Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-10-10
IN AN EGYPTIAN HAREM.
A Woman's Description of What She
Saw and Heard There.

A Woman's Description of What She
Saw and Heard There.
When I went out to Egypt little
more than eighteen months ago it was
with the determine ton to try to un-
derstand the harem lady. This I
thought possible by making calls on
certain pashas' wives whom | knew in
and around Cairo, but [ soon discov-
cred, if l really was to know and IN
derstand the harem woman as she
veritably u.s. [ must live with her as
she herself lived in the harem. Hav-
ing come to this conclusion, | dis
cussed the ways and means with a
Turkish pasha Of my acquaintance,
and in less than a month | obtained
the post of goyerness to four little
children in the harem of one Of the
best-natured Egyptians in the interior
of Egypt.
The word "harem," which has to
simply means Gin Arabic) females"
or women. I believe the original
meaning was forbidden. For an
eastern to speak of women as women
is considered highly improper. He
must call them hareema. The harem
of man is, therefore, the apartments
set apart for the sole use of the wOm-
en- and their children. These are
usually the whole Of the first floor of
the palace. No man may enter but
the husband, and sometimes certain
of the male relatives: but I have
known a case where the head of the
harem would admit none Of his male
relatives into his harem. The harem
usually consists Of the wives, to the
number Of four; female slaves (thcse
| speak of were black, and female
free women, who were natives of low
err Egypt The slaves are the hus-
bands property, and he may use them
as concubines or not, as he desires.
It is considered indicate for lady
to allow any one but her husband to
see her hair, and unclean for any to
grow upon her face or body. Indoors,
therefore, if she respect herself, she
wears a head dress which hides the
hair, and is by no means unbecoming.
When out in the carriage she allows
only the eyes to be seen.
The harem lady is bound to be, from
her bringing up, Of a low type. Her
only educa ton is the idea to be the
plaything of some rich man-that rich
n an, Of course, being her legal hus-
band. From babyhood she is taught
to any pure-minded European, are
disgusting. She has no life outside Of
her bath, her body, the visits of her
husband, and, in a very mild way, her
children. For recreation, a eunuch
will take her for a drive, to call ON
another harem in the harem closed
carriage, and for amusement a dane
ing girl will be brought into the
harem, or, if the house is in mourning,
a sheikh will chant the Koran in the
mems quarters, when the women
gather on the harem terrace to listen.
The room in which the dancing took
place was a large entrance-room in the
harem, about seventy feet by sixty.
Off this room were all the bedrooms.
Each bedroom opened into this room,
and there was no communication to
the bedrooms except through this
room. 1t was furnished in the usual
oriental style-heavy silk carpets and
curtains. divans all round the walls,
floor cushions on the floors, and a
J marble table in the center. The Kha-
wazee, or dancing girls, would be sent
for, and, with much clatter of shoes,
would waddle into this room, remoy-
ing their outer clothing. Coffee, cigar
cites, and cognac would be handed
them-the latter, as they say, to re-
move the veil of modesty from be
fore their eyes! We would all then
recline on the divans, with cigarettes
and coffee to hand, and the slaves
would fan US. An EXCHANGING woman,
who had grown too old to dance,
would begin to beat the dara bukeh, or
drum; another would produce most
| monotonous discord, in excellent time,
on the kemengeh. a Stringed insuu-
ment, while a third would blow
! through a sort Of flute. The great
point to each of them, so it seemed
) to me, was the time, which the per-
I former on the darabukeh seemed to
have at her own disposal. When they
| had fairly warmed to their work, a
| Ghawazee would get up, and, with a
cigarette in her mouth. begin to dance.
! What this dance is like it would be
| difficult for me to describe. A series
of wriggles Of the body to the time
Of the music. which begins slowly,
! gradually getting faster and faster
till one is fairly dazed, when the
dancer suddenly throws herself on he1
back on a floor cushion, all the while
wriggling to the music, which gets
; slower and slower till it stops. The
dance usually last about half an hour