Choo
woman see Ingeree man, Loo Choo woman cry!”--meaning, “If a Loo Choo
woman should see an Englishman, she would cry.”
* * * * *
The manners and customs in Japan, and the occupations of different
classes, are similar to those of China. In economy of time and labor
they rival even the Chinese; and unlike them they are scrupulously neat
in their habits. There is no end to their rules for the ceremonials
of behavior. They have whole volumes written to teach people how to
drink a glass of water, how to give or receive a present, how to salute
a superior, or an equal, &c. &c. Children, being early accustomed to
habits of thoughtful industry and punctilious civility, appear like
little old men and women, while they are yet infants. In this respect
they resemble their neighbors of China, among whom the boisterous mirth
of childhood is a thing almost unknown; perhaps the whole Celestial
Empire does not furnish a genuine specimen of a romping girl, or a
madcap, roguish boy. Implicit obedience to parents and superiors
prevails in Japan, to as great an extent as in China.
The houses in these islands are of simple construction, made of bamboo,
with apartments divided by movable partitions. The wealthy have a good
deal of painting, gilding, and rich japaning, about their walls and
furniture. Their soft floor mats serve both for seats and tables, and
chop-sticks of ivory or wood are used instead of knives and forks.
They have metal mirrors with handles, to be used at the toilet. The
fashion of their dress is the same for both sexes, and for all classes,
from the monarch to the poorest subject; and they say it has remained
unchanged for two thousand five hundred years. They wear long full
robes, like night-gowns, with sleeves so wide that they almost reach
the ground. These garments are cut round at the neck, without a collar,
leaving the throat and a small portion of the neck uncovered. The
women wear these robes so long that they trail on the ground. The
garments are fastened at the waist with a sash, which the married tie
in front, and the unmarried behind. Ladies of rank often have them made
of variegated silk, interwoven with flowers of silver or gold. They
sometimes wear thirty or forty at once; but they are of such delicate
texture, that the whole do not weigh more than three or four pounds.
Their shoes are made of rice straw. The Japanese complexion is yellow;
but women of distinction, being sheltered from the sun, are nearly as
white as Europeans. They appear in public when they please, either
attended by a servant with an umbrella, or rolled along in a sort
of ornamented wheelbarrow, with an awning over it. Whether in doors
or out, they always have fans in their hands. They have very black
hair, broad snubby noses, and small oblong eyes, which appear to be
constantly winking. All ranks and ages are remarkable for industry,
and it is said the women are generally characterized by an exemplary
observance of the domestic virtues. The emperor has but one wife, who
is styled empress, but he has several mistresses, who form a part of
the royal household, though subordinate to her in rank.
When a husband accuses his wife of infidelity, and she asserts that she
is guiltless, her oath is taken in writing, and laid on water; if it
swims she is esteemed innocent. This crime, like most others in Japan,
is punished with death.
The men of the Aleutian or Fox islands are glad in times of scarcity to
barter away a wife for a fish or a leather bottle full of train-oil.
Sometimes one woman lives with two husbands; and often leaves a second
or third to return to the first with all her children. These islanders
frequently exchange wives with each other, and have not the slightest
idea of any dishonor connected with the infamy of their women. Under
these circumstances, it is not wonderful that the females are destitute
of modesty.
The men of the Fox islands wear frocks neatly made of the skins of
birds, which look beautifully when the variegated feathers glisten in
the sunshine. The women wear the more homely covering of the ice-bear,
with the hairy side outward. They decorate these unwieldy robes with
strips of leather, covered with beads, shells, or sea-parrots’ bills.
The wing-bones of the sea-mew furnish them with needles, and seals’
nerves are used for thread. Rude as these implements are, their
workmanship is exceedingly curious and delicate. The women tattoo
themselves in such a manner, that they look as if they had mustaches.
* * * * *
The Ainos, or native inhabitants of the Kurile islands, are modest
even to bashfulness. The men are very shy about allowing strangers to
hold any communication with their wives and daughters. Their tattooed
hands, swarthy faces, jet black hair hanging over their foreheads, and
lips stained blue, are not much calculated to excite the admiration
of those accustomed to civilized life. The Ainos, of both sexes, are
remarkable for the gentleness and strict honesty of their characters.
[Illustration: Asiatic women baking bread.]
[Illustration: Egyptian women bringing water for their conquerors.]
AFRICA.
It has been said Egypt was the first nation that became civilized,
and framed wise laws, by which they agreed to be governed. It had
reached the height of its grandeur, and was beginning to decay, while
nations which we call ancient were yet in their infancy. Moses, the
great lawgiver of the Jews, is said to have been learned in “all the
wisdom of the Egyptians.” Thebes, with its hundred gates and immense
population, was a subject of wonder and praise even in the days of
Homer. Solon and Herodotus, Pythagoras and Plato, travelled in Egypt to
witness her magnificent works of art, and gather from the far-famed
stores of her intellectual wealth.
Such was Egypt, long before Greece and Rome had existence! This early
civilization might be in part owing to the annual overflowing of the
Nile, which made it impossible for the inhabitants to subsist by
hunting and fishing, and thus compelled them to turn their attention to
agriculture. During the inundation of the river, they were obliged to
take shelter in houses raised on piles above the reach of the waters.
Men and women, being thus placed in each other’s society, naturally
endeavored to please each other, and female influence produced its
usual effect of softening the character, and rendering the manners more
polished and agreeable. From this union, music, poetry, and the fine
arts would naturally flow, as the stream from its parent fountain.
It is generally supposed that the Egyptians were a colony from
Ethiopia, and that their complexion was black. Herodotus, who travelled
in Egypt, distinctly states that they had “black skins and curly
hair.” Speaking of the tradition that two black pigeons had flown from
Thebes in Egypt, and established oracles, one at Dodona, and the other
in Libya, the same writer says, the story doubtless refers to two
priestesses stolen by the Phœnicians, and carried one into Libya and
the other into Greece: he adds, “their being _black_ explains to us
their _Egyptian_ origin.” Pausanias likewise informs us that the image
of the Nile was always black, while the other river gods were uniformly
represented as white.
The ancient statues of Memnon and the Sphinx afford no evidence with
regard to complexion, because they are usually painted red; that being
the color applied to sacred subjects both in Egypt and various parts of
India.
The features, with the exception of the lips, do not correspond to
the standard of “African features,” which we have somewhat arrogantly
established. In point of fact, the various tribes of that vast
continent differ from each other in appearance as much as the Italians
and the Norwegians; and we have taken the worst-looking as our standard
of “negro features.” Dr. Richardson says: “The Nubians are perfectly
black, but without possessing the least of the negro feature; the lips
small, the nose aquiline; the expression of the countenance sweet and
animated, and bearing a strong resemblance to that which is generally
found portrayed in the temples and tombs of the ancient Egyptians.”
A recent traveller tells us, “The Ethiopian women brought to Egypt
for sale, though black, are extremely beautiful; their features being
perfectly regular, and their eyes full of fire. The price offered for
them is generally six or ten times higher than could be obtained for
Arabian women.”
Herodotus says, the Egyptian women left the management of the loom to
men, while they themselves were abroad engaged in commerce; and that
the laws required daughters, instead of sons, to support indigent
parents. Some writers have said that the queens of Egypt were much more
honored than the kings; and that in the marriage contract husbands
promised obedience to their wives.
It seems probable that there was something of exaggeration in this.
Perhaps the opinion had its origin in some intentional satire, which
was supposed to be sober truth. That the Egyptian women enjoyed a
degree of freedom and importance very uncommon in that age of the
world, is beyond a doubt. That they were not confined to their own
apartments is evident from the fact that Pharaoh’s daughter went down
to the river with her maidens to bathe. They likewise succeeded to the
throne, and to the inheritance of their fathers. When Solomon married
the daughter of Pharaoh, he built her a magnificent palace near his
own, and allowed her to worship the gods of her own country. As this
was in direct opposition to the customs and opinions of the Israelites,
there is reason to suppose these peculiar privileges were stipulated by
Egyptians in the marriage contract. Her father gave her the whole city
of Gazer for her portion.
It is not probable that women of rank were engaged in laborious
occupations, as was common in other countries. When Psammenitus, one of
their kings, was taken prisoner, he and the chief of his nobility were
placed on an eminence near the city of Memphis, while his own daughter
and other captive women were ordered to bear water in pitchers from
the river; and the monarch is said to have considered this a greater
disgrace than the loss of his kingdom and his liberty.
But notwithstanding the high respect paid to Egyptian women, and
the undoubted fact that they were largely engaged in commerce and
agriculture, there are many things to prove that they had not such
unlimited ascendency as to reverse the usual order of things, by
governing their husbands, and compelling them to do the work within
doors.
The honorable office of the priesthood was entirely confined to the
men, both in the temples of the goddesses and the gods. The mercantile
caravans, going through rude and warlike places, could not have been
composed of women. In one of the ancient Egyptian mausoleums have been
found paintings in bass-relief, representing men planning furniture,
hewing blocks of wood, pressing out skins of wine or oil, ploughing,
hoeing, and bringing in asses laden with corn to be stored in the
magazines; there is likewise a group of boatmen quarrelling, and a
band of musicians playing on the harp, the flute, and a species of
clarionet. The only women introduced are a group of dancing women.
Nymphodorus remarks that Sesostris obliged the men to employ themselves
in feminine occupations, because his subjects were becoming very
numerous, and he wished to weaken their characters, in order to prevent
revolt. In opposition to those writers, who attribute such unlimited
freedom and influence to the Egyptian women, some have asserted that
they were kept constantly shut up, and their feet cramped, according to
the present custom of the Chinese.
It is probable that these contradictory accounts refer to different
parts of Egypt; for the various districts differed so much in their
customs, that what was worshipped in one was despised and abhorred in
another.
The superstitions of the Egyptians formed a singular contrast with
their scientific knowledge. They held many animals in religious
veneration; such as the ibis, the crocodile, the cat, and the dog. If a
cat happened to die, the whole family shaved their eyebrows in token of
sorrow; and on the death of a dog, they shaved the brows and the head.
Maximus Tyrius tells the story of an Egyptian woman, who brought up a
young crocodile. “Her countrymen esteemed her particularly fortunate,
and considered her the nurse of a deity. The woman had a son about the
same age with the crocodile, and they grew up and played together. When
the animal became large and strong, it devoured the child. The woman
exulted in the death of her son, and considered his fate as blessed in
the extreme, in thus becoming the victim of their domestic god.”
The ancient Egyptians believed the Nile would not overflow and
fertilize their country, unless an annual sacrifice were offered to the
deity of the river. For this reason, they every year, on the twelfth
of their month Baoni, (corresponding to our June,) threw into the Nile
a beautiful maiden, superbly ornamented. When Amru conquered Egypt, he
abolished this cruel custom.
The Egyptians were fond of religious festivals, which they celebrated
with music, dancing, feasting, and pompous processions. The women on
these occasions were usually decorated with garlands, and carried in
their hands symbols of the deity they worshipped. Herodotus, speaking
of the famous festival of Isis, at Bubastis, says, “During the passage,
the women strike their tabors, accompanied by the men playing on
flutes.” Yet some writers have affirmed that the Egyptians did not
allow women to learn music, lest it should relax the vigor of their
minds. This might be true of some districts in Egypt; but it is more
probable that public exhibitions of music were considered beneath
the dignity of any but hired performers, as public dancing is still
considered in many parts of the world.
The Egyptians, in common with other ancient nations, sanctioned great
immodesty at their religious festivals; particularly those of Isis
and Bacchus. We have no means of ascertaining how far this tended to
corrupt the manners of their women. Among people of rank, birthdays
were kept with great gayety and splendor.
They were accustomed to seat a veiled skeleton at their tables,
decorated with a garland of dark-colored flowers; this was intended
to remind the guests that death was with them, even in the midst of
feasting and joy.
The common tendency to invest women with supernatural powers seems to
have existed in Egypt. We are told that Athyrte, daughter of Sesostris,
encouraged her father to undertake the conquest of the world, in
consequence of her divinations, dreams in the temples, and prodigies
she had seen in the air. Though women were not admitted to the order
of hereditary priesthood, they were from time immemorial selected to
perform certain sacred offices in the Egyptian temples. It was the duty
of these consecrated maidens to gather flowers for the altars, to feed
the sacred birds, and daily to fill the vases with pure fresh water
from the Nile. The moon was worshipped in Egypt as a goddess, under the
name of Isis; and it is supposed that these maidens performed certain
mystic dances in her temple, as the _devedassees_ of Hindostan now do
in the temples of Brama. On these solemn occasions, the Egyptian girls
wore small metallic mirrors under the left breast. The origin of the
custom is unknown; some have supposed it was done that they might at
every movement of their companions behold the reflected image of Isis.
Notwithstanding the prevalence of strange superstitions, it is
generally supposed that the knowledge of one God, and of the
immortality of the soul, were taught by Egyptian priests; and that
these truths, carried into Greece, were concealed and preserved in
the Eleusinian mysteries. The early Christians were surprised at the
frequent appearance of a _cross_ among the hieroglyphics of Egypt; some
converted priests explained the mystery, by saying it had always been
considered a symbol of _life to come_.
The ancient Egyptians were scrupulously neat. They bathed frequently,
and washed their garments often. It was their custom to drink from
brazen goblets, which were cleansed every day. In making bread, they
kneaded the dough with their feet.
When a person of distinction died, it was customary for the females
of the family to disfigure their heads and faces with dirt, and run
about with their garments in disorder, beating themselves and making
loud lamentations. This custom, so common among ancient nations, still
prevails in many parts of the East.
There was a library at Thebes; and Homer was accused of stealing the
Iliad and Odyssey from a similar establishment at Memphis. Though
this accusation bears internal evidence of falsehood, it indicates
the very ancient date of civilization and literature in Egypt. That
this taste continued down to comparatively modern times appears from
the celebrated Alexandrian library, established by the Ptolemies. The
number of volumes is said to have almost equalled the largest library
of recent times, and most of them were written in letters of gold.
Since the ancient Egyptian women were allowed in all other respects
such a remarkable degree of equality with the men, it is reasonable to
conjecture that they shared with them in literary acquirements.
* * * * *
Modern Egypt presents quite a different picture. The population is a
mixture of Egyptians, Persians, Syrians, Greeks, Arabs, and Turks. The
men are ignorant, and the women servile. “Each family,” says Savary,
“forms a small state, of which the father is king; the members of
it, attached to him by the ties of blood, acknowledge and submit to
his power. When the master of the family dines, the women stand, and
frequently hold the basin for him to wash, serve him at table, and on
all occasions behave to him with the extremest humility and reverence.
The women of the wealthier classes spend their time principally among
their slaves, in works of embroidery.”
When a rich man intends to dine with one of his wives, he sends a slave
to give her notice; she prepares the most delicate dishes, and receives
him with the utmost attention and respect.
Notwithstanding the general degradation of the sex, a virtuous and
sensible woman can make herself greatly respected, even in degenerate
Egypt. “The favorite wife of Mohammed Ali possessed an astonishing
degree of influence over her impetuous husband, who always regarded her
as the foundation of his good fortune. She was, likewise, much esteemed
and beloved by the people; for her power was uniformly exercised on the
side of justice and mercy. Much of her time was occupied in receiving
petitions; but she seldom had to refer them to the pacha, as her
ascendency was too well known by the ministers to require this last
appeal. If, however, in consequence of any demur on their part, she was
obliged to apply to him, he answered their remonstrances by saying,
‘’Tis enough. By my two eyes! if _she_ requires it, the thing must be
done, be it through fire, water, or stone.’”
The Turkish conquerors have carried into Egypt the enervating despotism
and luxurious voluptuousness, which characterize their own land. The
favorite residence of the pacha’s harem is at Shoubra, three miles
below Cairo. In the garden are groves of fruit-trees, and walks shaded
by evergreens, paved with pebbles in mosaic. A most splendid bath is
inclosed by a quadrangular platform of white sand-stone, on which rests
a handsome corridor. At each corner of the bath is a dressing room,
and between each of these a magnificent divan, the canopy of which
is supported by white marble pillars beautifully sculptured. In the
centre of the bath is a seat for the pacha himself, from which he may
behold his innumerable wives floating in the water around him. A highly
sculptured gallery extends all around in front of the divans, resting
upon the heads of four large crocodiles of white marble, from whose
mouths the bath is partly supplied with water. In the centre is a grand
_jet d’eau_; marble vases filled with flowers are dispersed about; and
large statues of lions guard the doors. Water for this enormous bath is
brought from the Nile by Persian wheels. The interior of this palace is
rich with gilding, carved work, embroidery, and velvet hangings. The
dress of the pacha’s favorites corresponds to the splendor of their
residence. Some American ladies, who recently obtained permission to
visit his harem, say that even the attendants wore head-dresses covered
with diamonds.
No glass windows are seen in Egypt, except in a few houses built by
Christian residents. A very close wooden lattice-work conceals the
inmates of the house, excludes the air, and gives rather a dismal
appearance to the streets. The quadrangular court in the centre
(always formed by the eastern manner of arranging the walls of their
buildings) is, however, open to the breezes, and generally kept wet and
cool by a fountain playing on marble or stone pavements. This, as in
other Mohammedan countries, is the usual place where the women sit at
their weaving and embroidery, and are amused by the gambols of their
children, or the dances of their attendants.
The Arabs who live in cities keep their wives in very close seclusion.
In the large towns of Egypt these women rarely have more than one
apartment, in which they eat, drink, and sleep. At night a piece of
carpet is spread on the floor, and they lie down to rest, generally
without changing their clothes. No male stranger is ever allowed to set
his foot within the _harem_, and the ladies are not suffered to go out
of it without being guarded and screened. The Arabs always decorate
these bird cages with as much gilding, painting, carving, mosaic, and
silk hangings, as their wealth will possibly allow; and they indulge
their captives, to the utmost of their power, in rich shawls, muslins,
silks, pearls, emeralds, and diamonds. In summer the common people
often sleep on the flat roofs of their dwellings.
The Egyptian women, beside a large white veil over the head, usually
wear a black handkerchief tied under the eyes and falling below the
chin. Two sparkling eyes are the only part of the countenance that is
visible. This, with their long loose robes tied up to the throat, gives
them a strange spectral appearance. In cities many of these figures are
seen gliding about, selling the embroidered handkerchiefs, so much used
in the East, as parting presents to guests, and to wipe the fingers
after eating sweetmeats, of which they are universally fond.
The country girls, closely veiled, are frequently employed in selling
melons, pomegranates, eggs, poultry, &c. Their arms are often tattooed
in fanciful patterns, and sometimes their faces are disfigured in the
same way. It is a general custom to stain the eyebrows black and the
fingers red.
Everywhere on the banks of the Nile, the poorer sort of women may be
seen bringing up water from the river, in pitchers on their heads, or
shoulders. In consequence of this habit, their motions are universally
firm, well balanced, and graceful.