Feasting and amusements then commence, and continue for three days. All this time the bride is obliged to sit motionless on the sofa; it would beconsidered the height of indecorum for her even to whisper to any one, except the old matron who accompanied her from her father’s house, and who is generally her nurse.
Toward the end of the third day, the priest leads the bridegroom to the bride, removes the silken strings from their brows, and carries away the tinsel veil. The bride is now, for the first time, permitted to speak. According to the old laws, she was not allowed to open her lips in the presence of her mother-in-law, or her married sister-in-law, for one year; the practice is now less rigid, but the most profound respect, and implicit obedience, is still exacted from the bride toward the relatives of her husband.
The marriages even of the poorest Armenians take place with all this ceremony and parade. Cooking utensils, robes, veils, &c., are kept stored in the churches, for the use of those who cannot afford to buy them for the occasion.
The dress of the Armenian ladies is remarkably heavy and loaded, and their ornaments large and massive. They have black eyes, ruddy complexions, and in general coarse features, with little expression. When they go out, the face is muffled up with bandages so as to show only the eyes, and sometimes a part of the nose. In the house, as well as abroad, and by night as well as by day, they wear a nose band, the pressure of which makes that feature universally broad and flat. They allow none of their hair to be seen, except a long braid that fallsdown the back nearly to the ground. The custom of muffling themselves up, so that all look nearly alike, led Tournefort to say, facetiously, “An Armenian returning from a journey is not sure to find the same wife; he cannot tell whether she may not be dead, and whether some other woman may not have stepped into the place of the deceased.”
The Armenian salutation, on entering a room, is to place the right hand rapidly to the breast, mouth, and forehead. The ladies throw off their slippers before they sit down. The manner of lowering themselves upon the divan, so as to assume the oriental posture, is said to be altogether inimitable by a European. For the sake of change in position, they sometimes kneel.
Xenophon, in his Cyropædia, relates a beautiful anecdote of an Armenian wife in very ancient times. The princes of the country having evaded the payment of their customary tribute to Persia, Cyrus made war upon them, and took the royal family prisoners. Tigranes, the king’s son, had been recently married to a woman for whom he had very great love. The Persian monarch asked the prince what price he would give to regain her. Tigranes with great fervor replied, “Oh, Cyrus, I would save her from servitude at the expense of my life!” The noble conqueror replied, “Take your own to yourself; and do you, Armenian king, take your wife and children, without payment, that they may know they come free to you.”
When the Armenians returned home, all were talkingof the magnanimity, mildness, and beauty of Cyrus. Tigranes said to his wife, “And do you, Armenian dame, think Cyrus so very handsome?” “Truly,” said she, “I did not look at him.” “At whom then did you look?” inquired her husband. “At the man who said he would ransom me at the expense of his own life,” she replied.
The Turks as Mohammedans may have four wives, and as many mistresses as they can maintain; but the common class of people rarely have more than one wife.
The Grand Sultan cannot marry one of his own subjects, and Christian princesses would not in general be willing to form one of his numerous harem, even if such an alliance were not regarded as an abomination by the Moslems. His household is therefore composed of beautiful female slaves, usually presented by the first grandees of the empire, as one of the surest methods of obtaining royal favor. The heir apparent is consequently always the “son of a slave;” a contemptuous epithet often applied to him in the hour of adversity.
Orkhan, the second emperor of the Turks, is the only one on whom a Christian princess was bestowed. Theodora, of the Greek empire, daughter of Cantacuzene and Irene, was given to the powerful Turk by her ambitious father, though he was well aware that he previously had many wives and favorites. No marriage ceremonies were performed; but the troops were assembled round a throne, on whichTheodora was seated concealed by silken curtains. At a signal from the emperor, the screens were withdrawn, and the bride discovered in the midst of kneeling eunuchs and blazing torches; while the joyful sound of trumpets and other instruments of music welcomed her appearance. Her father had stipulated that she should be allowed to preserve her religion in the midst of the harem, and he wrote much in praise of her charity and devotion in this difficult situation.
Achmet I. is said to have had three thousand women in his harem, and the grandees of the empire generally have some hundreds. The rigid seclusion of Mohammedan women is said to have originated in the conduct of Ayesha, called Best Beloved Wife of the Prophet, and Mother of the Faithful. She went out into the desert to look for a pearl necklace she had lost, and on her return was accused of listening to the smooth words of an officer she met. Mohammed did not withdraw his affection, and publicly protested her innocence; but keenly alive to the disgraceful report, he expressly forbade any Mussulman to speak to his wives, or to remain in his house after dinner, or to enter it in his absence.
Harem is an Arabic word signifying sanctuary. These retreats are so carefully guarded, that little is known of their interior arrangements. Physicians, and the wives of European ambassadors, have sometimes gained access to seraglios, which they describe as follows: Favorites of the highest rank are calledkhatouns, of which there are seven. She who firstpresents the Sultan with a son becomes thesultana hasseki, and takes precedence of the others. Next in rank to the khatouns are theodahlycs, whose number is unlimited. Each of the khatouns has a seventh part of the odahlycs, and a certain number of eunuchs and slaves as her own peculiar attendants; and each has a separate court, garden, and bath, belonging to the pavilion in which she resides. These pavilions are adorned with marble, paintings in arabesque, gilding, mirrors, &c. The odahlycs, generally to the amount of some hundreds, sleep on sofas in a long high gallery, divided by a double row of chests of drawers, where they keep their clothing. The staircases to this gallery are secured by massive trap-doors, fastened with bars of iron. The inner courts of the harem are guarded by black eunuchs, with muskets always in their hands, and the outer by white eunuchs. Innumerable subordinate officers are appointed to settle disputes, and keep order within and around the harem. When any of the Sultan’s women accompany him into the gardens, officers are in readiness to warn the gardeners and all other men to retire; and should any one be slow to obey, he would be killed on the spot. When the king’s women are removed from one seraglio to another, they are accompanied by officers with staves to keep off the people, and to prevent the ladies from showing themselves by drawing the curtains of their litters. When ill the women are always attended by their own sex. Physicians are admitted into the harem only under the strictest guard, and on extraordinaryoccasions; even then they are not permitted to see their patients, except through gauze. Notwithstanding all these precautions, intrigues are sometimes successfully carried on. If discovered, the woman is tied up in a sack and drowned; but the Koran ordains that he who accuses a woman without being able to prove her guilt, shall receive the bastinado.
The mother of the reigning Sultan is calledsultana valydeh; a title which she assumes at his accession, and loses whenever he dies, or is deposed. Her sons treat her with the most unbounded respect, and give her almost supreme control in the harem. Her political influence is likewise by no means inconsiderable. The grand seignior often communicates to her the secrets of state; covered with a veil, she holds conferences with the grand vizier and the mufti; and in the absence of her son, she issues orders in his name. In the time of Achmet III., the sultana valydeh warmly espoused the cause of Charles XII. of Sweden, and made great exertions to arm Turkey against Russia, in his behalf. She even wrote letters to the king of Sweden, and to count Poniatowski, though such a step was in open defiance of the laws of the harem. The revenues of certain provinces belong to the sultana mother, and in times of emergency she often lends large sums to his Highness.
The sultana valydeh and the sultana hasseki almost always dislike each other, because each is jealous of the other’s influence over the reigning monarch. The hasseki finds it prudent to dissembleher hatred, for fear of giving offence to the Sultan; and the valydeh on her part, while she refrains from openly wounding the affections of her imperious son, generally contrives all manner of secret and indirect means to injure his favorite. It sometimes happens, however, that the hasseki is so perfectly passive and submissive as to be a favorite both with mother and son.
If the heir apparent dies, the hasseki loses her rank, and the next khatoun who has a son takes her place.
This gives rise to the strongest feelings of rivalship, envy, and hatred. No pains are spared by the khatouns to destroy the offspring, injure the health, or vex the feelings of those odahlycs in whom they are fearful of finding rivals.
The sultana Guneche (a name which signifiesthe sun) had acquired great influence over Mohammed IV. by her beauty, excellent understanding, and perpetual flow of spirits. In the height of her power, the sultana mother was malicious enough to introduce to her son a lovely Circassian slave, named Gulbeyaz, or thewhite rose. The effect produced upon the mind of the voluptuous monarch was precisely what she wished: Guneche soon received intimation that apartments and a sultana’s train were in preparation for the new favorite. She stole to the chamber of her rival, and after loading her with the bitterest invectives, beat her so cruelly that the whole harem was in an uproar. The Sultan provided Gulbeyaz with another residence six leagues distant, andthreatened to treat Guneche as a slave. She, however, made her peace with him, by attributing her rash conduct to excess of love, and expressing her determination in future to sacrifice her own feelings to the gratification of herlion, as the sultanas fondly call his Highness.
But afterward her jealousy showed itself in a still worse form. The Sultan had received from the grand vizier a most beautiful slave, named Khadyjeh. With a view to her safety, he conveyed her to a seraglio on the canal of the Black sea. For a time, Guneche appeared to have no suspicion of the frequent visits he paid her. But one day when the grand seignior had gone a hunting some distance from Constantinople, she ordered caïques to be secretly prepared for an excursion on the canal. On her arrival at the seraglio where Khadyjeh was confined, she affected to wish to enter the pavilion to rest. The new favorite was engaged in the innocent amusement of angling, in a closet that overhung the sea. Her vindictive rival came softly behind her, and suddenly pushed her into the waves, from which she rose no more.
The heir to the throne remains under the tuition of his mother until he is eight or nine years old, and custom, as well as the rules of the Koran, require from him the most implicit and reverential obedience. The day on which this important little personage is delivered over to male instructers is celebrated with great pomp. A recent traveller thus describes the ceremonies that took place when the oldest son ofSultan Mahmoud was nearly nine years old: “The extensive plain of Ibraham Aga, on the Asiatic shore, was covered with tents for the accommodation of troops of children, of whom six thousand were present. The Sultan was seated on a throne in a splendid pavilion, supported by gilded columns, hung with gold and silver tissue. The young prince was introduced to all the chief officers of the empire, and after respectfully embracing his father’s feet he took his seat on a cushion near him. A chapter from the Koran was read, and a prayer pronounced by the grand mufti. At every pause all the children throughout the camp cried Amen, and it was echoed by the neighboring hills. Food is distributed and criminals pardoned in honor of the occasion. The festival lasts three days; and during all this time, men, women, and children remain in the field. The troops, the long line of tents, the noisy children, and women in all manner of gay costumes, riding in their painted and carved arabahs, drawn by oxen, combine to make the scene very cheerful and exhilarating.”
In many instances the Sultans, when they ascended the throne, have caused all their brothers to be put to death, to prevent any disputes about succession. Amurat III. caused his five brothers to be killed in the presence of their own mothers, one of whom, unable to endure the sight, stabbed herself in despair. He likewise put to death two of his father’s slaves, who were likely to become mothers. Mohammed III., son and successor of Amurat, causednineteen brothers to be strangled, and ten of his father’s odahlycs to be thrown into the sea, for the same reason.
The khatouns occasionally make each other a ceremonious visit, probably from motives of curiosity; but their meals, baths, and amusements, are distinct from each other. They change their dresses many times a day, smoke, chew gum mastic, and loll on sofas, while female slaves dance around them, and perform pantomimes, which almost always represent love scenes. They have likewise magic lanterns and puppet shows, the subjects of which are said to be any thing but modest. One of their favorite occupations is making beads of rose leaves. The petals of the rose are carefully picked, and pounded into a smooth paste in an iron vessel. The iron, acting upon a certain acid in the rose, turns the paste quite black. It is made into little balls, which are perforated for stringing, and hung up in the shade to dry. When hard they are rubbed between the hands with a little attar of rose, till they become perfectly smooth. They never lose their fragrance. The Turkish ladies spend hours in passing these beads backward and forward on a string, inhaling the delicate perfume. They practise dancing, music, and embroidery, in the cool kiosks or pavilions, situated in the midst of the gardens. Here Frank and Greek women are sometimes admitted to exhibit goods and jewelry for sale, and Jewesses skilled in fortune-telling, amulets, and love-potions, are always welcome.
A visit from any lady of distinction, either from aforeign nation or some distant part of the empire, is an extraordinary occasion, and conducted with much ceremony. If the visiter be a European, they manifest the greatest curiosity concerning those Christian countries where they have been told each man has but one wife. At parting, the guests are usually presented with embroidered handkerchiefs, and sprinkled by the attendants with perfumed waters.
The Sultan sometimes indulges his women in what is called the Feast of Lamps, which consists in a general illumination of the gardens of the seraglio with colored lamps and reflecting mirrors. Booths are erected for the festival, furnished with a variety of goods, and with vases full of beautiful flowers. The sisters, nieces, and female cousins of the grand seignior are invited. The women of the harem, in appropriate dresses, tend the bazar, while the Sultan and his guests walk about purchasing jewelry and rich stuffs, which they present to each other. Dancing, music, and sports of various kinds continue till late at night.
The women of the harem try to obtain as many jewels as they can, because in case of their master’s death these are not taken away from them. In the midst of slaughter, the most ruffianly soldier considers the walls of the harem as sacred; and when executioners are sent to strangle a state criminal and seize his effects, they do not enter his seraglio, or touch any property that belongs to his women.
The Sultan’s daughters and sisters enjoy more liberty than any of his favorites. Not being heirsto the throne, they are not exposed to the perils that await his brothers and sons. While these girls are yet in their cradles, a husband is provided for them, generally among wealthy pachas; and as soon as he dies, they are provided with another; who (with a view to securing his wealth for the royal coffers) is very likely to be accused of some crime and soon strangled. Thus a sister of Amurat IV. had four husbands in less than one year.
If the sultana be ever so old or ugly, a man dare not refuse the honor of her alliance, if he values his head. During the reign of Abdul Hamyd, an old sultana fell in love with a handsome and wealthy young man, whom she saw pass her windows during a public ceremony. The young man was thunder-struck when the Sultan made known the honor that awaited him; for he had an excellent wife, whom he most tenderly loved. But there was no escape for him. Had he attempted to fly, his capture and death would have been almost certain. He was compelled to dismiss his wife, who survived their separation but a few days.
The individual thus chosen is summoned to the presence of the Sultan, where he waits till the presiding khatoun comes and makes a signal that he is to follow her into the harem. At the threshold, the eunuchs take off his slippers, and make him wait some minutes, in token of the obedience he owes his royal consort. When he enters, he makes three obeisances, kneels, bows his face to the ground, and repeats a short prayer. The khatoun then conductshim to his bride, who sits on a sofa, entirely covered with a veil of red taffeta. She treats him with the utmost haughtiness, which he tries to soften by magnificent presents. The slaves bring a tray containing sugar-candy and a pair of pigeons. The bridegroom offers some of the pigeon to the sultana, and she offers him candy. He expresses his felicity in terms the most reverential. The sound of various instruments then gives him notice to retire from the apartments of the women, and feasting and amusement is kept up till late in the night. If the bride be past the years of infancy, she is conducted to her husband’s residence with great pomp.
Some writers have affirmed that a part of these marriage ceremonies consists in the Sultan’s saying to his sister, or daughter, “I give this man to be thy slave. If he offends, cut off his head;” and that the bride actually wears a sabre in token of her authority. Whether this be true or not, there cannot easily be any other bond than fear, in an alliance where one word of complaint from the wife would bring an executioner to strangle the husband.
The female relations of the Sultan are never allowed to quit Constantinople, lest their sons should escape the power of the despot, and occasion disturbances in the succession to the throne. When the Sultan dies, his women are shut up in what is called the old seraglio. If his successor be his son or brother, it is sacrilegious for him ever to look upon them; if otherwise, the love of novelty sometimes leads him among them to select new favorites.
But the seraglios of the Sultan and his grandees do not furnish a true picture of the character and condition of the Turkish women; any more than the royal marriages and etiquette of European courts are indicative of the manners of the people. Women of the middling classes in Turkey appear to enjoy a very considerable degree of freedom and consideration. It is even said that hen-pecked husbands are as numerous there as elsewhere. Their houses are indeed divided into separate apartments, one portion devoted to the men and the other to the women. Sometimes these apartments communicate only by one door, of which the husband holds the key; and the food of the women is conveyed to them by means of a revolving cupboard, similar to those by which the poor are supplied with food at the gate of convents. But, generally speaking, the Turkish women go in and out at their pleasure. The streets and bazars of Constantinople are full of them. They seldom address a stranger, or reply if spoken to; but if any thing peculiarly attracts their curiosity, they ask questions with much simplicity. Their favorite recreation is an excursion on the Bosphorus, the arrangements for which are made with very little ceremony. A lady sends her servants to invite her female friends, orders the provisions to be carried with them, gives directions for her husband’s dinner, steps into her caique,[1]calls for her friend, proceeds up the Golden Horn, selects some pleasant scene wherethe children can frolic under the shade of lofty trees, and there they remain working, talking, singing, and playing on the thambourah,[2]till the declining sun gives them warning to return. Sometimes the husbands join in these excursions, and sit in a group apart from the ladies, smoking, and sipping sherbet and coffee, while female slaves amuse them with dancing and singing. Trustworthy attendants always accompany the ladies on these occasions, to protect them from intrusion. It would be considered extremely indecorous for a stranger to approach the group.
These excursions on the canals are said to be sometimes the scenes of love-intrigues, carried on by means of signals from those in the neighboring houses to those in the boats. The police officers are on the watch for such misdemeanors; how often their vigilance is eluded, is best known to those who reside near the Bosphorus. The natural love of overcoming obstacles is a strong incentive to intrigue, and the custom of wearing veils favors concealment. In case of detection, the prompt punishment of despotic countries follows without much ceremony. All the public know, is that some woman is seen hanging lifeless from her own window, with her lover, or supposed lover, by her side; or that her body, inclosed in a sack, is found floating on the Bosphorus.
In former times the Turks considered it so improperto display a female face, that they used to fire at English merchant-ships the figure-head of which represented a woman; but the custom of veiling the face, by a muslin tied over the mouth and chin, is gradually going out of fashion, especially with the young.
The Turkish ladies spend some of their most agreeable hours in the public baths appropriated to their use. These baths are lighted by bell glasses at the top, and consist of apartments of different degrees of temperature. The last room is so hot that high wooden clogs must be worn to protect the feet from the pavement, and a sudden perspiration trickles from the pores at the moment of entrance. Yet the women go very frequently, and sometimes remain in this atmosphere five or six hours, while their attendants rub them with a kind of brush, and pull the joints till they crack. This operation, at first a little painful, is said to be followed by a sensation peculiarly agreeable. Having made plentiful use of perfumed soap and pomatum, braided their tresses, and pared their nails, the bathers pass into the next room, the temperature of which is lower. Here clean beds are prepared for delicious repose after the relaxation of the bath. Coffee and cordials are likewise furnished in this room, and sometimes a whole party of women dine there, and stay till evening, listening to stories, and discussing the important affairs of love and dress.
Turkish women generally have a sallow complexion with dark eyes. A face like a full moon, and aperson decidedly fleshy, are among their requisites for beauty. The grandees are said to place a peculiar value upon fair-haired girls, probably on account of their rarity.
The wedding ceremonies are simple. All the relations send presents of furniture, clothes, or jewels, which are the property of the wife in case of her husband’s death. Sometimes, when the marriage contracts are signed, a solemn promise is exacted from the man that he will never marry again during the lifetime of his wife. The bridal ceremony is performed by an iman or priest, who joins the hands of the parties, and recites certain prayers from the Koran. It sometimes takes place at the bridegroom’s house, but more generally at a mosque. The day before the wedding the bride goes to the bath, where her female relations and friends take off her dress, sing a bridal song, and offer their various gifts. The parties are escorted to the mosque in state, accompanied by friends and relations in arabahs,[3]drawn by oxen decorated with ribbons and garlands. The arabah in which the bride is conveyed is closed, but the others are open. The bridal veil is bright red bordered with yellow. The eyebrows of the bride are united in one broad black streak, by means of antimony and gall nuts; and her fingers are stained with hennah. When the new part of the nail forms a contrast with the stained part, it is considered peculiarly beautiful. Sometimes a childish love ofornament is carried so far, that gilt paper cut in the form of crescents, and various fantastic shapes, are stuck upon the face. Before the arabah which contains the bride are borne several trees surrounded with hoops, from which hang festoons of gold thread or tinsel, which wave in the breeze, and glitter when the sun glances on them. The procession consists of dancers, musicians, mountebanks, horses loaded with the furniture and apparel of the bride, and the relatives and friends on horseback, or in carriages.
When the bridegroom leaves the mosque, his friends strike him smartly on the shoulders for good luck. Girls are usually betrothed at the age of three or four years, and receive the nuptial benediction at twelve or fourteen. The custom of not allowing the bridegroom to see the bride until after the ceremony is contrary to the precepts of the Koran; for Mohammed says to one of his disciples, who was about to take a wife, “First see her, that you may judge how you should like to live with her.”
The wedding festivities last four days; the men feasting and frolicking in one set of apartments, the women in another. They usually begin on Monday, to avoid interfering with the Mohammedan Sabbath, which comes on Friday. A single life is very disreputable, and widows almost invariably marry again, unless they are very old. A Turkish woman is respected by her family and the world in proportion to the number of her children. In general they have very numerous claims to this kind of distinction.The Koran declares that a woman who dies unmarried is in a state of reprobation.
The common idea that Mohammedans believe women have no souls, is not founded upon any thing contained in the Koran. Mohammed expressly says: “Whoso worketh good, male or female, shall enter paradise;” and the pilgrimage to Mecca, for the salvation of their souls, is enjoined upon women as well as men, with the proviso that they must be accompanied by their husbands, or near male relations.
The Mohammedan law forbids pigs, dogs, women, and other impure animals to enter a mosque; and the hour of prayers must not be proclaimed by a female, a madman, a drunkard, or a decrepit person. The first prohibition was no doubt intended to prevent the frequent meetings between the sexes which would be likely to take place during religious services. The last regulation implies no peculiar contempt for women; the same classes would be excluded from the priesthood in Christian countries.
The Turkish proverb, that “A woman causes the ruin or prosperity of a house,” implies that female influence is in some degree acknowledged and appreciated.
Jests at the expense of women prevail in Turkey, as they do all over the world. Nass-red-dyn, the Turkish Æsop, wishing to propitiate the conquering Tamerlane, proposed to carry him some fruit. “Hold,” said he, “two heads are better than one; I will ask my wife whether I had better carry quinces or figs.” His wife replied, “Quinces will please himbest, because they are larger and finer.” “However useful the advice of others may be,” rejoined Nass-red-dyn, “it is never well to follow that of a woman; I am determined to take figs.”
When he arrived in the camp, Tamerlane amused himself with throwing the figs at his bald head. At every blow Nass-red-dyn exclaimed, “God be praised!” Tamerlane inquired what he meant. “I am thanking God that I did not follow my wife’s advice,” replied Nass-red-dyn; “for if I had brought quinces instead of figs, I should certainly have a broken head.”
Women do not attend funerals in Turkey, the ceremonies of which are very simple. At the death of a husband they put on a particular kind of head-dress, and wear no ornaments for twelve months. At the grave the iman repeats a prayer, and calls the deceased three times by his name, and by that of his mother, never by his father’s. If the mother’s name be unknown, they call him “son of Mary,” the blessed virgin; if the deceased be a woman under similar circumstances, they call her “daughter of Eve.” A column with a sculptured turban on the top designates the grave of a man; a kind of vase, or marble bowl, is placed on the top of columns erected for women. After a rain, the birds come to these vases to drink. In Syria, Armenia, and Turkey, the color of mourning is celestial blue.
In 1755, Othman III. made very severe ordinances with regard to women. He forbade their going abroad on Friday; would not allow them to do theirown shopping; (that task being transferred to their husbands and male relations;) ordered them to wear coarse dull-colored cloth instead of fine Cashmeres; and made an express edict against their high head-dresses. The women, to avoid this last ordinance, contrived a species of machinery by which they could suddenly diminish their caps, and raise them again, when the police officers were out of sight.
These regulations were but temporary. The wives and daughters of the wealthy Turks dress with extreme magnificence. Rich colored damask brocades embroidered with silver and gold, and looped up with buttons of diamond or pearl, are much worn. Though the national costume remains the same, fashion plays a thousand freaks with the details of dress.
The Turks do not consider it polite to make inquiries concerning each other’s wives. Among the class of vicious women in cities the number of Mohammedans is said to be very small, because the laws restraining them are peculiarly severe. If it be discovered that a Mohammedan woman has a Christian lover, he is compelled to marry her, and renounce his religion.
Perhaps there is no country where slavery exists in so mild a form as in Turkey. The children of slaves are brought up in the same way as the legitimate children, and enjoy the same privileges and rights. Female slaves are free by law at the end of six years, and allowed to form the most advantageous marriages they can.
Instances are numerous of slaves rising to the highest dignities of the empire. The black eunuchs of the seraglio often acquire immense wealth and influence.
It is a singular fact, that the Mohammedan nations treat slaves better than the Christian; and that, among Christians, the Catholic nations treat them better than the Protestant.
Both European and Asiatic Turkey have been described under the head of Asia, because their manners and customs are so decidedly and entirely oriental.
Of the Asiatic Greeks nothing is here said, because their character and condition is essentially the same as that of the Greeks in Europe.
Numerous Frank and Armenian merchants reside in Smyrna, the manners and costumes of which are a curious combination of various nations. It seems very odd to travellers to meet ladies with English or French names, wearing the Turkish or Greek costume, and speaking the Greek language. The Carnival is celebrated at Smyrna with extraordinary splendor. On this occasion the ladies appear in their richest attire, and there is a continual succession of waltzing parties, concerts, and theatricals.
The wealthy Frank merchants residing in Turkey are extremely cautious in arranging the marriage contracts of their daughters. The bridegroom engages to secure his wife a certain portion of his fortune, in case she survives him, and receives, on his part, a written promise from her father of the money,jewels, clothes, &c. constituting the dowry, and of the portion he intends to leave her at his death.
The Persians seem to have been remarkable among the ancient nations for a savage jealousy of women, which led them to keep the objects of their love perpetually imprisoned and guarded. Their severity is spoken of as extraordinary, by Plutarch, and other authors, who wrote at a period when even the most enlightened nations allowed very little freedom to their women. Yet the Persians are said to have been the first who carried their wives and children into the field of battle: “We do it,” said they, “that the sight of all that is most dear to us, may animate us to fight more valiantly in their defence.”
The Medes and Persians are likewise supposed to have been the first who introduced dancing and singing women to entertain their guests at a banquet; but the fact that Cyrus gave two captive female musicians to his uncle Cyaxares, proves that music was cultivated at a very early period, by nations which yielded to the dominion of Persia.
The character of Cyrus is the brightest page in Persian history. At a time when female captives taken in war were treated with the utmost indignity, and sometimes with savage barbarity, he was distinguished for a degree of respectful gallantry, which would have done credit to the most refined prince of modern times.
When told that the exquisitely beautiful wife of Abradatas had been assigned to him among otherspoils of the Assyrian camp, and that the woman wept incessantly for her husband, to whom she was fondly attached, Cyrus at once resolved not to see her, lest her unrivalled loveliness should make it difficult for him to do his duty. In fact, he protected her against himself, and against one of his favorite officers, who, being appointed to attend upon the beautiful Panthea, had become a captive to her charms. Nothing could exceed the gratitude of the princess, when she found herself and her attendant maidens living in the midst of the Persian camp with as much safety and seclusion, as if she had been in the palace of her husband. Abradatas having received information of the magnanimous conduct of Cyrus, immediately hastened to engage himself, his troops and treasures, in the service of the virtuous monarch. When he was about to go forth to battle with Cyrus, Panthea brought him a golden helmet and arm-pieces, with broad bracelets for his wrists, which without his knowledge she had caused to be made from her own jewels. When he asked, with affectionate surprise, if she had sacrificed her ornaments for him, she replied that her husband was her greatest ornament. She then reminded him of their obligations to Cyrus, and told him that much as she loved him, she had rather be buried with him than live to know he had been deficient in courage. Abradatas laid his hand gently on her head, and looking upward, exclaimed, “O, great Jove, make me worthy of such a wife as Panthea, and sucha friend as Cyrus!” As the princess put on his armor, she turned aside to conceal her tears; and when the door of his chariot was closed, she kissed the steps by which he had entered, and followed after him. When he perceived this, he again bade her farewell, and entreated her to return. Her attendants placed her on a litter, and threw a tent-covering over her, to conceal her from the admiring troops. When the dead body of Abradatas was brought from the battle, Panthea reproached herself that she had urged him to such desperate courage. With the stern enthusiasm of ancient times, she stabbed herself to the heart, and died on her husband’s breast; having first given directions that their corpses should be wrapped in the same mantle. The Persian monarch, with sincere lamentations, ordered magnificent funeral rites, and a monument to be erected to their memory.
There is reason to suppose that Cyrus was blessed in his own domestic relations; for we are told that he mourned for his wife Cassandana with the sincerest grief, and commanded public demonstrations of sorrow throughout the empire.
The virtuous decorum of Cyrus was an exception to the general character of Persian princes. Men of rank, who could indulge their whims without control, sometimes married their own sisters and daughters. Artaxerxes Memnon, being in love with his beautiful daughter Atossa, had some fears that the affair would not redound to his credit; but his mother quieted these scruples by saying, “Are younot set over the Persians by the gods, as the only rule of right and wrong?”
Another of the Persian kings called the magi together to give their opinion on a similar occasion. The accommodating priests answered, “We can find no law that authorizes a man to marry his own daughter; but our laws authorize a king to do whatever he pleases.”
Some idea of the excessive voluptuousness of the Persian court in ancient times may be derived from the account given of Ahasuerus.
By an old custom the queen had a right to ask any favor she thought proper on the king’s birthday, and he was bound to grant it. Amestris, the wife of Xemes, on one of these occasions, being filled with vindictive jealousy, demanded that her sister-in-law should be mangled in a most shocking manner and thrown to the dogs. The innocent victim, who had in fact discouraged and resisted the king’s passion, was destroyed in the most cruel manner.
The splendor which now characterizes Persian princes prevailed in ancient times. The revenues of provinces were devoted to particular articles of the queen’s wardrobe. This was implied by their names; one being called the Queen’s Sandals, another the Queen’s Girdle, &c. The use of false hair was not uncommon in Media and Persia.
The account given of Alexander’s marriage with the daughter of Darius seems to imply that the ancient marriage ceremonies were very simple. A great feast was prepared, the bride was seated besideher lover, he took her hand and kissed her in presence of the assembled guests, and she became his wife.
The ancient Persians considered matrimony so essential, that they believed those who died single would infallibly be unhappy in another world; for this reason, when a relation of either sex died unmarried, they hired some person to be formally married to the deceased as soon as possible.
It was considered a great misfortune to be childless. “Children,” said the prophet Zerdhust, “are a bridge that reaches to paradise; and how shall ye pass if he have provided no bridge? The angel shall ask every soul, if he have provided children; if he answer, no, the soul that has contributed so little to society shall himself be left desolate on the banks of a river, where he shall see the fresh springs and blooming fruits of paradise, but shall never be able to reach them.”
A boy was kept in the female apartments, and not permitted to see his father, till his fifth year, in order that his parent might not experience so much uneasiness in case he died before that period.
The slightest rudeness to a Persian woman was punished with instant death by her husband or guardian. He who spoke to one of the numerous inmates of the king’s harem, or touched their persons even in the most accidental manner, or passed their chariots on the road, was killed immediately. The modern laws are but little less severe.
A Persian woman, under the dominion of the kindestmaster, is treated in much the same manner as a favorite animal. To vary her personal graces for his pleasure is the sole end and aim of existence. As moral or intellectual beings, it would be better for them to be among the dead than the living. They are allowed to learn a little reading, writing, and embroidery; but their reading is confined to the Koran, and even that they generally read very imperfectly. Dancing and music are little practised, except by a public class of women, usually hired at festivals and entertainments, and of a character notoriously profligate. These girls are more remarkable for agility than grace in their motions.
The Persian women are kept continually shut up in theharem, which they rarely leave from the cradle to the grave. They are visited only by female relations, or female teachers, hired to furnish them their scanty apparatus of knowledge. The mother instructs her daughter in all the voluptuous coquetry by which she herself acquired precarious ascendency over her absolute master; but all that is truly estimable in female character is neglected, as it ever must be where nothing like free and kind companionship exists between the sexes. A resident in Persia declares that the women are ignorant, and inconceivably gross in their ideas and conversation. Under such a system it could not be otherwise.
The contempt in which women are held is singularly exemplified by a Persian law, which requires the testimony of four of them in cases where the declaration of two men would be deemed sufficient.While talking with a person of rank, it would be considered grossly impolite to make the most remote allusion to the female part of his family; even if his beloved wife were on her death-bed, it would be deemed an almost unpardonable insult to make any inquiries concerning her.
A large black eye, full of amorous softness, is considered the chief requisite in Persian beauty. To increase this voluptuous languor of expression, they make lines around the eyes with powder of antimony. They take great pains to make their eyebrows meet; and if this charm be denied, they paint them, so as to produce the effect. They not only dye their hair and eyebrows, but also stain the face and neck with a variety of figures of birds, beasts, and flowers, the sun, moon, and stars. A large proportion of the noble families are descended from Georgian and Circassian mothers, and consequently have fair complexions.
When a Persian father has selected a family with which he wishes to have his son connected, he sends an elderly female to ascertain the girl’s personal endowments, and the probable consent of her parents or guardians. If the report prove favorable, the bridegroom sends messengers to explain his merits, and make a formal offer of marriage. The heads of the family meet to make all arrangements concerning presents, ornaments, dowry, &c.; and the papers are sealed and witnessed before magistrates.
On the morning of the wedding, the bridegroom sends a train of mules laden with presents to thebride, preceded by music, and followed by numerous servants, bearing costly viands on silver trays, to be spread before the inmates of her father’s house. The day is spent in mirth and feasting. Toward evening, the bride veiled, in scarlet or crimson silk, is mounted on a superbly caparisoned mule, preceded by music, and followed by a long train of relatives and friends to the house of her destined husband, who rides forth with a similar procession to meet her. The female attendants conduct her to the apartments prepared for her, and she is from that moment a lawful wife. The bridegroom prepares a sumptuous feast for his friends and relatives, who generally keep up the festivities for three days.
The jointure settled upon a wife varies according to the wealth of the husband. If he is in middling circumstances, he merely bestows two dresses, a ring, and a mirror; but he is likewise expected to supply all the requisite furniture.
It is deemed an irretrievable disgrace for a bride to be sent back after she has left her father’s house. Sometimes the bridegroom promises a jointure beyond his means; and in these cases, curious scenes sometimes take place. He shuts the door against the cavalcade, and declares the girl shall not enter his dwelling, unless the jointure be reduced. Under these circumstances he is generally able to make his own terms.
The harems of grandees are the most magnificent portion of their palaces. In the king’s seraglio the same offices and places exist as at court; but thechief equerry, the captain of the gate, the captain of the guards, &c., are all of them women. Women likewise read public prayers, and perform the rites of the Mohammedan religion within the inclosures of the harem. Women practise medicine, and bury the dead. A Persian harem is in fact a miniature city, with its mosques, cemeteries, bazaars, &c. The inhabitants are divided into four classes. The princesses of the blood are calledbegum; such of the king’s women as have brought him children are calledkanoom; inferior women are calledkatoon; and those kept for the purpose of waiting upon them are termed slaves. Each female has an apartment to herself, or lodges with some aged women, and cannot go into the other rooms, without express permission. The harem is watched by three sorts of guards, over all of whom is placed a governor, or superintendent. White eunuchs guard the outside, and are never permitted to enter the interior; black eunuchs dwell round the second inner inclosure; and within are stationed elderly women to watch day and night by turns. It is indispensably requisite that the governor of the seraglio should be very old, and exceedingly ugly. The inmates are sometimes allowed to walk in the garden, after it has been well searched, and all persons ordered to retire.
When it is necessary to remove the king’s women from one dwelling to another, public notice is given five or six hours beforehand of the road they are to pursue. All the inhabitants of the villages through which they are to pass must forthwith quit theirhabitation. A horseman rides before the cavalcade, calling with a loud voice, Prohibition! Prohibition! The ladies sometimes ride astride on horseback, closely veiled; but the wealthy generally travel in palanquins, or cages of wicker-work, covered with cloth, and supported by mules or camels. No excuse avails if any male, over seven years of age, is caught in any place where he could so much as see the camels that carry these women; even if a traveller were to stumble in his hurry to get out of the way, the guards would beat him almost to death.
The first wife generally has a rank above her numerous rivals, particularly if she be the mother of children; but this depends entirely on the caprice of the master. Misdemeanors are punished according to the discretion of the husband. When divorces take place, the dowry originally given to the wife is set aside for her support. The Persians have a superstition that the spilling of a woman’s blood brings ill luck; for this reason, when the inmates of the harem are discovered in any love-intrigue they are generally muffled up in their long veils, and thrown from the top of a high tower.
Interest compels these women to practise all manner of coquettish arts. The more capricious and presuming they are, the more likely are they to receive attention; if gentle and reserved, they would be overlooked in the crowd. The favorite always makes despotic use of her transient power. On all occasions, she causes the pleasure of her presence to be purchased with long delay and impatience; andwhen she visits her female relatives, she makes it a point not to return till her husband has sent many times for her. The Persians are generally scrupulously neat in their persons and apparel.
The baths are a great place of amusement for ladies. Here they pass hours and hours, listening to stories of fairies and genii, eating sweetmeats, sharing each other’s pipes, and painting their persons. The Jewesses are the oracles of the seraglio. From them the young beauties purchase all manner of cosmetics, charms, amulets, love-potions, &c.
The endearing duties of a mother become a source of fear and sorrow within the walls of the royal harem; for, in order to prevent quarrels about the succession to the throne, it is customary to put large numbers of children to death, or to deprive them of their eyes. The queen-mother herself superintends these executions, to which she becomes hardened by custom. The Persian mothers possess the only shadow of power which women are allowed to have. They regulate the education and settlement of their children, and it is said a marriage is not concluded, even with the father’s consent, if they oppose it.
Sometimes when one of the king’s women offends him, or his mother, she is married to some menial of the palace, which is considered a very disgraceful punishment. But fortunate is her lot, who is transferred from the royal harem to some favorite grandee. She receives the title of a lawful wife, and is treated like a princess. Notwithstanding the painful sacrifices and perpetual fear belonging to those who formthe king’s household, parents are extremely anxious to obtain the splendid bondage for a daughter; for if she happens to be a favorite, the greatest honors and emoluments are heaped on her relations.
Women of the middling class are more occupied than the wives of grandees, and therefore unavoidably have more freedom. They spin, sew, embroider, superintend the house, keep account of expenses, pay the servant’s wages, and see that proper care is taken of the horses. Sir Robert Porter, speaking of this class of Persian females, says, “They do all the laborious part of the household establishment; each having her own especial department, such as baking the bread, cooking the meat, drawing the water, &c. Though the latest espoused is usually spared in these labors, and the best dressed, still the whole party seem to remain in good humor. When their lord shows himself among them, it is like a master coming into a herd of favorite animals. They all rush forward, frisking about him, pleased with a caress, or frisking still if they meet with a pat instead. The four wives of my worthy host retire at sunset, and each taking her infant and cradle to the roof of her division of the house, not forgetting the skin of water she has brought from the well, deposits her babe in safety, and suspends the water-case near her, on a tripod of sticks, in order that the evaporation may cool it for next day’s use. Our communicative host told me that to preserve amity among these women, he was accustomed, like all husbands who valued peace, to divide his time and attention equallyand alternately among them. Indeed the law of Mohammed, though it allows four wives, expressly stipulates that the first married shall experience no diminution of wardrobe, or accustomed privileges, in consequence of the introduction of a new bride into the family.
When women of the common classes leave their houses they scrupulously conceal their faces with a veil woven like a fine net, or a cloak with two holes just big enough for their eyes; but the neck is often less carefully covered than the face. Like all oriental women, they are very fond of perfumes and ornaments. Their clothing is usually chosen and purchased for them, as we do for little children.
On the death of a husband, they lay aside all rich and showy apparel, and assume the garb of mourning, which among the Persians is pale brown. For months and months they pay daily visits to the grave, watering it with tears, rending their garments, and tearing their hair. The law allows widows to marry again, but they seldom take a second husband. In many cases, the anniversary of the birthday of the deceased is for years kept as a solemn festival by his family and friends.
Several years ago, a beautiful Circassian accompanied the Persian ambassador to London, where she excited great attention, and was treated with distinguished kindness. Sir Robert Porter met her when she was returning to Persia, mounted on a miserable post-horse. He says, “The poor creature, perceiving that I was a European, rode forward to addressme; but in a moment the rough fellow who was her conductor laid his whip over her shoulders, with so terrible an admonition into the bargain, that, closing both her lips and her veil, she travelled on, doubtless with heavy recollections. To interfere in behalf of a woman so situated would cast a sort of contamination on her, and only redouble her stripes.”
Women whose husbands are not rich enough to furnish palanquins, ride astride a horse, muffled in a great sheet, which makes them look like a bag of flour placed upright. Sometimes they are stuffed into panniers slung across a mule or a camel, like poultry on the way to market. If there be but one traveller, some heavy article is put into the opposite basket as a balance.
When the ambassador Meerza Abul Hassan was in England, nothing excited his surprise so much as the fact that women sometimes undertook voyages. “Is it possible!” he exclaimed: “if I were to tell our Persian women that there were English women in ships, they would never believe me. They consider it a great undertaking to go from one town to another; but your women go from one end of the world to the other, and think nothing of it. If it were even known to my family that I was now in a ship, on the high seas, there would be nothing but wailing and lamentation from morning till night.”
The architectural remains and ancient literature of Hindostan give a high idea of their knowledge and refinement in remote ages. According to theirold poets, women were then regarded with a kind of chivalrous gallantry, and enjoyed a degree of personal freedom, to which modern Asiatic women are entire strangers: Sacontalu, the adopted daughter of a holy Bramin, is the heroine of an interesting old drama, in which she is mentioned as receiving strangers with the most graceful hospitality; and when Dusmantha was absent from his capital, his mother governed in his stead. Women were then admitted as witnesses in courts of justice, and where the accused was a female, their evidence was even preferred.
Malabar boasts of her seven sages, and four of them were women. The celebrated Avyar, one of the most ancient of these sages, probably lived more than a thousand years ago. Her origin and birth are involved in poetic fable; but her works are still extant, and held in much estimation. They principally consist of short moral sentences, like the following: “Speak not of God but with reverence.” “The sweetest bread is that earned by labor.” “The genuine object of science is to distinguish good from evil.” “Let thy books be thy best friends.” “Modesty is the fairest ornament of a woman.” “There is no virtue without religion.”
The Mohammedan creed, which everywhere produces a miserable effect on the destiny of women, has considerably changed their condition in Hindostan. The higher classes among the Hindoos, without adopting the religion of the Mussulmans, copied their jealous precautions with regard to females.
Wives are numerous, according to the wealth and character of their owners. A petty Hindoo chief has been known to have several hundred female slaves shut up in his zananah.[4]Under these unnatural circumstances, we cannot wonder at the character of women given by one of their pundits, as the Braminical expositors of law are called: he says, “Women are characterized, first, by an inordinate love of jewels, fine clothes, handsome furniture, and dainty food; second, by unbounded profligacy; third, by violent anger and deep resentment, no one knowing the sentiments that lie concealed in their hearts; fourth, another person’s good appears evil in their eyes.” This is but one among many instances wherein men have reproached the objects of their tyranny with the very degradation and vices which their own contempt and oppression have produced. How can it be wondered at that women, with all the feelings and faculties of human nature, and unnaturally deprived of objects for their passions, affections, or thoughts, should seek excitement in petty stratagem and restless intrigue?
No Hindoo woman is allowed to give evidence in courts of justice. The Bramins have power to put their wives to death for unfaithfulness; but it is said that milder punishments are more usually inflicted. Sometimes reconciliation takes place, and the event is celebrated by a feast, to which the neighboring Bramins are invited, and the culprit waits upon them at table.
This crime in Hindoo women is generally punished by expulsion from their caste, a heavy fine, and the bastinado. It is considered a still more disgraceful penalty to have the hair cut off. This is rarely inflicted, except upon very abandoned females, who are afterward plastered with filth, and led about on a donkey, accompanied with the sound of tamtams.
Instances of extreme injustice sometimes occur, as must always be the case where human beings are invested with arbitrary power.
One of the rajahs of Hindostan had a beautiful wife, whom he loved better than all the rest of his women. A young man, who was originally his barber, gained his confidence to such a degree, that nothing could be done but through his interest. The rajah, having accepted an invitation to an annual festival held at a great distance, trusted every thing to the integrity of this prime minister. Before his master had been gone a week, the villain dared to make love to his favorite wife. She treated him with indignation and scorn, and threatened, if he continued to repeat professions of his love, that she would expose his baseness. He knew the rajah had a most fiery and impetuous temper, and he at once resolved how to escape danger, and to be revenged upon his virtuous victim. He sought an interview with his master the very first moment he returned, and by a tissue of plausible falsehoods, made him believe that his favorite wife was a faithless creature, entirely unworthy of his confidence. The rajah, in a fit of blind fury, flew into the zananah, and without speaking aword, murdered the beautiful object of his recent attachment.
The circumstance was soon forgotten; for such murders were common, and punishable by no laws. Even the nearest relatives of the deceased did not ask the reason of such violence.
Thus precarious must all attachments be where moral and intellectual sympathy have no share in the union.
After a considerable time had elapsed, one of the rajah’s wives, on her death-bed, said she had something important to disclose to her husband; the guilty favorite immediately imagined that his murdered victim had made her a confident of his infamous designs, and he fled with all possible precipitation. His fears proved true; the dying wife disclosed the whole history of his treachery. The rajah tore his hair, and ran round the palace like a madman. Horsemen were despatched in every direction, but the wicked minister escaped. The agonized prince did all he could—he raised a splendid temple to the memory of his murdered wife. Within the temple is her image, the eyes of which are costly diamonds. The unfortunate rajah at last went mad. He would look at his hands, and wash them a hundred times a day; but he could not cleanse the blood from his memory.
The Hindoo women frequently follow their husbands to battle, and perish by their side. Rather than fall into the power of conquering enemies,they often commit suicide, or entreat their husbands to kill them.
Females are engaged in almost every variety of occupation, according to the caste of their husbands. They cultivate the land, make baskets and mats, bring water in jars, carry manure and various other articles to market in baskets on their heads, cook food, tend children, weave cloth, reel skeins of thread, and wind cocoons. A single cocoon is divided into twenty degrees of fineness; and these silk-winders have such an exquisite sense of touch, that when the thread is running swiftly through their fingers, they break it off exactly as the assortments change. Cashmere shawls are sometimes woven in a manner so delicate, that they can be drawn through a wedding ring; and they manufacture muslin so transparent, that when laid on the grass it does not at all intercept the color.
It has been said that there is no country in the world where so many people live in idleness. This is no doubt in a great measure to be ascribed to the enervating influence of their brilliant climate, the abundance produced by a luxuriant soil, and the slight shelter or clothing required, where the air is so uniformly mild, and the sky serene. All travellers agree that the scenery of Hindostan is beautiful, almost beyond imagination. Magnificent temples and tombs indicate the grandeur of former times, while the gorgeous edifices of more recent periods denote the wealth, if not the classic taste of her princes; innumerable rivers fertilize and adorn theland, while the air is perfumed with the lavish abundance of blossoms and fruit. The inhabitants love to repose in the cool shadow of their broad-leaved foliage; and the women are said to be so languidly indolent, that they will hardly stretch forth their arms to save their children from being trodden to death. One of their favorite authors says: “It is better to sit still than to walk; better to sleep than to be awake; and death is the best of all.”
In pictures of Hindoo women of the higher classes, I have always observed a dangling and listless position of the arms and fingers, which indicates all the writer has expressed. If any thing affects them disagreeably, they are apt to signify it by lolling out their tongues.
When a father dies, the eldest son supplies his place, in protecting and providing for his mother and younger members of the family. The widow can only claim an allowance necessary for her support; but filial piety is so highly reverenced by the Hindoos, that children often stint themselves that their parents need not suffer. The greatest insult that can be offered a Hindoo is to speak contemptuously of his mother.
The features of the Hindoos differ little from those of Europeans; but their complexion is of a deep mahogany hue. A very perceptible difference of physiognomy characterizes the various castes. Those who do not labor are less vigorous than Europeans, but more elegantly shaped. The women are said to be extremely beautiful, with delicate, regular features,and remarkably fine dark eyes; but they lose their beauty at an early age. They are generally distinguished by a childish simplicity and modest gracefulness, which is very attractive. If the husband is dissatisfied with his wife, he parts from her and seeks another; and the wife can do the same with regard to her husband. Some reasons are required to be given, but where both parties agree in wishing for divorce it is very easily obtained. Sometimes when a man desires a separation he calls his wife mother, and after that it is considered indelicate to live with her. Sometimes an occasional visiter addresses the females of the house in this way, as a pledge of his purity. The poor seldom have more than one wife; and if she has children they rarely part from her as long as they live. The women are generally faithful and submissive to their husbands, and very fond of their families. Even the poorest of them esteem it a great misfortune to be childless. They regard it, as the Jews did of old, as a peculiar visitation of God, and spare neither prayers, alms, offerings, nor penances, to avert this calamity. They are often seen performing long journeys, with two or three little children, whom they lead by the hand or carry on their backs.
Women, even of the higher classes, are forbidden to read or write; because the Hindoos think these acquirements would inevitably spoil them for domestic life, and assuredly bring some great misfortune upon them. Many stories are circulated concerning the dreadful accidents that have happened to women,who could read and write. Poetry, music, and dancing, are cultivated only by a class of women, openly and avowedly licentious. The wives of rajahs, and the numerous favorites of the Mohammedan grandees, do indeed divert their lords with dancing in the interior of the zananah, but it would be deemed highly disgraceful to indulge in this amusement before strangers. Nothing shocks an East Indian more than the European custom of ladies and gentlemen dancing with each other; they cannot believe that it does not indicate great corruption of manners.
From the remotest antiquity, dancing has been associated with religion in India. Thedevedasseesare young girls devoted to the service of the temple almost from their infancy; and this is considered so great an honor, that even the rajahs are anxious to obtain it for their daughters. They must be well shaped, of pleasing features, of good constitutions, and of very tender age; the parents are likewise required to renounce all further claim to the child. Thedevedassees, after bathing the novitiate in the tank belonging to the temple, dress her in new clothes and adorn her with jewels; the high priest puts into her hand an image of the deity, to whose service she devotes herself with a solemn vow; the lobes of her ears are then bored, and the seal of the temple imprinted on her with red-hot iron. The great pagoda of Juggernaut contains five or six hundred of these girls. The Bramins teach them to read, write, sing, and dance. They must likewisebe versed in the history of their gods; but they are forbidden to read thevedas.[5]They take care of the temples, light the lamps, and sing and dance before the statue of the god, on solemn festivals. Some say the devedasses are entirely subservient to the pleasures of the Bramins, who are exceedingly jealous of them; others say they are at liberty to choose any lovers, in or out of the temple, provided they be of the higher castes. The tips of their nails are stained red. The long braided hair, the neck, the naked arms, and the feet are covered with jewels; rings on the hand, rings on the feet, rings in the ears, and sometimes rings in the side of the nose; literally, according to the old nursery story, “with rings on her fingers and bells on her toes.” The silver chains and bells with which they decorate the ankles and feet, make a monotonous but agreeable sound, as they dance, that mingles pleasantly with the small drums, tambourines, and silver cymbals, to which they keep time. In their hands they hold wooden castanets, which they strike in cadence. At the end of each dance they turn toward the idol, with their hands clasped before their faces. All make precisely the same movements and gestures at the same moment. When they become old, or the Bramins, for any other reason, wish to have them leave, they are dismissed from the pagoda. The temple where they serve furnishes them with food, clothing, and pay; but when they leave, they are obliged to relinquish all articles of ornament. They are ever after receivedin society with peculiar respect, a degree of sanctity is attached to their character, and it is considered an honor to marry them. If turned out of the temple in their old age, they are liable to be in destitute circumstances, unless they have a handsome daughter to succeed them; if so, they may safely rely upon filial kindness.
There is another class of Hindoo dancers, calledcanceni, orbayaderes. They are avowedly courtesans; but not disgraced by assuming that character, as women are in Christian countries. They receive the same education as thedevedassees, or sacred dancers; but they are not like them confined to the service of the temples. Wealthy men hire them at entertainments, and some grandees keep a whole company constantly in their service. They too are load with jewels, bracelets, armlets, carcanets, coronals, rings, ear-rings, nose-rings, bells, and chains. The dress of a distinguished dancer often costs from fifteen to twenty thousand rupees. They surround their eyes with a black circle, made with the head of a pin dipped in powder of antimony. Those who are accustomed to it think it increases beauty of expression.
To preserve the comeliness of their forms, they cover the bosom with hollow cases of wood, linked together, and buckled at the back. These cases are made so very thin and pliable, that they move freely with the slightest motion of the body; they are plated with gold or silver, and sometimes set with gems. There is nothing loud or bold in the mannersof these degraded women. They are all softness, gentleness, and coquetry; but their dances, and the songs that accompany them, in which the Orientals take unbounded delight, are voluptuous beyond description.
There is another genuine Hindoo dance, callednautch, that differs in all respects from the dances performed by thedevedassees, or thecanceni. “It is executed by three women, who display in their steps and attitude a degree of seductive gracefulness astonishing to Europeans.” These dancers are calledramdjenies. Their dress is embroidered with gold and silver. They wear trowsers of very rich stuff, with a circle of bells around the ankles. Their lower garment is very ample, and becomes inflated like a balloon, when they turn swiftly.
One of the most remarkable features of Hindostan, is the division of society into distinctcastes. Nearly a hundred different castes exist, the distinctions of which the Bramins themselves are puzzled to define.
The parias, who are considered the scum of all the castes, have a most deplorable lot. These absurd regulations subject the masters of houses to great expense, as the meanest domestic absolutely refuses to perform any office but the one allotted to his or her caste.
A religious and civil law forbids any mixture of blood between the different castes. It is singular that a man is not degraded from his caste for being vicious, or for believing or disbelieving certain articles of religion; but heisdegraded for intermarryingwith an inferior caste, forming a friendship with any such, or partaking food with them. Customs that have some degree of similarity are hereditary among the descendants of the Jewish nation, and in some parts of the Chinese empire; but the nearest parallel to the Hindoo distinction of castes exists between the white and colored population of the United States of America. There is indeed some difference. The wealthy American, if starving, would gladly partake food with the mulatto, whose companionship would disgrace him under other circumstances; but the high caste Bramin would die rather than receive sustenance from a paria.
“A Bramin, being oppressed with thirst as he journeyed along, met a woman of low condition carrying a vessel of water on her head. He asked her for some to drink; but, that he might not receive water from an impure hand, he formed a little channel on the ground; the woman poured the water in at one end, while the Bramin drank at the other. One of his own caste, who happened to be passing at the time, accused him before the council of the Bramins; the affair was investigated, and he narrowly escaped the sentence of exclusion from his caste.”
It is said that all distinctions cease in the temple of Juggernaut, on the occasion of a yearly festival; in commemoration of the primitive equality of mankind, the Bramin and the paria then eat together, without any disastrous consequences.
It is rare to find an unmarried female in India, except those who have been betrothed in infancy,and lost their partners before the period of what they call “the second marriage.” These girls can never marry without losing caste; but as the affections cannot be controlled by custom, these unfortunate beings often forfeit their characters by imprudence. Suicides on this account were so common, that an officer of the British government, in order to prevent them in his district, commanded that all such corpses should be exposed to the public gaze. The law proved so effectual, that there was never any necessity for enforcing it.