TURKISH WIVES.
(From the Pali Mall Gazette.) First among- Turkish social topics is that of the harem. The Koran allows a Mnssulm m to have four wives ; and many persons have consequently imagined that polygamy is the rule in Turkey, whereas it is tiie exception. A Mussulman may only have as many wives as he can keep in comfort;, and it is only the very rich who can afford to keep four* The middle-class Turks have only one wife apiece ; the men of the lowest class are often obliged to remain single from not having the means to support a consort in the style which the Moslem law enjoins. Nothing can be more unTurkish than the. Mormon idea of accumulating a number of women to live under one roof, quarelling in the kitchen and . parlor, and acting as household drudges for their husband. The Turkish wife is not a slave ; the chief fault to find with her is that she has too lofty a sense of her own dignity. An advocate of female rights would have some difficulty in persuading her that her lot was pitiable ; she has never envied the emancipation of Christian women, whose free ways shock her ; while she has noticed that they get much less respect from the men of : their faith than that which is invariably vouchsafed to herself. She veils her face with no more regret than a Western lady unveils her shoulders. Turkish women are not shut np. They go out when they please, attended by their odaliks, if rich, or Holding their children by the hand ; and their magpie voices hU tho bazaars, for they are noisy talkers. Wherever they pass, men of all creeds stand aside deferentially. If a husband meets his wife in tho street, he makes no eign of recognition. If ho perceives her halting before a draper’s stall, and gazing significantly at silica dearer than he can afford, he must possess his soul in resignation, muttering «Maahallah.” This respect for women prevails also in the home circle, and it comes naturally to the- Mussulman, who has been taught Tofia h ; a boyhood to behave courteously to the softer sex. The Western conjugal expression about “ wearing the breeches ” has its Turkish counterpart -in. the phrase to “live under the slipper ; ” aud it is to he feared that not a few Turks know the taste of this implement of uxorial persuasion. A hamal (street porter) once came before a cadi to complain that his wife trounced him too frequently. “See what mine does,” answered the magistrate, opening his gown and showing some weals on his neck and shoulders. “Go thy way, my son, and thank Allah thou art luckier than I.”
A Turkish house is divided into two parts - - the selamllk for the men, the harenilik for the women ; and the latter has as many separate suites of apartments as there are ladies. A Turk who has but one wife may require a largo haremlik if his mother and sisters live with him, for each of these ladies most have her private set of rooms and servants for her separate use. There must be no crowding- aud_ no mixing of domestics in a well-ordered establishment ; ao that if there he four wives they.need never see one another unless they please. Ihc first wife is called the hatmn, and takes precedence over the others all her life. She has a right to the best rooms, and to a fixed share of her husband’s income, which he must not reduce to minister to the caprice of his younger spouses. As these points have generally been settled through the ulemas or priests before the wedding, a hanun’s jointure is as. safe as that of a Frenchwoman who has had a contract drawn np by a notary. During the last twenty years monogamy has become more and more the rule among lurks of the highest class, and even among those who have two or three wives the hanun has gradually come to be . regarded as having tho same rank as the mistress of a Christian house. She visits and en- ■ tertains the hanuns of other gentlemen, but keeps aloof from wives of tho second and other degrees. These are not equals in her sight, being generally, ladies of a lower social status, who have not brought any dower to their husband. Time was when a pasha would take four wives of equal degree, all being daughters of other pashas or of the Sultan, and all richly portioned ; but manners have altered in this respect—at all events, in the European part of Turkey. It must not bo'supposed, however, that a hanun cherishes any such jealous hatred of her fellow-wives as is felt by a Christian wife who sees hvr husband flirt with strange women. She is content with the largest share of her husband’s respect, without demanding his exclusive devotion. Her philosophy often goes the length of choosing from among her own odaliks or companions (from oda, room), one whom she deems meet to be his morganatic spouse, and -she will do this tiro more readily if she have taken a fancy to the girl and bo unwilling to see her leave the house. In some houses, not of the highest class, the four wives are as friendly at home as it is possible for women to be; though each may have a different Hqt of outdoor friends whom she will not introduce to tho others. In any case the supremacy of the hanun is always acknowledged, and the others will not intrude themselves into her presence unless invited. The Turk who has money marries young, and an excuse for polygamy might be found in tho fact that his first marriage is always an affaire de conetnance, His father bespeaks a bride for him from among the daughters of his best friend, and he does not sec tho young lady until she lifts her veil in the bridal chamber after the wedding. Thu preliminaries are conducted by the mothers on both sides ; and doubtless a son will now and then plead hard to bo allowed just one peep at 1 his intended, but a prudent matron will turn a tieaf car to such entreaties. The damsel is more fortunate, for she can see her bridegroom elect turougli the grated windows of h'-r re sidence, or, closer sill!, undercover of her veil in tho bazaars. It might be supposed that, asfeminine nature is tho f-amo in all latitudes, a girl who knew herself to bo pretty might devise innocent stratagems for lotting her betrothed get a sight of her—-for instance, wear a very, thin veil, or contrive that, at the hour when the young effendi called on her father, one or
two of the wooden bars of her moucharabies (window grating) should be displaced. But this .would be quite contrary to-Mussulman nations of delicacy, which are not to be trifled with. Turkish girls are unaffectedly modest. Those of the lower ’class who are engaged as servants in the houses of Frank residents are much preferred to Greeks or Armenians for their excellent behavior, cleanliness, and regard for truth. Looking upon marriage as their natural destiny, they are careful of their reputations ; and when married make first-rate housewives.
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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5420, 10 August 1878, Page 2 (Supplement)
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1,211TURKISH WIVES. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5420, 10 August 1878, Page 2 (Supplement)
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