Travels of Ibn Baṭṭūṭa
Delhi (Dihlī)
Title
Sultan's ceremonial on his return from a journey
Short description
Singing and dancing courtesan girls perform as the Sultan returns from his journeys.
Text on source
وإذا قدم السلطان من أسفاره زينت الفيلة ورفعت على ستة عشر فيلًا، منها ستة عشر شطرًا، منها مزركش ومنها مرصع، وحملت أمامه الغاشية وهي الستارة المرصعة
بالجوهر النفيس، وتُصْنَع قباب الخشب مقسومة على طبقات، وتكسى بثياب الحرير، ويكون في كل طبقة الجواري المغنيات عليهن أجمل لباس وأحسن حلية، ومنهن رواقص، ويحصل في وسط كل قبة حوض كبير مصنوع من الجلود، مملوء بماء الجلاب محلولًا بالماء، يشرب منه جميع الناس من وارد وصادر، وبلدي أو غريب، وكل من يشرب منه يعطى التنبول والفوفل [ص. ٣٢٢]
English translation
When the Sultan comes back from his journeys, the elephants are decorated, and over sixteen of them are raised sixteen parasols, some brocaded and some set with jewels. In front of him is carried the ghāshiya, that is the saddle-cover, set with precious stones. Wooden pavilions are built, several stories high, and covered with silk cloths, and in each story there are singing girls [al-jawārī al-muġanniyāt] wearing the most beautiful dresses and ornaments, with dancing girls [rawāqiṣ] amongst them. In the centre of
each pavilion there is fashioned a large tank made of skins and filled with rose-syrup dissolved in water, from which all the people, that is to say all comers, natives or strangers, may drink, and everyone who drinks receives [at the same time] betel leaves and areca nuts.
Folios/Pages
668
Date
1334 circa
Observations on the events description
The Arabic term "jawārī", meaning "courtesans", used for the singer and dancers, suggests that they were a permanent part of Ibn Tughluq's court, confirming what al-ʿUmarī reported (see Event 45 in this Travel).
The dots on the map indicate the places where sound and music events were described. They don't represent travel stages.
Participants
Name
Role
Notes
Edit
Delete
Ibn Tughluq, Muhammad
Viewer
King
Sounds
0
How to quote
Pintimalli A., "Sultan's ceremonial on his return from a journey" (Event description), Echos. Sound Ecosystems in Travelogues. Published 2024 05 31.doi: 10.25430/echos.travels.130
This work is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 
