Glossary

GLOSSARY

Abyssinia - Old name for Ethiopia, a Christian country in northeast Africa.

Abaya - A loose robe worn by Muslim women covering the body from neck to toe and often worn with a headscarf or veil. See also Burqa.

Bijoux indiscret - Dildo.

Bin/bint Arabic - Arabic—son of/daughter of.

Bindi - Small crystals or sequins that are individually gummed to the skin in patterns or lines of glitter.

Bisht - A sheer outer cloak worn over a thobe.

Burnt Umber - Natural earth pigment. Deep reddish brown. A mehndi for the eyes. Also used to darken a brand.

Burqa - Somewhat like the abaya except that it covers all of the body, and sometimes has only a mesh screen for sight. Usually made from black light-weight material that has two layers.

Called/calling - Chosen or selected by the harem master for intimacy.

Chalwar - Trousers tied at the waist and gathered at the ankles into a cuff or with a drawstring. Harem pants.

Choli - Short waisted upper garment that often has sheer sleeves. Bolero jacket or blouse. Usually laced or buttoned in front and drawn tight.

Chou-chou - French term of endearment. Much as we would use the nonsensical terms “honey” or “sweetie pie”. Literal translation—cabbage-cabbage.

Cochineal - A red dye made of the dried and pulverized bodies of female cochineal insects.

Djellaba - A long loose garment with full sleeves and a hood.

Erga - Torture chamber for administering punishment, especially for females. Derived from the Latin word Ergastula meaning private prison. Roman emperor Hadrian abolished them citing “liable to great abuse in the hands of tyrannical masters.”

Excise - Cut away the clitoris, sometimes with the inner labia minora.

Ferman - A Sultan’s written edict.

Gelded - Castrated in the Semivir way, effeminated man or boy.

Gendarmerie - French police force.

Ghutrah - Male Arab headdress worn along with a double coil of black cord wrapping on top called an Iggal.

Glans - The bulbous end of the penis. Latin, meaning acorn.

Hajj - Muslim annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

Halaal - Allowed, legal.

Haraam - Forbidden, illegal.

Haseki - A Sultan’s harem favorite.

Hijab - Scarf worn over the head, usually with the abaya.

Houri - One of the beautiful maidens that in Muslim belief live with the blessed in paradise. A voluptuously beautiful young woman.

Iggal - Double coil of black cord to hold the ghutrah in place.

Jambiya - Yemenese ceremonial dagger with a sharply curved blade that men acquire at reaching manhood.

Joy-girl/boy - Slave kept aside for sodomy.

Jannah - Jannah literally means "garden". In the Qur’an Jannah is also used to mean "The Garden" or heaven/paradise.

Kaffiyeh - A cloth headdress fastened by a band around the crown and usually worn by Arab men.

Kasre-el-Nouzha—Arabic Castle of Pleasure.

Kava - Explorer Captain James Cook gave this plant the botanical name of “intoxicating pepper”. Used for over 3,000 years for its medicinal affects as a sedative, muscle relaxant, and as a remedy for nervousness.

Keening - A lamentation to the dead uttered in a loud wailing voice or wordless chattering cry.

Khamsin - A Sahara wind that carries with it fine sand.

Khobz - Arabic flat bread, similar to Pita bread.

Khomsas - Hardware, usually a doorknocker, in the shape of a hand, which according to legend wards off evil.

Kilim - A hand woven rug or covering made in Turkey, Kurdistan, Iran and western Turkestan.

Kif - A Moroccan mixture of marijuana and tobacco.

Kohl - For centuries, the secret of sparkling eyes. Jet-black powder mixed with almond or castor oil. Chemical composition: Antimony sulfide.

Kris - Sword with curved blade, scimitar style.

Lady position - The “69" position where lovers lie head to tail over the other and each gives the other oral stimulation.

Mahr - Traditional gift from the groom to the bride after her acceptance of his proposal.

Mahram - Males of her immediate family to whom a woman cannot be married, such as a father, brother, or a married uncle, who are allowed to be a woman’s escort when travelling.

Mehndi - Arabic—cosmetics, makeup. Also means “henna”.

Méréyé - Low waves of dunes in parallel ridges set a few hundred yards apart.

Niqaab - A lightweight veil that has a tie that fastens behind the head. Covers the face from the top of the nose down leaving the eyes seductively exposed.

Nubia - A Christian country largely incorporated into Egypt since the fourteenth century. The Nubian people have retained their heritage and remain a distinct race within the region.

Oil of hamamelis - Witch Hazel. A mild astringent extracted from the hamamelis tree.

Pearl of Allah - Female virgin.

Pleasuring - Sexual stimulation using the mouth. See also Sangara.

Pronged - The use of an iron prong to bring about an abortion.

Purdah - A Muslim practice that secludes women from public observation by means of concealing clothing. From the Hindi word Parda—screen or veil.

Qanass - Falconry. (Saker or Perigrine females are the best hunters).

Qirsh - Old Saudi copper currency. Replaced in 1960 by the riyal.

Salwar-kameez - Northern Indian. A long tunic, falling to about mid-calf, called the kameez, and usually worn over salwars, loose, drawstring pants tapering to a cuff at the ankle.

Sandali eunuch - A fully castrated man, clean cut.

Sangara - Hindi word meaning “swallowed whole”. Oral sex to completion. In today’s ugly raw vernacular—a “blow job”.

Semivir eunuch - Man who has been rendered sexless by the removing of the testicles or by their being crushed, or seared leaving the penis intact. From the Latin for half man.

Smoothing - Removal of all body hair from the neck down. Enjoying resurgence in North America with the growing popularity of Brazilian bikini waxing or Hollywood waxing as it is more commonly known in Europe.”

Tajine - A Moroccan stew that gets its name from the traditional cooking vessel in which it made, an exotic-looking pot with a heavy base and conical lid.

Tantra - Tantric lovemaking incorporates the teachings of the Kama Sutra. Kama Sutra in turn translates as “Guide of the Hindi God of Love”.

Thobe - Long white robe worn by Arab men. A sheer outer cloak called a Bisht or Mishlah worn is over the Thobe. This attire represents the official dress code for Arabs in the Arabian Peninsula.

Threading - Persian technique for removing hair whereby individual hairs are entwined with two cotton threads and pulled out.

Tilth - The finely worked top layer of soil made ready for seeding.

Tugra - A Sultan's own monogram in stylized script.

'Ud - Al-'ud is a long necked pear-shaped stringed instrument with 10 to 12 strings played with a plectrum. It is considered to be the predecessor of the guitar and lute.

Ultramarine - A bright blue pigment made from finely ground Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan.

Umm - Arabic—mother of.

Vernix - A cheesy white substance that covers a baby's skin at birth.

Ylang-Ylang - An essential oil with an exotic floral fragrance used traditionally as an aphrodisiac. Sweet to the taste. In Indonesia, the yellow flowers of the ylang-ylang are spread on the bed of newly married couples.

Zills - Popular Turkish name for finger cymbals, metal discs slipped over the fingers and used to make a musical sound while dancing or singing.

 - Arabic script—Harem girl.

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THE HAREM

YASMEEN
His 14th birthday present. First slave of the harem. Visayan—known today as the Philippine Islands—and Chinese parentage. Pirate booty, first sold into a harem in Baghdad and later bought by the Master’s mother. Christian.

BLACK PEARL
His 15th birthday present. Nubian, kohl black with gorgeous full breasts and buttocks. Captured by a raiding party from Upper Egypt. A Christian.

CAPUCINEHis 16th birthday present. From Aden—now known as The Yemen. Sold into slavery as punishment for an offense committed while a free girl in the service of the Sultana of Sana’a. Named after a flowering plant of the region.

BRIAR ROSEHis 17th birthday present. Asian from Zamboanga—a town in the Philippines. Indentured as a household servant by her unsuspecting parents. Catholic Christian.

KATANAHis 18th birthday present. Deceased.

PAEONIAHis 19th birthday present. English. Ran away to sea. Later sold by the captain to an Arab slave trader in Dublin Ireland. Named after a flower that grows wild in the Atlas Mountains.

NADYAHis 20th birthday present. Fair hair and blue eyes. Nadya means “moist with dew”. Abducted from Northern Europe—Sweden. A Christian.

ZAHRA and NOSZAHRASisters from Iberia (Spain or Portugal). Zahra means “flower”. Almost identical in appearance. Christians.

HORTENSIA
Christian from Southern Ethiopia. Kohl black/brown. Named after a local flower.

TOPAZ
Syrian. Sold into slavery by her uncle. Won by Sheik Ali as part of a wager. Named after the horse that won the race.

SAPPHIRA
Your journalist and diary keeper.