One of [the beauties] is Cotton ‘Ayni, a jasmine breast
The Şehrengiz of ‘Azizi, late 16th century
Her skin, like cotton, is delicate and moist
Her body is a fresh sapling in the soul’s garden
Her mouth, of purest water, is a fountain
I said, “Come to my breast,” said the heartbreaker,
“What have fire and cotton to do together?”
Almost all the nicknames we have for Ottoman Turkish women are prostitutes’ working names. We don’t know why. Did “respectable” women not have nicknames? Were women’s nicknames too intimate to use in the public sphere?
Unless otherwise noted, the women’s real names are more or less ordinary names of the times.
Names from Court Cases
In court, most female prostitutes were identified by their real names. However, a small number had nicknames or professional names:
‘Arab Fatı: Fatı the Arab. “Arab” usually referred to North Africans. Fatı was a nickname for Fatıma.
Atlu Ases: Possibly means “Mounted Night-Watchman.” Atlu means “pertaining to horses,” and the ases were neighborhood guards, night watchmen, etc. The professional name of a prostitute named Kamer.
Balatlu Ayni: Ayni from Balat.
Giritlü Nefise: Cretan Nefise. A number of people had previously been stolen from the region and enslaved, raising the possibility that Nefise had been stolen from Crete, enslaved, converted to Islam, renamed, and later freed.
Kazgancı Hatunu: A kazgancı makes or sells cauldrons. Possibly “Mistress Cauldron-Seller,” but given the context, I assume there’s a sexual meaning. The professional name of a prostitute named Ayşe.
Narin: Delicate, fragile. This is the only name the woman was identified by, so it could be a very rare but mundane female name, or it could be a more literary professional name.
Names from the Şehrengiz of ‘Azizi
Ottoman poets created an entire genre of poetry devoted to extolling the beauties of a particular city: the whiteness of their brows, the curls of their locks, the wit and cruelty of their devastating comebacks. 48 of these poems, or şehrengiz, have survived. 47 of them are about… beautiful young men.
The sole şehrengiz about women was written in the late 16th century by an otherwise obscure poet named ‘Azizi.
Ak ‘Alem: White ‘Alem.
Ak Güvercin: White Pigeon. The nickname of a woman named Rebi’a Banu.
Bihzad Hüma: Well-Born Hüma
Çırmanlu Ayşe: Ayşe of the Embraces, or Cuddly Ayşe.
Divane Meryem: Lovesick Miriam. (Divane means “crazy,” with a connotation of lovesickness.) Muslims also used the name Meryem, but the verse describing this woman makes it clear that she was Christian.
Elleri-Güzel Cemile: Cemile of the Fair Hands.
Ermeni Sultan: Armenian Sultan. “Sultan” was a common female name, one of the few that crossed religious and ethnic borders.
Kız ‘Alem: ‘Alem the Maiden.
Küçük Kamer: Little Kamer.
Küçük Nisa: Little Nisa.
Kulak Emine: Emine of the Ears?
Kurda Hüma: Possibly Wolfish Hüma? But that makes no sense.
Meh-suret: Moon Countenance. A nickname given to a woman whose real name was Cennet (“Heavens”).
Penbe ‘Ayni: Cotton ‘Ayni, a reference to her whiteness and softness.
Rum Meryem: Greek Miriam. The Rum were the ethnic Greeks who lived in Anatolia before the Ottomans arrived.
Saçlı Zaman: Long-haired Zaman.
Şive Emine: Şive means something like “accent” or “speech.” Beautiful speech was highly admired in women,1 so Emine’s appellation presumably refers to some quality of her speech.
Sülün Emine: Pheasant Emine. The pheasant was believed to have a pleasant, swaying walk.
Topuklı Ayşe: Ayşe of the Ankles. (“Topuk” literally means heels.)
Sources
Court Cases
Sariyannis, Marinos. (2008). “Prostitution in Ottoman Istanbul, Late Sixteenth – Early Eighteenth Century.” Turcica. 40. 37-65. 10.2143/TURC.40.0.2037134.
The Şehrengiz of ‘Azizi
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b443779&view=1up&seq=208
http://www.acarindex.com/dosyalar/makale/acarindex-1423874543.pdf