Travels of Ibn Baṭṭūṭa
Delhi (Dihlī)
Title
Sultan of Delhi's customs when leaving for the hunt
Short description
Sultan of Delhi's customs when leaving for the hunt, including musical executions. Al-ʿUmarī (d. 1349) reports detailed descriptions of Muḥammad Ibn Tughluq hunting accompanied by a "small contingent" (Siddiqi et al., eds., 1971, pp. 44-45).
Text on source
وعادَتُه إذا رَكِبَ أن يركب الأمراء أفواجًا؛ كل أمير بفوجه وعلاماته وطبوله وأنفاره وصرناياته ويسمون ذلك المراتب، ولا يركب أمام السلطان إلَّا الحجاب وأهل الطرب والطبالة الذين يتقلدون الأطبال الصغار والذين يضربون الصرنايات، ويكون عن يمين السلطان نحو خمسة عشر رجلًا وعن يساره مثل ذلك منهم قضاة القضاة والوزير وبعض الأمراء الكبار وبعض الأعزة وكنت أنا من أهل ميمنته، ويكون بين يديه المَشّاءون والأدلاء، ويكون خلفه علاماته، وهي من الحرير المذهب والأطبال على الجمال وخلف ذلك مماليكه وأهل دخلته وخلفهم الأمراء وجميع الناس [ص. ٣٧٣]
English translation
It is his custom when he rides that the amīrs also ride in squadrons, each amīr with his squadron, his standards, his drums [ṭubūl], straight trumpets [anfār] and zurnas [ṣurnāyāt], and this they call the marātib [ceremonial honours]. No one rides in front of the Sultan except the chamberlains, the musicians [ahl al-ṭarab], the drummers [ahl al-ṭibāla], who carry small drums [aṭbāl ṣiġār] slung round their necks, and the men who play the zurnas [ṣurnāyāt]. On the Sultan's right there are about fifteen men and on his left the same number; amongst these are the Grand Qāḍī, the vizier, some of the principal amirs and some of the 'honourables'. I myself was one of the group on his right. In front of the Sultan there are the foot-soldiers and guides, and behind him his standards, which are of silk with gold embroidery, and drums [aṭbāl] upon camels; behind these again are his mamluks and his household familiars, and behind them the amīrs and the general body of troops
Folios/Pages
753-754
Date
1334 circa
Observations on the events description
Sultan is used to leave for hunting with the so-called "marātib", which includes flags, drums and pipes (see Marātib, EI-2).
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
How to quote
Pintimalli A., "Sultan of Delhi's customs when leaving for the hunt" (Event description), Echos. Sound Ecosystems in Travelogues. Published 2024 06 03.doi: 10.25430/echos.travels.130
This work is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 
