The threat of beheading

5.10. - The traditional threat of beheading

At her Vows of Devotion, by long tradition, an odalisque be threatened with beheading should she run away or be willfully disobedient or bring disgrace to her vocation or her Keeper. Thereafter, the sword may be presented at her training sessions or other times as an emblem of authority and a constant reminder of the dire fate that awaits a slave who dishonours her vows.

The sword is the emblem of authority in Code d’ Odalisque. This alludes back to the days when pirates and slavetraders took fair maidens captive and sold them into the harems of the Orient.

The authority of the sword takes the form of a threat of beheading. When she becomes an odalisque, and thereafter, the cockslave is threatened with beheading if she violates the institution of odalisque. This typically takes the form:

*The slave kneels or prostrates and exposes the nape of her neck to her Keeper at his command.

*The Slavekeeper places the cold blade of his cutlass upon the back of the slave’s neck.

*The Slavekeeper threatens to behead her if she disobeys or fails to do as he commands.

Needless to say, this threat is an item of ritual drama and is not intended literally. The threat is symbolic – just as the sword is merely a symbol and is never used as a weapon.

Nevertheless, the threat of beheading can be repeated often. The threat is first made at the slave’s discalcing (initiation) and she is reminded of it thereafter. Finally, an odalisque lives under the threat of beheading. This was the traditional punishment for rebellious, criminal or wayward slaves. An odalisque lives "under the sword". This remains a motif in consensual odalisque slave play.