the transaction, while the girl herself, under her cloudy veil, sits
in her harem to await her fate. To expose her face to a strange man’s
gaze would be regarded as a species of prostitution. Her fortune is,
therefore, decided for her. The terms of the contract are laid down in
a document, which is signed by witnesses, and the woman is then called
“a wife by writing.” This is concluded some days before the actual
rite of wedding; but the whole interval is occupied with ceremonies,
rejoicing, and liberal displays of hospitality. A man in Constantinople
usually reckons on spending a year’s income on the occasion of his
marriage. The average of this, in the middle ranks, is from 2000 to
2500 piastres.
On the appointed day the union, which is a mere civil contract, though
blessed by religious rites, is concluded. The bridegroom is conducted
by an Imaum, or priest, to the entrance of the bride’s chamber, and
there a prayer is uttered, to which all his friends make response. He
is then left alone, standing outside the door. He knocks three times. A
slave-maid admits him, going out herself to fetch a table with a tray
of viands. While she is gone the husband endeavours to uncover his
wife’s face, in which, after the usual coy resistance prescribed by
custom, he, of course, succeeds. Meanwhile the damsel returns, and they
eat together. The meal is very quickly dispatched, and a bridal couch
is spread on the floor. Then the bride is taken into a neighbouring
room, where she is undressed by her mother and her friends, after which
the newly-married pair are left alone. Among the most popular stories
connected with Ottoman manners, is that of the sultan throwing his
handkerchief to the woman he chooses as the companion of his pillow,
and the imitation of this practice by great men in their harems. This,
however, is a fanciful invention, repeated by some travellers who
desired the world to suppose they were intimate with the secrets of
the seraglio. When the sultan chooses any one of his women to pass the
night with, he sends an eunuch with a present to inform her of the
intended honour. She is taken to a bath, perfumed, attired in beautiful
garments, and then placed in bed. The story of her creeping in at the
foot of the couch is also a fable. The first chosen is the chief in
rank.
The first of these fanciful accounts was probably suggested by a
custom still practised among some of the Bosnian communities in western
Turkey, where manners are more simple than in the eastern provinces.
The young Muslim girls are there permitted to walk about in the
daytime with uncovered faces. A man inclined to matrimony who happens
to be pleased with the appearance of one of these maidens throws an
embroidered handkerchief, or some part of his dress, over her head
or neck. She then returns to her home, considers herself betrothed,
and never again exposes her features in public. This is the usual
preliminary to marriage; but it is probable that the lover has more
than one look at his mistress before he makes the sign.
Even the sultan’s concubines are purchased slaves, since no free
Turkish woman can occupy that position. Occasionally he gives one away
to a favourite pasha, who looks with pride upon the acquisition, and
glories in the refuse of a palace. Little girls, about seven years of
age, are much prized as slaves, and are often sold for upwards of a
hundred guineas.
Life in the harems of Constantinople is similar to that in those of
Cairo. It is a round of sensual enjoyment, in which vanity is almost
the only relief to the grosser appetites of humanity. The bath is the
favourite place of resort. Lady Wortley Montague has left a celebrated
description of one of these palaces of indolence. The ladies, perfectly
naked, walked up and down, or reclined in various attitudes on heaps of
cushions, attended by pretty slaves, who handed them coffee or sherbet.
They delighted in the voluptuous movements of the female dancers,
of which the public class in Turkey, as in Egypt, is composed of
prostitutes. It struck them with surprise and disappointment that Lady
Mary did not take off her clothes as they did; but she showed them how
she was cased up in her stays, so that she could not strip, which they
imagined was an ingenious device of her jealous husband.
The morals of the Turkish women in general are described by most
writers as very loose. The veils which were invented to preserve their
virtue, favour their intrigues to dispose of it. The most watchful
husband may pass his wife in the street without knowing her. Thus they
live in perpetual masquerade. The places of assignment are usually
at Jews’ shops, where they meet their paramours, though very seldom
letting them know who they are. “You may easily imagine,” said Lady
Montague, “the number of faithful wives to be very small in a country
where they have nothing to fear from a lover’s indiscretion.” This
may be taken, however, as an exaggerated view, for her ladyship was
accustomed to breathe the impure moral atmosphere of courts, and cared
little for the character of her sex in any part of the world.
The wife in Turkey holds this check upon the caprice of her
husband--her property belongs to herself, and if she be divorced she
may take it away. The widow, also, is inviolable in her harem, not only
against private intrusion, but against the officers of the law. If a
woman’s husband neglect her, that is, if he fail to visit her once a
week, she may sue for a separation, which may be easily effected before
a Kadi. If she commit adultery, he may also sue; but if the divorce
takes place by mutual consent no formality whatever is required. As in
Egypt, a man may marry a woman twice after divorcing her; but the third
time he must not take her again, until she has been had and put away by
another person.
Women, in Turkey, regard as an object more pitiable than any other
the childless wife. With them to be barren after marriage is viewed
as more disgraceful than with us to be fruitful before. All sorts of
quackeries are resorted to by them to prolong and increase their powers
of child-bearing, so that many kill themselves by the dangerous devices
they employ. It is common to see a woman who has borne thirteen or
fourteen children; some in the middle ranks bear from 25 to 30. They
pray for the birth of twins, and are usually good mothers, though some
have expressed themselves indifferent whether all their children lived
or half of them were swept off by the plague. The single instance
of superior refinement observable in Egypt is also remarkable here.
Midwives only attend the bed of child-birth. There are no accoucheurs.
Female practitioners also cure diseases; though an European physician
is sometimes admitted to feel a pulse or even to see a patient’s face.
Among the humbler classes the condition of the women resembles very
nearly that of our own country. Their morality is generally superior to
that of those wealthier inmates of the harems whose indolence seduces
them into vice.
The dancing girls of the public class of Turkey resemble, in all
respects, those of Egypt. They are prostitutes by profession; but they
do not appear to be so numerous in that country as formerly. Their
performances, however, are prized by all classes, and they dance
as lasciviously in the harem before women, as in the Kiosk before a
party of convivial men. Those who perform in public indulge in every
obscenity, and vie with each other in their indecent exhibitions. Their
costume is exceedingly rich both in colour and in material. Frequenting
the coffee-houses by day, they pick up companions, whom they entertain
with songs, or tales, or caresses until nightfall, when preliminary
orgies take place, and they disperse, with their patrons, to houses
in various parts of the city, generally in the more narrow, tortuous,
and remote streets. The outsides of these habitations are usually
of a forbidding, cheerless, dirty aspect, but the interior of those
belonging to the wealthier chiefs of the dancing girls are fitted up
with every appurtenance of luxury.
One of the most extraordinary features in the social institutions of
Turkey is the temporary union, or marriage of convenience, which is
adopted by many. It is, indeed, strictly speaking, simple prostitution.
A man going on a journey, and leaving his wife behind, arrives in
a strange city, where he desires to make some stay. He immediately
bargains for a girl to live with him while he remains in the
neighbourhood; a regular agreement is drawn up, and he supports her,
and pays her friends, while he has her in his possession. The Moolahs
declare this to be one valuable privilege of the male sex in Turkey;
but the engagement does not appear to be valid before the law, if
contracted expressly as a temporary union. But this is not necessary.
The facility of divorce renders all such precaution useless. The man,
therefore, takes the girl, nominally as his wife, but virtually as
his mistress, until he is tired of her, or wishes to depart, when she
returns to her friends and waits the occasion of a new engagement.
Such is, in outline, the social system of Turkey with reference to the
female sex[81].
OF PROSTITUTION IN CIRCASSIA.
A peculiar interest attaches to the nation inhabiting that isthmus,
with its stupendous mountains, which forms the natural barrier between
Asia and Europe; and is, perhaps, still the least known region in the
ancient world. The Western Caucasus comprehends an immense district
commencing at the middle Kuban, and terminating with Georgia. It is
peopled by various tribes, claiming a common descent, and governed by
princes, elders, and nobles. The Circassians are a brave and civilized,
hospitable and courteous, race, resembling the ancient Swiss; and they
present a singular system of manners varying considerably with the
different tribes.
There is a race, known as the Abassians, which is considered the
aboriginal nation of the Caucasus,--described by Strabo as a predatory
people,--pirates at sea, robbers on land; characteristics which they
have to this day preserved. They are, however, in other respects,
virtuous, dwelling in fixed habitations, strangers to the worst vices
of civilized life, and humble in their desires. Their religion, a
compound of Judaism, Christianity, and Islamism, permits polygamy;
but, as a wife is expensive, they are usually contented with one, who
is more the companion than the menial of her husband. The women are
exceedingly industrious; employing themselves in a variety of pursuits,
and tasking themselves far more than is essentially necessary in order
to procure ornamental clothes. To reward them for this they are allowed
full liberty, are free in their social intercourse, and, if they wear
a veil, wear it only to screen their complexions from the sun. Their
costume is highly elegant, and their state is indicated by the colour
of their trowsers--white being that for the virgin, red for the wife,
and blue for the widow.
The laws these people have made to protect their own morals, have,
in some degree, answered their purpose. Illegitimate children have
no claim to a share of the patrimony, and can legally claim no
relationship with any one. Should they be sold as slaves there is no
one bound to ransom; should they be assassinated there is no relative
expected to avenge their death. Nevertheless the inherent kindness of
the Abassians mitigates the effect of these harsh laws. Illegitimate
children are rarely treated ill, and their legitimate brothers often
make with them a voluntary partition of property.
But when a man marries a barren woman, he is allowed to take a
concubine, whose children inherit no disability on this account.
When a man dies, be his rank what it may, the social law confers on his
wife the superintendence of the household, and she administers the
property without division until her death, when it is divided among
the sons. Should any of the daughters remain unmarried, their eldest
brother is bound to support them until a suitor appears, when he may
make as good a bargain as he can.
Severe laws have been enacted against immorality. The man detected in
illicit intercourse with a married or unmarried woman is tried before
the elders of the community, who rarely fail to punish him, either by
a fine or by perpetual banishment. The dishonoured wife is returned to
her parents, as well as the girl, and sold as a slave. The dowry which
her husband had given for her is returned to him. If the guilt have
happened in the family of a prince, it can only be washed out by the
blood of one, if not both, of the criminals. So bitter, indeed, is the
shame which such an occurrence brings upon a house, that they who have
been so disgraced often retire to some desolate part of the Caucasus,
there to hide themselves from the obloquy which ever afterwards
attaches to their name.
When a man desires to divorce his wife, he must declare before a
council of elders the reasons for such a step; and if these be not
perfectly satisfactory he is obliged to pay the parents of the women a
sufficient amount to recompense them for the burden thus thrown upon
their hands. Should the woman, however, marry again before two years
have expired, this sum is returned. Frequently a maiden having formed
some romantic attachment, and hating the man chosen as her husband by
her parents, flies alone into the woods, and hides until her friends
proclaim themselves willing to concede her desires. Occasionally, also,
two warriors select the same girl to marry, and in this case a duel is
fought--sometimes with fire-arms--the victor carrying off the prize.
Similar laws and usages prevail among the Circassians, except that
the wealthier men among them seclude their wives, and are altogether
more Turkish in their manners. On the whole, however, the patriarchal
institutions of this singular and romantic people are admirable for
the effect they produce, since the Circassians and Abassians are
exceedingly pure in their morality.
Among the Circassians themselves, with the exception of the prouder
nobles, women are not secluded. The wives and daughters of a house are
often introduced to the traveller, and unmarried girls are frequently
seen at public assemblies. One singular custom, however, is observed,
which is that the husband never appears abroad with his wife, and
scarcely ever sees her during the day. This is not from neglect or
scorn, but in accordance with ancient habits, and a desire to prolong
the first sentiments with which the bridegroom approaches his bride.
All Circassian women wear, until they are married, a tight corset of
leather, which makes their complexion sallow, and hurts the figure,
as all unnatural compression does. The consequence is, that the young
wives are infinitely more beautiful than the maidens; and the charms of
the women of this race are celebrated throughout the world. The reason
assigned for this strange custom is, that it is shameful for a virgin
to have a full bosom. When a girl has been chosen and purchased, her
future husband comes to the house, places her on horseback, gallops
away, and conveys her home. Then, when all the people are supposed
to be asleep, the bridegroom first unlooses the abominable ligatures
which confine the bosom of his bride. He does not, until some time has
passed, live with her openly.
An idea prevails among the vulgar in Europe, that the Circassians
sell their daughters as slaves to any Turk or Persian who may desire
to buy them. This is not correct. They are particularly careful as to
the position and birth of the individual who desires to intermarry
with them, and the sale is no more than takes place among their own
people, as well as among all the nations inhabiting the Caucasus.
Great precautions are taken to secure the happiness of the girls, and
long negotiations frequently produce no bargain. It is true that in
the bazaars of Constantinople, and the principal towns of Asia Minor
and Persia, numerous girls are sold under the name of Circassians, but
they are mostly Abassians, or the children of Circassian peasants, or
children ravished from the neighbouring Cossacks, or slaves procured
from those base Circassian traders who have given in their adhesion to
Russia. Many of the girls, being trained to such ideas from childhood,
prefer the Turkish harem to the life they follow among their native
hills. Some come back after having obtained their liberty, and bring
accounts, in the most fluent language, of the voluptuous joys they
have indulged in in their luxurious prisons; but generally the race is
dearly attached to its freedom.
Throughout the Caucasus we have found a high scale of manners.
Prostitution, as a profession, is unknown. In one of the simple
tribes, still under patriarchal rule, a girl who took up such a calling
would be so shunned and abhorred by the rest of her countrywomen, that
she would speedily be compelled to fly beyond the bounds of their
territory, that is, if she escaped being sold as a slave or put to
death by her indignant friends. The parental authority, more moral
than legal, is a great check upon profligacy, since a man of whatever
age, if he have a father living, pays obedience to him, and fears to
incur his reproof. It is therefore delightful to point out a country
surrounded by gross and profligate nations, where simplicity of manners
still prevails, and where the female sex is as happy and as highly
esteemed as it is modest, chaste, and virtuous[82].
OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE TARTAR RACES.
The immense region of Central Asia, little known and seldom visited,
has been the cradle of great nations, which have exercised a mighty
influence on the fortunes of the world, and may again become
conspicuous in history. It is, therefore, interesting, as well as
important, to inquire into the characteristics of the populations
which still cling to its soil. They are divided under many names, and
among the most remarkable are the hordes of Kirghiz Kazaks, who wander
between the borders of the Caspian Sea on the west, and the fortified
line which forms the southern frontier of the Russian Empire. On
the east it is divided by a similar chain of posts from the Chinese
dominions, but towards the south the limits of their wanderings are
unknown. Over this vast steppe a various climate prevails; but the
whole is particularly marked by extremes of heat and cold, while the
soil is composed of alternate deserts of sand and pasture, where rain
during the greater part of the year is exceedingly scanty. A short
and delicious spring, a burning and dry summer, a short and miserable
autumn, which speedily darkens into a long, bitter, and gloomy
winter--such are the influences to which these hordes are subject.
Forests, patches of green, salt lakes, springs and rivers of fresh
water, a few rich valleys, and some rocky hills, vary the aspect of
the wilderness which is their home; but generally it is a blank and
monotonous waste. All these circumstances are enumerated, as they
may be supposed to have formed, or at least to have modified, the
character of the Kirghiz Kazaks. They are divided into three principal
hordes--the Great, the Lesser, and the Little--amounting altogether to
from 2,000,000 to 2,400,000 souls. Engaged perpetually in wandering
from place to place, they have nevertheless certain spots, belonging
by prescriptive rights to particular tribes, where they encamp for the
coldest months of the winter. Their manners afford a faithful picture
of the ancient patriarchal life, not, indeed, the poetical life of
Arcadia and the pastures of Israel, but that of the Scythians, as
represented by Herodotus, or the Bedouins in their original simplicity.
Forming a nation of shepherds, they appear to live only on and for
their flocks, accustoming themselves little to the use of arms, and,
though perpetually on horseback, seldom engaging in the chase. They
dwell in huts or temporary habitations of strong wickerwork, covered
in with fleeces; and in the interior of these singular habitations
much comfort, elegance, and even sumptuous luxury may often be found.
Nevertheless they are a robust, hardy race, possessing very indistinct
ideas of property, and, though addicted to sensual enjoyments, long
lived, and seldom visited by epidemic diseases, except when the
small-pox is brought among them from Siberia.
Their manners with respect to the character and treatment of the female
sex are simple, but, in comparison with other pastoral races, somewhat
coarse. In costume the woman differs little from the man. Both men and
women adorn themselves with ornaments of silver, gold, or coral, or
even pearls and other gems, and in this reciprocal display of vanity
we discover a token of equality between the sexes. It is difficult to
ascertain the religion of these hordes, but it is apparently a crude
mixture of Mohammedanism and Paganism. The Muslims have attempted to
disseminate their doctrines widely, but few of the Prophet’s laws
have been accepted so readily as that which allows a plurality of
wives--which the Kirghiz indulge in whenever they can afford the amount
to be paid for a bride according to the usages of their nation.
The Kirghiz are immoderately addicted to voluptuous pleasures, and are
extremely idle. It is curious to remark, however, that while the men
are distinguished by their indolence, the women are fond of exertion,
occupying themselves, as much from inclination as from necessity,
with the affairs of the household, with attendance on the flocks, and
with the manufacture of garments. Their recompense is to be treated
as servitors by masters who are sometimes proud and harsh; but the
labour of the women is not compulsory, nor are they shut up in harems,
or forbidden to mix with the other sex. The seclusion of females,
indeed, is not a custom. Their manner of living exposes them to every
temptation; jealousy has little power to watch, and the wife’s virtue
is, for the most part, left to guard itself.
Though, as we have said, the Kirghiz, when they are rich enough,
eagerly avail themselves of the privilege of polygamy, few possess
wealth enough to enable them to marry more than one wife. This
circumstance prevents them from indulging in that pride which impels a
man to shut up the partner of his pillow from every eye but his own.
They who have seraglios must follow a steady and uniform course of
life. The Tartar’s tent offers few obstacles to curiosity or intrigue.
Turks and Persians who keep a harem usually possess slaves also, whose
labour permits their mistresses to lounge idly on silken cushions;
but as the Kirghiz loves to be indolent, he is constrained to let his
wife be as active as she pleases, and is never so happy as when she
saves him the trouble of moving from his couch, by going everywhere
and doing everything herself. But on horseback he is proud of motion,
which accounts partly for the migratory habits of the hordes, though
the nature of their country is the chief cause of their nomade manner
of life. Women consequently enjoy their liberty, and to their love of
industry they join a goodness of heart and a warmth of affection which
extort praises from many travellers.