The Authentic and Illustrated History of a Belgrade Whore and Her Struggles for Her Constitutional Rights, 1830–1851

Abstract

The Authentic and Illustrated History of a Belgrade Whore and Her Struggles for Her Constitutional Rights, 1830–1851 Kata Nesiba1, Ivan Janković, and Veljko Mihajlović Translated by Henry R. Cooper Jr. An Introduction to Nesiba Dear Reader, Good Lady, however distressing this story which you hold in your hand may be, it is ever so worthy of your belief. For what we two, narrator and illustrator, know, we do really know, and there is no falsehood in it, nor can there be. In the annotations at the end of the book you will find proof of everything, every source and every single detail, in black and white.2 Thus, there are no lies, no deceit. But the fact of the matter is that not even we know absolutely everything, we cannot just make things up, we are not irresponsible, we are serious men (though not totally). But you, My Lady, do not fret, you will learn everything that you need to know, and a good deal more which need not be known, but is super edifying and amusing. For what we ourselves do not know, we can easily learn thanks to the kindness of a being who is most generous towards us—the Spirit of the Town (of Belgrade). In his very immaterial essence he, who is our Neighbor, Protector, and Benefactor, has access everywhere and at all times, and what he does not know is not worth knowing. And so that the enjoyment and the assurance may be even greater, this Benefactor of ours has an abundance of relatives, colleagues, pals and buddies all over the place, and all of them know what is to know, no need to ask, they are ready to help, they are worth their weight in gold. And we, grateful as we are, will always tell exactly what we have learned and from whom in that great company we have learned it. Okay, enough said. Now to the matter at hand. [End Page 127] Coming Ashore The sex worker Nesiba arrived in Belgrade with her mother in early July 1830. They came by a boat that was hauled up the Danube, passed by Dorćol, sailed around Kalemegdan, entered the Sava and docked at the Jalija, the shoreline at today's Captaincy. Nesiba was nineteen years old and her name was Arabic for "noble," "of good birth." We know neither her mother's name nor age, since she is referred to in the sources solely as "Nesiba's mother" or simply "the old woman." Both were Muslim, but that did not mean they were Turks. They spoke both Turkish and Serbian, but bilingualism in the cities of the Belgrade pašaluk3 at that time was the rule rather than the exception. The boat they arrived on worked the line from Ruščuk4 to Vidin to Smederevo to Belgrade, and its captain, or in Turkish reiz, was called Ali-Baba. Nesiba and her mother paid the reiz 160 groš,5 which was not a small sum, but that sum included transport of the baggage which, we will soon see, was also not small. Where did the two of them board Ali-Baba's ship? That we do not know. And we also do not know why they came to Belgrade, but it does seem to us that they were expelled from somewhere—probably from the town in which they boarded the ship. And if they were expelled, we—again to our great shame—have no idea why. Let us imagine it might be in connection with the then widespread practice of expelling "notorious whores," in the alleged interest of public order and decency. In any event and strictly speaking, none of this prehistory figures into our story, which begins with Nesiba's arrival in Belgrade. And that arrival was accompanied by dramatic events. Apparently, the Turkish authorities were expecting Nesiba, for a complaint had been raised against her, and that at the highest level: by the Honest Vizier (that was his official title!6) himself who governed the entire Belgrade pašaluk. The complaint against Nesiba was filed by some "Malisors," that is, by some Arnauts, as Albanians were called in Serbian...