Ibn Battuta
In Said Hamdun and Noel King's book Ibn Battuta in Black Africa, they point out some especially important contributions still lasting to modern day studies of society. In the year 1331 c.e, the world's major civilizations were in fact growing and advancing at an astonishing rate. Historians know quite a bit about a few cultures and empires of this time. These societies such as the Romans, Greeks, and Chinese to name a few kept written records of daily life and events. Accounts of these societies, for example, are also briefly stated in records in societies of which they interacted. In Ibn Battutas' travels, he not only visited the known societies but the unknown as well. Travelers such as Marco Polo did the same, but not to the extent that Ibn Battuta did. Without the journals of Battuta, we in modern times would know far less than we do now about "less" publicized cultures such as the ones he visited in East and West Africa. In his writings, he not only breaks light on many previously unknown cultures but he in doing so becomes one of the first of his kind to do it in a personal way. He thus sheds light to his own in retrospect to the rest of the world. In this paper I would not only like to point out s
ome of the more important findings of his travels but the way in which his comments explains himself and what he believed to be the humble Islamic world. In his travels within Eastern and Western Africa, Ibn Battuta comments on almost every practice of local people that he encounters. Some of the customs that he confronts pleases him and others do no more than enrage him. In this period of time it was proper among Islamic believers to be very hospitable. This sharing in the world of Islam meant that he could travel without money or without fear of being without a place to stay. One of the many things he commented upon arrival at a new destination was the way in which he was treated. For example, there was his recount of his visit to the town of Iwalatan. When there he went to the house of Ibn Badda, for whom he claimed was an excellent man. Upon his arrival, as it was customary, he and his caravan were invited to a warm reception where they would eat and be entertained. After the food was brought out, Ibn Battuta said to them "Was it for this the black invited us?" He then quoted that then he became sure that there was no good to be expected from them (Hamdun "and" Noel 36-37). He was especially critical of Sultans whether it was positively or negatively. When he was ordered to stand up and receive the Sultan of Mali's' gifts thinking they would be robes and things of value, he laughed when it turned out that they were tree pieces of bread a piece of beef and sour milk. "He laughed and wondered a lot at their weakness of mind and their magnifying of the insignificant (Hamdun "and" Noel 45). In Mali he found much in terms of customs that he disliked. He found it horrible that slave women, women servants and little daughters appeared completely naked exposing their private parts. He also despised of the way they dusted ashes on their heads in submissiveness the Sultan as well as their eating of animals not ritually slaughtered such as dogs and donkeys. There were customs that he did enjoy though aside from dinners that didn't reach his expectation. He enjoyed the glory as well as the pomp and circumstance of parades and processions. He loved wearing glamorous local clothing at special events and the excitement of the next travel and what he might see
Some common words found in the essay are:
Ibn Battuta, Hamdun Noel, Sultan Kulwa, God Whenever, West Africa, Hamdun Noel's, Black Africa, Sultan Mali's', Greeks Chinese, Ibn Badda, ibn battuta, hamdun noel, ibn battuta black, battuta black, africa ibn battuta, africa ibn, world islam, sultan kulwa, west africa, east west, east west africa, local people,
Approximate Word count = 1540
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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