~BBW, Historical Essay - a Museum curator discourses on a unique artifact
‘This is a harem-girl’s litter from the time of Harpal, the monarch whose reign marked the richest and most extravagant period of what we call in our history the Second Great Age. This rounded, elaborate carving along the sides is typical of the era, you see, also these sturdy, barrel-shaped legs – six of them. I have had it restored to its original condition. Notice how thick the upholstery is, like a mattress. Also on top of this you see here, the couch would be piled with pillows and cushions upholstered in fine silks and cotton, very comfortable, very luxurious. During the day, the girl would spend most of her time on this litter – it was her day-bed.
‘You may be wondering why the litter is so heavy, since this makes it difficult to carry. Actually it is designed to be as light as possible. Still it is heavy, for it is made to support a tremendous load. During the time of Harpal, a fashion arose among the nobles and the rich for fattening their wives and concubines... As you know, in our country we are known for our love of generously proportioned women – at least, that is the tradition, still popular in my young days – though nowadays I fear that with the coming of television and films and magazines from the West, it is somewhat in decline and our women, consequently, much diminished in stature.
‘But in the Second Great Age, nine hundred years ago, this taste became exaggerated and women grew to extraordinary size. The fashion is said to have originated from Harpal himself, his harem-girls are known to have been almost unbelievably corpulent. These miracles of obesity were far too heavy to walk, hence the use of litters such as these. In fact, even those who could have walked a few steps were rarely inclined to do so. They lived only to eat themselves fatter and fatter and fatter for Harpal Khan’s pleasure.
‘Of course, such excess was thought perverse by some, particularly the ascetic forest monks, who condemned it in the severest terms. Yet it is from this era that our peasants inherit the proverb ‘it is impossible to see a thin woman in Thattamthottam’, by which they mean that wealth always accumulates in cities, and not only wealth, but overindulgence and moral degeneracy also.
‘Be that as it may, Harpal was pleased to fatten his women like prize sows and his courtiers and nobles and the great majority – the bulk, if you will – of those who could afford it did likewise. Of course, the women themselves were the chief promoters of the fashion. They cultivated their appetites and forced their capacities, seeking to grow as fat and beautiful as possible. And as you see from this harem-girl’s couch – this is not from the court of Thattamthottam but from the harem of the subordinate prince of this region at the time, Gosala. Yet the woman it bore must surely have been worthy of Harpal’s harem, in bulk if not in beauty. I have made experiments, and this litter can bear a weight of 36,000 tolas, which was the measure of weight in those days. A tola is roughly ten grammes, so you may convert that figure into kilogrammes quite easily. Perhaps the lady was not nearly so heavy as that, but the width of the litter and the fact that it has handles for eight bearers suggests she was very large young woman indeed. Using various other clues available, I calculate that she cannot have weighed less than 25,000 tolas, which would be quite a load even for eight bearers, considering that the litter itself weighs six thousand tolas.’
– from The Antiquarian
The Antiquarian
by Rondeurs
by Rondeurs
‘This is a harem-girl’s litter from the time of Harpal, the monarch whose reign marked the richest and most extravagant period of what we call in our history the Second Great Age. This rounded, elaborate carving along the sides is typical of the era, you see, also these sturdy, barrel-shaped legs – six of them. I have had it restored to its original condition. Notice how thick the upholstery is, like a mattress. Also on top of this you see here, the couch would be piled with pillows and cushions upholstered in fine silks and cotton, very comfortable, very luxurious. During the day, the girl would spend most of her time on this litter – it was her day-bed.
‘You may be wondering why the litter is so heavy, since this makes it difficult to carry. Actually it is designed to be as light as possible. Still it is heavy, for it is made to support a tremendous load. During the time of Harpal, a fashion arose among the nobles and the rich for fattening their wives and concubines... As you know, in our country we are known for our love of generously proportioned women – at least, that is the tradition, still popular in my young days – though nowadays I fear that with the coming of television and films and magazines from the West, it is somewhat in decline and our women, consequently, much diminished in stature.
‘But in the Second Great Age, nine hundred years ago, this taste became exaggerated and women grew to extraordinary size. The fashion is said to have originated from Harpal himself, his harem-girls are known to have been almost unbelievably corpulent. These miracles of obesity were far too heavy to walk, hence the use of litters such as these. In fact, even those who could have walked a few steps were rarely inclined to do so. They lived only to eat themselves fatter and fatter and fatter for Harpal Khan’s pleasure.
‘Of course, such excess was thought perverse by some, particularly the ascetic forest monks, who condemned it in the severest terms. Yet it is from this era that our peasants inherit the proverb ‘it is impossible to see a thin woman in Thattamthottam’, by which they mean that wealth always accumulates in cities, and not only wealth, but overindulgence and moral degeneracy also.
‘Be that as it may, Harpal was pleased to fatten his women like prize sows and his courtiers and nobles and the great majority – the bulk, if you will – of those who could afford it did likewise. Of course, the women themselves were the chief promoters of the fashion. They cultivated their appetites and forced their capacities, seeking to grow as fat and beautiful as possible. And as you see from this harem-girl’s couch – this is not from the court of Thattamthottam but from the harem of the subordinate prince of this region at the time, Gosala. Yet the woman it bore must surely have been worthy of Harpal’s harem, in bulk if not in beauty. I have made experiments, and this litter can bear a weight of 36,000 tolas, which was the measure of weight in those days. A tola is roughly ten grammes, so you may convert that figure into kilogrammes quite easily. Perhaps the lady was not nearly so heavy as that, but the width of the litter and the fact that it has handles for eight bearers suggests she was very large young woman indeed. Using various other clues available, I calculate that she cannot have weighed less than 25,000 tolas, which would be quite a load even for eight bearers, considering that the litter itself weighs six thousand tolas.’
– from The Antiquarian
