JAMES TAYLOR
Note: This account of slavery in Dhaka during the 19th century is taken from James Talyor’s book ‘A Sketch of the Topgraphy and Statistics of Dacca’. The book was published in 1840. James Talyor was appointed by the East India Company as a surgeon in Dhaka. – Editor, Bangladesh on Record
Slavery prevails to a greater extent here [Dhaka] than in the Western districts of Bengal, a circumstance which is perhaps attributable to the frequent occurrence of destitution and distress, occasioned by the sudden inundations to which this part of the country is liable. Male slaves are distinguished by the name of Bhandaree by the Hindoos, and by that of Gholam among the Mussulmauns ; and female slaves are called Dassee by the former, and Bhandee by the latter. Almost all the female domestics in Hindoo and Mussulmaun families are slaves. In Mussulmaun houses they act as cooks, but among the Hindoos they are never employed in this capacity, the only articles of diet they are allowed to prepare, being choorah, kooee, &c.
Male slaves are employed as agricultural labourers, and do the various kind of work about a farm, as ploughing, weeding, reaping, fishing, cutting wood and grass, &c. or they act as domestic servants in Hindoo families, carrying water from the river, preparing the hookah and pan, and cleaning cooking utensils. A Bhandaree or Gholam is frequently the husband of six or eight female slaves in the neighbourhood, but most of his marriages are fictitious and are got up by the proprietors of the female slaves to screen their own intercourse with them. The marriage of a slave is conducted in the same way as that of a poor ryott. The expense is defrayed by the owner of the serf, but in the fictitious marriages, the proprietors of the female slaves pay the costs of the ceremony, and also bestow a small sum on the bridegroom.
The maximum value of a male slave in the present day is estimated at rupees 150, and that of a female one at rupees 100. The latter are always sold at an early age and avowedly to attend the daughters of the purchasers.
In a majority of instances, slaves are treated with kindness and leniency by their masters. The work exacted from them is seldom oppressive, and generally, is even less than a hired servant would be required to perform. In most cases they partake of the diet used by the family, and are allowed the common luxuries of betel nut and tobacco. Many of those born in bondage in the houses of the wealthier classes, are taught to read and write along with the children of the family.
The sale of persons in slavery is not so common now, it is alleged, as it was in former times, although it is admitted, that it is still carried on to a considerable extent. Formerly slaves were sold along with landed property, and the transfer was generally ratified by separate deeds of a sale. The maximum value of a male slave in the present day is estimated at rupees 150, and that of a female one at rupees 100. The latter are always sold at an early age and avowedly to attend the daughters of the purchasers. Many of them, however, are infamously disposed of to prostitutes in the town. Most of the slaves in this part of the country, are aware of the protection held out to them by Government, and instances frequently occur of individuals claiming it from the Magistrates. Many of them who have been thus liberated are scattered over the country, and in several villages in the district of Mymensing have formed small communities which serve as rallying points or places of refuge for those who have obtained their freedom or who choose to desert their masters. Slaves in general are distinguished by the appellation of “Sing,” but those who can read and write after their liberation, assume the rank of Kayets.
Many slaves in the district work for only a certain number of months or days in the year, and are allowed wages for the rest of their labour. It is mentioned in the records of the district for the year 1777, that the slaves of the Zemindar of Toroff in Mymensing, rose in a body and murdered the whole of the family.