Women of the Tahari

Slave girls in the Tahari often wear chalwars. These are baggy pants of diaphanous silk, gathered in closely at the ankles. They are worn low on the hips, several inches below the belly button. They are similar to the harem trousers of the middle east region of Earth. They may also wear a silk vest with the chalwars.

Tahari free women have a certain place in their society and learn certain skills. These skills include such matters as making rope from kaiila hair, cutting and plaiting of reins, weaving of cloth and mats, decoration and beading of leather goods, use of the mortar and pestle, use of the grain quern, preparation and spicing of stews, cleaning of verr, milking of verr and kaiila, and the churning of milk. Nomad women often fry foods by setting metal boards on rocks and cooking on the hot metal.

Women, free and slave, are commonly transported in the Tahari in a kurdah. A kurdah is a semicircular frame of tem wood, about a yard in width at its widest point and four feet high. It is an open-fronted, flat-bottomed, half globe. The frame is covered with layers of white rep cloth to reflect the sun. The front closes by a curtain. It is light and can be carried by a pack kailla. Some nomads veil their women and others do not. Some others decorate their faces with designs, drawn in charcoal. Among the upper classes in the Tahari, it is scandalous that a woman's mouth not be concealed. The mouth is thought to be very erotic. To touch a girl's teeth to your own is considered a preliminary to the seizure of her body.

Some women in the Tahari use items that would be more likely found on slaves elsewhere. Free girls, of the age ready for free companionship, may signal their availability by belling their left ankles with a virgin bell. The bright and clear note of the virgin bell is easily distinguished from the sensuous sounds of slave bells. A beautifully measured gait is considered attractive for women in the Tahari. Slaves often use light walking chains that tether the ankles. The chains are adjustable from two to twenty inches. Free women also measure their stride, sometimes with silk thongs or even a walking chain.

Men of the Tahari prefer soft, meaty slaves. A slave may be stuffed with food for several days before her sale to get her into that condition. Cold, white-skinned women are also of interest to the men of the Tahari. They enjoy turning them into hot slaves. Blond, blue-eyed women are rare in the Tahari so they are eagerly sought after. Slaves in the Tahari are commonly branded with the "Kef" but it is in Taharic. They also use the printed letter and not the cursive, though it still looks floral. Slaves are often made to perform on submission mats, very coarse mats. It is considered a horrible degradation to make a Tahari woman, free or slave, dry a man's feet with her hair.

Men in the Tahari, like in most places, enjoy slave dancing. Many of these girls may use zills, finger cymbals. They may also use dancing chains. There are many varieties of dancing chains. They enhance a girl's beauty and do not interfere at all in her dancing. They do impose subtle limits on her dance but that only adds to the experience. A dancing chain is basically a long, light chain. It connects to two wrist rings and her collar.