8-3 Naming ceremony
While many of the women in the harem are curious about the new arrivals, they start to avoid the German and English girls once they realise the language difficulties. At my prompting, Anna von Erdödy sits and talks with the German girl, while I do the same with the English girl. I quickly resort to hand gestures to accompany my words and we begin to make some progress.
I learn that her name is Matilda and that she's sixteen years old. As far as I can tell, she was on board a ship which was attacked by pirates. I can't understand most of her story, but I'm relieved that she is at least willing to talk. Some girls can become withdrawn, and even suicidal, after such a traumatic ordeal. I do my best to reassure Matilda that she is relatively safe in the harem, even though I can't promise her a happy future. Life as a concubine offers a girl opportunities, but she is still a slave, and her continued existence is at the mercy of others.
As the evening progresses I make an effort to talk with all the new girls. One of the women in the harem speaks the language of the African girl, and I had already established that one girl is Polish. The girl who understands French is, in fact, Italian, but we both speak French well enough for us to communicate without hand gestures. The sixth girl is from the east, but I'm not certain from exactly where. She understands a few words of Persian, which at least helps me to communicate with her. I repeat my words of reassurance which I gave to Matilda and it seems to have a positive effect on each girl's mood.
I also learn something about how each girl was enslaved. Nigar Kalfa in Constantinople once told me that knowing a new slave's background can sometimes help her tutors to settle her into her new life. I hope Nigar was right, because these girls are nervous and very unsettled. I learn that Matilda and three others were captured by pirates or raiding brigands. An unfortunately common occurrence in these times, as I know from personal experience. The African girl was a member of a tribe which had been conquered by a neighbouring tribe many years ago. Each year her tribe must pay tribute to the victors in the form of gold or marketable products. This year the tribute included young men and women from her tribe for the victors to sell as slaves.
The Polish girl, however, has arrived here by a much different route. A route which makes me ashamed of my Polish connection. She comes from a moderately wealthy family, but has been secretly sold into slavery by her stepfather. A cruel act to avoid paying for the wedding and dowry she had expected as her due. At the moment she is burning for revenge and I must try and to convince her that such an act is out of her reach. For her own good, she must focus on her training and put thoughts of retribution to the back of her mind.
The next morning the girls' training begins in earnest. Two kalfas, Birgül and Didem, are assigned to be the girls' teachers in the various skills they need to learn, but they can't teach much until the girls' can understand enough Turkish. Consequently I spend the whole morning giving tuition or acting as interpreter for the kalfas' sessions. Anna attends all the sessions, even though she is only required to be present during my Turkish language lessons. It's convenient that she does, as she's able to help the German and Italian girls.
By lunchtime I feel quite exhausted and I'm secretly relieved when Afife tells me that this afternoon's lessons are cancelled. Instead I must help prepare the girls for a special ceremony. The easiest approach is for me to lead by example and I have the girls accompany me to the baths. Several other women are also preparing themselves, so the baths are very busy. I realise that the ceremony must include many of those sharing our dormitory. Fortunately the number of women in the baths means that it is easy for the new girls to see what preparations are expected of them. Anna has accompanied us and she helps me supervise the younger girls' preparations.
We return upstairs to find that fresh uniforms have been left for the six girls. I notice several of the women in the harem have changed out of their uniforms and dressed in their best silk gowns and jewellery. Even those with only a few small items of jewellery are wearing them. Afife recommends that Anna and I dress in our finest clothes as well.
By now I have discovered that there are at least twenty women in our dormitory alone who claim the title of hatun. Some are former concubines of Sultan Suleiman's now dead brothers, and who have subsequently been married to bureaucrats and officials based here at the Edirne palace. Consequently there are many more hatun living in this palace than I originally thought. I've already detected a few political power games played by some of the hatun. Fortunately none of it is directed at me. This harem is fertile ground for such games since there's no natural pecking order among the diverse group of women living here. In addition to the former concubines, there are the favourites of Şah Sultan's older sons, some of whom are also vying for seniority in the harem. While most of these petty power games are of little consequence, they can be annoying and I prefer to keep away from them. Unfortunately it's a task easier said than done.
It has been several weeks since I last wore the jewel trimmed jacket Sultan Suleiman gave me. I'm relieved that despite all my recent adventures, the jacket is in perfect condition. Fortunately it will be several weeks before my slowly expanding belly prevents me from fastening the jacket. Wearing it means that I'll be displaying my wealth and make my belongings the possible target for a thief. But the risk of theft is low, and wearing the jacket will help establish my status within the harem's hierarchy. The value of a girl's jewels isn't guaranteed to lead to a higher status within the harem, but it certainly doesn't do any harm. Anna also has some fine jewellery, and she takes her time deciding which pieces to wear.
Before long I realise that we are all preparing for a naming ceremony for the six new girls. I can recall my own naming ceremony, where my Christian birth name of Maria was taken from me and I became Gülnihal. Although Christianity, like other religions, is tolerated in most parts of the Ottoman empire, girls in the Imperial Harem are quickly given Turkish names. In part this is to reinforce the girl's enslavement, emphasising that she enters the harem possessing nothing; not even her own name. However, the renaming of girls is also to disguise how many of the slaves in the harem come from Christian lands.
In Constantinople, it is the Valide, as ruler of the harem, who decides on each girl's new name. I presume it will be Şah Sultan who will choose these girls' names. I do my best to explain what is happening to the new girls, but I'm not sure if they all understand.
The arrival of Şah Sultan and two smartly dressed young women, who I'm told are her two eldest daughters, Leyla and Irem, indicates that the ceremony is about to begin. About forty other women from our dormitory and beyond are attending as witnesses. Most of the witnesses are dressed in their finest gowns, and there's more than a few jealous glances made in my direction when I put on my jewel trimmed jacket. The six new girls are made to line up facing everybody else. The girls' expressions range from humiliation to defiance, although I can tell that they are all frightened. Şah Sultan makes a short speech before walking along the line of girls. She taps each girl on the shoulder as she announces the girl's new name; Aysun, Esmeray, Mehtap, Nuray, Şenay and Tülay. All names having meanings associated with the moon. An aga is busy recording each girl's new name. I do my best to remember which girl is given which name. To my mind, the black skinned African girl is given an appropriate new name; Esmeray, dark moon, but I stifle a laugh when the Polish girl with the defiant scowl is given the name Şenay; merry moon.
The ceremony turns into an informal party. Şah Sultan leaves almost at once, but Leyla and Irem join the gathering. Plates of food appear which are laid out on the tables at one end of the room. My beautiful jacket makes me a focus of attention and I lose count of how many times I explain how I came to own it. I'm careful when mentioning dates as I don't want anyone to suspect the truth and realise that my unborn child is fathered by Sultan Suleiman. While I enjoy all the attention and the opportunity to make new acquaintances, I keep a watchful eye on the new girls.
I'm relieved that Anna seems to be coping with the change in her circumstances. I just hope it isn't another of her ruses to lull her watchers into a false sense of security. I haven't forgotten that she nearly escaped from her guards before coming here. Escaping from this harem would be a monumental feat, but I suspect Anna is capable of finding a way. In some respects she reminds me of Nilüfer in Constantinople.
I see that Aysun, the English girl formerly called Matilda, is alone and not eating. I grab some fruit and go over to her. I offer her one of the apricots I picked up, and she carefully tastes it. She probably hasn't seen an apricot before.
"Kayisi," I say, giving her the Turkish name for apricot. She repeats the word and I offer her another apricot.
She is mesmerised by the jewels on my jacket. She points to some of the different jewels and names them in what I presume is English. Fortunately the English names for many of them are similar to their names in Polish or French so I understand what she is saying. I provide the Turkish names, which she repeats. How she comes to be able to identify precious stones is a mystery for the moment, but such knowledge will be valuable to her in the harem.
The party starts to break up after an hour or so. Some women have work to do while others are due to meet with their husbands. Many of the bureaucrats and officials here are slaves who have been allowed to marry former concubines as a reward for their hard work and loyalty. The palace only provides a few private quarters for married slaves, which means only the favoured few are allocated one. Consequently many married couples must sleep apart, although each couple is allowed to spend a few hours together each evening. One of the older women has cautioned me about walking along some of the underground corridors in the evening. The many dark alcoves in the corridors are the favourite haunt of married couples seeking some private time. I quietly wonder whether it is just married couples who take advantage of the alcoves. Despite the threat of severe punishment, I know there are girls willing to risk everything for an intimate tryst with a man, and there's no shortage of male servants and guards around this palace willing to oblige. The agas can't watch everywhere at once.
Irem Sultan lingers after the party has finished. It seems she regards me as something of a celebrity and is eager to talk with me about her uncle Suleiman, whom she has never met. She is about my age and obviously likes to gossip. I soon learn that she hopes to be invited to spend some time in Constantinople, but she thinks there is little prospect of that in the foreseeable future. Through her gossip I learn more about Ahmed and his two older brothers Kadir and Ramazan.
Irem tells me that Kadir is the dominant brother of the three and the other two are resentful and fearful of him. Unfortunately for them, Kadir is their parent's favourite. Their father has recently awarded Kadir control over some of the family business interests following Kadir's triumphant return from the Hungarian campaign. It seems Kadir brought plenty of gold and slaves back with him to boost his family's wealth. Apparently two of the Hungarian captives are now part of Kadir's personal harem, and I make a mental note to take Anna to meet them when time permits.