Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and BabylonLayard, Austen Henry
History
Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon
Layard, Austen Henry
Babylon (Extinct city); Middle East -- Description and travel; Nineveh (Extinct city); Scientific expeditions
After some conversation we went to the harem, and were received by his
mother, a venerable lady, with long silvery locks and a dignified
countenance and demeanor. Her dress was of the purest white and
scrupulously clean. Altogether she was almost the only comely woman I had
seen amongst Eastern tribes. The wives and daughters of the chiefs, with a
crowd of women, were collected in the tent; but it was evident, at a
glance, that they were of a different race from the wandering tribes of
the Desert.
The principal ladies led us into the private compartment, divided by
colored screens from the rest of the tent. It was furnished with more than
usual luxury. The cushions were of the choicest silk, and the carpets (in
the manufacture of which the Milli excel) of the best fabric. Sweetmeats
and coffee had been prepared for us, and the women did not object to
partake of them at the same time. Mousa Agha's mother described the
various marriage ceremonies of the tribe. Our account of similar matters
in Europe excited great amusement amongst the ladies. The Milli girls are
highly prized by the Kurds. Twenty purses, nearly 100_l._, we were
boastingly told, had been given for one of unusual attractions. The chief
pointed out one of his own wives who had cost him that sum. Other members
of the same establishment had deserved a less extravagant investiture of
money. The prettiest girls were called before us, and the old lady
appraised each, amidst the loud laughter of their companions, who no doubt
rejoiced to see their friends valued at their true worth. They were all
tatooed on the arms, and on other parts of the body, but less so than the
Bedouin ladies. The Kurdish ladies do not, like the Mussulman women of the
town, conceal their features with a veil; nor do they object to mingle, or
even eat, with the men. During my stay at Umjerjeh I invited the harem of
the Chichi chief, and their friends, to a feast in my tent--an
invitation they accepted with every sign of satisfaction.
The Milli were formerly one of the wealthiest Kurdish tribes; but they
were wantonly plundered, and almost reduced to want, by the Turkish troops
three years ago. Although the Porte openly condemned the outrage, and had
promised compensation, no step whatever had been taken to restore the
stolen property, the greater part of which had passed into the government
treasury.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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