The History of Prostitution Part 38

The same low state of morals is observable in Santa Cruz, but in Jamaica the negroes are mostly married and faithful to their engagements. Formerly the intercourse of the s.e.xes was loose, profligate, and lewd. When the missionaries attempted to reform this, any who submitted to their teachings were ridiculed by the demoralized of their comrades. It must be admitted that Europeans have not shown any good example to the negroes, but, on the contrary, have encouraged their vices.

JAVA.

A curious system of manners now prevails in Java. Hindoos have been succeeded by Mohammedans, and they, in turn, have given place to Dutch, each having impressed some characteristic on the people. As elsewhere, the condition of the female s.e.x will indicate the general character. The inst.i.tution of marriage is universally known, if not practiced or respected, and the lot of women may be considered fortunate. They are not ill-used in any manner, and the seclusion imposed upon the more opulent is rather a withdrawal from the indiscriminate gaze of the people than that lonely secrecy exacted by jealousy in some parts of the East. The condition of the s.e.x in Java is an exception to the habits of Asiatics.

They a.s.sociate with the men in all the pleasures and offices of life, eat with them, and live on terms of mutual equality. They are sometimes permitted to ascend the throne, and, in short, nowhere throughout the island are they treated with coa.r.s.eness, violence, or neglect. They are willing and industrious, and are admitted to many honorable employments.

Men sometimes act tyrannically in their households, but this only shows the fault of an individual, not of a cla.s.s.

Polygamy and concubinage are practiced by the n.o.bility without reference to public opinion, but are not generally adopted, being regarded as vicious luxuries. The first wife is always mistress of the household; the others are her servants, who may minister to her husband's pleasures, but do not share his rank or wealth. No man will give his daughter as second or third wife, unless to some one far superior in rank to himself; and a woman considers it dishonorable, not, in the abstract, to prost.i.tute herself, but to form a connection with any man of humbler birth than herself.

But, though polygamy and concubinage are seldom known in Java, their absence must not be considered as implying superior morality. On the contrary, it is the most immoral country in Asia. A woman who would not condescend to be the second wife of a chief would not scruple to commit adultery with him. In general terms, both s.e.xes are profligate and depraved, although the islanders boast the chast.i.ty of their women as a distinguis.h.i.+ng ornament, because a married woman would shriek if a stranger attempted to kiss her before her attendants.

Divorce can be procured in Java with the utmost freedom, and is a privilege in which the women indulge themselves to a wanton degree. If a wife pays her husband a sum of money, he must leave her. He is not legally bound to accept her offer, but public opinion considers it disreputable to live with a woman who has thus signified her wishes for a separation, and he yields to general sentiment what is not exacted by law. The husband is often changed three or four times before the woman is thirty years old, and some boast the exercise of this privilege twelve times. As the means of subsistence abound, and are procured as easily by women as by men, the former are independent of the latter, and find no difficulty in living without husbands. Unfortunately for the theories of some female reformers of the present day, who imagine that such independence foreshadows the millennium of woman's rights, it must be admitted that, where the experiment has been tried, the s.e.x are proverbially dissolute.

Among the wealthier cla.s.ses the utmost immorality prevails, and in the great towns the population is debauched to the last degree. Intrigues with married women continually occur, and are prosecuted almost before the face of the husbands, who are often so tame and servile that they dare not a.s.sert their conjugal rights. Travelers have noticed flagrant instances of the looseness of j.a.panese manners, but one case will suffice. One of the princes, who had seduced a married woman, and was in the habit of visiting her at times when her husband, an officer in the public guard, was on duty, was surprised in her company on one occasion, the chief having returned home earlier than was expected. He knew the rank of his visitor, and discreetly coughed, so that the prince had time to escape. He then went to the chamber and flogged his wife. She complained to the prince, who was particularly desirous, at that time, to conciliate his subjects.

He sent for the husband, made him many rich presents, and allowed him to select the handsomest woman in the royal household in place of the frail one who had betrayed him. The husband accepted the peace-offerings, allowed his wife to return home with him, and all the parties were satisfied.

In Java women are usually married very young, as their chast.i.ty is in danger as soon as they reach maturity. At eighteen or twenty a girl is considered to be getting old, and scarcely any are unmarried after twenty-two. Yet age does not exclude a woman from the probabilities of matrimony, for widows often procure husbands at fifty. The preliminary arrangements are made by the parents, as scandal would not allow the young people to take any part in a transaction in which they are looked upon, as the natives express it, as mere puppets. The father of the youth, having made a suitable choice, proposes to the parents of the girl. If they are willing, the betrothal is ratified by some trifling present, and visits are made, that the intended nuptials may be publicly known. Subsequently the price of the lady is arranged, varying according to the rank and circ.u.mstances of the family. Sometimes this is plainly called the "purchase-money," and sometimes by a more delicate term, the "deposit." It is considered as a settlement for the bride. The only religious feature in the marriage ceremony is an exchange of vows in the mosque. This is followed by many observances of etiquette and parade. Finally, the married couple eat from the same vessel, to testify their common fortune, or the bride washes her husband's feet in token of subjection.

The Javanese support a large cla.s.s of women as public dancers. The inhabitants are pa.s.sionately fond of this amus.e.m.e.nt, but no respectable woman will join in it, and all its female partisans are prost.i.tutes; in fact, the words _dancer_ and _prost.i.tute_ are synonymous in their language. A chief of high rank is not ashamed to be seen with one of these women, who figure at most large entertainments, and frequently ama.s.s enough money to induce some petty chief to marry them. So strong, however, is their ruling pa.s.sion, they soon ascertain that domesticity is not their sphere, and become tired of their husbands, whom they divorce without ceremony, and coolly return to their public life. The dress in which they perform is very immodest, but they seldom descend to such obscene and degrading postures as may be witnessed in other Eastern countries.

European example has not done much for Java. The Dutch merchant has usually a native female called his housekeeper. In every city public prost.i.tutes abound, while about the roads in the vicinity may be found others ready for hire. Their disguise as dancers is thought to conceal their profligacy.

SUMATRA.

The population of this island is divided into several tribes, slightly differing in their manners. The Rejangs, who may be supposed to represent its original inhabitants, are rude barbarians, scrupulously attentive to the show, but wanting the spirit of delicacy. They drape their women from head to foot, dread lest a virgin should expose any part of her person, and yet modesty is not a characteristic of the people in towns and villages. Those in rural districts who are not so rigid as to costume are more distinguished by decency.

The customs of Sumatra are of a peculiar character, great importance being attached to required formulas; and the ritual is more essential than the principle. It is curious to examine the intricate details of a Sumatran marriage contract, which appears to be so little understood even by the people themselves that, we are informed, one of these doc.u.ments is sufficient to originate an almost endless litigation.

There are several modes of forming a marriage contract. The first is when one man agrees to pay another a certain sum in exchange for his daughter.

A portion of the amount, say about five dollars, is generally held back, to keep the transaction open, and allow the girl's parents a chance to complain if she is ill used. If the husband wound her, he is liable to a fine, and in many ways his authority is controlled. But if he insists on paying the balance of the purchase-money, her parents must accept it, and then their right of interference ceases. If a father desires to get rid of a girl suffering from any infirmity, he sells her without this reservation, and she has fewer privileges in consequence.

In other cases marriage is an affair of barter, one virgin being given for another. A man having a son and a daughter will give the latter in exchange for a wife for the former; or a brother will dispose of his sister in the same way. Sometimes a girl evades these customs by eloping with a lover of her own choice. If the fugitives are overtaken on the road, they can be separated; but if they have taken refuge in any house, and the man declares his willingness to obey existing rules, his wife is secured to him. The Jewish custom of a man marrying his brother's widow is in force among the Sumatrans, and if there be no brother, she must be taken by the nearest male relative, the father excepted, who is made responsible for any balance of her purchase-money which may be due.

Adultery is not frequently committed under this system, but when it is, the husband chastises his wife himself, or else forgives the offense. If he desire to divorce her, he may claim back the purchase-money, less twenty-five dollars, which is allowed her parents for depreciation in the woman's value. If a man who has taken a wife is unable to pay the whole price, her friends may sue for a divorce, but then they must return all they have received from him. The ceremony of divorce consists in cutting a ratan in two in presence of the parties and their witnesses.

Another kind of marriage is when a girl's father selects some man whom he adopts into his family, receiving a premium of about twenty dollars. The father-in-law's family thus acquire a property in the young husband; they are answerable for his debts, claim all he earns, and have the privilege of turning him out of doors when they are tired of him.

The Malays of Sumalda have generally adopted a third kind of marriage, which they call _the free_. In this the families approach each other on an equal level. A small sum, about twelve dollars, is paid to the girl's parents, and an agreement is made that all property shall be common between husband and wife, and if a divorce takes place it shall be fairly divided. The actual ceremony of marriage is simple: a feast is given, the couple join their hands, and some one p.r.o.nounces them man and wife.

Where the female is an article of sale, little of what we call courts.h.i.+p can be expected. It is opposed to the manners of the country, which impose strict separation of the s.e.xes in youth; and, besides, when a man pays the price of his wife, he considers he is ent.i.tled to possession, without any question as to her predilections. But traces of courts.h.i.+p may be met with.

On the very few occasions when young people are allowed to meet, such as public festivals, a degree of respect is shown to women contrasting very favorably with the observances of more civilized communities, and mutual attachments sometimes spring from these a.s.sociations. The festivals are enlivened by dances and songs. The former have been described as licentious, but an English traveler says he has often seen more immodest displays in a ball-room in his native country. The songs are extempore, and love is the constant theme.

Polygamy is permitted, but only a few chiefs have more than one wife. To be a second one is considered far below the dignity of a respectable woman, and a man would demand a divorce for his daughter if her husband was about to take an additional companion.

Marsden, the traveler already mentioned, says that in the country parts of Sumatra chast.i.ty is general; but the merit is lost when he adds that interest causes the parents to be watchful of their daughters, because the selling price of a virgin is far above that of a woman who has been defiled. If a case of seduction occurs, the seducer can be forced to marry the girl and pay her original price, or else give her parents the sum which they would lose by her error.

Regular prost.i.tution is rare. In the bazars of the towns some women of this cla.s.s may be found, and in the sea-ports profligacy abounds, troops of professional courtesans parading the streets. No one would estimate the morality of a country from the spectacles exhibited in maritime cities. As a general rule, the Sumatran is content to marry, and is faithful to his wife. This may proceed from temperament rather than morality, as their ideas on the latter are not very rigid. This is shown by their opinion of incest, which they regard as an infraction of conventional law, sometimes punis.h.i.+ng it by a fine, and at other times confirming the marriage, unless it occurs within the first degree of relations.h.i.+p.

BORNEO.

Notwithstanding the attention which has been drawn to the island of Borneo within the last few years, it is yet but little known to the general reader. The investigations of Sir James Brooke and others have enabled us to discern many of its social features. Most of the inhabitants of Borneo are in a state of barbarism. Some wander naked in the forest, and subsist on the spontaneous productions of the earth; others cultivate the soil, dwell in villages, and trade with their neighbors. The river communities are more advanced than those who live inland, and the inhabitants of sea-ports are more educated and more profligate than any. These have been farther debased by the abominable system of piracy, which, until recently, was their occupation.

Among the Sea Dyaks, or dwellers on the coast, there is no social law to govern s.e.xual intercourse before marriage, nor is the authority of parents recognized in the matter. The Dyak girl selects a husband for herself, and, while she remains single, incurs no disgrace by cohabiting with as many as she pleases. After marriage she is subject to more stringent rules, for, as a man is allowed only one wife, he requires her to be faithful, or in default punishes her with a severe whipping. If he is incontinent he incurs a similar penalty. Cases of adultery are not frequent, though they sometimes occur in time of war.

The ceremony of marriage is as simple as possible. The consent of the woman is first obtained, then the bride and bridegroom meet and give a feast, which completes the contract.

If a girl becomes pregnant, the father of the child must marry her, and this is a common way of securing a husband. A man and woman live together for a time, and separate if there is no prospect of a family. During this probation constancy is not considered indispensable. The fear of not becoming the father of a family, a misfortune greatly dreaded by the Dyaks, favors the loose intercourse of unmarried people. In some tribes the duties of hospitality require that if a chief is traveling he shall be furnished with a _pro tempore_ female companion at every place where he sleeps.

Among the Dyaks dwelling on the hills morality is of a higher standard.

Single men are obliged to sleep in a separate building, and the girls are not allowed to approach them. Marriage is contracted at a very early age, and adultery is almost unknown. Polygamy is not allowed, but some of the chiefs indulge in a concubine, for which they are generally blamed. There are certain degrees of consanguinity within which marriage is unlawful.

One man shocked public feeling by marrying his granddaughter, and the people affirm that ruin and darkness have covered the face of the sun ever since that act of incest. As they marry constantly within their own tribe, the whole commonwealth is in time united by ties of blood, and to this is ascribed the insanity common among them, a conclusion warranted to some extent by the imbecile state of well-known royal families condemned to perpetual intermarriages.

It is said that many prost.i.tutes may be found among the people of the South, but this rests on doubtful testimony, and in the Dyak language there is no word to express the vice.

The Sibnouan females are neither concealed from strangers nor shy before them. They will bathe naked in the presence of men. The unmarried people sleep promiscuously in a common room, but married couples have separate apartments. The labor of the household is allotted to females, who grind rice, carry burdens, fetch water, catch fish, and till the ground. They are not so degraded as in other barbarous nations. They eat with the men, and take part in their festivals as well as their labor.

Among the Mohammedan Malays there is more civilization and more corruption. They are polygamists, indulge in concubinage, encourage prost.i.tutes, and ill use their wives. An English physician lately received a message from the wife of a chief appointing a secret meeting. He was punctual to the a.s.signation, and met the lady, who asked him for a close of a.r.s.enic to poison her husband, as he ill-treated her. Report says that the Englishman was disappointed in the nature of the interview, but firmly refused to grant her request.

The rich Malays allow their wives to keep female slaves, and the jealousy of the mistress renders their situation any thing but pleasant. They sometimes serve as concubines, in which case the law renders them free, but many refuse to avail themselves of this advantage.

We have no definite account of prost.i.tutes in sea-port towns, but they appear to be of several cla.s.ses: those who cohabit temporarily with the Malays, those who prost.i.tute themselves indiscriminately to all comers, and those who are supported by sailors and profligate Chinese, who invariably create such a cla.s.s wherever they settle. It is certain that women of this cla.s.s exist in considerable numbers in Borneo.

CHAPTER x.x.xI.

SEMI-CIVILIZED NATIONS.

Persia.--Afghanistan.--Kashmir.--India.--Ceylon.--Ultra-Gangetic Nations.--Celebes.--China.--j.a.pan.--Tartar Races.--Circa.s.sia.-- Turkey.--Northern Africa.--Siberia.--Esquimaux.--Iceland.--Greenland.

PERSIA.

Women occupy an inferior position in Persia, where they are literally the property of men. The lower cla.s.ses consider them valuable for their labor, the rich regard them as instruments of pleasure. While Persian poetry and romance are devoted to the praise of female charms, the realities of every-day life prove that the s.e.x is held in slight esteem. The wives of the Shah vegetate within the walls of a luxurious prison; and if one is ever permitted to breathe the air outside, she is paraded in solemn procession, guarded by a troup of eunuchs armed with loaded muskets, in order to drive off any curious wayfarer who might be tempted to gaze on the charms of a royal mistress. Nor is this isolation peculiar to them; it pervades all the upper cla.s.ses, and brothers are not allowed to see their sisters after a certain age.

This jealousy is not decreased by the polygamy which is common in the country. The religious laws limit a Persian to four wives, but allow him to keep as many concubines as he can afford; and, in pursuance of this privilege, the harem of the palace is said to contain at times more than a thousand women, who need a stringent discipline to keep them in order.

They are arranged with a strict regard to precedence. The chief favorite lives in splendor, her attire is covered with costly jewels, and she has the privilege of sitting in the royal presence. Her inferiors are subject to much rigor, and the eunuchs preserve decorum by administering personal chastis.e.m.e.nt with the heel of a slipper on the face of a refractory woman.

They seem insensible to any degradation. Many of them lead a pleasant, idle life, lounging for hours in the warm bath, and emerging with enervated frames to deck their pretty persons in order to render themselves attractive to the Shah. They court his favor as much as they fear his frown, and with good reason. The former can raise them to the summit of their ambition; the latter can condemn them to be fastened in a sack and thrown from a lofty tower.

Common usage permits a Persian to take a woman in three different ways: he may marry, purchase, or hire her. In the first case, betrothal sometimes takes place in infancy, but it must be subsequently confirmed by the parties. In this they seldom fail; for if a girl shows any repugnance to ratify her father's contract, he whips her until she consents, and she requires little of this kind of argument to induce compliance. The nuptial ceremony must be witnessed by two persons, one of whom is a legal officer to attest the contract. This is delivered to the bride, and by her carefully preserved, as it proves her t.i.tle to provision in the event of widowhood or divorce. Though a man has the right to put away his wife when he pleases, the attendant expense and scandal render it a rare proceeding.

Mohammedan jealousy farther protects the woman, as no one will willingly allow a female with whom he has lived to fall into the hands of another.

In addition to this, interest restrains a husband from using his privileges in a direct manner, as when he takes the initiative he must pay back the dowry he received with his wife. If she applies for divorce, he is free from this obligation. The advantage being thus on the man's side, a species of tyranny is frequently practiced until the woman is forced to open the suit, when he gets rid of her, but retains her property.

A Persian may purchase as many female slaves as he desires. These acquire no advantage of position by being his concubines; he may sell or otherwise dispose of them at any moment he thinks proper.