Coll 34/3 'Slavery and Slave Trade: Red Sea and Arabia: Attitude of Ibn Saud' [‎32v] (69/886)

4
with the interests of their master’s families. In one case a former pilgrim-guide
for Turkish pilgrims, ruined by the Turkish Government’s veto on the
performance of the pilgrimage by Turks, died in poverty in Jedda leaving a
widow and adolescent daughter in charge of his old slave. The latter now
supports the family by his earnings, has exerted himself to find a suitable husband
for the daughter, and has in all respects taken over the position of headship of
the family. In another case a rich shopkeeper of Mecca when dying left his entire
estate to his slave and entrusted him with the care of his elderly invalid wife. The
slave is now managing the business and devotedly nursing the widow.
Female Slavery.
15. The general treatment of female slaves merits separate consideration.
Accurate information regarding it is difficult to come by in a country where
women are rigorously secluded, and where even a conversational reference to the
female side of a man’s household is a social solecism. Distinction must be made
at once between the female domestic slave and the £ £ suriya ’ ’ or concubine.
16. The former undoubtedly may be subject to worse treatment than a male
slave. Ignorant and cut off from the world in the harem, she often fears the
world outside, and in particular the prospect of being sent to a new country, too
much to take the steps open to her to escape from ill-treatment, and may suffer
from both her master and his free wives; it would seem, indeed, that a jealous or
cruel mistress is more often than not the cause of a slave-girl’s running away.
She may be married at her master’s will to a slave belonging to her own or
another master, or, again, be separated from her slave-husband, and even her
children, through her, or their, being sold to another master and being taken away
to a different part of the country.
17. The position of the ££ suriya” is different. Promiscuous concubinage
by a master among his female slaves, if it ever existed to any great extent, is
largely a thing of the past. A slave-concubine may be kept nowadays either in
addition to, or instead of, her master’s regular wives. In the former case she is
given sepaiate quarters, for no wife would tolerate her close proximity; in the
lattei, she is mistress of her master’s house, with all the rights and privileges of
a wife, except that, until she has borne her master a child, and been in
consequence freed (see paragraph 21 (e) below), she is liable to be sold at any
time. Amongst the less well-to-do the latter type of concubinage, i.e., the keeping
of a concubine to serve the purpose of a helpmeet, is still common, for a
concubine, besides presenting the advantages of a wife and a servant, can be sold
oi o 1 of at the man s pleasure, whereas a wife cannot be so
wZ 1 Ced 7 lthout the loss ° f t ' 16 marriage gift. The former type seems to be
becoming less common, partly through economic causes, partly because such small
WtL U wi° f eman “P atl, ? n as , h as penetrated into the harems of Saudi Arabia has
made wives unwilling to tolerate it.
i rp p -Ip’ ^ n .i^ ene ! a l’ i n dications are that female slaves in this country
their li’ahilifv t ° ^n 110 wc ! rse tre ^ tm ent than free women, always excepting
1 their liabll % t0 ^med marriage and to separation from their family by sale.
Position of Slaves.
advaneemenf V fn 0 ^^a • • an y c ase ’ neither a social barrier nor a bar to
anainst the rebek of lb f ° Ur reco g n i se d Saudi forces sent
slave bodvcmarrl nnrl ^' 1 ^ a< ^ a 111 was composed chiefly of the King’s
tlmji one^Drumffien^nfSsfK ^ 6 Helwan ’ th e Amir of Bisrk and more
families of the Heia 7 it ' 6 ° ^ ec ^ a ar c ex-slaves. Amongst the commercial
tamines o± the Hejaz it is no uncommon thing to find a slave freed or otherwise
Prophetf Tomb US t n M S d- ^ gUardians of the Kaaba at’ Mecca and of the
that thev T &t preSent eunuoh slaves (“ aghas ”), so chosen
susceuSideT tbnnlh th ° WdS contami J n g women without offending Moslem
susceptibilities, though this race is now dying out and not being replaced.
General Conclusions.
slavery practised*^ thircount?^^^*^^^ ^ th f f °, nn q, domest “
would qeem indfwl tnat . jcc ^ tae an exceedingly mild one; it
thing's so essentia 11 v difforo ?t ^ aver y ’ should not be applied to describe
gs so essentially difteient as the slavery of “ Uncle Tom’s Cabin ” and that