As I was watching a documentary titled "Servants: The True Story of Life Below Stairs. Part 1 of 3 - Knowing Your Place." I could not help but relate it to an experience I have witnessed in a royal Arab household; not as a servant, though, but as a private tutor. The details that caught my attention in the documentary denoted a lucid similarity between the army of servants in one British household and the mansions and households of royalties in the Arab Gulf. Generally speaking, the similarities were between the two eras themselves and whatever may have been related to them. According to Dr. Pamela Cox, Essex University, grand country houses sprung all over Britain in the second half of the eighteenth century and the fist half of the nineteenth as a result of the what she calls "the new wealth of the British Empire and the Industrial Revolution". A similar situation marks the abrupt prominence of wealthy households in the Arab Gulf. (I will be referring to it as the Gulf from now on). The Gulf and its dominating families which rules its countries were fortunate to have "oil"in their lands. Prior to the discovery of oil in the Gulf, history tells of a Bedwian, nomadic lifestyle that prevailed in the whole territory. Arabs in the Gulf did not have the concept of building mansions or using a sewage system; even having water taps in their vicinity was considered "haram" or blasphemous as Dr. Aisha Abdel Rahman tells the readers in her book "Land of miracles". That book she wrote was about her experience as an alumnus in a scholarship programme in the Egyptian University on the outset of the year 1951. As a part of that programme, students were allowed either a visit to the holy land to perform pilgrimage or a visit to the Sudan. The description of people in the Gulf at that time is quite bewildering since their heritage, religion and traditions were mixed with every aspect of their lives. The results of such a mixture varied between the extremes of being utterly noisome, and completely hilarious. Nowadays, the Arabs of the Gulf's attitude is somewhat refined and modernized. Yet, the three elements of: heritage, religion, and traditions still tamper with their manners and attitudes towards each other, as well as foreigners.
Hierarchy seemed to be a necessity of life in Victorian England, and is an indispensable trait of the life of the monarchy in the Gulf. In the documentary, Cox goes to Erddig Hall, Clwyd, to investigate more about the Victorian subject. A huge residence with minute intricacies that require the utmost care. Very similar to royal households in the Gulf nowadays, which contain an abundance of very extravagant and precious items. The Victorian elite and the royal Arabs share the same attribute of wanting to look lavish, and having a well-kept property at all time. The size of the property itself, is quite crucial for both lifestyles of the Victorians and Arabs. Their mansions and households are known for having a great landscape where botany mattered immensely. The inside of their households encompassed a myriad of rooms for multiple purposes. Their kitchens are huge and well-equipped. However, the servants's hierarchy was much more apparent in the Victorian era. The servant had posts such as: butlers, coachmen, footmen, housekeepers, head housemaids, housemaids, cooks, kitchen maids, dairy maids, scullery maids, laundry maids and hall-boys . Another form of hierarchy also took place apart from the servants', which included governors, head nurses, under nurses, ladies's maids and valets. In the Gulf, with the advent of technology, there is no need for dairy maids, laundry maids, coachmen and footmen; but there is still a need for all sorts of maids and servants without the same process of giving them job titles. It is enough to know how close a servant is to her master or mistress to know exactly their position in the unnamed hierarchy. Also in the parallel hierarchy there is no necessity to have a head nurse or an under nurse; high ranked hospitals can do the job even better.
In Victorian England worked for approximately seventeen hours per day. In the Arab Gulf, servants do not work less than that, but even more. They are summoned at any time for the convenience of their masters.
For the same purpose, many of the servants actually live in the main household, to be close to their employers; a privilege not all servants enjoy. Having outhouses to serve the main household is a necessity by all means. In these outhouses, some of the house chores are to be done, in both Victorian England and the Gulf. Moreover, servants of lower ranks can sleep and have their own wardrobe. In Victorian England only the butler, the housekeeper and the other high-ranked servants in the hierarchy could have their own rooms in the main household; a privilege Gulf servants are not entitled to in the main household. Normally in the Gulf, chief servants -as well as some of the minor ones serving children royalty- have a mattress thrown somewhere in the corner awaiting to e summoned at any time, then in their rare free time they go to the outhouse servants' quarter where they can enjoy the luxury of having their own bed in a small room with so many beds and a couple of wardrobes when they can all stash their few possessions and their travel suitcases.
Mentioning suitcases, brings a horrible fact to mind concerning the nature of the serving staff in both case. While servants in Victorian England were mainly British from a lower caste, servants in the Gulf are never Gulf citizens. Gulf royalty and citizens in general hire foreign servants from countries like: Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. In some rare cases the servants can be Arabs from countries like: Morocco,(and recently Syrians); and and in other rarer cases they would be Egyptians. And normally the Arab servants have the top-hierarchical positions in the household; most probably because they come from a close background to their employers and there is no language barrier between them which renders communication quite comfortable. In all cases, British servants in Victorian England and foreign labour in the Gulf household are naturally looked down upon by their masters and even outsiders. The only difference is the the British took bride in their army of servants and used to honour them collectively by taking photos of the serving staff and by writing poems in their praise.
There are many points to cover in this video, but I shall wait to get a response from you, blog readers and followers, such points are:
- Household manuals (7:50 in the video)
- Difference in pay between servants in Victorian and Arabin Gulf households (14:20)
- Servants' uniforms in Victorian England and the Gulf
Hope to get your feedback soon :)
(TBC)
Noha Haggag
First published: 21 June, 2017.
Edit 1: 9 June, 2020.
video link on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqiMASk5MIU
Hierarchy seemed to be a necessity of life in Victorian England, and is an indispensable trait of the life of the monarchy in the Gulf. In the documentary, Cox goes to Erddig Hall, Clwyd, to investigate more about the Victorian subject. A huge residence with minute intricacies that require the utmost care. Very similar to royal households in the Gulf nowadays, which contain an abundance of very extravagant and precious items. The Victorian elite and the royal Arabs share the same attribute of wanting to look lavish, and having a well-kept property at all time. The size of the property itself, is quite crucial for both lifestyles of the Victorians and Arabs. Their mansions and households are known for having a great landscape where botany mattered immensely. The inside of their households encompassed a myriad of rooms for multiple purposes. Their kitchens are huge and well-equipped. However, the servants's hierarchy was much more apparent in the Victorian era. The servant had posts such as: butlers, coachmen, footmen, housekeepers, head housemaids, housemaids, cooks, kitchen maids, dairy maids, scullery maids, laundry maids and hall-boys . Another form of hierarchy also took place apart from the servants', which included governors, head nurses, under nurses, ladies's maids and valets. In the Gulf, with the advent of technology, there is no need for dairy maids, laundry maids, coachmen and footmen; but there is still a need for all sorts of maids and servants without the same process of giving them job titles. It is enough to know how close a servant is to her master or mistress to know exactly their position in the unnamed hierarchy. Also in the parallel hierarchy there is no necessity to have a head nurse or an under nurse; high ranked hospitals can do the job even better.
In Victorian England worked for approximately seventeen hours per day. In the Arab Gulf, servants do not work less than that, but even more. They are summoned at any time for the convenience of their masters.
For the same purpose, many of the servants actually live in the main household, to be close to their employers; a privilege not all servants enjoy. Having outhouses to serve the main household is a necessity by all means. In these outhouses, some of the house chores are to be done, in both Victorian England and the Gulf. Moreover, servants of lower ranks can sleep and have their own wardrobe. In Victorian England only the butler, the housekeeper and the other high-ranked servants in the hierarchy could have their own rooms in the main household; a privilege Gulf servants are not entitled to in the main household. Normally in the Gulf, chief servants -as well as some of the minor ones serving children royalty- have a mattress thrown somewhere in the corner awaiting to e summoned at any time, then in their rare free time they go to the outhouse servants' quarter where they can enjoy the luxury of having their own bed in a small room with so many beds and a couple of wardrobes when they can all stash their few possessions and their travel suitcases.
Mentioning suitcases, brings a horrible fact to mind concerning the nature of the serving staff in both case. While servants in Victorian England were mainly British from a lower caste, servants in the Gulf are never Gulf citizens. Gulf royalty and citizens in general hire foreign servants from countries like: Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. In some rare cases the servants can be Arabs from countries like: Morocco,(and recently Syrians); and and in other rarer cases they would be Egyptians. And normally the Arab servants have the top-hierarchical positions in the household; most probably because they come from a close background to their employers and there is no language barrier between them which renders communication quite comfortable. In all cases, British servants in Victorian England and foreign labour in the Gulf household are naturally looked down upon by their masters and even outsiders. The only difference is the the British took bride in their army of servants and used to honour them collectively by taking photos of the serving staff and by writing poems in their praise.
There are many points to cover in this video, but I shall wait to get a response from you, blog readers and followers, such points are:
- Household manuals (7:50 in the video)
- Difference in pay between servants in Victorian and Arabin Gulf households (14:20)
- Servants' uniforms in Victorian England and the Gulf
Hope to get your feedback soon :)
(TBC)
Noha Haggag
First published: 21 June, 2017.
Edit 1: 9 June, 2020.
video link on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqiMASk5MIU
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