Tadhmar

A tadhmar was a highly successful entertainer who catered to the merchant nobility of the Confederation of Abayad, particularly during the Golden Age of Abayad and after until the founding of the Republic in 1456. Tadhmars excelled in and contributed to music, dance, theater, and the rich Abayadi literary tradition, and were considered an authority on all matters relating to etiquette and fashion. They contributed significantly to the continuation of traditional dance and music forms during their time, as well as poetry and literature. Tadhmar mostly worked as entertainers, providing artistic enjoyment and witty conversation for members of the upper class. Many found patronage at the various courts of the Merchant Families, but they were also spread throughout the country. Aside from entertainment, their roles often included medical care and needlework.

Tadhmar play an important role in Abayadi conceptions of pre-republican culture. Some of Abayad’s most popular stories feature tadhmar as heroines or supporting characters. Although the names of many real tadhmar have been forgotten, others are remembered for an specific outstanding attribute, such as skill or wit. Although not directly involved with the sex trade, many tadhmar had sex with clients or those they were hired to entertain incidentally to their work, contributing to the misconception by some foreigners that their primary roles were as prostitutes.

History
A tadhmar could come from various backgrounds, but a common background was that of a slave girl in a brothel: the girl would be taken from the brothel and educated in the arts of being a courtesan. They often worked under the tutelage of another Tadhmar, either directly or patroned by a wealthy benefactor. Tadhmar could earn substantial fortunes in their work; however, they were often caught in debt to former associates, and, as they lacked families, were sometimes exposed to ruinous lawsuits. When they retired, tadhmar often educated their own successor, either a daughter or a student. Young tadhmar-in-training were taught various skills, including the ability to differentiate and appreciate high quality music and literature as well as practice it, among other arts.

The patronage of the various courts of the Merchant Families during and after the Golden Age of Abayad and the artistic atmosphere that followed made arts-related careers a viable prospect. Once they had matured and possessed a sufficient command over dancing and singing, students would became tadhmar, high-class courtesans who served the rich and noble. The tadhmar’s introduction into her profession was marked by a celebration that customarily included the inaugural blackening of her teeth.

Tadhmar would dance, sing, recite poetry, and entertain customers and their guests at feasts, parties, and the like. Their main purpose was to professionally entertain guests, while sex was often incidental, it was not assured contracturally. High-class or the most popular tadhmar could often pick and choose among the best of their high-class patrons.

Career
The career of most tadhmar was fairly long, beginning their training arond 15 or 16, becoming a full-fledged tadhmar by 22, and often working well into their late thirties and early forties. It was customary for tadhmar who had become too old to continue their work to own, manage, or work in a tavern.

In the later period of the Confederation Period, a three-tiered system developed. The highest was occupied by the hadhmar, who sang and danced at upper class feasts and gatherings of the Merchant Family, famed for their exquisite beauty. However, hadhmar were expected to retire earlier than other classes of tadhmar, and were expected to go into another profession (generally dressmaking or medicine). Next were the sadhmar, commonly retained for private entertaining and were generally proficient in all tadhmar-associated skills or arts. Sadhmar were also the most common class of tadhmar retained for the training and discipline of new tadhmar. Tadhmar of the lowest tier were called adhmar, who often worked under a sadhmar or hadhmar as assistants or ladies in waiting.

In the course of their careers, many tadhmar were able to amass considerable wealth. Depending on their level of skill, many tadhmar’s patrons paid part or all of their expenses, including food, clothes, and makeup, while less valued tadhmar were required to pay for these from their own personal funds.

Becoming a tadhmar
Women entered the tadhmar class through various paths. Some were the daughters of tadhmar, who inherited their mother’s status. Others were sold into slavery to the wealthy by families who could not afford to support them. On occasion, women of high status who had been ostracized by their families became tadhmar as a means of making a living.

As tadhmar were members of a skilled profession, the Merchant Families governing the region took an early interest in ensuring correct education. This first emerged with the establishment of training academies for palace tadhmar, which became more codified later on. Instruction focused on music, dance, poetry, and other refined arts.

In the three-tiered system that appeared later, more specialized training schools were established for tadhmar of the first and second tiers. The course of study lasted from three to six years and covered poetry, dance, music, art, and more. The system continued until the beginning of the republic, during which time the academies were shut down under laws classifying them as houses of prostitution.

Daily life
As they were often slaves of the governing Merchant Family class, the lives of tadhmar were closely regulated. They were often overseen by personal household officers, who were in charge of maintaining a register of all slaves of the household and ensuring none had fled. Tadhmar of the two lower classes were required to answer most of the requests of patrons and their guests. They were also commonly required to report to local academies for continuing education, usually focused on music and dance. However, the more detailed affairs of the tadhmar were not directly overseen by patrons or masters. Order was kept internally within each household tadhmar retinue, which may have included some tens of tadhmar. When problems arose between a tadhmar and a client, or when charges of criminal conduct were made against a tadhmar, typically the household officers were tasked with the leading role in resolving the situation.

In addition, most tadhmar had alwan, or “tadhmar husbands,” who provided some form of protection and economic support, such as buying them valuable things or granting them social status in return for entertainment. Most alwan were former mercenaries or servants of the household. At times, there would be friction between would-be customers and possessive alwan, although the alwan was not the tadhmar’s legal husband and had no true claim to her or her possessions. The role of the alwan changed over time; at first, many tadhmar had no such patron, but by the end of the Confederation period, the system was more or less universal.

Politics and diplomacy
As their roles evolved, many tadhmar came to play a number of important political roles, as servants of the main officers of the state and in their own right. They were employed to entertain visiting dignitaries from the territory of other regions of Abayad, as well as from abroad, and to accompany them if they travelled through the area. Thanks to their frequenting taverns and guest-houses of their home areas, tadhmar were often among the most knowledgeable on local affairs. For this reason, they were at times a key source of intelligence.

When cities fell, tadhmar were often instructured to entertain the leadership of the victorious mercenary army. Many tadhmar played active roles in aiding the Merchant Families during the Abayadi Revolution in providing intelligence and information, which later contributed to their being outlawed in retribution.

Regional differences
Tadhmar seem to have been relatively few in number, at the most a few thousand. They were spread throughout Abayad at their peak, with hundreds in the larger trading ports along the coast and smaller numbers in the inland towns and villages. They were also found in taverns and inns providing food and shelter to travelers along the country’s arterial roads, providing music and entertainment for wary travelers.

The number and characteristics of tadhmar varied greatly from region to region. For most of the Confederation Period, the city with the most tadhmar was Qabl (later renamed Toli Abayad, with perhaps 1,000. Many of these worked in the courts of the Merchant Families, helping fill the vast number of trained entertainers needed for grand festivals.  Beautiful or talented tadhmar were often sought after and in great demand, brought from more rural areas to Qabl.  The required training for tadhmar in Qabl was regular and very strict, with inanttentive tadhmar trainees being sent home.

There were also large numbers of tadhmar in the major trading centers along Abayad’s west coast, notably Sadaqa, Aljira, and Tafari. The tadhmar of Sadaqa were noted for their high level of skill and beauty. The tadhmar school there was one of the most advanced in the country, continuing in operation until the Republican era. The tadhmar of Sadaqa were in particular known for their talent in singing. Other large concentrations existed around military camps, particularly along the northwestern border and in far inland areas. In these areas, tadhmar essentially filled the role of homemakers for the army, and their role was commensurately more focused on domestic tasks than entertainment, although they were expected to maintain some refinement. However, like other tadhmar, sex was still not an essential part of their role.

Tadhmar of other regions also maintained distinctive local identities. The tadhmar of Zil-Haryun were particularly adept at fencing. Those of Akhar were known for their equestrian prowess. In many cases, the noted skills of a region’s tadhmar corresponded with some other claim to fame. The tadhmar of Sadaqa and the northwest specialized in Ishaqi poetry in many instances, memorizing long stanzas of the region’s unique style of poetry to recite by heart.