Travels of Ibn Baṭṭūṭa
Pyatigorsk (Bish Dagh)
Title
Celebrations at the end of Ramaḍān
Short description
The ritual the sultan, the amīrs and the royal house perform when consuming alcohol, accompanied by singing.
Text on source
ثم يؤتى بأواني الذهب والفضة للشرب، وأكثر شربهم نبيذ العسل، وهم حنفية المذهب يحللون النبيذ، فإذا أراد السلطان أن يشرب أَخَذَتْ بنته القدح بيدها وخدمت برجلها، ثم ناولته القدح فشرب ثم تأخذ قدحًا آخر فتناوله للخاتون الكبرى فتشرب منه، ثم تناول لسائر الخواتين على ترتيبهن، ثم يأخذ ولي العهد القدح ويخدم ويناوله أباه فيشرب، ثم يناول الخواتين، ثم أخته ويخدم جميعهن، ثم يقوم الولد الثاني فيأخذ القدح ويسقي أخاه ويخدم له، ثم يقوم الأمراء الكبار فيسقي كل واحد منهم ولي العهد ويخدم له، ثم يقوم أبناء الملوك فيسقي كل واحد منهم هذا الابن الثاني ويخدم له، ثم يقوم الأمراء الصغار فيسقون أبناء الملوك ويغنون أثناء ذلك بالموالية [ص. ٢٤٢]
English translation
After this, drinking-vessels of gold and silver are brought. The beverage they make most use of is fermented liquor of honey, since, being of the Hanafite school of law, they hold fermented liquor to be lawful. When the sultan wishes to drink, his daughter takes the bowl in her hand, pays homage with her leg, and then presents the bowl to him. When he has drunk she takes another bowl and presents it to the chief khātūn, who drinks from it, after which she presents it to the other khātūns in their order of precedence. The sultan's heir then takes the bowl, pays homage, and presents it to his father, then, when he has drunk, presents it to the khātūns and to his sister after them, paying homage to them all. The second son then rises, takes the bowl and gives it to his brother to drink paying homage to him. Thereafter the great amīrs rise, and each one of them gives the cup to the sultan's heir and pays homage to him, after which the [other] member of the royal house rise and each one of them gives the cup to this second son, paying homage to him. The lesser amīrs then rise and give the sons of the kings to drink. During all this [ceremony], they sing [yuġannūn] the mawāliyya.
Folios/Pages
495-496
Date
1332 06 26
Observations on the events description
"Mawāliyya" (pl. mawāliyāt), also mawālī, or muwālaya, is a popular Arabic verse form, often sung to a melody, that has been documented since the sixth/twelfth century (see Mawāliyya, EI-2).
The dots on the map indicate the places where sound and music events were described. They don't represent travel stages.
Participants
No other participants in this event description.
How to quote
Pintimalli A., "Celebrations at the end of Ramaḍān" (Event description), Echos. Sound Ecosystems in Travelogues. Published 2024 07 24.doi: 10.25430/echos.travels.130
This work is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 
