WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
an eagle and dropped in the King of Egypt's lap as he was administering justice, so that he could not rest until he had discovered to whom this delicately small sandal belonged, and finally made her his queen."[1]
A Turkish beauty's slippers are an important part of her clothing. The foot has an erotic significance among most Moslem peoples, and, to a certain extent, in Spain, which owes many of its ideas and practices to the Moorish conquerors. Students of sexual pyschology are aware that boot-and-shoe fetichism is common in most countries.
The same passion for powerful scents that prevails amongst the Egyptian women is noted in the harems of Constantinople. There is very frequent reference in Oriental love poems to the odour of the loved one. Odorous tresses are described, and likened to the smell of musk and civet. This keen olfactory sensitiveness is normal in Arabia and Turkey. The Turks love the heavy perfume of the lily. They are especially fond of musk and myrrh, and women often use strong perfumes in their baths and unguents. The "lotus woman" of the Hindus, the flower of her sex, should possess the natural aroma of musk. In the "Song of Songs," which is typically Oriental, we read of "myrrh," "spices," and "sweet herbs."
The haremlik, or the women's quarters, in the
- ↑ Quoted by Havelock Ellis, "Erotic Symbolism," "Studies in the Psychology of Sex," Vol. V.
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