TURKISH BATH
The tradition of the Turkish bath extends far back, to a time before Turks
had reached Anatolia. When the Turks
arrived in Anatolia, they brought with them
one bathing tradition, and were confronted with another, that of Romans
and Byzantines, with certain local variants. The
traditions merged, and with the addition of the Moslem
concern for cleanliness and its concomitant respect for the uses of water,
there arose an entirely new concept, that of the Turkish Bath. In time
it became an institution, with its system of ineradicable customs.
For the Turkish bath was much more than just a place to cleanse the
skin. It was intimately bound up with everyday life, a place where people
of every rank and station, young and old, rich an poor, townsman or villager,
could come freely. Women as well as men made use
of the "hamam", as the bath is known in Turkish,
although of course at separate hours.
From the individual's point of view, the hamam was a familiar place
from the earliest weeks of life right up to its very end. Important occasions
during a lifespan were, and in some township still are, celebrated with
rejoicing at the bath. The newborn's fortieth day, the brides bathing complete
with food and live music,
and the Avowal are instances. The latter requires some explanation, for
it involved the custom common in Anatolia of
making a promise or vow, contingent on the fulfillment of some important
wish. The celebration of this in the hamam was arranged and paid for by
the person fulfilling his vow, and was open to one and all.
The hamam ceremony of mourning, on the other hand, was far different,
but also widespread. The Hospitality bathing was simply the taking of one's
house-guest to the hamam for a wash. Then there were the Circumcision,
Groom's, and Off-to-the-Army bathings, and others besides. As we see, the
whole culture of a people had the Turkish bath as one of its important
nexuses.
Naturally, there was a range of equipment associated with a hamam visit,
and until recently one might count from 15 to 20 articles in the bundle
which a woman brought along with her. Let's see
this bundles:
The "pestemal" (pesh-te-mahl), a large towel fringed at both
ends and wrapped around the torso, from below the armpits to about mid-thigh
, as the woman made her way to the "kurna" or marble
basin. The pestemal would be striped or checked, a colored mixture
of silk and cotton, or pure cotton, or even pure silk.
A pair of wooden clogs or pattens, in Turkish
"nalin", of which there were many varied types. Carved exquisitely,
these pattens kept the wearer's feet clear of the wet floor. They would
be embellished in a number of ways, most often with mother-of-pearl, or
even sheathed in tooled silver. They might have jingles, or a woven straw
sheath, or be applied with felt or brass.
The "tas", or bowl for pouring water over the body, was always
of metal. Weather silver, gilt or tinned copper, or of brass, the tas always
had grooved and inlaid ornamentation.
One finds a soap case of metal, usually copper, with a handle
on top like a handbag, and perforated at the bottom to allow water to run
out. Not only soap goes into such a case, but also a coarse mitt for scouring
down the skin, a webbing of date-palm or other fibers for lathering on
the soap, and combs both fine and broad-toothed made of horn or ivory.
The "kese" (keh-seh), that rough cloth mitt carried in the soap
case, not only scoured the dirt out of the pores, but served to deliver
a bracing massage. The soaping web, on the other hand, was specially woven
out of hair or plant fibers.
A small jewelry box is often included, and depending on the region
will be of silver, copper or wood, sometimes covered with wicker, felt,
velvet or silver. As she undresses in the hamam, the woman
will remove her jewelry and place it in this box.
There are three towels for drying, one to go around the hair
like a turban, one around the shoulders, and one around the waist.
The hamam carpet would be laid on the
floor, then another cloth spread over it. Indeed, the name of the latter,
"yaygi", contains the Turkish root for Quotspread". The woman
would sit on the mat so formed to undress, and it was here that the bundle
itself would be placed. After each trip to the hamam the spread would be
washed and dried, then folded away in the bundle until the next time.
An inner bundle cloth was made of cambric, which can be repeatedly
washed.
The outer bundle on the other hand, heavily embroidered, might
be velvet, woolen or silken weave. In any case, it is always showy, suitable
for the uses to which it is put on feast days and other special occasions.
The mirror was an indispensable item in the bundle, its frame
and handle often of wood, but sometimes of silver or brass.
There might be a bowl for henna, which the woman
would fill on arriving at the hamam. Aside from the color it lends, henna
is considered to strengthen the hair. Henna is an old tradition for young girls
before their marriage day; called as
Henna night.
A very small container, made of tinned copper, was used to mash
up an eyebrow darkener known as "rastik", especially popular with those
of fair and auburn hair.
There is another box, this one for "surme", for the lids.
Attar of rose in a bottle, the bottle in turn kept in a wooden
case, and inevitably found in the hamam bundle: No other perfume was considered
proper for the newly washed body.
Bride's Bath (Gelin Hamami)
For the bride's visit to the hamam there was a distinctive costume for
cold days, a vest and pair of loose trousers (the "shalvar") made of fine
felt cloth. This gift from the family of the groom would be worn going
to and coming back home from the bath on that special day of the
marriage.
Another item of wear, again worn on the day of the bride's visit to
the hamam, was a silken robe, open at the front and much like the Japanese
kimono. The collar, the sleeves, and the front borders were all embroidered.
In this ornate robe, the bride would sit on a kind of throne in the tepidarium
of the bath, and the candles would be picked up by maidens and young women.
The bride leading the way, the procession would march behind a woman
beating a tambourine, around the hamam pool. Soon the voices of the maidens
and young women would be heard in song as, candles
in hand still burning, they did the circuit of the pool again and again.
At some point the bridal veil would be produced to cover the bride's head,
and then came the wishing, as unmarried girls tossed coins into the pool
in hopes of getting the husband they desired. Even today these deeply rooted
customs can be observed in the rituals of the Turkish bath.
A head covering of sheer white muslin, its edges bordered with "oya"
crochet work, also emerges from the bundle. A woman
will have several of these to her name. They are tied over the hair before
leaving the hamam, to take up any remaining moisture.
In the towns, as opposed to the cities, there was a specially shaped
carrier called a "kirdanlik" which word might perhaps be rendered "the
grime-time bucket". Into it went soap, washcloths, clogs, and the pouring
bowl, while the hamam bundle went on top. On reaching the bath this carrier
would be used as a pail to work up sudsy water of bathing. This kirdanlik
was also used in the men's bath.
The Turkish bath was also, in its own way, a beautician's school where
one learned and practiced care of the body and hair, the donning of make-up.
And it was here that women, kept almost exclusively
indoors, could best relax and enjoy the freedom of a day to themselves.
The fame of The Turkish bath, then, resides in its bringing together
many dimensions of the society's culture to create a new phenomenon. The
hamam has long been an institution in Turkey, with
a deep-going social character that is capable of shedding light on many
aspects of Turkish life.