Jignasa Journal Of History Of Ideas And Culture Part 02

Author(s): Vibha Upadhyaya and Others
Publisher: University of Rajasthan

Page 69

From Cultural Routes to Cultural Roots
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stands at the head of the dinner-carpet (simat) and performs the bow (khidmat) in the direction of the Sultan; and all present do the same. The khidmat in India consists in bowing down to the knee as in prayer. After this the people sit down to eat; and then are brought gold, silver and glass cups filled with fine sugar-water perfumed with rose-water which they call sherbet. After they have taken the sherbet the chamberlain calls out Bismillah". Then all begin to eat. At the end of the dinner, jugs of barley-drink (fuqqa) are brought; and when these have been consumed betel-leaves and nuts are served which have already been mentioned. After the people have taken the betel and nut, the chamberlain calls out Bismillah, whereupon all stand up and bow in the same way as before. This description gives us information on manners and table etiquettes of elite class. On the other hand we also get glimpses of food habits of common man. There is detailed significant description of how the poor gather their food. He writes,
"Often the shamakh (kind of grain) grows without being cultivated. It is the staple food of the devout, of the abstainers, of the poor and of the humble who go out to gather that corn which springs up without being cultivated. Each of them holds a huge basket in his left hand and in his right a whip with which he strikes the corn which falls into the basket. In this way they gather enough to live for a whole year, When it has been gathered it is placed in the sun and crushed in wooden mortars; its husk flies away and a white substance remains; and with this a gruel is made which is cooked with buffalo's milk. This gruel is more agreeable than the bread made of the
same substance. I ate it often in the country of India and liked its taste". From Multan, they started their journey and entered Abohar. About it, Ibn Battuta writes, it is small, handsome and thickly populated and possesses rivers and trees". He compares the trees of India with that of his country. At length, he describes the flora and fauna. About grapes, he writes,
The Indians call these fruits Angür - a word which in their language means grapes. And grape is very rare in Iodia and is found only in some parts of Delhi and in few other provinces".
While comparing trees of India with that of his country, he writes, "Of the trees which grow in our country we find the pomegranate (rumman) in India. This bears fruit twice a year. I have seen some in the Maldive islands which never stopped bearing fruit. The Indians call it anär- a word which. I believe, has given us the work 'gulnar', for 'gul' in Persian means a flower, and 'nar' the pomegranate".
Ibn Battuta's travelogue is laced with interesting cultural insights. While leaving Abohar, he mentions the fight with a group of 80 people, whom his companions defeated. Then they slaughtered the wounded horse which was eaten by their Turk companions. Then they reached the city of Ajodhan? where he met Shaikh Farid ud din. He writes, "When I saw him, he was on his terrace clothed in white; on his head was a big turban the end of which was hanging on one side. He blessed me and sent me some candy and some refined sugar". It reflects the life and culture of the Sufis of the period.
Further, he provides us the fascinating socio-cultural traits of the Indian people. It is first hand and eye witness description of widow burning (sati). Ibn Battuta writes,
"I used to see in India a woman from among the infidel Hindus adorned and seated on horseback and the people following her - Muslims as well as infidels - and drums and bugles playing before her and the Brahmins, who are the great ones from among the Hindus, accompanying her. When this happens in Sultan's territory they ask him for permission to burn the widow. He gives them permission and they burn her".