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HAREM

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Originally appearing in Volume V12, Page 952 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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HAREM , less frequently HARAM or HARIM (Arab harimcommonly but wrongly pronounced harem— "that which is illegal or prohibited "), the name generally applied to that See also:

part of a See also:house in See also:Oriental countries which is set apart for the See also:women; it is also used collectively for the women themselves. Strictly the women's quarters are the haremlik (lik, belonging to), as opposed to selamlik the men's quarters, from which they are in large houses separated by the mabein, the private apartments of the householder. The word harem is strictly applicable to See also:Mahommedan households only, but the See also:system is See also:common in greater or less degree to all Oriental communities, especially where See also:polygamy is permitted. Other names for the women's quarters are Seraglio (Ital. serraglio, literally an enclosure, from See also:Lat. sera, a See also:bar; wrongly narrowed down to the sense of harem through confusion with See also:Turkish sera or See also:sari, See also:palace or large See also:building, cf. See also:caravanserai); See also:Zenana (strictly zanana, from See also:Persian zan, woman, allied with Gr. -yvvi), used specifically of See also:Hindu harems; Andarun (or Anderoon), the Persian word for the " inner part " (sc. of a house). The See also:Indian harem system is also commonly known as See also:purdah or purdah, literally the name of the thick curtains or blinds which are used instead of doors to See also:separate the women's quarters from the See also:rest of the house. A male See also:doctor attending a zenana See also:lady would put his See also:hand between the purdah to feel her See also:pulse. The seclusion of women in the See also:household is fundamental to the Oriental conception of the See also:sex relation, and its origin must, therefore, be sought far earlier than the precepts of See also:Islam as set forth in the See also:Koran, which merely regulate a practically universal Eastern See also:custom.' It is inferred from the remains of many See also:ancient Oriental palaces (Babylonian, Persian, &c.) that See also:kings and wealthy nobles devoted a See also:special part of the palace to their womankind. Though in comparatively See also:early times there were not wanting men who regarded polygamy as wrong (e.g. the prophets .,of See also:Israel), nevertheless in the See also:East generally there has never been any real See also:movement against the conception of woman as a See also:chattel of her male relatives. A See also:man may have as many wives and concubines as he can support, but each of these women must be In See also:Africa also, among the non-Mahommedan negroes of the See also:west See also:coast and the Bahima of the See also:Victoria See also:Nyanza, the seclusion of women of the upper classes has been practised in states (e.g. See also:Ashanti and Buganda) possessing a considerable degree of See also:civilization.his exclusive See also:property. The See also:object of this insistence upon See also:female chastity is partly the See also:maintenance of the purity of the See also:family with special reference to property, and partly to protect women from marauders, as was the See also:case with] the; See also:people of See also:India when the Mahommedans invaded the See also:country and sought for women to fill their harems.

In Mahommedan countries theoretically a woman must See also:

veil her See also:face to all men except her See also:father, her See also:brother and her See also:husband; any violation of this See also:rule is still regarded by strict Mahommedans as the gravest possible offence, though among certain Moslem communities (e.g. in parts of See also:Albania) women of the poorer classes may appear in public unveiled. If any other man make his way into a harem he may lose his See also:life; the attempted See also:escape of a harem woman is a See also:capital offence, the husband having See also:absolute See also:power of life and See also:death, to such an extent that, especially in the less civilized parts of the Moslem See also:world, no one would think of questioning a man's right to mutilate or kill a disobedient wife or concubine. Turkish Harems. —A See also:good See also:deal of misapprehension, due to See also:ignorance combined with strong See also:prejudice against the whole system, exists in regard to the system in See also:Turkey. It is often assumed, for example, that the See also:sultan's seraglio is typical, though on a uniquely large See also:scale, of all Turkish households, and as a consequence that every Turk is a polygamist. This is far from being the case, for though the Koran permits four wives, and See also:etiquette allows the sultan seven, the man of See also:average possessions is perforce content with one, and a small number of female servants. It is, therefore, necessary to take the imperial seraglio separately. Though the sultan's household in See also:modern times is by no means as numerous as it used to be, it is said that the harem of Abdul Hamid contained about r000 women, all of whom were of slave origin. This See also:body of women See also:form an elaborately organized community with a See also:complete system of See also:officers, disciplinary and administrative, and strict distinctions of status. The real ruler of this society is the sultan's See also:mother, the Sultana Valide, who exercises her authority through a female See also:superintendent, the Kyahya Khatun. She has also a large See also:retinue of subordinate officials (Kalfas) ranging downwards from the Hasnadar ousta (" Lady of the See also:Treasury ") to the " See also:Mistress of the Sherbets " and the" See also:Chief See also:Coffee Server." Each of these officials has under her a number of See also:pupil-slaves (alaiks) ,whom she trains to succeed her if need be, and from whom the service is recruited. After the sultana valide (who frequently enjoys considerable See also:political power and is a mistress of intrigue) ranks the mother of the See also:heir-apparent; she is called the Bash Kadin See also:Effendi (" Her See also:excellency the Chief Lady "), and also hasseki or kasseky, and is distinguished from the other three chief wives who only See also:bear the See also:title Kadin Effendi.

Next come the ladies who have See also:

borne the younger See also:children of the sultan, the Hanum Effendis, and after them the so-called Odalisks or Odalisques (a perversion of odalik, from odah, chamber). These are subdivided, according to the degree of favour in which they stand with the sultan or See also:padishah, into Ikbals (" Favourites ") and Geuzdes (literally the " Eyed " ones), those whom the sultan has favourably noticed in the course of his visits to the apartments of his wives or his mother. All the women are at the disposal of the sultan, though it is contrary to etiquette for him actually to select recruits for his harem. The See also:numbers are kept up by his female relatives and See also:state officials, the latter of whom See also:present girls annually on the evening before the 15th of See also:Ramadan. Every odalisk who has been promoted to the royal See also:couch receives a daira, consisting of an See also:allowance of See also:money, a See also:suite of apartments, and a retinue, in proportion to her status. It should be noted that, since all the harem women are slaves, the sultans, with practically no exceptions, have never entered into legal See also:marriage contracts. Any slave, in however See also:menial a position, may be promoted to the position of a kadin effendi. Hence all the slaves who have any pretension to beauty are carefully trained, from the See also:time they enter the harem, in deportment, dancing, See also:music and the arts of the toilette: they are instructed in the Moslem See also:religion and learn the daily prayers (namaz); a certain number are specially trained in See also:reading and See also:writing See also:Harebell (See also:Campanula rotundifolia). for secretarial See also:work. Discipline is strict, and continued disobedience leads to See also:corporal See also:punishment by the eunuchs. All the women of the harem are absolutely under the See also:control of the sultana valide (who alone of the harem of her dead husband is not sent away to an older palace when her son succeeds), and owe her the most profound respect, even to the point of having to obtain permission to leave their own apartments. Her See also:financial secretary, the Haznadar Ousta, succeeds to her power if she See also:dies.

The sultan's See also:

foster-mother also is a See also:person of importance, and is known as the Taia Kadin. The See also:security of the harem is in the hands of a body of eunuchs both See also:black and See also:white. The white eunuchs have See also:charge of the See also:outer See also:gates of the seraglio, but they are not allowed to approach the women's apartments, and obtain no posts of distinction. their chief, however, the kapu aghasi (" See also:master of the gates ") has part control over the ecclesiastical possessions, and even the See also:vizier cannot enter the royal apartments without his permission. The black eunuchs have the right of entering the gardens and See also:chambers of the harem. Their chief, usually called the kislar agkasi (" master of the maidens "), though his true title is darus skadet See also:aga (" chief of the See also:abode of felicity "), is an See also:official of high importance. His See also:appointment is for life. If he is deprived of his See also:post he receives his freedom; and if he resigns of his own See also:accord he is generally sent to See also:Egypt. with a See also:pension of roo francs a See also:day. His secretary keeps See also:count of the revenues of the mosques built by the sultans. He is usually succeeded by the second See also:eunuch, who bears the title of treasurer, and has charge of the jewels, &c., of the women. The number of eunuchs is always a large one. The sultana valide and the sultana hasseki have each fifty at their service, and others are assigned to the kadins and the favourite odalisks. The See also:ordinary See also:middle-class household is naturally on a very different scale.

The selamlik is on the ground See also:

floor with a separate entrance, and there the master of the house receives his male guests; the rest of the ground floor is occupied by the See also:kitchen and perhaps the stables. The haremlik is generally (in towns at least) on the upper floor fronting on and slightly overhanging the See also:street; it has a separate entrance, courtyard and See also:garden. The windows are guarded by lattices pierced with circular holes through which the women may See also:watch without being seen. Communication with the haremlik is effected by a locked See also:door, of which the Effendi keeps the See also:key and also by a sort of revolving See also:cupboard (dutap) for the See also:conveyance of meals. The See also:furniture, of the old-fashioned harems at least, is confined to divans, rugs, carpets and mirrors. For See also:heating purposes the old See also:brass See also:tray of See also:charcoal and See also:wood ash is giving way to See also:American stoves, and there is a tendency to import See also:French furniture and decoration without regard to their suitability. The presence of a second wife is the exception, and is generally attributable to the See also:absence of children by the first wife. The expense of marrying a See also:free woman leads many See also:Turks to prefer a slave woman who is much more likely to be an amenable partner. If a slave woman bears a See also:child she is often set free and then the marriage ceremony is gone through. The harem system is, of course, wholly inconsistent with any high ideal of womanhood. Certain misapprehensions, however, should be noticed. The depravity of the system and the vapid idleness of harem life are much exaggerated by observers whose sympathies are wholly against the system.

In point of fact much depends on the individuals. In many households there exists a very high degree of mutual See also:

consideration and the See also:standard of conduct is by no means degraded. Though a woman may not be seen in the streets without the yashmak which covers her face except for her eyes, and does not leave her house except by her husband's permission, none the less in ordinary households the harem ladies frequently drive into the country and visit the shops and public See also:baths. Their seclusion has very considerable compensations, and legally they stand on a far better basis in relation to their husbands than do the women of monogamous See also:Christian communities. From the moment when a woman, free or slave, enters into any See also:kind of wifely relation with a man, she has a legally enforceable right against him both for her ownand for her children's maintenance. She has absolute control over her See also:personal property whether in money, slaves or goods; and, if See also:divorce is far easier in Islam than in Christendom, still the marriage See also:settlement must be of suc.'r amount as will provide suitable maintenance in that event. On the other hand, of course, the system is open to the gravest abuse, and in countries like See also:Persia, See also:Morocco and India, the life of Moslem women and slaves is often far different from that of middle class women of See also:European Turkey, where See also:law is strict and culture advanced. The early See also:age at which girls are secluded, the dulness of their surroundings, and the See also:low moral standard which the system produces react unfavourably not only upon their moral and intellectual growth but also upon their capacity for motherhood and their See also:general physique. A harem woman is soon passee, and the See also:lot of a woman past her youth, if she is divorced or a widow, is monotonous and empty. This is true especially of child-widows. Since the middle of the 19th See also:century familiarity with European customs and the See also:direct See also:influence of European administrators has brought about a certain See also:change in the attitude of Orientals to the harem system. This movement is, however, only in its See also:infancy, and the impression is still strong that the time is not ripe for reform.

The Oriental women are in general so accustomed to their See also:

condition that few have any inclination to change it, while men as a rule are emphatically opposed to any alteration of the system. The See also:Young Turkish party, the upper classes in Egypt, as also the Babists in Persia, have to some extent progressed beyond the orthodox conception of the status of women, but no See also:radical reform has been set on See also:foot. In India various attempts have been made by See also:societies, missionary and other, as well as by private individuals, to improve the lot of the zenana women. Zenana See also:schools and hospitals have been founded, and a few women have been trained as doctors and lawyers for the special purposes of protecting the women against their own ignorance and inertia. Thus in 1905 a Parsee Christian lady, See also:Cornelia Sorabjee, was appointed by the See also:Bengal See also:government as legal adviser to the See also:court of wards, so that she might give See also:advice to the widowed mothers of minors within the harem walls. Similarly trained medical women are introduced into zenanas and harems by the Lady Dufferin Association for medical aid to Indian women. Gradually native Christian churches are making See also:provision for the attendance of women at their services, though the sexes are rigorously kept apart. In India, as in Turkey, the introduction of Western See also:dress and See also:education has begun to create new ideas and ambitions, and not a few Eastern women have induced See also:English women to enter the harems as companions, nurses and governesses. But training and environment are extremely powerful, and in some parts of the Mahommedan world, the See also:supply of See also:Asiatic, European and even American girls is so steady, that reform has touched only the fringe of the system. Among the See also:principal societies which have been formed to better the condition of Indian and See also:Chinese women in general with special reference to the zenana system are the See also:Church of See also:England Zenana Missionary Society and the Zenana See also:Bible and Medical See also:Mission. Much See also:information as to the medical, See also:industrial and educational work done by these societies will be found in their See also:annual reports and other publications. Among these are J.

K. H. Denny's Toward the Uprising; See also:

Irene H. See also:Barnes, Behind the Pardah (1897), an See also:account of the former society's work; the general condition of Indian women is described in Mrs See also:Marcus B. See also:Fuller's Wrongs of Indian Womanhood (1900), and Maud See also:Dover's The Englishwoman in India (1909); see also See also:article See also:MISSIONS. See also:Mahomet's regulations, see R. See also:Bosworth See also:Smith's Mohammed and Mohammedanism (1889); for Egypt, See also:Lane, See also:Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (1837) ; and E. Lott, Harem Life in Egypt and See also:Constantinople (1869); for the sultan's household in the 18th century, Lady Wortley See also:Montagu's Letters, with which may be compared S. Lane-See also:Poole, Turkey (ed. 1909); G. Dorys, La Femme turque (1902); especially See also:Lucy M. J.

See also:

Garnett (with J. S. See also:Stuart-See also:Glencoe), The Women of Turkey (See also:London, 1901), and The Turkish People (London, 1909). For the attempts which have been made to modify and improve the Indian zenana system, see e.g. the reports of the Dufferin Association and other official publications. Other information will be found in Hoffman's article in See also:Ersch and See also:Gruber's Encyclopadie; Flandin in Revue See also:des deux mondes (1852) on the harem of the Persian See also:prince Malik Kasim Mirza; the count de See also:Beauvoir, in Voyage See also:round the World (187o), on Javanese and Siamese harems; Hantzsche in Zeitschrift See also:fur allgemeine Erdkunde (See also:Berlin, 1864). (J. M.

End of Article: HAREM

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