Eunuchs and Sacred Space in Islam, pt. 2
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2002 8:25 pm
"Reproduction, like maturation, is a process that is essentially one of change, temporally defined. The progression from father to son - from one generational cohort to another - is indeed one of the guarantees of social continuity. It is, however, continuity within time, and thus, no matter how conservative the society, the succession from father to son always carries with it the implication of change. This dual aspect of the biological reproduction of society - the guarantee of permanence and the promise of change - was not lost on Mamluk-period historians such as Taaqii al-Diin al-Maqriizii, who wrote of the progress of generations (al-aqraan):
"God organized mankind so that one generation would come after the other and each group follow in the footsteps of the former. The first ones would thus leave their stories to those after them as an exhortation and example, and the later one would keep alive the memory and spread the fame of their predecessors."
"The eunuchs are outside this process, for 'the eunuch does not procreate [khaadim laa yakuun lahu walad].' Eunuchs are thus, in a sense, outside of time itself. Their lack of any place in the generational progression gives them a peculiar anonymity.
"This atemporal quality of the eunuchs stands out dramatically in the texts of the endowment deeds that survive in the archives of Cairo. In most endowment deeds for tomb complexes, which set up paid positions for adjoining mosques, colleges, Qur'an schools, public fountains, and so forth, the positions are generally assigned to specific individuals with the provision that on their death the offices are to pass to their male children. In the case of eunuch guardians, however, there is a dramatic break. The initial guardians are generally designated, but, after their deaths, the offices simple go to 'eunuchs.' Thus, while the rest of the tomb complex is the scene of the normal father-to-son progression, the tomb area itself is temporally as well as spatially distinct. It is as if the dead occupants of the tomb and the living eunuchs exist apart, in a kind of static, frozen zone.
"The childless eunuchs who occupied this zone were, in one sense, themselves perpetual children, 'incomplete' as sexual beings. It is not surprising that in the legends surrounding the Prophet's tome, children and eunuchs occasionally seem to play almost interchangeable roles." pp. 85 - 87
It was certainly not only the tomb of the Prophet that was to be guarded by eunuchs. Those of the wealthy, and especially of the politically powerful, were to be as well.
"The world of the dead, like that of the living, was one in which the household - both the physical structure and the ties of loyalty among the people who inhabited it - continued to play a vital role. A common feature of the endowment deeds outlining the provisions for eunuch guardians of tombs is that, in most cases, the initial cohort of eunuchs was to be drawn from the freed people of the tomb's founder and were to be buried in it. The endowment deed for the great complex of Sultan Hasan stipulates that the ten eunuchs were were to serve as his tomb guardians be recruited from the Sultan's own freedmen, from the freedmen of his children, or from the freedmen of his deceased father, Sultan al-Naasir Muhammad. If no eunuch in these categories could be found, the administrator of the endowment was to buy eunuch slaves and manumit them in the name of Sultan Hasan." (pp. 21 - 22)
Within the category of "eunuch," not all were created equal in Moslem eyes.
"The provisions for the eunuch guardian in the endowment deed of the majordomo Zayn al-Diin Yahyaa make it clear that, for at least some individuals, the danger of sexual 'fitna' [a word that signifies sexual temptation as well as political discord and civil strife in Arabic --JA] rendered it even more dangerous within the context of the world of the dead, was a major concern when they planned their tombs:
"As for the tomb which he has built... the founder places it in an endowment and makes it a burial place for himself and for the burial of his male children who die before the age of puberty. He also assigns residence in the tomb... to the eunuch/servant of the burial place whom he appoints as his eunuch/servant to live there without women. And the founder - may God accept his charity from him - appoints to this office the most righteous of his freed people from among the eunuchs [tawaashiya] of all races, then after them to the most righteous of his freed people from among his white male slaves. But he makes it a condition that priority in this office and in [the right of] residence goes to the most righteous of the eunuchs of the white race in particular - and all that with no residence of women. And if there is no one suitable from his white eunuch freedmen or if there was one who went away, then the administrator of the endowment is to appoint the most righteous of his eunuch freedmen from among the Ethiopians and the blacks in the same manner. But if there is no one suitable, he is to appoint the most righteous from among his white male uncastrated [fuhuul] freedmen." pp. 25 - 26.
"God organized mankind so that one generation would come after the other and each group follow in the footsteps of the former. The first ones would thus leave their stories to those after them as an exhortation and example, and the later one would keep alive the memory and spread the fame of their predecessors."
"The eunuchs are outside this process, for 'the eunuch does not procreate [khaadim laa yakuun lahu walad].' Eunuchs are thus, in a sense, outside of time itself. Their lack of any place in the generational progression gives them a peculiar anonymity.
"This atemporal quality of the eunuchs stands out dramatically in the texts of the endowment deeds that survive in the archives of Cairo. In most endowment deeds for tomb complexes, which set up paid positions for adjoining mosques, colleges, Qur'an schools, public fountains, and so forth, the positions are generally assigned to specific individuals with the provision that on their death the offices are to pass to their male children. In the case of eunuch guardians, however, there is a dramatic break. The initial guardians are generally designated, but, after their deaths, the offices simple go to 'eunuchs.' Thus, while the rest of the tomb complex is the scene of the normal father-to-son progression, the tomb area itself is temporally as well as spatially distinct. It is as if the dead occupants of the tomb and the living eunuchs exist apart, in a kind of static, frozen zone.
"The childless eunuchs who occupied this zone were, in one sense, themselves perpetual children, 'incomplete' as sexual beings. It is not surprising that in the legends surrounding the Prophet's tome, children and eunuchs occasionally seem to play almost interchangeable roles." pp. 85 - 87
It was certainly not only the tomb of the Prophet that was to be guarded by eunuchs. Those of the wealthy, and especially of the politically powerful, were to be as well.
"The world of the dead, like that of the living, was one in which the household - both the physical structure and the ties of loyalty among the people who inhabited it - continued to play a vital role. A common feature of the endowment deeds outlining the provisions for eunuch guardians of tombs is that, in most cases, the initial cohort of eunuchs was to be drawn from the freed people of the tomb's founder and were to be buried in it. The endowment deed for the great complex of Sultan Hasan stipulates that the ten eunuchs were were to serve as his tomb guardians be recruited from the Sultan's own freedmen, from the freedmen of his children, or from the freedmen of his deceased father, Sultan al-Naasir Muhammad. If no eunuch in these categories could be found, the administrator of the endowment was to buy eunuch slaves and manumit them in the name of Sultan Hasan." (pp. 21 - 22)
Within the category of "eunuch," not all were created equal in Moslem eyes.
"The provisions for the eunuch guardian in the endowment deed of the majordomo Zayn al-Diin Yahyaa make it clear that, for at least some individuals, the danger of sexual 'fitna' [a word that signifies sexual temptation as well as political discord and civil strife in Arabic --JA] rendered it even more dangerous within the context of the world of the dead, was a major concern when they planned their tombs:
"As for the tomb which he has built... the founder places it in an endowment and makes it a burial place for himself and for the burial of his male children who die before the age of puberty. He also assigns residence in the tomb... to the eunuch/servant of the burial place whom he appoints as his eunuch/servant to live there without women. And the founder - may God accept his charity from him - appoints to this office the most righteous of his freed people from among the eunuchs [tawaashiya] of all races, then after them to the most righteous of his freed people from among his white male slaves. But he makes it a condition that priority in this office and in [the right of] residence goes to the most righteous of the eunuchs of the white race in particular - and all that with no residence of women. And if there is no one suitable from his white eunuch freedmen or if there was one who went away, then the administrator of the endowment is to appoint the most righteous of his eunuch freedmen from among the Ethiopians and the blacks in the same manner. But if there is no one suitable, he is to appoint the most righteous from among his white male uncastrated [fuhuul] freedmen." pp. 25 - 26.