Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 1 by Havelock Ellis

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It is probable that the Mohammedan custom of veiling the face and head
really has its source solely in another aspect of this ritual factor of
modesty. It must be remembered that this custom is not Mohammedan in its
origin, since it existed long previously among the Arabians, and is
described by Tertullian.[43] In early Arabia very handsome men also veiled
their faces, in order to preserve themselves from the evil eye, and it has
been conjectured with much probability that the origin of the custom of
women veiling their faces may be traced to this magico-religious
precaution.[44] Among the Jews of the same period, according to
B�chler,[45] the women had their heads covered and never cut their hair;
to appear in the streets without such covering would be like a prostitute
and was adequate ground for divorce; adulterous women were punished by
uncovering their heads and cutting their hair. It is possible, though not
certain, that St. Paul's obscure injunction to women to cover their heads
"because of the angels," may really be based on the ancient reason, that
when uncovered they would be exposed to the wanton assaults of spirits (1
Corinthians, Ch. XI, vv. 5-6),[46] exactly as Singhalese women believe
that they must keep the vulva covered lest demons should have intercourse
with them. Even at the present day St. Paul's injunction is still observed
by Christendom, which is, however, far from accepting, or even perhaps
understanding, the folk-lore ground on which are based such injunctions.
Crawley thus summarizes some of the evidence concerning the
significance of the veil:--
"Sexual shyness, not only in woman, but in man, is intensified at
marriage, and forms a chief feature of the dangerous sexual
properties mutually feared. When fully ceremonial, the idea takes
on the meaning that satisfaction of these feelings will lead to
their neutralization, as, in fact, it does. The bridegroom in
ancient Sparta supped on the wedding night at the men's mess, and
then visited his bride, leaving her before daybreak. This
practice was continued, and sometimes children were born before
the pair had ever seen each other's faces by day. At weddings in
the Babar Islands, the bridegroom has to hunt for his bride in a
darkened room. This lasts a good while if she is shy. In South
Africa, the bridegroom may not see his bride till the whole of
the marriage ceremonies have been performed. In Persia, a husband
never sees his wife till he has consummated the marriage. At
marriages in South Arabia, the bride and bridegroom have to sit
immovable in the same position from noon till midnight, fasting,
in separate rooms. The bride is attended by ladies, and the groom
by men. They may not see each other till the night of the fourth
day. In Egypt, the groom cannot see the face of his bride, even
by a surreptitious glance, till she is in his absolute
possession. Then comes the ceremony, which he performs, of
uncovering her face. In Egypt, of course, this has been
accentuated by the seclusion and veiling of women. In Morocco, at
the feast before the marriage, the bride and groom sit together
on a sort of throne; all the time, the poor bride's eyes are
firmly closed, and she sits amidst the revelry as immovable as a
statue. On the next day is the marriage. She is conducted after
dark to her future home, accompanied by a crowd with lanterns and
candles. She is led with closed eyes along the street by two
relatives, each holding one of her hands. The bride's head is
held in its proper position by a female relative, who walks
behind her. She wears a veil, and is not allowed to open her eyes
until she is set on the bridal bed, with a girl friend beside
her. Amongst the Zulus, the bridal party proceeds to the house of
the groom, having the bride hidden amongst them. They stand
facing the groom, while the bride sings a song. Her companions
then suddenly break away, and she is discovered standing in the
middle, with a fringe of beads covering her face. Amongst the
people of Kumaun, the husband sees his wife first after the
joining of hands. Amongst the Bedui of North East Africa, the
bride is brought on the evening of the wedding-day by her girl
friends, to the groom's house. She is closely muffled up. Amongst
the Jews of Jerusalem, the bride, at the marriage ceremony,
stands under the nuptial canopy, her eyes being closed, that she
may not behold the face of her future husband before she reaches
the bridal chamber. In Melanesia, the bride is carried to her new
home on some one's back, wrapped in many mats, with palm-fans
held about her face, because she is supposed to be modest and
shy. Among the Damaras, the groom cannot see his bride for four
days after marriage. When a Damara woman is asked in marriage,
she covers her face for a time with the flap of a headdress made
for this purpose. At the Thlinkeet marriage ceremony, the bride
must look down, and keep her head bowed all the time; during the
wedding-day, she remains hiding in a corner of the house, and the
groom is forbidden to enter. At a Yezedee marriage, the bride is
covered from head to foot with a thick veil, and when arrived at
her new home, she retires behind a curtain in the corner of a
darkened room, where she remains for three days before her
husband is permitted to see her. In Corea, the bride has to cover
her face with her long sleeves, when meeting the bridegroom at
the wedding. The Manchurian bride uncovers her face for the first
time when she descends from the nuptial couch. It is dangerous
even to see dangerous persons. Sight is a method of contagion in
primitive science, and the idea coincides with the psychological
aversion to see dangerous things, and with sexual shyness and
timidity. In the customs noticed, we can distinguish the feeling
that it is dangerous to the bride for her husband's eyes to be
upon her, and the feeling of bashfulness in her which induces her
neither to see him nor to be seen by him. These ideas explain the
origin of the bridal veil and similar concealments. The bridal
veil is used, to take a few instances, in China, Burmah, Corea,
Russia, Bulgaria, Manchuria, and Persia, and in all these cases
it conceals the face entirely." (E. Crawley, _The Mystic Rose_,
pp. 328 et seq.)
Alexander Walker, writing in 1846, remarks: "Among old-fashioned
people, of whom a good example may be found in old country people
of the middle class in England, it is indecent to be seen with
the head unclothed; such a woman is terrified at the chance of
being seen In that condition, and if intruded on at that time,
she shrieks with terror, and flies to conceal herself." (A.
Walker, _Beauty_, p. 15.) This fear of being seen with the head
uncovered exists still, M. Van Gennep informs me, in some regions
of France, as in Brittany.
So far it has only been necessary to refer incidentally to the connection
of modesty with clothing. I have sought to emphasize the unquestionable, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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