Concubinage as Forced Marriage? Colonial Jawari, Contemporary Hartaniyya, and Marriage in Mauritania
“To marry one’s slave is as easy as eating a meal,” an elder named Al-Hadrami explained to me in the central Mauritanian town of Atar in 1983: “[Masters] marrying female slaves happens frequently. Islam only permits four wives. But to marry one’s slave is easy; it is like eating a meal. On this, the...
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Published in | Marriage by Force? p. 159 |
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Main Author | |
Format | Book Chapter |
Language | English |
Published |
Ohio University Press
15.06.2016
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Edition | 1 |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | “To marry one’s slave is as easy as eating a meal,” an elder named Al-Hadrami explained to me in the central Mauritanian town of Atar in 1983: “[Masters] marrying female slaves happens frequently. Islam only permits four wives. But to marry one’s slave is easy; it is like eating a meal. On this, the Qur’an is clear.” He went on to say that slave wives who married their masters were called jawari (sing. jariya); children borne by them were especially valuable, for their metissage (mixed blood—in this case with blacks from the Sudan) was honorable, and they were treated |
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ISBN: | 0821421999 9780821421994 |
DOI: | 10.2307/j.ctv224tvwm.11 |