THE HAREM AND WOMEN IN THE EAST.
True meaning of the word harem--Eastern houses
divided into two parts--Male members of the family
only allowed to enter the female quarter--Seclusion
of women stricter among the well-to-do--Seclusion
not wholly due to religion of Islam-Life in the
harem--Occupations of its inmates--Misrepresentation
of the system in England--Royal harems--Custom doomed
to disappear--Circassian women--Reasons for their
popularity as wives--How a woman gets engaged--Some
marriage customs--Marriage a more civil proceeding
than religious--The bridegroom--His too friendly
friends--Shopping in the harems--Female pedlars--Some of
them Europeans--A considerable trade.
THERE are many people in England whose ideas on the subject of the
harem are but a confused misconception, based on what they may have
heard about Eastern polygamy. In this chapter, that I may correct these
mistaken conceptions, I will give some more exact information on the
subject of the harem and its inmates, as well as on the position of
women in Turkey in general.
Although the word harem is known and used by the people of Western
Europe, the true meaning of the term is understood by but few persons
in this country. As a matter of fact, many subjects concerning the East
are much misunderstood in the West, just as there are certain manners
and customs of Western Europe that cause prejudice in the Eastern mind.
When an Englishman uses the word harem, he means thereby the numerous
wives whom a man in our part of the East is supposed to shut up in his
house. He, moreover, believes that every man in the Mohammedan East may
marry as many women as he pleases. This idea is not only mistaken, but
grotesque. There are thousands of men who would consider themselves
fortunate if they could marry even a single woman; while, on the other
hand, there are thousands who would be happy to get rid of the single
wife they have. Any man who can manage to keep two, not to say more,
wives in peace, and can cope with the requirements of each, must be an
exceptionally brave person. Wives are not all religiously obedient in
the East, just as all men are not tyrants. Religion, law, and custom
impose upon men many duties to be discharged towards their wives. An
honest man must discharge these duties, and indeed it is very difficult
to find many men who are able to fulfil their obligations as husbands
towards more than one wife. It has been proved that in many parts of
the Ottoman empire the number of women does not exceed that of men,
a fact which alone is enough to show the absurdity of the notion
prevailing in England about the plurality of wives in that country. As
a matter of fact, there is no law against the practice of polygamy, but
the feeling of decent people condemns it A man who is once married to a
gentleman's daughter would find it no light matter to add another wife
to his home circle. There are nowadays many men of Western education
who marry in order to find a life-companion, and they quite understand
that were they so injudicious as to take another wife, they would very
likely render their lives the reverse of peaceful.
After pointing out the absurdity of the notion that a man's harem is
his collection of wives, I will now explain what it really is.
In Mohammedan countries, where the seclusion of women is a deeply
rooted and religiously observed custom, every house is divided into
two separate parts. In Turkey the section of a house where the
ladies reside is called the harem, and the men's portion is named
the selamlik--that is to say, the reception-place. Though the female
inmates of a house are also collectively called the harem, this does
not mean that they are all the wives of the master of the house. A
man's wife, his mother, his sister, his daughter, and such other women
as may lawfully appear unveiled in his presence, all belong to his
harem.
The male members of a family who are permitted to enter the harem are
the master of the house, his sons, his father, his father-in-law, and
his wife's brother. In large cities such as Constantinople, Smyrna, and
Adrianople, the advanced class of people may even permit their more
distant relatives to enter. Those who adopt European customs may even
admit their intimate friends. But in the old-fashioned families, such
as form the great bulk of the population, no male relation of the
master is allowed to enter the harem portion of his house after he has
reached his thirteenth or fourteenth year if marriage between such male
relation and the master's daughter, or other young marriageable inmates
of his house, be possible.
The restrictions are greater in the house of the well-to-do. In these
houses, all communication, and sending and receiving parcels and dishes
between the inmates of the harem and male members of the household, are
effected through a kind of turning cupboard. This contrivance is fixed
in a hole in the wall which separates the harem apartments from the
men's quarter. As another measure to ensure the seclusion of women, to
the windows of all harems is fastened a lattice; so while the inmates
can see everything outside from behind this barrier, no man in the
neighbouring streets, gardens, and houses can see them. As boys above
the age of thirteen or fourteen are not allowed to see any women except
those very near relatives I have enumerated, so girls, after the same
age, must not appear unveiled in the presence of men, excepting their
very near relatives; and if they have been attending mixed schools,
they will then be taken away; if they go to girls' schools, they must
go there, as anywhere else, carefully veiled It must not be supposed
that the veils used are similar to the light veils used by the ladies
in this country. A woman must go out wrapped from head to foot in a
long cloak, somewhat resembling a sheet.
The seclusion of women cannot be wholly attributed to the precepts
of the religion of Islam. In the time of Prophet Mohammed, and
for generations after, women used to accompany the armies to the
battlefield, singing stirring melodies to encourage the fighting men,
and tending those who were wounded. Even nowadays among the tribal
people, such as nomadic Arabs, and among the Circassians, there is no
such absurdly strict seclusion of women as is fostered by the harem
system; yet those primitive people are much more earnestly devoted
to that religion than the advanced Ottomans. According to some of my
countrymen who are better judges than I am of these matters, the custom
of veiling women's faces so thickly was adopted by the Ottomans from
the Byzantine Greeks, and I think it was man's despotic jealousy in
olden days which brought about the existing practice of covering up
and veiling women out of doors, and also their strict seclusion in the
houses.
The life in most Turkish harems is very simple, and, if we leave out
the case of the few polygamists who still remain, very peaceful and
happy. The absolute authority of the husband does not interfere with
the recognised privileges of the wife; while the obedience of the wife,
which is regarded by more advanced women in Western Europe with such
contempt, in most cases strengthens the affection and respect of the
husband for her. Wives are not slaves of their husbands, as some people
in this country fancy them to be.[2] The inmates of harems live mostly
indoors, but they are not entirely shut up. They go out in groups of
two, three, and more to pay visits to other harems, and they receive
visitors from the harems of friends and relations. Of course their
gatherings are almost always unmixed, but, like the women of other
countries, some of them sing and play to entertain others. Dancing has
been introduced recently, but it is confined only to very advanced
private families. Among the people of the old school the dancing of
young ladies in the presence of others is considered shocking. At
weddings and other similar festivities only hired professional women
amuse the guests by dancing, and these professional dancers are not
regarded as respectable. In my time, reading aloud was a favourite
pastime in many harems. The number of educated women was much less than
it is now. The most learned among them used to read sacred legends, or
religious tracts, or recite hymns to the other ladies, who would listen
attentively for hours. I believe this social pastime is still in favour
in the provinces.
Turkish women, according to their social position, have various duties
to discharge. No qualities are so much sought after in an average
marriageable woman as the domestic ones. In the provinces the peasant
women, besides managing their humble domestic affairs, have to work
in the fields, more especially when their brothers and husbands are
away discharging their compulsory military service. The daughters
of well-to-do people, besides attending to the business of their
households, are indefatigable with their needles, and are always busy
with needlework or embroidery; while the daughters of high dignitaries
must, among other duties, learn what their instructors or governesses
teach them.
[Illustration: A PICKNICKING RESORT.]
It will be understood from the details I have given that the popular
notion prevailing in this country of the harem and the life in the
harem is much mistaken. Women in Turkish harems do not really pass
their time lying on sofas or couches, eating sweetmeats and smoking
water-pipes all day long. Of course they are as fond of sweetstuffs as
most ladies of this country. But to lie down on a couch in presence of
others is considered by Turkish women vulgarity of the most disgraceful
kind.
The representation of harem life given in books and on the stage,
or shown in exhibitions, is either the work of Turkey's detractors,
or simply the work of imaginative persons who know nothing about it,
and whose object is to attract the curiosity of English people by
exhibiting grotesque sights, and thus to make money.
I should, however, agree with any English critic in condemning the
custom of seclusion. The hopes which were entertained of checking
romantic evils by the custom have hardly been realised; and on the
other hand, the system has done a good deal of harm, because the
seclusion of women means that a portion of the national intellect is
kept uncultivated. Although many young ladies receive private tuition
in the harems, and many of them are highly educated, yet this limited
kind of education cannot meet the national requirements of Turkey.
In my opinion, the strict seclusion of women is greatly responsible
for the backward condition of most Eastern races; because if mothers
are restricted in cultivating their natural intellect, they can give
little if any help in the education of their children. The sons of
such mothers cannot keep pace with the people of Europe in the path
of progress. There are very many men in Turkey who know all these
things, and who long for at least a partial emancipation. However,
the emancipation must take place gradually, for if the liberty of men
is given to the women of the harems without regard to existing social
requirements, they themselves will not wholly appreciate it, while
many of them might abuse its privileges; moreover, many men might take
unchivalrous advantage of so new and sudden a social change.
I may be asked why, if the opinion of my country is ripe enough for
at least a partial emancipation of women, it is necessary to withhold
it now? The reason can easily be found when one reflects upon the
political situation of Turkey. That unhappy country has been suffering
for over twenty-six years from a tyranny almost unparalleled in the
history of mankind. The Sultan understands perfectly well the influence
women might have in educating and enlightening the rising generation.
He therefore puts the more restrictions upon the movements of his women
subjects.
I cannot say much about the harem quarters of princely palaces. It is
well known, however, that the happy family life enjoyed in the harems
of private gentlemen cannot be found in the overcrowded harem of a
palace. But I can emphasise the fact that the numerous inmates are
not all the wives of the lord of the palace. The vastness of domestic
arrangements in such an establishment must necessitate the employment
of many women as attendants. A sultan or prince, if he resorts to the
old rules of polygamy, may marry two, three, and perhaps four wives,
but no more, as four is the highest number allowed.
The wives of many well-to-do Ottomans and all the inmates of the
royal palaces of Turkey are of Circassian origin. It may be asked why
Circassian women find so much favour, and how it is these daughters of
the Caucasus adorn the family circle of Turkey? I will give a brief
account of them, which may explain these points.
The Circassians, the fine, alert, and powerfully built mountaineers who
inhabit the most picturesque regions of the Caucasus, have a world-wide
reputation for personal good looks, and especially for feminine
beauty. Those, however, who have had any considerable experience of
this famous race might hesitate to say that its women have really a
larger share of beauty as a whole than other branches of the human
race. What the Circassian women do possess in distinction from those of
other races of Eastern Europe and Western Asia is a greater animation
of face, to which may be added a figure uniformly handsome and a
bolder demeanour. They are for the most part slender; a fat woman is
quite uncommon among Circassians of unmixed blood. Their complexions
are usually fair; and it is more on account of her fair skin that the
Circassian woman is so much admired by the comparatively dark people
of Western Asia and Egypt than for her other physical qualities. She
is also very readily taught, and adapts herself quickly to her new
surroundings; so that, rustic and clumsy in her manners to begin with,
she picks up refined and elegant ways in a remarkably short time. I
knew of a wealthy and kind lady who once obtained a young Circassian
girl from her relations. Though of sympathetic appearance, this girl,
whom I saw at the time, looked an untamed creature in her miserable
ragged native dress. When I saw her on another occasion after a few
years' interval, I found that the rough diamond had been charmingly
polished, and now shone with refined beauty.
The Circassians are mostly Mohammedans. A small number of them have
been made to accept the Russian religion, but these converts have
always a strong tendency towards the faith of the Arabian Prophet; and
it is only the fear of the wrath of their conquerors that prevents
them from denouncing the doctrine of Holy Synod. This tendency is
attributable either to the hatred burned into their hearts towards the
Muscovite on account of the destruction of their national independence
and the loss of their primitive happiness, which has resulted from the
sanguinary and fiercely resisted Russian conquest, or to the reason
that the precepts of Islam may perhaps suit their native simplicity
better.
There is Circassian blood in the veins of almost all the members of
the existing dynasties of the Mohammedan Orient. For many generations
past the mothers of the Ottoman Sultans have been Circassians; just as
in the bygone centuries, when the power and influence of Turkey were
so great in Eastern Europe, the Sultanas were women mostly belonging
to one or other of the Christian States which were tributary to the
Ottoman empire. Many of the Mameluke rulers of Egypt were, as well as
their wives, Circassians. The female members of the Khedivial harem
have always been and are still of Circassian origin, and there are said
to be Circassian ladies in the household of the Persian sovereign.
The Nizam of Hyderabad was at one time anxious to marry a Circassian
woman. I heard this from a man whose name is widely known throughout
India, and who, I believe, has been introduced to English readers in
a well known novel under the fictitious name of 'Mr Isaacs.' This
gentleman is a native of Diarbekir, in Asiatic Turkey. After living
over thirty years in British India, he paid a visit to Constantinople
some nine years ago. There, one day, he asked my advice as to how he
might procure Circassian slave-girls, saying that he wished to buy
one or two to be admitted to the household of His Highness the Nizam.
This anglicised gentleman imagined, as many Englishmen do, that there
is still a public market for slave traffic in Constantinople, and that
anyone can go and purchase as many slave-women as he pleases.
It is true that some destitute parents among the refugees from the
Caucasus are willing to part with their young girls for a reasonable
sum of money, but only on obtaining a sufficient guarantee beforehand
that these young girls will be adopted by the buyers (well-to-do
families without daughters often adopt orphans and other poor girls),
or else that the girls sold in this fashion will be married either by
the buyers themselves or by some relation of theirs.
From the moment of the final conquest of their country by Russia up
to the present time, thousands of these natives of the Caucasus have
immigrated into the Sultan's dominions. A short time ago there appeared
a piece of news in the papers, stating that an arrangement had been
made between Russian and Ottoman authorities for the settlement in
Turkey of about sixty thousand more Circassians who desired to leave
the Caucasus _en masse_. Russia does not object to their emigration
nowadays, as she wishes to colonise their land with peasants of the
Russian race. On the other hand, the Turkish Government grants them
facilities for settling in the thinly inhabited portions of Asia Minor.
The Circassians are a healthy and hardy people, and they improve the
physical constitution of races with whom they intermingle.
* * * * *
An English reader will naturally want to know how, in a state of
affairs in which boys and girls never meet after about their thirteenth
year, the matter of marriage is managed; I will therefore explain the
system of matrimony.
As is the case in most parts of the world, in Turkish towns betrothal
precedes marriage, but 'courtship' is hardly possible in that
country. Young girls and men are not allowed to meet one another,
and consequently anything in the way of flirting is out of the
question. In some exceptional cases they may, perhaps, be able to get
a glimpse of each other from a distance, possibly from the windows of
neighbouring houses, and quietly exchange greetings or make signs of
mutual admiration, but this is all they can ever do in the direction
of flirtation. Of course, girls may see, though they do not speak
with, the men whose wives they may be destined to become some day,
but men are strictly prohibited from meeting the marriageable members
of the secluded sex. It is scarcely possible for a man to admire and
love a woman except on the testimony of others as to her good looks
and good qualities. In the same way, the engagements must be made
through the medium of the man's lady-relations, or through that of the
professional marriage-brokers. The latter are mostly old women, who
will endeavour to bring about marriages, not out of good-will to the
young couple or for the sake of amusing themselves, but as a matter
of business. They visit houses where there are girls suitable for a
would-be bridegroom; they make their proposal on his behalf to the
family of that young lady of whom they most approve, a proposal which
is made in a most roundabout manner, and with great tact. The answer
must not come from the prospective bride; that would be considered
highly improper. The decision rests with her parents or guardians. She
is, no doubt, consulted, but her voice in the matter is of secondary
importance. Probably, too, she does not know her own mind so well as
do her sisters in more advanced lands. The matrimonial agent often
repeats her visits three or four times that the matter may be well
talked over, as the girl's people need to reflect, and also to make
a searching inquiry about the man. If the answer be in the negative,
it must be made very tactfully and politely. In some parts of Turkey
they have a curious way of letting the proposers know that their offer
has been declined. Over their ordinary shoes people almost always wear
goloshes, and on entering a house they take them off and leave them in
the entrance-hall. The servants of the house make a point of arranging
the goloshes heel outwards, in such a way that when the visitor goes
out he can put his feet straight into them, without having the trouble
of turning them round. Now, when the agent of suitor for a lady's hand,
on leaving the house, finds that her goloshes are turned with the toes
towards her, she knows that the proposal has been declined.
Thus a man gets betrothed to a woman without being permitted to see
his beloved fiancée until the wedding formalities are over and the
marriage ceremonies are completed. Astounding tales have been related
of what has sometimes happened when a husband has thus seen his wife
for the first time. In one town, a man who, from the reports he had
heard, was deeply in love with his betrothed, actually left the house
and ran away when he drew up the long and beautifully embroidered
veil that covered the lady, now his wife, and discovered that she
was the ugliest creature his imagination could picture. It is easy
to conceive the feelings in such a case of a man who has, on the
flattering descriptions of the professional marriage-brokers, been
led to believe up to the last moment in the angelic appearance of his
wife. How terrible must be his disappointment when, on the day of his
marriage, he unveils his dreamt-of 'beauty' and beholds a face rough
and painted in the vain endeavour to conceal the ravages of smallpox,
or distinguished by an ultra-Israelitish nose and topped with a
pretentious wig. The unhappy case of such a disappointed husband must
not, however, be overstated. Fortunately for him he does not often
see other female faces, and his notions on the subject of what real
beauty is are necessarily restricted by his want of experience. He is
naturally of a contented disposition, believes in kismet in this as in
other things, and so these physical defects do not greatly disturb his
peace of mind, and it is only very rarely that he runs away from his
wife.
Such matters as courtship and engagements are quite different among
the agricultural and tribal people, where the girls and boys work
together in the fields, in the gardens and pastures, and thus pass
their early years in each other's society; their marriage in later
years is generally the outcome of natural affection, first awakened by
that companionship. But even in the towns it is sometimes possible for
a man to make the acquaintance of a woman before marrying her. This
is done by the betrothed pair arranging a secret interview, which, it
is said, is usually brought about with the kind assistance of old and
trusted servants. Curiously enough, the professional marriage-broker
is sometimes reported to be the person who arranges this private
interview; but one thing is absolutely certain, namely, that unless
she is handsomely tipped, it is to her own advantage to stick strictly
to the good old custom.
The wedding of a young couple itself, like their betrothal, takes place
in an indirect manner. They are married in a house privately, in the
presence of persons closely related to them. They do not go to any
place of worship. As I pointed out before, the houses in Turkey are
divided into two parts, one reserved for the male, the other for the
female members of the household, and there is a long passage between
the two. On the wedding-day the ladies fill up the passage, having in
front of them the bride, while all the gentlemen present go to the room
in the men's department which opens on to the passage, the prominent
figure among them being the bridegroom. The door between the passage
and the room is closed, and the most profound silence must prevail
both in the passage and the adjacent room. Among the gentlemen, the
father of the bride, or, failing him, any elderly man under whose
guardianship or protection she may be, gets up, knocks at the door,
and most solemnly and impressively asks this question, "My daughter!
we are about to marry you to Mr. So-and-so, in accordance with the
will of Almighty God and the ordinances of the Prophet. Will you marry
him?" She gives no answer. The old man repeats the question; still she
does not utter a single syllable. He asks again in a wearied manner,
and this time the question is followed by a sound of sobbing inside the
passage. Whether the reason of this weeping be the pressure put upon
the shy and inexperienced girl in that impressive moment, or whether
it be the pinches she receives from that termagant, the professional
marriage-broker, and from her mischievous girl-friends who urge her to
speak out, I cannot tell.
Meanwhile the bridegroom grows impatient; everyone in the audience
can notice the signs of anger and anxiety on his face. The old man
repeats his question a fourth time, and at last the word of consent
is uttered in a very low voice from behind the door. At the same
moment the bridegroom shows his feelings of relief by some motions
expressive of pleasure, or by looking more than usually gratified.
The old gentleman turns to him and formally asks him whether he
will marry Miss So-and-so. He makes no modest hesitation, as, in
his opinion, modesty is quite uncalled for here, is, in fact, an
unpleasant outcome of the organised hypocrisy of society. So he answers
the old gentleman's question at once, with the unblushing boldness
peculiar to his sex. After this all the audience bear witness to the
legitimacy of the event. A brief prayer is then recited, after which
all offer their congratulations to the bridegroom. They draw up and
sign the wedding-contract immediately, that it may be certified by the
semi-religious magistrate called the Kadi. But the young couple are
not permitted to see each other till all the marriage ceremonies are
completed, and that is not till several days have passed.
[Illustration: A VILLAGE WEDDING PROCESSION.]
Another curious custom connected with marriage is that of a
bridegroom's friends beating him on the back with their fists. This is
commonly the case in Turkey. At the very moment when the bridegroom is
going to see the face of his wife the first time, after all formalities
of the wedding are over, intimate friends and relations collect just
outside the door of the female portion of the house. After wishing him
a happy life, they belabour him from behind as he hurries into the
ladies quarter, a proceeding which no doubt considerably accelerates
his movements. The punishment is supposed to be inflicted in a gentle
manner, but it may perhaps be that some of the young bachelors relieve
their feeling of jealousy by making the customary blows somewhat harder
than absolutely necessary.
* * * * *
Before closing this chapter on the theme of the secluded sex, I ought
to say something of the way in which it does its shopping, and give
some description of the women-pedlars who visit the harems to display
their wares. There are probably few people in this country, even among
those who are interested in the world's trade, who know much about
these female traders of the East. Nevertheless, in those vast tracts of
the Orient where the female sex passes its life in strict seclusion,
a considerable retail business of a primitive kind is transacted by
wandering women-pedlars, who carry their goods round and display them
in the houses of well-to-do families. Originally this trade was carried
on entirely by native women, but of late a certain number of European
women have embarked in it, either on their own account or as agents of
small European houses. At a time when the question of spreading British
commercial interests abroad is attracting so much attention, it may not
be amiss to inquire into this method of trading, which, more than any
other in the world, is the prerogative of women, for they alone can
engage in it Of course, the business lies almost entirely among the
families of Mohammedans, of whom it is estimated that Great Britain
has nearly a hundred million among her subjects; it is also probable
that the future will see this number largely increased. Moreover, in
the territories of other powers, where the populations are largely
Mohammedan, this country has vital trade interests. A lesson is to be
learned from missionaries in pushing British commerce in the East. A
very large proportion of the success in Oriental countries gained by
missionaries is due to the ladies who assist them, for naturally they
alone can get at the women of the East What applies to the spread of
religion applies also to the spread of trade, and the work done by the
Zenana Missions should be a sufficient indication of what a trading
association on the same lines could effect. Equally it should show the
British commercial houses which have considerable connections with the
East that lady agents to display and sell their goods would be of great
assistance to them. There are many Mussulman women who cannot go to
markets and shops, and their custom would be practically assured to the
firms which sent goods to their houses by lady agents, more especially
such goods as are required for household use.
In Turkey, Roman Catholic nuns have already adopted this method of
business, and they have numerous customers among Mohammedan women
for the woollen stuffs, cloth, stockings, shawls, and such things,
which they make in their own convents. The need felt by Mohammedan
families for such means of doing their shopping is very great, and is
rapidly becoming greater owing to the spread of European influence
and refinement, which naturally necessitates an increase of household
requirements and personal luxuries. This adoption of Western comfort
and modes of life does not seem to affect the seclusion of Oriental
women to the extent that was at one time expected. And in any case in
the East women depend on others to a great extent for procuring all the
things they require for themselves and their households.
It is true, of course, that husbands, brothers, and sons can be sent
to buy these things, just as in England, but also, just as in England,
husbands, brothers, and sons cannot always be relied upon either to get
the right article, or even to remember to get anything at all. In any
case the method has many disadvantages.
With the exception of villagers and the poorest classes, only women of
advanced ideas ever go to market or to the shops in the large towns,
and even they do not and cannot know the delights of shopping. They are
veiled, to begin with; and being unaccustomed to talk to strangers,
they are not at their ease or quite satisfied with the propriety of
their proceedings. No; the woman of the East much prefers to do her
shopping in her own house from a woman-pedlar, and there it is rumoured
that she feels as much pleasure in it as her sister of the West
'The Unchanging East' is a phrase used often, and shows the user's
ignorance, for the East is changing steadily. Western methods and
ideas are gradually being accepted, and with them the everyday needs
and requirements which accompany them. Home manufacture is unable to
supply these needs, and there is a constant and growing demand for
European products. We ourselves have often had to send from France
and England to our friends in Turkey, Cyprus and Syria, such things
as pocket-knives, scissors, housewives, and work-baskets, articles
required for education, such as drawing-boxes, and last, but not least,
children's toys. But this was not enough; our friends have generally
written to us to get some more of these things for their friends.
No doubt such articles can be obtained in Oriental countries if you
know where to look for them, but our friends do not know, and they are
not to be found in the stock of the woman-pedlar. Here is an opening
for the lady-trader.