Re: A Charyan Brothel Song in Teonaht

Boudewijn Rempt wrote:
>
> On Wed, 26 May 1999, Sally Caves wrote:
>
> >
> > Yssytra tells me that she is very grateful to have this bit of
> > information
> > about Mandein as putative author only... she has asked me to forward her
> > suggestion that the Charyan brothels were perhaps not limited to women
> > courtesans.  "Considering in the poem the expertise of the male lover,
> > it is possible that there were patronesses as well as patrons, male
> > prostitutes as well as courtesans, yes?"
> >
>
> Yssytra must be a very astute woman as she is, again, spot on.
_Yry le sabren ol uarai linttahtma._  "Age, it has made me wise," says
Issytra, who is gently berating me for misspelling her name above,
although it could very well be Yssytra, I suppose, were it not for
the dreadful nickname "Isy," or "Issie."   ...
It comes from the Teonaht version of Ishtar, old goddess of love.
She has forbidden me to tell you about her youth.  All in good
time.

> In fact,
> from certain sources (diaries, administration of the Pleasure Tax
> levied by the Chief-Eunuch on brothels and so on, sources that
> formed the inspiration for the story about Tiscim on my webpage),
> we know that during the reign of emperor Rordal Twuindal Sedom'chewir
> in the best brothel of Broi, the Andmas'andvayn or 'birds' head', the
> madam Murxao Galar'yalstai employed the following people:
>
> Dainam, man, 17. Apprentice specialising in female clientele
> Gingtan, 22, man
> Qunquon, 30, man, specialised in singing.
> Snowdrop, woman, 18, still apprentice
> Rose, woman, 24, specialised in female clientele and singing
> Aster, 23, a young woman
> Columbine, 37, one of the best courtesans of the city, specialised in male
> clientele.
>
> Murxao's daughter, Yisili was not allowed to entertain patrons upstairs,
> on account of being too young, but she sang, danced and played the
> nine-stringed lute, and officiated as bath attendant.
>
> It's perhaps superfluous to note, but none of these people were slaves.
"Ah!  I thought not!" I.S.  <G>  (And my "g"s are always grins...
growls?
never!)