Jarya orjariya (SING;Arabic:جارية), alsojawari (PLUR), were female slaves in themedieval Islamic world[2] specifically trained for artistic performance inharems. They contrasted withqiyan, female slaves or free women trained in performance and not restricted to harems.
The slave category of the jarya—similar to the qiyan—rose to fame during theAbbasid Caliphate era,[2] possibly because freeArab women became more and more secluded from society during this time period.[2]
They were acquired by purchase or captured aswar booty. The term were applied to such enslaved women who, by instruction or self-education, acquired a great knowledge of artistic skills and intellectual knowledge by which they could entertain a man, rather than by sexuality and physical beauty. They could study issues from music and poetry to religion, history and literature, and many were known to be able to entertain their owner by both intellectual as well as musical abilities. There were many examples of jawaris who managed to gain influence over male rulers.
The jawaris differed from qiyan in that they appear not to perform in public, only in the harem to which they belonged. Royal harems could employ a very large number of jawaris, who acted as the entertainers of the royal harem and who were not necessarily synonymous with the concubines of the ruler.[3] TheAbbasid harem had thousands of jawari as well as concubines who were not always the same, and this was adopted by the harems of many other Islamic rulers, such as the rulers of theCaliphate of Cordoba and theFatimid Caliphate.[3]
The jariya category ofsexual harem slaves were described by the 9th-century writerAl-Jahiz, who accused them of exerting a destructive influence over their owners created by their artistic skills, which created a web of dependent feelings such as love (hub), passion (hawa), affinity (mushakala) and a wish for continued companionship (ilf).[4]
Though most scholarly attention has gone to courtly contexts, jawari were also present in non-courtly urban settings, including the homes of merchants and artisans, notably as domestic workers. A wide range of representations features jawari, including technical treatises and spiritual literature.[5]
There were many famous jaryas noted in Islamic literature and history, such asAl-Khayzuran,Alam al-Malika, andHababah.[6]
While at a wedding in Sinjar (Iraq), Abu Zayd tells the story of how he lost his enslaved concubine (jāriya). The plan had been to keep her in strict seclusion, but one day, under the influence of alcohol, he made the mistake of revealing her existence to a neighbor. Word got around; eventually, Abu Zayd was forced to sell the concubine to the governor.