Harem (household)

In traditional Arab culture, the harîm حريم (cf. haram) is the part of the household forbidden to male strangers. In English, this term refers collectively to the wives in a polygynous household as well as the "no-males allowed" area. Another English definition for this term that is more modern in its usage is that of a number of women followers or admirers.

Related Topics:
Arab - Haram - English - Polygynous

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Contrary to the common belief, harem is not necessarily a part of a palace and its inhabitants do not necessarily consist solely of women with whom the head of the household has a sexual relation. For example the harem of the Ottoman sultan's palace would contain several hundred women including wives, mistresses, the sultan's mother, daughters and other female relatives and eunuchs and slave girls to serve the aforementioned women.

Related Topics:
Ottoman sultan - Eunuch - Slave

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harem is also the usual English translation of the Chinese language term hougong, 後宮—literally meaning "the palaces behind." Hougong are large Chinese royal palaces for the emperor's consorts and female attendants. The women who lived in an emperor's hougong sometimes numbered in the thousands.

Related Topics:
Chinese language - Chinese - Palace

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The institution of the harem exerted a certain fascination on the European imagination, especially during Romanticism (see also Orientalism), due in part to the writings of the adventurer Richard Francis Burton.

Related Topics:
European - Romanticism - Orientalism - Richard Francis Burton

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~