Prostitutes: Sacred and Profane
Names, Types, ClassesBilin
Priestesses among the Dayak of Sarawak (Borneo) who, according to a 19th century researcher, also constitute a class of "public women".(Roth, quoted in Briffault, Vol. 3, p. 213)
Courtesans
Prostitution, sometimes sacred and often secular, was a generally accepted feature of social life in much of Classical history, and there were some fifty terms to differentiate and indicate the class, social status, location, specialties, and appearance of various courtesans.Although the word courtesan originally indicated merely a "lady at court," the word acquired its meaning of "high-class prostitute" during the European Renaissance. In that age, the courtesans - generally educated, elegant, intelligent, and successful women - styled themselves after the Greek hetaerae (see below).
Devadasis
Translated, this Sanskrit term means servants of the gods. It is a collective name for those girls and women who were both refined temple dancers and well-trained ritual prostitutes serving in the temples of Kama, the Indian god of love. Sometimes the girls were bought by the temple trustees from poor and needy families, yet most often they were given to the temple by pious parents; such dedication was considered a sure ticket to heaven. In India, the devadasis were mainly a phenomenon of southern provinces and were to be found there until quite recently. The famous temple at Somnath, for example, sometimes had more than five hundred devadasis. The ruling king, as representative of the Divine, could make free use of their services. There are three extensive studies on the South-Indian devadasis, Apffel Marglin's Wives of the God King, Nityasumangali by Kersenboom-Story and Shankar's The Devadasi Cult.Also Nepal has had its devadasis until the custom was banned, about 30 years ago, by the late King Mahendra (1920–1972); who ruled Nepal from 1955 until his death. However, a 1982 Nepali publication stated that the "custom of devadasi has almost disappeared in Nepal", [Majupuria 1982, p. 133]; indicating in fact that it actually still lives on.
Ghowazy
The Arabian clan known as the Barmaky traditionally brought forth specially revered and honored prostitutes who are known as ghowazy (singular: ghazye), who were available to pilgrims on their way to Mecca. When ceasing their enterprise, these experienced ladies were coveted wives for sheiks or other dignitaries; they were women who often had been on the holy pilgrimage to the Ka’bah and had thus become hajji. This custom may be a remnant of the (pre-Islamic) times when the Holy Ka’bah still was a shrine of the Goddess.Hetaerae
(Grk., female companions)Marriage in ancient Greece was seldom based on love and sexual attraction. Men often had a wife merely for providing offspring - and it had better be a boy! Sexuality and erotic pleasures were, if directed at women at all, found in contacts with the unmarried, free, and sophisticated "female companions".
The hetaerae were Greek society’s version of the refined prostitute, and some of these women seem to have enjoyed a rather high social status. Similar to a Japanese geisha, a hetaera (singular) was a well-trained musician and dancer and an especially skilled adept of erotic delights, and it was through these qualities that the most successful of these women attained considerable wealth together with the accompanying social power.
Hierodules
The Greek term, actually hierodouloi, for the priestesses and women who practiced ritual prostitution, comparable to the ishtarishtu and qadeshtu of the Near East. Hierodules served at the temples of Aphrodite at Phoenician Byblos, Cyprian Paphos, and Greek Corinth.The Italian island of Sicily also had its hierodules who served Venus Ericyna on Mount Eryx.
Horae
According to Barbara Walker [1983], these Greek "Ladies of the Hour" have much in common with the houries and harlots. There is a traditional circle-dance called hora which was performed by Sacred Harlots every hour of the night; a custom also known in Egypt and performed by all-female temple-dancers. The association with time stems from a group of goddesses bearing the same name, Horae.Also, in Hebrew, the word hor is used to indicate "cave, pit, hole", and is used for yoni. It is quite probable that the terms "whore" and "Hure" (German), have developed both sound and meaning from these Horae.