Sake Dean Mahomet
Encyclopedia
Sake Dean Mahomed (1759–1851) was a Bengali
traveler, surgeon and entrepreneur
who introduced the Indian
curry house
restaurant in Britain
, and was the first Indian to have written a book in English
. He also established "shampooing
" baths in Great Britain, where he offered therapeutic massage,The word "shampooing" did not take on its modern meaning of washing the hair until the 1860s. See p. 197, The travels of Dean Mahomet: an eighteenth-Century journey through India, Sake Deen Mahomet and Michael Herbert Fisher, University of California Press, 1997, ISBN 0520207173, and "shampoo", v., entry, p. 167, Oxford English Dictionary
, 2nd ed., vol. 15, ISBN 0-19-861227-3. and was one of the most notable early Bengali
, Muslim
, and Indian
immigrants to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
.
, Bihar
, then part of the Bengal Presidency
, Sake Dean Mahomed, according to his own account, came from an elite Muslim family
, being related to the Nawabs of Bengal
and Bihar, his ancestors having risen in the administrative service of the Mughal Emperors
. He had learned much of Mughal Alchemy and understood the techniques used to produce various Alkali
, soap
s and Shampoo
.
Sake Dean Mahomed grew up in the Bengal
region of British India in a Bengali
Muslim
family. He served in the Bengal army of the British East India Company
as a trainee surgeon. He became attached to the army at the early age of 10, and was taken under the wing of Captain Godfrey Evan Baker, an Anglo-Irish
Protestant officer. Mahomet remained with Captain Baker's unit until 1782, when the Captain resigned in disgrace. That same year, Mahomed also resigned from the Army, choosing to accompany Captain Baker, 'his best friend', to Britain.
In 1784, Mahomed emigrated to Cork
, Ireland
, with the Baker family. There he studied to improve his English language
skills at a local school, where he met Jane Daly, a 'pretty Irish
girl of respectable parentage'. The Daly family was opposed to their relationship, and the couple thus eloped to another town to get married in 1786. They later moved to Brighton
, England
, at the turn of the 19th century. Mahomed eventually converted from Islam
to the Anglican denomination of Christianity
.
, and describes a series of military conflicts with local Indian principalities. Mahomet's tone in the book is supportive of the British East India Company's military conquests in India
.
Michael Fischer claims that several passages from the book were plagiarized from other travel narratives written in the late 18th century.
, Dean Mahomet opened the first Indian
restaurant
in England
: the Hindoostanee Coffee House in George Street, Central London
. This venture, however, was unsuccessful.
. The couple opened the first "shampooing" vapour masseur bath in England, on the site now occupied by the Queen's Hotel. He described the treatment in a local paper as "The Indian Medicated Vapour Bath (type of Turkish bath), a cure to many diseases and giving full relief when every thing fails; particularly Rheumatic and paralytic, gout, stiff joints, old sprains, lame less, aches and pains in the joints".
This business was an immediate success and Dean Mahomet became known as "Dr. Brighton". Hospitals referred patients to him and he was appointed as shampooing surgeon to both King George IV
and William IV
.
His son, Frederick, was a proprietor of Turkish baths at Brighton, and also ran a boxing
and fencing
academy near Brighton. Frederick's own son, Frederick Henry Horatio Akbar Mahomed
(c. 1849-1884), became an internationally known physician
, who worked at Guy's Hospital
in London
, and made substantial contributions to the study of high blood pressure
.
Another of Sake Dean Mahomed's grandsons, Rev. James Kerriman Mahomed, converted to Christianity
and was appointed as the vicar
of Hove
, Sussex
, later in the 19th century. This highlights the degree to which his descendants had eventually assimilated into Christian English society.
critic Muneeza Shamsie
, Sake Dean Mahomet began to lose prominence by the Victorian era
and until recently was largely forgotten by history. She notes that he also authored the books Cases Cured and Shampooing Surgeon, Inventor of the Indian medicated Vapour and Sea Water Baths etc.
Modern renewal of interest in his writings followed after poet and scholar Alamgir Hashmi
drew attention to this author in the 1970s and 1980s. Michael H. Fisher has written a book on Sheikh Dean Mahomet: The First Indian Author in English: Dean Mahomet in India, Ireland and England (Oxford University Press, Delhi — 1996).
On 29 September 2005 the City of Westminster
unveiled a Green Plaque commemorating the opening of the Hindoostane Coffee House.
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
traveler, surgeon and entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who introduced the Indian
Indian cuisine
Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterised by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society...
curry house
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
restaurant in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and was the first Indian to have written a book in English
Indian English literature
Indian English literature refers to the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language and whose native or co-native language could be one of the numerous languages of India. It is also associated with the works of members of the Indian diaspora, such as V.S...
. He also established "shampooing
Shampoo (Massage)
The word shampoo in English is derived from Hindi chāmpo , and dates to 1762. The Hindi word referred to head massage, usually with some form of hair oil. Similar words also occur in other North Indian languages....
" baths in Great Britain, where he offered therapeutic massage,The word "shampooing" did not take on its modern meaning of washing the hair until the 1860s. See p. 197, The travels of Dean Mahomet: an eighteenth-Century journey through India, Sake Deen Mahomet and Michael Herbert Fisher, University of California Press, 1997, ISBN 0520207173, and "shampoo", v., entry, p. 167, Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
, 2nd ed., vol. 15, ISBN 0-19-861227-3. and was one of the most notable early Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
, Muslim
Islam in the United Kingdom
Islam has been present in the United Kingdom since its formation in 1707, though it was not legally recognised until the Trinitarian Act in 1812. Today it is the second largest religion in the country with estimates suggesting that by 2010 the total Muslim population had reached 2.869 million.The...
, and Indian
British Indian
The term British Indian refers to citizens of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian descent, and Indian-born people who have migrated to the UK...
immigrants to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
.
Early life
Born in 1759 in PatnaPatna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
, Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, then part of the Bengal Presidency
Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency originally comprising east and west Bengal, was a colonial region of the British Empire in South-Asia and beyond it. It comprised areas which are now within Bangladesh, and the present day Indian States of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya, Orissa and Tripura.Penang and...
, Sake Dean Mahomed, according to his own account, came from an elite Muslim family
Islam in India
Islam is the second-most practiced religion in the Republic of India after Hinduism, with more than 13.4% of the country's population ....
, being related to the Nawabs of Bengal
Nawab of Bengal
The Nawabs of Bengal were the hereditary nazims or subadars of the subah of Bengal during the Mughal rule and the de-facto rulers of the province.-History:...
and Bihar, his ancestors having risen in the administrative service of the Mughal Emperors
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
. He had learned much of Mughal Alchemy and understood the techniques used to produce various Alkali
Alkali
In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Some authors also define an alkali as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base,...
, soap
Soap
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
s and Shampoo
Shampoo
Shampoo is a hair care product used for the removal of oils, dirt, skin particles, dandruff, environmental pollutants and other contaminant particles that gradually build up in hair...
.
Sake Dean Mahomed grew up in the Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
region of British India in a Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
family. He served in the Bengal army of the British East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
as a trainee surgeon. He became attached to the army at the early age of 10, and was taken under the wing of Captain Godfrey Evan Baker, an Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
Protestant officer. Mahomet remained with Captain Baker's unit until 1782, when the Captain resigned in disgrace. That same year, Mahomed also resigned from the Army, choosing to accompany Captain Baker, 'his best friend', to Britain.
In 1784, Mahomed emigrated to Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, with the Baker family. There he studied to improve his English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
skills at a local school, where he met Jane Daly, a 'pretty Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
girl of respectable parentage'. The Daly family was opposed to their relationship, and the couple thus eloped to another town to get married in 1786. They later moved to Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, at the turn of the 19th century. Mahomed eventually converted from Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
to the Anglican denomination of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
The Travels of Dean Mahomet
In 1794, Mahomed published his travel book, The Travels of Dean Mahomet. The book describes several important cities in IndiaIndian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, and describes a series of military conflicts with local Indian principalities. Mahomet's tone in the book is supportive of the British East India Company's military conquests in India
Company rule in India
Company rule in India refers to the rule or dominion of the British East India Company on the Indian subcontinent...
.
Michael Fischer claims that several passages from the book were plagiarized from other travel narratives written in the late 18th century.
Restaurant venture
In 1810, after moving to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Dean Mahomet opened the first Indian
Indian cuisine
Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterised by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society...
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
: the Hindoostanee Coffee House in George Street, Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
. This venture, however, was unsuccessful.
"Dr. Brighton"
In 1814 he moved with his Irish wife Jane to BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. The couple opened the first "shampooing" vapour masseur bath in England, on the site now occupied by the Queen's Hotel. He described the treatment in a local paper as "The Indian Medicated Vapour Bath (type of Turkish bath), a cure to many diseases and giving full relief when every thing fails; particularly Rheumatic and paralytic, gout, stiff joints, old sprains, lame less, aches and pains in the joints".
This business was an immediate success and Dean Mahomet became known as "Dr. Brighton". Hospitals referred patients to him and he was appointed as shampooing surgeon to both King George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
and William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
.
Family
Sake Dean Mahomed and his Irish wife Jane Daly had five children: Rosanna, Henry, Horatio, Frederick, and Arthur. They also had a daughter named Amelia in 1808.His son, Frederick, was a proprietor of Turkish baths at Brighton, and also ran a boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
academy near Brighton. Frederick's own son, Frederick Henry Horatio Akbar Mahomed
Frederick Akbar Mahomed
Frederick Henry Horatio Akbar Mahomed was an internationally known British physician from Brighton, England, in the late 19th century.-Family:...
(c. 1849-1884), became an internationally known physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, who worked at Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and made substantial contributions to the study of high blood pressure
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
.
Another of Sake Dean Mahomed's grandsons, Rev. James Kerriman Mahomed, converted to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. It has been called the foundational experience of Christian life...
and was appointed as the vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, later in the 19th century. This highlights the degree to which his descendants had eventually assimilated into Christian English society.
Recognition
According to Pakistani literaryPakistani literature
Pakistan literature, that is, the literature of Pakistan, is a distinct literature that gradually came to be defined after Pakistan gained nationhood status in 1947, emerging out of literary traditions of the Indian subcontinent. The shared tradition of Urdu literature and English literature of...
critic Muneeza Shamsie
Muneeza Shamsie
Muneeza Shamsie is a Pakistani writer, critic, bibliographer and freelance journalist. She was born in Lahore, Pakistan into a literary-minded family, and was educated in England. She is daughter of the writer Jahanara Habibullah...
, Sake Dean Mahomet began to lose prominence by the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and until recently was largely forgotten by history. She notes that he also authored the books Cases Cured and Shampooing Surgeon, Inventor of the Indian medicated Vapour and Sea Water Baths etc.
Modern renewal of interest in his writings followed after poet and scholar Alamgir Hashmi
Alamgir Hashmi
Alamgir Hashmi is a major English poet of Pakistani origin in the latter half of the 20th century. Considered avant-garde, both his early and later works were published to universal critical acclaim and widespread influence...
drew attention to this author in the 1970s and 1980s. Michael H. Fisher has written a book on Sheikh Dean Mahomet: The First Indian Author in English: Dean Mahomet in India, Ireland and England (Oxford University Press, Delhi — 1996).
On 29 September 2005 the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
unveiled a Green Plaque commemorating the opening of the Hindoostane Coffee House.
Further reading
- Kohlrausch, Anne Katherine, Literarische Selbstverortung als historische Handlung: The Travels of Dean Mahomet, 1794 (Frankfurt am Main u.a.,Peter Lang, 2011) (Zivilisationen & Geschichte, 14).
External links
- The Travels of Dean Mahomet
- "Sake Dean Mahomet, Europe's first Asian Shaikh", The News International, Pakistan
- "Making History - Sake Dean Mahomed - Regency 'Shampooing Surgeon'", BBC - Beyond the Broadcast
- Black History in Brighton