On the Monday, the youths decked out in their parade costumes, and led by some old ladies, make a round of calls at the harems and invite their friends for the coming event; Monday and Tuesday being dedicated to a series of entertainments given in the Selamlik, where hospitality is largely extended to the poor as well as the rich. Wednesday and Thursday are reserved to the Haremlik, where great rejoicings take place, enlivened by bands of music and dancing girls. On the morning of the latter day the ladies busy themselves in arranging the state bed, as well as a number of others of more modest appearance. The boys, in the mean time, mounted upon richly-caparisoned steeds and accompanied by their Hodjas, the family barber, and some friends, and preceded by music, pass in procession through the town. On returning home the party is received at the door by the parents of the boys. The father of the principal candidate takes the lead and stands by the side of the stepping-block, the barber and Hodja taking their places by his side. The horse of the young bey is brought round, and the hand of the father, extended to help him to dismount, is stayed for a moment by that of the Hodja, who solemnly asks him, “With what gift hast thou endowed thy son?” The parent then declares the present intended for his son, which may consist of landed property or any object of value according to his means, and then assists him to dismount. The other boys follow, each claiming and receiving a gift from his father or nearest of kin. Should any of the boys be destitute of relatives, the owner of the house takes the father’s place and portions him.
The children are then taken to the Haremlik, where they remain until evening, when they return to the Selamlik and do not again see their mothers till the morning of the completion of the ceremony, when they are carried to the Haremlik and placed upon the beds prepared for them. The entertainments this day are carried on in both departments. The children are visited by all their friends and relations, who offer them money and other presents; the ladies every now and then disappearing in order to allow the gentlemen to enter and bring their offerings. The money and gifts collected on these occasions sometimes amount to considerable sums. The Hodja and barber are equally favored. The Musdadji receives a gold piece from the mother on announcing to her the completion of the sacred rite.
Every effort is made in the harem to amuse and please the children, and beguile the time for them till evening, when the fatigue and feverish excitement of the day begin to tell upon them, and they show signs of weariness, the signal for the break-up of the party. On the next day the boys are taken home by their relatives, but the entertainments are continued in the principal house till the following Monday.
The Turks, hospitable on all occasions, are particularly so on this, and consider it a religious duty to show special regard and attention to the poor and destitute.
It is difficult to give a definite idea of the expense incurred by this ceremony among the rich. The lowest estimate among the middle classes, who limit it to one day, would be from 10l. to 12l., while the poor are enriched by it to the extent of 2l. or 3l.
Turkish children are subject to much the same diseases as those of other nations. The most terrible of these used to be small-pox, which committed fearful ravages, carrying off great numbers, and leaving its mark in blindness or some other organic defect in those who survived it. Its ravages, however, have greatly diminished since the introduction of vaccination, now pretty generally adopted throughout the country. Teething, measles, whooping-cough, scarlatina, and low intermittent fevers are the principal maladies prevalent among Turkish children. A doctor is rarely called in; the treatment of the invalid is left to the mother’s instincts, aided by some old woman’s doubtful pharmacopœia and the saintly influence of Hodjas, whose superstitious rites are firmly believed in by the applicants. Diphtheria, unknown in the country until the arrival of the Circassian immigrants, may also be classed among the prevalent infantile maladies; fortunately it has seldom been known to rage as an epidemic, otherwise its ravages would be incalculable by reason of the entire disregard of quarantine laws.
Mortality, however, among Turkish children is considerable, and one of the causes why large families are so rarely to be met with. A bey of Serres, for instance, possessed of a goodly number of wives, who had borne him about fifty children, saw only seven of them live to attain manhood.
In wealthy families a wet-nurse is engaged, called Sut nana (foster-mother), who enjoys great privileges, both during the time she serves and afterwards. Her own child becomes the Sut kardash (foster-brother) of her nursling, a bond of relationship recognized through life, and allowing the foster-children, if of different sexes, to set aside, if they choose, the law of Namekhram, and see each other freely. Besides the foster-mother, a Dadi, or nursemaid, is at once appointed to attend upon a child of rank. She has the care of its wardrobe, and upon her devolves the duty of sleeping near the cradle.
Correct statistical information of births cannot be obtained, as no registration exists. Census regulations were for the first time introduced into the country by Sultan Mahmoud, and they have been but imperfectly carried out by his successors. During Sultan Abdul-Medjid’s lifetime a census of the population (excluding women) was made, but the Mohammedans, fearing the consequences in the conscription laws, tried as much as possible to avoid giving correct information; many people were represented as dead, others put down far above or below their actual ages. Every seven or eight years this census is taken and each time more strictly enforced, but the absence of birth-registration greatly facilitates the frustration of the Government’s desire for exact statements. The number of children in a Turkish family, notwithstanding the system of polygamy, is never great, ranging between two and eight. If the first children happen to be females, the mother is still ambitious of possessing a male child, but should the latter come first she is satisfied, and resorts to every means in her power to prevent further additions to her family. A Turkish mother may practically, with impunity, destroy her offspring if she chooses at any stage of her pregnancy; and this cruel and immoral custom is resorted to by all classes of society, often resulting in dangerous accidents, occasioning injuries felt through life, and sometimes having fatal results. Strong opiates are also resorted to for the same purpose, as well as a number of extraordinary means passing description. Many dangerous medicines used with this object, which in Europe are disposed of with difficulty, or of which the sale is even prohibited, are every year shipped for Turkey, where they find numerous purchasers. During a short visit I made to Philippopolis I stayed at the house of the Mudir of Haskia; his newly-married wife was very young, extremely pretty, and delicate. She was very much depressed at the idea of becoming a mother, before becoming rather plumper; for embonpoint is a great object of ambition with Turkish ladies. When, on my return to Haskia, I stopped at the same house, the delicate beauty was dead, and her place already filled by a robust young rustic, who bustled about, trying with awkward efforts to accustom her untrained nature to the duties of her new position. On making inquiries about the previous wife in whom I was interested, I was quietly told that she had succumbed about two months previously to some violent measures she had used in order to procure abortion, and had been found dead in her bath. Her untimely end was due to the instrumentality of a Jewish quack, who, though having evidently caused the death of the poor woman, never lost any social position from what was simply considered as a misadventure.
I have heard from a trustworthy Turkish source that in Constantinople alone not less that 4000 instances of abortion are procured annually with the assistance of a class of women known as Kaulii Ebé, who earn considerable sums by their nefarious practice. This statement has been confirmed by the “Djeridé i Havadis” newspaper, and in an article which appeared in the Bassuret newspaper on the serious decrease of the population. The writer (a Turk) says this decrease is owing, first, to the conscription; secondly, to polygamy; thirdly, to the prevalence of artificial abortion; fourthly, to the absence of all sanitary precautions in domestic economy.