Ibn Battuta Instructions

Read the two excerpts from Ibn Battutas Rihla (Ibn Battuta in the Maldives and Ibn Battuta in Black Africa). Create one set of SOAPS that incorporated BOTH documents. Then write ONE POV statement that discusses the credibility of the author. S O A P S POV

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Timbuktu Taghaza Siljamasa Fez Tangier Cueta Granada Sardinia Alanya Constantinople Kaffa Astakhan 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. New Saray Baghdad Tabriz Basra Isfahan Hormuz Delhi Cambrey Calicut Chuan-zhou Samudra Chittagong

25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34.

Sri Lanka Maldives Mogadishu Mombasa Kilwa Zeila Aden Jidda or Jiddah or Jidd Cairo Alexandria

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Document 1

Ibn Battuta left at age 21 on his trip and traveled until he was nearly fifty (1325-1353/4). He crossed from North Africa to China. He became a respected sufi, qadi (Islamic judge), made several hajj journeys and became ambassador to the Delhi Sultan. After he returned to Tangier, he traveled to Spain, then went south and walked across the Sahara to Mali. Most of Battuta's story was written from memory, since he could not carry notes for decades. Battuta first told his story to a scribe on orders from the sultan of Morocco. The notes were edited by Ibn Juzayy. Juzayy's job was to make it readable, entertaining, and stylish--he did not correct errors or even question anything, since Battuta states when he saw something himself and when he learned about something through hear-say. Ibn Battuta in the Maldives The people of these islands are pious and upright. They are very cleanly and avoid filth. Every person entering a house must wash his feet with water from a jar kept in the vestibule, and wipe them with a rough cloth of palm fibers. I set about my duties as a judge with enthusiasm and tried with all his might to establish the rule of strict Muslim law and change local customs. I ordered that any man who failed to attend Friday prayer was to be whipped and publicly disgraced. I ordered that thieves had their right hands cut off; a number of people in the room fainted at that, and that women who went topless to cover up. I strove to put an end to this practice and commanded the women to wear clothes; but I could not get it done. No woman who was a party to a lawsuit was admitted to my presence unless her body was covered. I took three more wives who also had powerful social connections. After I had become connected by marriage ... the [governor] and the people feared me, for they felt themselves to be weak. And so I made enemies, especially the governor. After nasty arguments and political plots, I decided to leave after almost nine months in the islands. Quitting my job as qadi, as I really would have been fired. Three of my wives came with me, but I divorced them all after a short time. One of them was pregnant. On another island I married two more women, and divorced them, too. It is easy to marry in these islands because of the smallness of the dowries and the pleasures of society which the women offer... When the ships put in, the crew marry; when they intend to leave they divorce their wives. This is a kind of temporary marriage. The women of these islands never leave their country." Document 2 Ibn Battuta in Black Africa The Massufa were devout Muslims who said their prayers, learned the law, and memorized the Quran. But their women were not modest in the presence of men and did not wear a veil. Although people married, but the women do not travel with the husband, and if one of them wanted to do that, she would be prevented by her family. Each was free to take other sexual partners from outside the prohibited degrees of marriage [father, brother, son, etc.]. One of them would enter his house to find his wife with her companion and would not disapprove of that conduct [Battuta reported seeing] the qadi of Walata with a beautiful, young female companion. I was shocked, especially after learning that the qadi had asked the sultan for permission to take a female companion on the hajj with him. The sultan refused. I visited Abu Muhammad Yandakan, the Massufa who had led my caravan across the desert to Walata. I found him and his wife at home, but his wife was in bed with another man, and the husband seemed to think this was normal. I shall refuse to visit him again. Amongst their good qualities is the small amount of injustice amongst them, and the prevalence of peace in their country, the traveler is not afraid in it nor is he who lives there in fear of the thief or of the robber by violence. They do not interfere with the property of the white [Arab] man who dies in their country even though it may consist of great wealth, but rather they entrust it to the hand of someone dependable among the white men until it is taken by the rightful claimant. Another of the good qualities is the way they meticulously observe the times of the prayers and attendance at them, beating their children to instill respect for religious duty, the fact that prayers are so crowded on Friday that men send their sons ahead with a prayer mat to reserve a place at the mosque. Amongst their good qualities is that they wear good white clothes, or at least clean clothes, to Friday prayers. They learn the Qur'an by heart. They make fetters [chains] for their children when they appear on their part to be falling short in their learning of it by heart, and they are not taken off from them till they do learn by heart. I went in to visit the qadi on an Id day and his children were tied up. I said to him, `Why do you not release them?' He said, I shall not do so until they learn the Qur'an by heart.' One day I passed by a handsome youth from them dressed in fine clothes and on his feet was a heavy chain. I said to the man who was with me, `What has this youth done--has he killed someone?' The youth heard my remark and laughed. It was told me, `He has been chained so that he will learn the Qur'an by heart. Among the bad things which they do- their serving women, slave women and little daughters appear naked before people, exposing their private parts. Women went naked into the presence of the sultan, and his own daughters went about naked. They show respect by placing dust on one's head. The griot's (story tellers) poetic ritual is unpleasant, as is the practice of eating animals that were not ritually slaughtered, and of eating dogs and donkeys.