JesusA (imported) wrote: Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:05 am One of the documents released by Wikileaks speaks to slavery in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. consul in Jeddah wrote of a party, attended by several young Saudi princes of the royal family, that they were each attended by their “khawi.” Khawi is then defined in a footnote in the document:
In other words, each of the Saudi princes has his very own African “companion” who is “hired” into lifetime employment as a little boy of age 8 or 9. He is transported from West Africa to serve in a Saudi palace, growing up primarily in the women’s quarters. There are photographs available online of young Saudi princes of about 8 or 9 with their attendant khawi of a similar age.
One of the few words I remember from my short stint in Arab culture is their word for a honkey is (sorry, this is phonetic spelling from memory) 'khawadja.' I have to wonder if there is not some connection, but again I do not speak Arabic.