The term has been used for women who were both free, including some of whom came from nobility, and non-free women. Other translations include ' courtesan ' , [ 6 ] ' musical concubines ' , [ 1 ] or simply ' women musicians '. The meaning of qayn extended to include manual labourers generally, and then focused more specifically on people paid for their work, and then more specifically again ' to anyone engaged in an artistic performance for reward '. From here, its feminine form came to have the meaning of a female performer of various arts, in a specific role.
They were often associated in literature with licentiousness, and sexuality was an important part of their appeal, but they do not seem to have been sex workers. Gordon, "it is not yet clear to what extent courtesans graced regional courts and elite households at other points of Islamic history".
It seems that while female singers still existed, enslaved ones were no longer found in al-Andalus in the 14th century CE. Qiyan-slave-girls were initially imported to al-Andalus from Medina. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. Class of women entertainers in the pre-modern Islamic world.
By country or region. Opposition and resistance. Abolitionism U. Terminology [ edit ]. Characteristics and history [ edit ].
Decline [ edit ]. Al-Andalus [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Citations [ edit ]. Tauris, , p. Retrieved 24 August Gordon and Kathryn A. Hain Oxford: Oxford University Press, , pp. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN Storbritannien: Oxford University Press. Sources [ edit ]. Further reading [ edit ]. Medieval Perso-Arab music. Arab music Persian traditional music.
