Far away in the isles of Bahrein,Down under the depths of the sea,The Persian diver gathers his shellsFor the goodly pearls that shall be.And what is the price of a goodly pearl?A merchant man once for one,'Tis said, sold all he ever possessed,And counted the deed well done.And what is the price of a human soul?The price it is set so highThe Son of God gave all that He hadWhen He came on earth to buy.Submerged in the sea of sin are the souls,Are the souls of Persian girls;Ah! who will dive to the lowest depths,To gather these hidden pearls?They are gems for the crown of the King of kings,More precious far in His sightThan the jewels rare of the Shah-în-Shah,—All His glory and delight.
Far away in the isles of Bahrein,Down under the depths of the sea,The Persian diver gathers his shellsFor the goodly pearls that shall be.
And what is the price of a goodly pearl?A merchant man once for one,'Tis said, sold all he ever possessed,And counted the deed well done.
And what is the price of a human soul?The price it is set so highThe Son of God gave all that He hadWhen He came on earth to buy.
Submerged in the sea of sin are the souls,Are the souls of Persian girls;Ah! who will dive to the lowest depths,To gather these hidden pearls?
They are gems for the crown of the King of kings,More precious far in His sightThan the jewels rare of the Shah-în-Shah,—All His glory and delight.
In the degraded position of its women is to be seen the worst fruit of the religion of Islam. I will quote from the Government Report of British Baluchistan: "Throughout the Province, but especially among the Afghans and Brahuis, the position of woman is one of extreme degradation; she is not only a mere household drudge, but she is the slave of man in all his needs, and her life is one of continual and abject toil. No sooner is a girl fit for work than her parents send her to tend cattle and she is compelled to take her part in all the ordinary household duties. Owing to the system ofwalwarin vogue among the Afghans, a girl, as soon as she reaches nubile age, is, for all practical purposes, put up for auction sale to the highest bidder. The father discourses on her merits, as a beauty or as a housekeeper, in the public meeting places, and invites offers from those who are in want of a wife. Even the more wealthy and more respectable Afghans are not above this system of thus lauding the human wares which they have for sale. The betrothal of girls who are not yet born is frequent, anda promise of a girl thus made is considered particularly binding.
"It is also usual for an award of compensation for blood to be ordered to be paid in this shape of girls, some of whom are living, while others are not yet born.
"Similar customs prevail among the Jhalawan Brahuis, but they have not yet extended to all the Balneh tribes, though there are signs that the poorer classes are inclined to adopt them. The exchange of girls, however, among the Baluchis and the framing of conditions, regarding any offspring which may result from the marriage, indicate that among this race also, women are regarded in much the same light.
"These details may appear to be beside the mark in discussing the classification of women as dependents or actual workers, but I relate them with the object of showing that woman in Baluchistan is regarded as little more than a chattel. For where such a state of parental feeling or rather want of feeling is to be found, is it surprising to find that woman is considered either as a means for increasing man's comforts, in the greater ease with which they are procured by her toil, or an object for the gratification of his animal passions?
"A wife in Baluchistan must not only carry water, prepare food, and attend to all ordinary household duties, but she must take the flocks out to graze, groom her husband's horse, and assist in the cultivation. So far is this principle carried out among the Jajars of Zhob, that it is considered incumbent on a married woman of this tribe to provide means by her own labor for clothing herself, her husband, and her children, and she receives no assistance, monetary or otherwise, for this purpose from her husband, but in addition to all this, the husband hopes that she may become the mother of girls who will fetch as high a price as their mother did before them. Hence it happens that among Afghans, polygamy is only limited by the purchasing power of a man; and a wife is looked on as a better investment than cattle, for in a country where drought and scarcity are continually present, the risk of loss of animals is great, whilst the offspring of a woman, if a girl, will assuredly fetch a high price." So far the census report.
Slavery, polygamy, and concubinage exist throughout the Kelat state and Baluchi area. Slavery is of a domestic character, but the slave is often in a degraded and ignorant condition, and in times of scarcity almost starved by his owner.
The female slaves often lead the lives of common prostitutes, especially among the Baluch tribes, where the state of the women generally seems very degraded.
Regarding polygamy, the average man is unable to afford more than one wife, but the higher classes often possess from thirty to sixty women, many of them from the Hazare tribes of Afghanistan, whosewomen and children, during the rebellion in the late Amir's reign, were sold over into Baluchistan and Afghanistan. In nearly every village of any size one sees the Hazare women, and the chief will talk of buying them as a farmer at home will speak of purchasing cattle.
Worse than all, one has daily illustrations of the truth that the sins of the fathers are visited on their families, in the degraded victims of inherited and acquired disease who come to the missionary doctor for relief, healing being impossible in many of the cases of these poor women. Pure selfishness characterizes the men in their relationship with their wives. All must not and cannot be told in illustration of this, but what happened a short time ago in our out-patient department of the Zenana Mission Hospital is an instance.
A young Brahui mother was brought in order to be relieved from suffering by an operation which would require her to remain in the hospital a fortnight. When this was proposed, the woman who brought her said at once, "If she does that her husband will send her away." The poor girl had to depart untreated, because the husband feared his bodily comforts might be less if she were not there to minister to them.
May those who see this dark picture of the effect of Islam on womanhood in the East, do all that is in them to bring the glorious light of the Gospel of Christ to their suffering sisters.
In South India the Mohammedans have been more or less influenced by the Christian and heathen communities by which they are surrounded. Many of them, especially those belonging to the trading communities, have married women of Hindoo birth who have become nominal Mohammedans.
Amongst the higher classes, especially amongst the rich and well-to-do, polygamy is still common, though there are many men who have only one wife and few who have more than two. As a rule, in the city of Madras, each wife will have a small place of her own. It is a rare thing for several wives to live in the same house. It is, however, extremely difficult to find out, without undue questioning, who the various inmates are. Often a house will be quite full of women and children of all ages, but as a rule the true explanation will be that the head of the house has many sons, each of whom has brought his wife to live in his old home, and all live in strict outward obedience to the mother-in-law. How much depends upon this mother-in-law! When she is a kindly, peaceable woman, things go fairlysmoothly, but terrible things happen in homes where the mother-in-law is harsh and severe.
In all the homes the purdah is strictly kept, and alas! who can tell what dark deeds areoccasionallydone in these secluded homes. Still education is spreading rapidly, and with it changes must and do come. Young educated Mohammedans are now wanting educated wives. The principal Mohammedans in Madras come very much in contact with Europeans and are considerably influenced by them, and we do not see the Moslem as he appears in Moslem countries under Moslem rule, but as he appears after living for generations under the British flag. If he disagrees with public opinion (which no doubt he often does) he keeps his opinion very much to himself, and with graceful courtesy agrees to differ.
The purdah system is one that brings with it terrible evils, and yet it is a system to which those who apparently suffer from it most, cling the most closely. The secluded women themselves look upon it as an honor, and a proof of the value set upon them. Even the very poorest people seclude their wives; while soldiers on the march hang up blankets, sheets, and even rags to form a little enclosure for their wives at each halting place. Though individual women will often speak of their many troubles they rarely mention their isolation, and truly pity those of other nations who are not taken equal care of. With education this aspect of affairswill change, and girls who have been educated in mission schools view things in a very different light and no doubt long for greater freedom.
The best and only method of helping these poor secluded women is to spread amongst them the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing else can really help them, and the great means of doing so is by education. Educating them to read so that they can read of Him in their seclusion, and educating them as thoroughly as possible in schools and house-to-house visitation so that they can understand what they read.
Let me give one illustration of what can be done in this way. Some years ago I was called in to a small zenana, where the family were of noble birth but extremely poor; so proud that they would all rather starve than take money or tell of their troubles. Three little girls read with me, and very bright and intelligent I found them. The mother was in bad health and seemed sad, though her husband was always very kind to her. The girls read regularly and got very fond of their lessons and wished they could live like English girls. One day I was told that the elder girl was to be married the next week. She was in great distress, for she knew nothing of the man who had been chosen for her and feared naturally that he might be uneducated and ignorant. I was unable to go to the wedding, and to my great distress the young bride was taken away to a distant town without my seeing her again. Somemonths passed and then I got a letter from a stranger. It was well written and well expressed in English and I found to my great delight that it was from the husband of my old pupil. He said he felt he must write to thank me for having educated his wife to be a friend and companion for him. He had heard from a friend that some girls of his own class were being educated in Madras and he had asked for one in marriage. His dread for years had been to be bound to an ignorant woman and now his fears were dispersed; his wife was a great pleasure to him and her judgment of great use. He added, "I can only think that her progress has been due to her study of the Bible, and I want you to send me a copy that we may study together." He is dead now and the girl widow is in great distress. She says: "I have been in the light and am now back in the dark." This shows what can be done by education to raise a people so degraded as many Mohammedans are.
The part of South India where the Mohammedans are most independent is the "Nizam's Dominion," which is under the control of the Nizam of Hyderabad (subject, of course, to England). Hyderabad is a large walled city, crowded with rather fierce-looking Mohammedans, and it is only of late years that English people have been allowed within the walls without an escort. Even at the present day no English live inside the walls. Everything inside is purely Mohammedan, and the English live at Secunderabad, where the English troops are stationed, just a few miles off.
In Hyderabad, were it not for H. H. the Nizam, many of the Nawabs would be glad to bring their wives out. Quite a number of the leading nobles have but one wife and glory in the fact. The Crown Prince (Sahibzada) has been married lately to a lady of noble family. This was probably the first Nizam to get married. The Nizam, from the fear of intrigue, fills his harem with low-class women. Some of the nobles bring their wives out of purdah as soon as they leave the state on a holiday.
Polygamy is still common, especially among the well-to-do. A ready purchase of slaves, during the great famine of 1900, as concubines, proves that this evil still exists. Few men have "many" wives, however.
The effect on home life of this system is evident. The Sahibzada (the next Nizam) when a boy was taken from the palace, his home, to escape the evils and temptations of a royal zenana. He lived in a large house with only his tutor and guardians till his marriage. A thoughtful munshi who was anxious about his children's morals, deplored a system that made the mother so ignorant of the outside world and so unable to direct a young son aright.
Let me give you a few of my experiences with regard to Mussulman women, especially during my stay in Hyderabad. One zenana we used to visit belonged to an old man who professed to be a greatreformer, but whose women were still in strict purdah. He several times told us that he would be delighted if we could persuade his wife and daughters to go out with us, but of course they would not hear of such a thing. To their minds it is only the very poor and degraded who wander about unveiled or even drive in an open carriage, and would not all the ladies of their acquaintance be horrified at the bare idea of their leaving their old habits. So that all our arguments and persuasion were useless, and the husband went on writing his papers on the need of reform in the treatment of their women. With this lady and her daughters we one day went to a fair for women only. We had to submit to having our carriage covered with a very large sheet so that no eye could see through the closed venetians, and when, after great difficulty, the lady had been placed in the carriage we drove to the enclosure where the fair was to be held. Right into the enclosure drove the carriage, and then the ladies, carefully shrouded in sheets, were conducted through a narrow gateway into a second enclosure, and there were thousands of women and children. Not a man was to be seen anywhere. It was so strange to see them wandering about freely in their bright-colored garments and to remember the streets of the great city they had come from, where hardly a woman is ever seen. These women never crossed the threshold of their houses before perhaps, so it was like fairyland to them.
We found one large, gaily decorated erection belonging to one of the Nawabs of Hyderabad, and the women called us in and plied us with many questions, and then begged us to go to their house to see them. We went one day to find these new friends. After driving two or three miles we came to a quaint walled village, passed under the gateway, and were directed to the great man's house. We were told he had two hundred women in his zenana. In front of the house we saw a young man with a drawn sword, just about to mount his horse. He seemed much amused when we told him we wanted to go and see the ladies, but he conducted us in to see the head of the house. He was very polite, and asked us why we had come, etc. We told him our commission and showed our Gospel, and at last he said, "Oh, yes! You can go in." So we were conducted to the other side of the courtyard and came to an enormous iron gate. A little door in the middle of it was opened for us to squeeze through, and we were in the zenana.
Outside were plenty of sun and air, a grand, spacious courtyard with beds of flowers, and arched verandahs with large cushions to sit on and lean against.
Inside was a narrow courtyard which gave you the impression of not being big enough for all the women and children who crowded round. No garden, no flowers, no pretty verandahs, nor cushions. Old ladies and young girls, my heartsank as I saw them all shut in together in this prison. They were very pleased for us to sing for them, but it seemed impossible to talk to them. Even ifonewanted to listen the others would not let her. We always came away with a sad feeling. The woman who first asked us to go seemed to be in disgrace when we went the second time, and would not come near us, and there seemed to be quite a little world to itself of intrigue and quarrel, joy, and sorrow, and sin in there. One old lady would have sung to her the quaint Hindustani bhajam "Rise, pilgrim, get ready, the time is fast going," but she did not want to hear about our Lord Jesus.
One day, when walking up a street in Hyderabad city selling Gospels, a boy called us into a large house. Here we found a little Nawab being taught by his teacher, who was very polite. The great houses give you a curious feeling; all is grand and spacious, but nothing is comfortable or home-like. Great verandahs and balconies all round the central courtyard and garden. After hearing our errand, the young Nawab offered to take us to his mother and grandmother. We went with him. In one corner of the courtyard was a funny little hole, we could not call it a door, with a dirty piece of sacking hanging in front of it. We went through and found ourselves in the zenana. Crowds of women and a dirty, dull, dreary-looking place are all that stays in my memory; but we were not allowed tolook long, for no sooner did the old grandmother find we had the Gospel of Jesus, than she had us hustled out. In vain the boy and younger woman pleaded for us to stay. She would not hear of it, so we had to go. We left some Gospels with the boy. The teacher begged for the whole Bible, which we sold him a few days later. Into many zenanas we went in this way, but we did not get invited a second time as a rule, and we generally find that having once been able to tell the Gospel in a Mussulman house, if we do go a second time, we find the women primed with stock arguments against us.
We find we get nearest to them in the medical work. We hear tales and stories in the dead of night then, when sitting with them, which we do not get a hint of at other times. I remember a woman once showing me her arm all covered with cuts which she said her husband had done to her because she had been fighting with the other wife. We, with our ideas of freedom and liberty, may think these women unhappy, buttheydo not seem to be more so than our own women. They are quite used to their own life and look down upon us poor things, who are so degraded that we allow men to see us freely with no shame! They see no privation in not being allowed to go out, or to see the world, and yet it is a suicidal system. For the women have not the least idea of what the men and boys are doing.
Many a time have I seen a mother try to chastize her boy, but he had only to get to the door and slipout and she could not go after him. Since the girls can never go out they do not need much education of any sort, and the husband knows the wife has no knowledge whatever of the world outside, so what is the use of talking to her? So amongst Mussulmans there is stagnation, and they of nearly all the people in India make least progress. Ninety-five per cent. of them are classed as illiterate in the last census!
Still progress is being made, we feel quite sure, and one thing seems to prove this. Though the Mohammedans in South India are backward and full of things to be deplored, yet they are innocent of many things which are evidently carried on in other Mohammedan countries. We, in South India, who have for years worked amongst Moslems never heard of the customs which seem to prevail in Egypt. Divorce is rarely heard of. Possibly it is too expensive, as the husband must return the dower. A woman being married to half a dozen husbands in succession is unheard of. Surely this shows that where education spreads and where Christianity, unconsciously perhaps, permeates the whole, there is a brighter day dawning for Islam. What is wanted is more teachers, more helpers to take up the work of spreading the knowledge of the Lord in Moslem lands.
Among the numerous nations and tribes which adhere to the doctrine of Mohammed, the condition of women is of course not everywhere the same. In the vicinity of Europe, e. g., in European Turkey, the influence of European morality and customs has become more and more prevailing in spite of the resistance of Moslem priests. Another difference in the condition of women, which can be observed everywhere and which we shall occasionally refer to, arises from their social position; among the richer classes a woman must submit to rules and customs different from those which are standard among the poorer classes. The fundamental views, however, are the same; the evil is one, though its outward appearance may differ in some respects.
The misfortune of a Mohammedan woman begins at her birth, for instead of rejoicing at the arrival of her little daughter, the mother complains that she is not a son. She knows that a girl will leave her at the age of about fourteen, in order to live in her husband's house, and after that she will hardly have any connection with her mother, whereas a son willstay at his mother's house and support her in case she should be divorced from her husband. Moreover the mother is anxious lest her husband dismiss her and take another wife. In consequence the mother feels less affection for her daughter than she would have felt for a son; she takes little care of her and neglects her. When about six years old the little girl begins to do housework; she is ordered to carry water, to sweep the house, to do kitchen-work, and so on. For the least mistake she is scolded and beaten, and even if it happens without any reason, she is not allowed to complain or to defend herself. By this treatment the mother prepares her for the hard lot which awaits her. Sometimes also she will exclaim: "If you had had good fortune, you would have been a boy and not a girl." The father treats her with no less cruelty, so as to give her the impression that she is indeed an unfortunate creature whom God does not love.
At meal times girls take the last place and must be content with what others leave for them. When on holidays or on other occasions boys get presents, the girls go away empty-handed. Even for boy's dress more is spent than for that of the girls.
Moslem Women of the Better Class in Street Dress (Syria)Moslem Women of the Better Class in Street Dress(Syria)
The teaching of girls is generally confined to prayers and a few chapters of the Koran, which they learn by heart mechanically. Very seldom are they taught to read and write. The exceptions are few and are always the only children of the rich or the noble. By these exceptions we know that Mohammedan girls are in every respect sufficiently gifted for a higher education. Many of them have become prominent scholars or artists, perfectly able to rival men. This has been proved by the prose works and poems of Zubdat-ul-Nissa (that is, Flower of Women)—by those of Leilai—and in modern times by the Persian woman Zarin Tadj, still better known by her surname Qurat-ul-Ain (that is, "Eyes' Comfort"). This woman descended from a priest's family, her father as well as her uncle and father-in-law had been great theologians, and her cousin, to whom she was married, was a distinguished scholar. Her extraordinary beauty seems to have been surpassed only by her intellect and character. When but a child she took a great interest in the conversations on science which were often carried on in her family, and surprised everybody by her sharp wit and rich mind.
When later on she became acquainted with the doctrines of the Bab, a new leader, who appeared in Persia about the middle of last century, she was so deeply impressed by them that she entered into intercourse with him, and in spite of the resistance of her family, appeared in public in order to proclaim her master's doctrines.
Let us try to give Mohammedan women a share in the higher spiritual life of their western sisters, and the slave creatures who serve only their husbands' pleasure and ease will become companions in his life-work and educators of his children. Thiswould produce a perfect change in Moslem family-life.
This vision of the future, however, is not yet fulfilled. The Mohammedan girl spends her childhood in a dreary way, knowing that until her fourteenth or fifteenth year life will not be changed. Then her parents will marry her to a man, in the choice of whom they will be led by financial reasons only. The young man's mother or some other elder relation of his chooses a bride for him, and examines the girl with regard to her health and bodily charms. Sometimes the young people are allowed to exchange a few words with each other in presence of the mother, but to get acquainted with each other as in Christian lands is considered superfluous. After marriage she is a slave not only to her husband, but also to her parents-in-law, towards whom she must behave most courteously, and whom she must serve sometimes even before serving her husband. Every morning she rises first and cleans the house; then she must bring her father-in-law water to wash himself, and afterwards his repast. Prudence makes her try to gain the affection of her parents-in-law, that they may protect her, in case her husband should dismiss her. Moreover, in the first year after her marriage a young wife is not allowed to answer the questions of her parents and brothers-in-law save by bowing or shaking her head; only if no one else is present, she may talk to them. In the fourth year she is permitted to answer by saying "no" or "yes"; after the birth of a child, however, she may talk to every one. Besides, it is considered unbecoming that in the presence of her parents-in-law she should sit near her husband or occupy herself with her children. The only change and pleasure in a married woman's life are the visits which she exchanges every now and then with her parents, relations, and friends, as well as the weddings and religious festivities which she is allowed to attend.
The greatest misfortune in the life of a Mohammedan woman, however, is the absolute uncertainty of the duration of her marriage, which robs her of all real happiness. According to Moslem law, every Mohammedan is entitled to take four legitimate wives. Although Moslem law demands that a man who has several wives ought to treat them equally, and forbids the neglect of one by preferring the other, matters are generally different in reality. The first wife, instead of retaining a certain pre-eminence, as would be just, gradually becomes the servant of her fellow-wife or wives; if not, her husband dismisses her at last. It is impossible to give all the particulars of the misery which needs must result from such marriages, not only for the wife herself, but very often also for her children.
The idea, that woman is a subordinate creature, destined only to serve man, has been so to say numerically expressed in the Mohammedan law of inheritance, all the particulars of which are foundedon the principle: two parts to man, one part to woman. For instance, after the death of the wife, the husband inherits a quarter of her fortune, in case there are children; if there are none, half of it, whereas, the wife inherits only a quarter or an eighth. If several wives survive their husband, they inherit these parts together. Accordingly, daughters inherit only half as much as sons.
Very seldom a Mohammedan widow is married again. She generally stays in her late husband's house, in order to educate her children, for whom a tutor is chosen. The tutor administers the children's fortune and gives the mother as much money as is necessary for their subsistence. When the children are grown up, the mother generally stays for the rest of her life at one of her sons', not so often at a daughter's. In poor families, however, the woman strives hard to gain her living by washing, spinning, sewing, knitting stockings, and other things of that kind. Later on the grown-up children sustain their mother, so that women who have children spend their old age in comparative comfort. If, however, a widow, perhaps for want, consents to be married again, her own condition may be improved, but her children suffer.
Some older women must be mentioned who are rather frequent in Moslem lands, and who form a class by themselves. Generally they have been married several times, but either have no children, or have abandoned them to their fate. They pass theirold age without a companion and gain their living in as easy a manner as possible, being not very particular in choosing the means. Outwardly they seem to be utterly devoted to their religious duties, and are always seen to murmur prayers and count their beads, by which behavior even religious people are often deceived so as to support them. On closer observation, however, their real occupation proves to be roaming about in the houses and intruding themselves in a skilful and unobserved way in order to spy out people's whereabouts. They try to make themselves agreeable to the female members of the household by tale-bearing or making commissions of different kinds, particularly those which the women cannot make themselves or which the landlord of the house must not know about. Thus they gain influence over those whom they have served, and assure themselves of their gratitude. They promote love-intrigues, make marriages, and so on; if desired, they will also go to some celebrated fortune-teller, in order to secure a talisman.
These talismans or amulets generally consist of a scrap of paper, on which there are written sayings, names, letters, figures, or signs with common ink, or often with a yellow liquid made of saffron, musk, or amber; sometimes even serpent's blood is used for this purpose. If the talisman is to be worn on the body, the paper is folded in the form of a triangle or a quadrant, then wrapped in a piece of cotton which has been made water-proof, and atlast covered with a piece of fine cloth. The amulet is fastened upon the head or tied around the upper-arm or worn on the breast, with a string around the neck. Some people sew it upon the inside of their clothes so that it lies on the backbone or on the heart. Sometimes the amulet must be fastened with seven-colored silk. Sometimes also it is thrown into water, to be drunk as soon as the writing is dissolved, or it is burnt and they breathe the smoke.
Talismans and amulets are said to protect men and animals from the evil eye, from the bite of wild beasts, and from wounds in war; they cause love or hatred, they produce or prevent sleep and madness. Their preparation is considered a special science, which demands special study and is practised by so-called magicians or fortune-tellers, but also by dervishes, and even by priests. The latter generally only write verses from the Koran, which women wear around their neck as amulets.
Perhaps all this superstition is harmless in itself or does a direct harm only to their purses. Indirectly, however, it has a demoralizing influence upon all classes of people, especially upon women, who, as guardians of customs, are most attached to these fables. Only true civilization and Christianity will redeem and deliver.
In order to deepen the impression of what has been said and to add something from real life, I will tell the story of a Moslem woman, just as I heardit in Kashgar, where I have been working for five years for the spreading of the Gospel.
Some fifty years ago there lived in Kashgar a man called Chodsha Burhaneddin. He was descended from a family which since the middle of the seventeenth century has given Kashgar its kings. His fellow citizens esteemed him very much on account of his strict observance of the religious prescriptions of Islam. He married a woman of noble descent, and for some time contented himself with his one wife. But according to Islam it is a merit to take if possible four wives, in order to increase the number of the adherents of Islam. For this reason Chodsha brought home another wife whenever he travelled on business to the Russian town of Andishan on that side of the Tienshan, until the number of four was full. The consequence was that he not only neglected his first wife, but even had her do all the housework alone, thus making her the servant of his three other wives. She had to serve them from early morning till late at night. Without grumbling and with great diligence the poor woman took all the work upon herself; secretly, however, she bewailed her hard lot and employed her few free hours for the education of her little daughter. However, she did not succeed in satisfying her husband. He always found fault, beat her, and bade her not show her face before him. His wife submitted patiently and silently; she desisted even from paying visits to her parents and acquaintances,which would have given her some comfort, lest her husband think she had gone to her beloved ones to complain of his treatment. Four years passed. Meanwhile several political revolutions had taken place in Kashgar. In China the numerous Chinese Mohammedans had revolted, and the revolt had spread over the western countries. In eastern Turkestan the Chinese officials as well as the soldiers and the merchants had been killed by the Mohammedans; only a few escaped death by accepting Islam. This state of matters was put an end to by Jakob Beg. He had come from Chanab Chokand, north of the Tienshan, under the pretext of helping the descendant of the old Kashgarian dynasty of the Chodshas to the throne. In due time he put the Prince aside and founded a kingdom of his own, which included the whole of eastern Turkestan. After taking hold of the government he tried to weaken the Chodshas in every way possible, some of them were assassinated, others put in prison in order to be executed. One of the latter was Chodsha Burhaneddin. As soon as his wife heard that her husband had been made a prisoner, she hurried to her father, who was well esteemed at Jakob Beg's court, and besought him to make the most of his influence in order to save her husband. Then she prepared a meal, took it to her imprisoned husband, and encouraged him. At his request she roused her father still more so as to betake himself at once to Jakob Beg, and to prevail on him to set theprisoner at liberty that same night. Chodsha Burhaneddin returned to his house and entered the room of his wife whom he had so long neglected, in order to thank her for his delivery. Afterwards she had one more child, a boy.
Some years after these events Chodsha fell ill. Knowing that his end was near, repentance overwhelmed him, and he asked his first wife to pardon him whatever wrong he had done her. It was only she whom he wished to be near him in his pains. His other wives he did not at all care for now, and detested them even in such a manner as to drive them away, whenever they approached him. When at last death had released him from his pains, his three younger wives were married again, leaving their children to their fate. His first wife, however, remained faithful to him even after death; she refused all proposals, honorable as some of them were, and devoted herself entirely to the education of her son and daughter, whom she lived to see married.
From this example, to which many others might be added, it becomes clear to what deep humiliations Mohammedan women are subject, and what treasure of faithfulness and sacrifice are nevertheless hidden in some of these oppressed and crushed lives. Without knowing the doctrines of Christian religion, Chodsha's wife had practised them. What she dimly anticipated, has been fulfilled in her son, whom I baptized as the first-fruits in Kashgar, and received into the church. Did the Mohammedanwomen but know to what height Christianity would raise them! Could they but compare the Mohammedan proverb: "Do not ask a woman's advice, and if she gives it, do the contrary," with the Apostle Paul's words: "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself" (Ephes.v:28), and "There is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus," they would know the distance which separates Christian views from those of Islam.
If on summer evenings when the heat of the day is over, the inhabitant of a Mohammedan town goes out for a walk to enjoy the evening coolness before the gates, he will sometimes pass the burial-grounds. Weeping and wailing come to his ear. Pitifully he will look at the figures of mourning women who are kneeling by the graves. But the sorrow which is revealed there is not always meant for the loss of some beloved one dead; very often women visit the graves of their relations or, if they have none, of saints, in order to weep out undisturbed and unheard their hopeless, desolate lives. In their houses they dare not give way to their sorrows for fear of their husbands, therefore they go to the dead in order to tell them their griefs!
May these words bring that sound of wailing to the hearts of Christian women! May they, for whom Christian morality has made life fair and worthy, who as a beloved husband's true friend and companion take part in his joys and sorrows, orthose who in the fulfilment of self-chosen duties have found happiness and content, may they often remember the hard fate of their Moslem sisters in the Orient, and help carry the message of salvation to them.
The social condition of Mohammedan women in Kansu Province in Northwest China is not so hard as those of their sisters in the more western countries. The Mohammedans, having been in China now about a thousand years, have, save in the matter of idolatry, practically adopted the Chinese customs, even to the binding of the feet of their little girls. Among the wealthier Mohammedans, as with the wealthier Chinese, polygamy is common, many having two or three wives, and among the middle class, when there has been no issue by the first wife, many take unto themselves a second wife. Divorces are of rare occurrence.
There are no harems. The better-class women are not seen much on the streets, but in the country places, the farmer's wife, daughters, and daughters-in-law go out into the fields, weed and reap the corn, carry water, gather in fuel, and wear no veil. The daughters and daughters-in-law of the better class, from the age of fifteen to thirty, often wear a black veil when going on a visit to their friends, as also do the Chinese.
In the busy farming seasons, the Mohammedan men, with their wives of the poorer class, hire themselves out to the Chinese farmers, and come down in large numbers to weed in the spring and gather in the corn in summer and autumn. They bring their children with them and stay on the farm till the busy time is over. We always get a goodly number of visits from them.
Speaking of the Mohammedan male population in our prefecture of Si-ning, the vast majority are ignorant of the tenets of the Koran, know little of anything, save that Masheng-ren is their prophet, and that there is a Supreme Being somewhere of whom they are almost as ignorant as the Chinese. They seem to realize it a duty to attend worship on two special occasions each year, but the majority of them never darken the mosque doors at other times. Seldom a day passes but we have Mohammedan visitors, and the answer we get from nine out of every ten to questions about their doctrine is, "We are only blind folks and we do not know anything." Their ah-hongs or pastors do not trouble to teach any save the students, for which they are paid. Some even speak of heaven as being Khuda (God). In many ways are they influenced by the Chinese around them.
Already I have referred to the binding of the feet of their little girls. In sickness it is a common thing to see the patient with a tiny book written in Arabic bound up in red cloth and sewn on theshoulder or back of the outside garment, to shield them from the evil spirits. Many also observe the lucky and unlucky days in the Chinese calendar, by removing from one house to another. One of our patients had even resorted to the Buddhists or agnostics to recite prayers and use charms to drive away his sickness.
At the present rate of spiritual declension, in another century many will either be Buddhists or agnostics.
The times of prayer are not observed save by the ah-hongs and mullahs and a few of the old men.
These few particulars showing the indifference and ignorance among the men, what can be expected of the women? They are heathen, except in name. In our prefecture, we receive a welcome among them whenever we go, but how long this will continue it is hard to tell. In the southwest of this province, where formerly much friendliness was shown towards the missionaries, latterly a spirit of bitterness and opposition has been manifested owing to a few becoming interested in the Gospel and attending regularly on Sunday. The ah-hongs have warned their people that if any join the church they will be put to death when the foreign ambassador arrives from Turkey. Who this individual is, is not very apparent, and from whence he will get his power to put Chinese subjects to death is a mystery. Doubtless it is only a scheme of the ah-hongs to put the people in fear.
So far, however, we have open doors here and no opposition, but owing to lack of workers there isno one to enter in, no oneto take the Bread of Life to them,no oneto bear the glad news to them.
After the rebellion of 1895, when retribution fell heavily on the Mohammedans, thousands of them were reduced to the verge of starvation; women, who had been accustomed to the comforts of a good home, were deprived of their warm winter clothing and left only with thin summer tattered garments, right in the depth of winter with a thermometer registering below zero (Fahrenheit). By the help of many kind friends in different parts of China, we were enabled to open a soup-kitchen and provide hot food every day for six weeks, during the bitterest part of the winter, to an average of three hundred persons each day, and also to give away several warm garments to those in direst need. Every day we taught the people to repeat hymns, grace before meat, and told them stories from the Bible. On the Chinese New Year's Day we gave them a special treat of mutton-broth and afterwards showed them, with the magic lantern, some scenes in the life of our Lord. In the winter of 1896-7 we again provided food to an average of one hundred and twenty each day, nearly all widows and children.
When the rebellion was over the Mohammedans were no longer permitted to reside in the east suburb, where formerly they numbered ten thousandpersons, save a few of the poor widows who gained a subsistence by begging, but were sent to reside in a few villages thirty miles from the city. Occasionally we have a visit from some of the women and it is cheering to find that they remember much of what was told them in those years of their adversity, and we may hope that some at least will meet us in the white-robed throng hereafter.
At present we have one Mohammedan woman, much interested in the Gospel, who comes regularly to worship on Sundays when the farmers are not busy. One difficulty stands in their way and that is, the Chinese women hate them and scorn to sit beside them, and we cannot wonder, for they have suffered much at their hands, many having lost their all twice in their lifetime, and some thrice; nevertheless, we are thankful for the more Christ-like spirit shown towards them by the Christians, who are willing to forget the past and give them a welcome, converse with them freely, and recognize them as sisters for whom also Christ hath died.
There are two sects of Mohammedans in our district and there are often serious quarrels between them, and some of the people fear that if many Mohammedans became Christians serious trouble might ensue; but we feel sure that if the Christians manifest the spirit of their Master, loving their enemies, blessing their persecutors, praying for those who ill-treat them, that finally they would disarm their hatred and be permitted to live in peace;whereas the two sects lacking that inward spiritual grace, hating each other, and backbiting each other, finally bring about strife.
The careful readers of this chapter will observe from what we have written that the life of their Mohammedan sisters in China is not so hard and prison-like as that of their sisters in North Africa, Persia, etc, where they are secluded for a lifetime in the prison-like harems at the command of their husbands. Nevertheless, their need is just as great, their souls just as precious, their ignorance of spiritual things just as deep, their lives just as much of a blank, their hope for the future just as dark; they live and die "just like animals," they are wont to say; and all the hopelessness, darkness, and lovelessness continues not because of theirseclusionin harems at the mercy of their husbands but because of theirexclusionfrom their right to the joys and hope of the Christian life by the lukewarm indifference of the Church of Christ to-day, which fails to realize the great responsibility to carry the Gospel to every creature.
In our vast parish, stretching one hundred miles from east to west and two hundred and thirty miles from southeast to northwest, comprising six cities, sixteen walled towns, and thousands of villages with a mixed population of Chinese, Mohammedans, Mongolians, Tibetans, and aborigines, my husband and I are left to labor alone. This does not spell seclusion but exclusion from the knowledge of theWay of Salvation for tens of thousands of souls for whom Christ died.
When Jesus saw the leper He had compassion on him; when He saw the widow of Nain He said "Weep not"; when the mourners wept at the grave of Lazarus He saw them and wept also; when He looked from the Mount of Olives on the city of Jerusalem and thought of her doom, He wept. Would that in a vision or in a dream of the night, you could behold something of the hopelessness of your less favored sisters; would that you could hear just a few of their plaintive cries and see tears rolling down their cheeks as they unburden their sorrows to the sympathetic ear. Then, methinks, you would not rest till you had accomplished something to make these many dark hearts brighter and sad hearts lighter.
The life of the Mohammedan woman in general here is not that of a being on a par with man, but rather comparable with that of a dumb animal, a creature inferior to and much less worthy than man, which is kept and utilized as long as it performs some services.
Fatalism, as taught and nourished by Islam, places the woman in a servile relationship to the man, so much so that she, although considered a creature of no particular value, does not take offence at being accounted a negligible quantity.
Maltreatment of women takes place occasionally but is by no means general, because nothing hinders the husband from driving away his wife with whom he may not be satisfied, without even observing the simplest form of a legal procedure.
Why should the man, particularly amongst Moslems, "the Lord of Creation," weary himself or even become angry, seeing it is far wiser and more profitable that he exchange the worn-out wife and mother, who can no longer add to the number of hischildren, for a younger and stronger wife? This profitable barter, too, need cost him but a trifle.
This exchange of wives has even a more demoralizing tendency than the practice of polygamy itself, which luxury only those can participate in whose salary is at least fifteen florins per month.
The results of the sinful practice of polygamy, especially for the children and consequently for the state, would be less sad to contemplate, were it not that the polygamist exchanges his wife as readily for another as he who can afford but one wife at a time.
It is scarcely necessary for me to enumerate here the effects of this evil of which the wife is the victim.
This much-loved evil is a strong bulwark against the spread of the ethics of Christianity.
A second and a very powerful opponent of mission work is found in the peculiar Mohammedan village organization, in which the Moslem sheikh or spiritual leader plays the most important rôle.
Another peculiarity of Islam here, is the fact that the inland population and the millions of inhabitants who live in the lowlands of Java are peculiarly interrelated and mutually dependent. Only in a few of the larger towns in Java do we find the trades practised.
The villager is a farmer, and since rice is the chief article of food and this must be raised by irrigation channels in a hilly country like Java, the villagers are, as a matter of course, compelled to live at peace with one another, becoming interdependent through the production of the staff of life.
A Moslem family that becomes Christian soon experiences deprivation. The so-called "silent power" soon makes its influence felt, ostracising them from every privilege.
This becomes the more easy to understand when we remember that the division of the cultivable soil and of the water supply with all other civil rights and privileges, are entrusted by Dutch law to the Mohammedan village government, in which the Moslem sheikh or priest enjoys an ex-officio vote.
Because of this peculiar condition of life in the East Indies, the writer and other missionaries in Java have purposely settled in an inland district in the very midst of the Mohammedan population, where those families who have embraced Christianity may gather about the mission centre and gradually form a nucleus (in course of time a village or town), where independent legal privileges may be enjoyed and the people ruled over by their own native Christian chiefs. In this manner these communities can gradually become "a salt" and "a light" for their Mohammedan environment.
Of very much importance in this connection is the action taken by Her Majesty, our beloved Queen Wilhelmina, who—at the request of our former Minister of Colonies, the Honorable Mr. Van Idenburg, at present Governor of Paramaribo, in SouthAmerica—commissioned the States-General of the Netherlands to describe and protect the legal status of the native Christians.
By reason of this our Christian converts can now claim at least the right of existence, and even the native Christian woman can obtain that justice before the law to which she is entitled.
Malaysia comprises the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago. The latter includes the great islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Celebes, and innumerable smaller ones. The one island of Java contains about three-fourths of the entire population of Malaysia, which is probably about forty millions. The vast majority of the population are Mohammedans, but the hill-tribes of the Peninsula and of the larger islands are still heathen, the Dyaks of Borneo and the Battas of Sumatra being the most numerous of the non-Mohammedan races. There are also many hundreds of thousands of Chinese immigrants in Malaysia, of whom only one here and there have become Mohammedan.
The principal Mohammedan races are: (1) the Malays proper, who inhabit the Peninsula, the east coast of Sumatra, and the neighboring islands, and are scattered to some extent amongst all the seaport towns of the Archipelago; (2) in Sumatra, the Achinese in the north, and the Rejans and Lampongs in the south; (3) in Java, the Sundanese in the west, the Javanese in the centre and east, and theMadurese in the extreme east; and (4) the Bugis in Celebes.
The greatest success in the conversion of Mohammedans to Christianity has been achieved by the German (Barmen) Mission in Sumatra, and chiefly among the Battas, a very numerous heathen race, who have been gradually won in small numbers to the faith of Islam, probably for centuries. About fifty thousand of the Battas are now Christians, and many of these were at one time Mohammedans.
In Java the Dutch have made considerable efforts to convert the natives to Christianity for three hundred years past, and as the result of this early work there are considerable Christian communities still existing. It is only within the last century, however, that the work of the missionary societies has infused new life into the work of converting the Mohammedans. The greatest numerical success has been achieved by those who devote their efforts to the founding of Christian communities in villages of their own, entirely distinct from the Mohammedans, with their own Christian village headmen. It is found that in the Mohammedan villages the Christians suffer so much persecution from the headmen and others, that in some cases Christianity has been entirely stamped out, and the Christians have disappeared, no one knows where. The Christian villages have in most cases been established in unsettled districts, whole families being moved from otherplaces, and clearing the jungle to form their own settlements. These people have been won to Christ by preaching among the Mohammedans, and are protected from persecution by thus gathering them into Christian communities. Much work is also done by means of schools and dispensaries. The Dutch Government provides both the school buildings and salaries of schoolmasters, under certain rules, and it also erects hospitals, and provides medicines free to every missionary. There are also instances in which Christian communities have grown up in the midst of Mohammedan surroundings, and it is claimed that such Christians are of a stronger type, and exercise a more powerful influence among their fellow-countrymen. A Dutch missionary writes that polygamy and divorce are very prevalent in Java, there being many who have changed husbands or wives as many as ten or twenty times. The man has to pay the priest two guilders for a divorce, but a woman would have to pay twenty-five guilders; the latter is known as "Buffalo divorce," i. e., brutal. In Java the second wife is called "A fire in the house." Four wives are allowed, and any number of concubines. In case of divorce the girls follow the father, and the boys follow the mother. Divorced women are often in straitened circumstances and become concubines or the kept mistresses of Europeans or even of the Chinese.
The largest Christian communities in Malaysia are in North Celebes and on the island of Amboina.These are the result of the early labors of the chaplains of the Dutch East India Company.
Among the Malays proper very little missionary work has been attempted and practically nothing has been accomplished. From 1815 to 1843 the London Missionary Society carried on work among the Malays at Penang, Malacca, and Singapore, but then withdrew all their missionaries to China, with the exception of Rev. B. P. Keasberry, who continued to work among the Malays in Singapore as a self-supporting missionary until his death, in 1872. He baptized a few Malays, both men and women, one or two of whom are still living, but make no profession of Christianity. Within the last twenty years we know of one Malay man and two or three women who have been converted to Christianity and baptized in Singapore and Penang, none of whom has gone back to Islam.
The extent to which polygamy is practised among the Malays depends very greatly upon the amount which has to be paid as dowry, and this varies very much in the different parts of the Peninsula and Eastern Sumatra. Divorce, however, is common everywhere. In our personal intercourse with the Malays, we have realized how very much the women resemble those of other nationalities in their aspirations, but how useless it is for them to try to make any real progress, because they are so tied by customs. They say, "We must be content to live as we do, for we are powerless to do otherwise." Whenthey go out for walks they must be closely veiled or covered, and must walk in front of the men, which seems courteous to us until we are told the reason, which is that the men can watch them, and see that they do not cast glances at other men. Many of the women learn to read the Koran, and a few learn to read and write Malayan in the government vernacular schools, but the latter is sometimes objected to on the ground that the girls will write letters to men. It is very difficult to get Malay girls to attend a Christian school, for fear they might become Christians. The people living in the agricultural districts seem to be happy and contented, and yet here polygamy is more common than in the towns. The heart of the wife and mother is often burdened because her husband has taken a second or third wife, when there is little enough money for one family to live upon. As a rule the men do not want their wives to know when they are taking new wives. They usually say they are going away to work for a few days. We have been asked to write letters to such husbands requesting money, and begging the husband to return. Sometimes the answers to these letters contain loving messages to the wife, asking her not to believe the stories told her, but still he returns not, or worse still, no money comes. The wives with tears streaming down their cheeks say, "How can his small wages support three or four wives?" In one case a wife received a letter saying that she could marry again, as the husband had decided to marry another woman. We have been asked by such deserted wives to enclose love potions or medicine in letters to win back the love of the husbands. The love potions consist of the ashes of a piece of paper which has had some words written on it and is afterwards burnt, the ashes being put in a paper, enclosed in a letter and sent to a friend, who is requested to put it in a cup of coffee, and give it to the wayward husband. One woman whom we knew personally had been deserted by her husband; she lived in a house by herself, and would not leave it for more than an hour at a time, fearing her husband would return and accuse her of unfaithfulness. She earned her living partly by taking in sewing, and her relatives would help her as they could. A young girl was to be married to a man who had a wife and family in another town. We asked the girl's mother if she knew about this. She replied, "Yes, but he has fair wages; he can support two wives." We enquired of a relative of the bridegroom's first wife if she knew her husband was to be married again. She answered, "He will not tell her, but I am sure she will feel it in her heart." In many cases the deserted wives have to support the children, which they do by sewing or making and selling cakes.
Those of us who have read the pages of this book right through to the end, will find such words as are at the head of this chapter rise involuntarily to our lips. What must we do?
Thank God, He has a plan. "He sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." "It is not the will of your Father in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish." Then let us all ask Him to teach us how these countless Moslem women and girls may be saved. He can bless the old ways of work and He can lead into new ways.
The following methods have been tried and each one is capable of further development.
Women's medical work has removed prejudice and opened closed doors. We should have many more women missionary doctors. We should also have many qualified nurses, especially those skilled in midwifery. They are often only summoned to attend difficult or dangerous cases, so that it is a necessity to bethoroughly efficient, and they need to do the work in a missionary spirit. Women's hospitals as a base of operations are needed, so that thosewho cannot be attended to in their own homes, with any hope of cure, may be admitted to the hospital. But there should be associated with every nurse or doctor some workers who are wholly given up to evangelistic work. Through lack of these much of the influence of the medical missionary fails to accomplish its wished-for result. The doctors and nurses feel this themselves strongly. The same is felt everywhere amongst educational missionaries. The work of the school needs to be followed up by the visit to the home. There are countless doors open to the young wives who have been taught in school, and who would delight in a visit from one of the mission ladies.
This might be done by older workers and we earnestly urge that women's missionary boards and societies should be willing to receive women for this department older than they can take for school or medical work. The language is learnt through constant intercourse with the women. If older women who could meet their own expenses might be allowed to give themselves solely to this evangelistic work, we believe that a large increase would be made to our missionary force.