ritual cliterectomy.
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Hello! Tiara here. I am asked by some of the writers here in EA to write a personal story. Well, here it is. It is part fantasy and part reality. I tried to put myself in this ancient setting, and to tell you the truth, I wish I could be there. The Making of A Concubine My name is Ishtar. I am now a 19 years old women. I live in Wadi-Al- Sughra, a small city-state somewhere in the desert of Islamdom :-). Our city is located in a Waha (Oasis) called Waha-Al-Kabir, or the great Oasis. Our hometown is strewn with palm trees which gave sweet dates year-round. The lands around the Waha is covered by Fatima grass, the type of grass that could live in the desert. It is not a coincidence that many of our citizens make a living by raising sheeps, who grazes at the Fatima grass. Sheep meat and milk, as well as cheese and yoghurt, is our regular meal. The yoghurt is fortified by apple or grape slices, making it a wonderful combination of sweet and sour. We also eat Chabulli Rice, this is a form of spiced rice combined with strips of sheep meat. Sometimes we put dried raisins on it, making it a perfect combination between sweet and spicy, sour and salty. I'd love to talk to you about food and cooking but that's not the purpose of this story. Wadi-Al-Sughra is not all that big. We like to think about it as an "island", a small island in the virtual ocean-desert. Our Waha is rather deep, about 4 metres in depth. It is shaped like a teardrop and the diameter is about 80 metres. The water tastes very fresh, probably due to the growth of various flowers around it. A man named Abu Kastha once dived to the bottom of the lake and found a cave. He dared not to venture inside, for fear of Djinn (supernatural spirits). The Waha has a small population of fishes. We never eat the fishes for superstitious reasons. Most of us does not drink the water from the Waha. There are seven large wells dug on the city, and they has become some sort of public cisterns. Every morning the servants from rich families and the wives of poor families go to the cisterns and collected the waters. The biggest one, near Sultan's palace, also operates as a public bath. The smallest one is located near the Masjid-Al-Hikmah, our city's chief mosque. We use that cistern strictly for ablutions. Bathing is not allowed there. My father, Syeikh Mahmud-Al-Hikmah, is the 6th caretaker of the mosque, as well as the 6th descendant of Syeikh Abu Daud-Al-Hikmah who built the mosque and gave its name. Our family is considered as "blue bloods" here, even though we are not descendants of the nobility. But this has changed. Me, Ishtar, is now a wife of our Sultan, Murad-Al-Samhah. His fourth and youngest wife, to be exact. In sum our Sultan have four wives in keeping with our Prophet himself who is a polygamist and had nine wives. Our Sultan married us mostly for political reasons though. The first wife, Lalla Selima, is the daughter of a prominent caravan leader in our city. She is very beautiful, she is now 36 and still very beautiful. She is smaller than me though. She is also very wise and Murad consulted with her about many things. The problem about her is that she is childless. But she seemed to have reconciled herself with that facts. The second wife, Lalla Muslicha, is a relative of our Sultan. He married her to strengthen the ties to the rest of the Al-Samhah family. She is even older than Lalla Selima and not as pretty, but still, our Sultan built her a house near the biggest cistern. She is also a wonderful cook, better than myself. She likes to share her cookies to all of us. She has two daughters, one aged 10 and the other aged 9. The third wive, Lalla Mariyah, is a gift from the Christian community which lives far away but had done many trading with us. To this date she remained a Christian and her servants is also Christian. Our Sultan built a small chapel for them, near the city gates. She has yellow hair and she disliked the sun because it caused her skin to grow freckles. I think she's a bit younger than me. Taller too. She does not speak our dialects very well, so she is generally reserved. Plus, she is not a Moslem so I am pretty sure that her descendants won't be selected as the next Sultan. That's too bad, because she has one son, now aged 3. Me? Well, I think the reason Sultan married me is also political. I mean, what else could be the best way to strengthen ties than marriage? My father is a prominent religious scholar. So my marriage with the Sultan is a means to strengthen internal unity. Plus, my family is now related to the nobility. Being a fourth wife is a small sacrifice compared to this prestige. I am yet to have a child though. I pray to Allah to give me a son, so that he may be the next Sultan :-). The Sultan treat us very very kindly. He always called us "the jewels of his heart". We love him very much. There are no jealousy between us, because Sultan strictly observed what our Prophet had declared "Take one, two, three or even four wives. But treat them fairly, otherwise you should only marry one". He treated us very very fairly. Each of us has our own compartment in the palace. We have our own servants. And Sultan "visited" us equally, each wife has one week span. He is very consistent with his equality. He will never receive gift from one wife without the approval of the others (much like the Prophet himself had done). On the other hand, if he give a present to one wife, he will also give something to the other wives. And if he made love 3 times to a wife during her turn, he will also make love 3 times to the other wives during their turns. Which makes me kind of flattered because as the newest wive, I got the first turn, so I got the most energy :-). What a great husband. I love you Murad. One thing for sure about all of his wives, is that none of us are Khotana. Khotana are girls who had their clitoris severed. The upper-class women in our city were usually spared from this practice, but this ritual are still observed in the lower-class girls. Since we are not Khotana, we can enjoy jimak (lovemaking) with him to the fullest. I still remember the day he deflowered me with fondness. All the stories about how men are rude and will hurt you isn't true with Murad. He was very gentle and I value that day with all my heart. I am told that a Khotana cannot enjoy jimak (lovemaking) as much as ourselves. But I found this to be rather untrue. I still remember that day when our Wazir (Vizier) called us and informed us that Sultan has decided to take a concubine. Immediately a feeling of jealousy crept within my heart. Am I not his newest wife? It's only been two years! So I decided to confront him. I entered his chamber. With trembling voice, I tried to start a conversation. "Lalla Ishtar asked permission to speak to her exalted husband" Smiling, Murad pointing me to come nearer. "My dear husband, I heard that you are planning to take a concubine. Is that true?" Murad looked at me squarely at the eyes. He sighed for awhile and said "Yes". Tears started to roll down my cheeks. "Why? Am I not woman enough for you? Are WE not woman enough for you?" Murad hold my hand and hugged me. "No my love", he said. "You and the rest of my wives are doing wonderfully. I still remember the day I deflower you. You gave me amazing pleasure beyond words". "And so", I cried harder, "why should you take a concubine?" Murad paused for a moment, then he said "I had to. All the four of you, Mariyah, Selima, Muslicha, you, are my wives. I have to treat you all fairly and equally, like the Prophet had said. But then, a man needed sexual pleasure everyday, and to tell you the truth, I need someone to whom I can make love to my heart's content". "But husband", I said "you can always make love to us to your heart's content". Murad was not smiling when he said this : "No. I cannot. If I made love to you, then to be fair I must also made love to Mariyah, Selima and Muslicha. At first I enjoyed lovemaking with you all, but after a while I feel that it has become an obligation. That's why I set my visits to all of you as weekly, each wife has a week within a month". He paused, then he continued : "But with a concubine, I can make love to her without all the three of you becoming jealous with each other. She's a concubine, so her childrens has no right to my throne. Also, I have a plan to make all the four of you does not feel any kind of jealousy towards her". I got confused. "What is the plan my love? It simply can't be. No woman will not feel jealous when her husband is making love to another woman". Murad simply smiled, kissed me and left. I did not see him for the rest of the week, because that was Selima's turn. Then came that day where the concubine will be formally introduced to us. We, all the four wives, were gathered in a room with our mother-in-law, Ummi Ishma, and the royal tabeeb, Abu Shehab. Now 66 and with a bent back, Ummi Ishma nevertheless is a force to be reckoned with, for Murad loves her so much and listened to her all the times. Ummi Ishma does not converse much with us, she spent most of her times on her personal Midrash, doing nothing but pray and read the Quran all days. She always had this stern gaze on her, and she never interested in chit-chatting with us. But we fear her a lot, knowing that if we did something which displeased her, she will tell Murad, and Murad will scold us. We waited for a while, and there the soon-to-be concubine comes, escorted by four of Murad's female relatives. She is very young and very pretty, much prettier than the rest of us. She is as tall as Mariyah, with blue eyes, but with black hair. She has this cream white skin. She wore a beautiful blue Abaya with white jellaba that matches her dress. Immediately my eyes burned with jealousy. I saw Mariyah's eye also has the same evil gleam. But I see that Muslicha's and Selima's eyes are very peaceful, with a kindly smile. Ummi Ishma then said "Allright, let the ritual begin". All the males on the room, including the guards, left the room. All males except the tabeeb, Abu Shehab. Ummi Ishma gazed at the girl sternly, which caused the girl to tremble. Then Ummi Ishma conversed with the girl. "What's your name?" "Zahra", the girl answered meekly, her gaze lowered to the floor. "How old are you?" "Sixteen" "You know why you are chosen as a concubine?" "No" "Will you become the Sultan's concubine?" She paused for awhile, then said "Since he is my Sultan, I will obey him" "Do you know that being a concubine means that you must obey the rules of the Palace as well" She nodded. Ummi Ishma's stern face suddenly turned into something of a expression of pity. "Allright. Abu Shehab, you know what to do". With that, Abu Shehab nodded and making a gesture. Immediately, two middle aged women grabbed Zahra and start to strip her. "Oh No! What are you doing!?!" cried Zahra. "You know that you must obey, so don't speak another word" said Ummu Ishmah sternly. I could see that Zahra is trembling. But she does not resist. Now she stood there, naked. I truly feel envious. She's got everything a woman wants. Her skin is very smooth, without blemishes. Her hair is waist-length, as black as the blackest night, and wavy. Her waist is very slim, slimmer than mine. Her hands and feet are very small. Her hips is a bit narrow though, and I am smiling because mine is broader. But I truly envy her breasts. They are full sized and shaped like a coconut cut in half. They are very firm, not dropping like mine. "Now Zahra, sit there in that chair", Ummi Ishmah ordered. Obediently, Zahra sat on the chair. "Spread your legs". Zahra's eyes widened, and her face flushed. She closed her eyes. I saw tears rolling down her cheeks. But she did what she has been told. She opened her legs. Abu Shehab moved between her legs and examined her. "Allah be praised! Zahra, you're a virgin", he exclaims. Murad's relatives smiled. It was they who picked Zahra for my husband. If Zahra is not a virgin, they will be scolded severely. Now that she has been proven as a virgin, they could be sure that Ummi Ishmah will reward them. But, seemed like the ritual is not over yet. "Abu Shehab, is she a Khotana?" asked Ummi Ishmah. Abu's eyes lowered to the floor. "No" Ummi took a deep breath, then sighed. "That means we must make her a Khotana" Mariyah and me were startled. "Ummi, why should we?" Mariyah asked her. Ummi glanced to Selima. Selima looked at me and said "Our Sultan wills it. He wanted the pleasure his zakar (penis) gave only to us. By making Zahra a Khotana, we will not feel any jealousy towards her because she will not enjoy making love to him as much as we do". "Don't you think it will be too cruel for her?" "Well, that's the consequences of being a concubine. But look at her. She's from the lower caste. To her and her family, being a concubine is a great honor, and a prestigious thing. Am I right Zahra?" Zahra nodded, although I still see her tears running down her cheek, all the way to the chair she's sitting now. "Then", said Ummi, "let the procedure begin". I can't really describe the procedure in detail but I'll try. First, Abu Shehab laid Zahra in a special bed. Then he asked two maids to hold and spread her hands and feet. Then he gave her a special medication. I could see that she looks a bit relaxed after ingesting the medicine. Abu Shehab then checkeh her pulse, nodded to himself, then took out a scalpel. Using his left hand, he pulled up the upper lips of Zahra' farji (female genitals) until he could see the clitoris. Then he manipulated the clitoris until it become engorged with blood and erected. I glanced at Zahra. She had this look of fear, not pleasure, on her face. She surely did not enjoy the procedure. The tabeeb then asked one maid to sing for Zahra. This maid had a beautiful voice. She sings about how a woman must be obedient to her husband, to be a good wife in the eyes of Allah and man, to be a good mother for his children, and to be a good mother-in-law for her future daughters-in-law. While the maid sings, suddenly I heard an "aahh" scream, short, but enough to make my heart jolted. Seemed like the Tabeeb took the moment when Zahra was caught off-guard and cut off the head of her clitoris. Zahra cried. She cried. Very hard. Somehow I am moved to cry myself. I look around and I see that Selima, Muslicha and Mariyah also had tears rolled down their cheeks. We no longer feel any kind of jealousy towards Zahra now. Then I see a rare thing. I see Ummi Ishma's countenance become very soft. She moved to Zahra, cradled her head on her lap and say "Now Zahra, you has become a concubine for my son. It is an honorable thing, and I admire you a lot for your bravery and willingness. I promise to treat you very kindly, just like I treat my own daughter". Ummi Ishma kissed her cheeks gently. Zahra is still sobbing but she nodded. Meanwhile, Abu Shehab dressed her wounds, poured some kind of oils on her farji and pronounced that the wound will heal very soon. The maids then helped Zahra to put her clothes back on, and then she was escorted to her own room in the concubines'' compartment. We followed her there and we tried or best to console her and cheer her up. Muslicha offered her cookies, Mariyah gave her some Christian wine (which is actually prohibited :-), while Selima and I tried our best to sing some verses from the Quran and also some traditional songs. In short, we want her to feel welcomed, that we don't feel jealous at all and that we are glad to have her as our husband's concubine. We gladly arranged their "wedding" ceremony the next day and we stood side-by-side with her, just like proud sisters. Well, a year has passed since Zahra has become Murad's concubine. I detect no difference in his living pattern though. He still visited me, Mariyah, Muslichah and Selima. We still have our full week. We still have equal attention. I later learned that Murad visited Zahra only twice or thrice a month. But I also noticed that Zahra seemed to be happy and content with her status. I also see that Zahra's family has become a bit uplifted by her status. In fact, Zahra's brother now served as a lieutenant in Murad's Palace Guards, a prestigious status not usually given to person of lower caste. I once asked Zahra, does she enjoyed making love to my husband? I saw her face reddened, and I see a shy smile, and she said yes. When I asked why, she said that Murad treated her very kindly. When I asked her whether she orgasmed or not, she said she does not understand my words. So I paraphrase my question to be rather blunt, but very understandable: "Do you feel a certain pleasurable tingling feeling on your farji when my husband entered it with his zakar?" She kind of think for awhile. Then she answered : "Well, it doesn't tingle like you said.. But there is sometimes a nice, very delicious feeling inside the farji. But what makes me very happy is the way our Sultan treated me. He is very gentle and kind". I nodded. I have heard that Khotana cannot enjoy intercourse, but Zahra certainly does. Zahra turned out to be a good girl after all. She is very obedient to Murad. She is also a cheerful girl, and she filled our palace with joy. Murad never took another concubine, because we implored him not to. We cannot face the guilty feeling of having another women getting cliterectomied simply because we feel jealous. I know that some women, like Zahra, could live without her clit, and I am sure many does, but then, not every women can. And that is the end of my story. Hope we can meet each other again somewhere in the future. Until better times. Allah Hafiz! Ishtar.