Category: Ibn Fadlan (Page 6 of 7)

In this part of his journey, Ibn Fadlan is utterly absorbed in their cultural and spiritual practices. He relates their tendencies to decapitation as well as their habit of eating lice and fleas. He names the Bashghirds as “…the worst of the Turks, the dirtiest and the readiest to kill,” lumping their practice of beard shaving in with decapitation and consumption of insects (23). Ibn Fadlan also takes the time to describe the Bashghirds apparent worship of “a piece of wood shaped like a phallus” and their practice of kissing it when they begin a journey or meet an enemy (23). The various religious practices catch and hold the attention of Ibn Fadlan as well. He describes in minor detail their “twelve lords” as well as meditating briefly upon a few particular clans that worship snakes, fish and cranes (24).

As far as geographical descriptions go, the only details Ibn Fadlan records are the various rivers he crosses to enter the land of the Bashghirds and then again to leave the Turkish people and continue on to the king of the Saqaliba.

What is so fascinating about this short but informatively dense excerpt of Ibn Fadlan’s writing is his focus on building evidence against the religious and cultural practices of the Bashghirds as a people, as if justifying his dismissal of them as “lost souls,” (24). Even his very first comment on this group of people is of the “precaution[s]” he took against them because “they are the worst of the Turks,” (23). He then describes their propensity for murder and their practice of shaving their beards, two tenants that directly oppose the beliefs of Islam. Already, we can see his prejudice against them forming, but Ibn Fadlan’s description of one particular Bashghird who converted to Islam underlines his distaste for the people themselves, based not only in religion.

When describing how the Bashghirds do not shy away from eating insects, including lice and fleas, Ibn Fadlan chooses to relate an anecdote involving a Bashghird who has converted to Islam. As he has demonstrated in other portions of the text, Ibn Fadlan mainly categorizes people by their religion, but he writes of this Islam convert in the same disparaging way he describes the other, non-Muslim Bashghirds. Ibn Fadlan writes, “We has with us a man of this people who had converted to Islam and who served us. One day, I saw him take a flea from his clothes and, after having crushed it with his fingernail, he devoured it and on noticing me, said: ‘Delicious!'” (23). The transition in tone from one of inclusion with the use of the “with” preposition as well as the mention that this man had converted to Islam, to one of disgust is striking. The way in which Ibn Fadlan constructs this anecdote (first likening the man to himself through religion and then separating him through this behavior) lends the Bashghird man a divisive air. The moment when he turns from his flea to Ibn Fadlan to say, “Delicious!” rings with contempt and mean-spirited behavior, which certainly seems to fall in line with Ibn Fadlan’s impression of the Bashghird people. What is so intriguing and surprising about this anecdote is the way that Ibn Fadlan almost seems to use the man’s race to categorize and characterize him instead of the connection they share in religion.

When Abu Hamid arrives in the city of Saqsin, he notices that it is inhabited by 40 different tribes, all of which have a different amir. When talking about their living spaces, Hamid goes into detail about both their huts—how big they are and them being covered in felt—and their surrounding community. Among them are merchants who come from all over in grand numbers, and the mosques set up for different groups of people. There’s one for the Khazars, Bulghars, the Suwar, and others. “On feast days they set up many pulpits and each amir prays in front of many different nations. Each different group has its own judges, religious scholars and preachers,” (63). By stating this, Hamid highlights the fact that each group of people has their own specific way of living in the city. He even mentions that he has made his home among them, and in fact keeps his family there, before pointing out that the country itself is very cold.

He goes on to talk about the various elements of the city, including its food sources, currency, and the different features the area has to offer. Hamid comments on how he’s never seen the type of fish they have in their rivers before, and describes how some of them are as big as a person. He even mentions how they taste even better than lamb or chicken, and “enough oil comes out of their belly to provide lighting for a month,” (64). In the way he talks about it, Hamid clearly thinks their fish are amazing, and is in awe of how much in abundance there is. As far as the city’s currency, Hamid claims that they use a sort of white lead, “valued at one dinar for eight Baghdadi mann. They cut it into little bits and use it to buy the fruit, bread and meat they want,” (64). He mentions that their meat is cheap, and they also have various fruits in abundance.

Later on, Hamid also talks about the climate, and how because it can get really cold during the year, their houses are built to withstand it. They’re made out of pine and covered in sheepskin so as to keep the warmth in. He also says “the river freezes until it is like land,” (65) where people, as well as animals, are able to travel across it, and that the snow is even different colors in some parts of the land where people come to take it down the river to another city called Bulghar.

In the way he talks about this city, Abu Hamid seems to admire it very much. There is no criticism when he describes their living situations, or the climate/features of the land. Even when speaking of their customs, and how different groups of people have their own way of doing things, Hamid just seems to be taking it all in. He even goes as far as to compliment some things—like their food. In doing so, I believe his purpose is to simply list these things about the city as a way to learn more about them.

When he crosses the river of Jawshir, Ibn Fadlan talks a lot about the culture of the area, especially when they are in the company of the “King of the Saqaliba”. Fadlan accounted for every move the King made, from when he greeted them and “dismounted [from his horse] and fell down with his face to the ground to give thanks to God, the All High, the Almighty,” (25) to when they are all sitting down having dinner. Although they stayed in tents, it was interesting to see all the formal interactions they had during dinner and the exchanging of gifts. When Fadlan gives the king and his wife gifts from his home, I was curious about the money is scattered everywhere in response, and wondered if there was a deeper significance than simple gratitude. Fadlan also points out the way in which they have to eat. Noticing that the King eats first before serving everyone, he goes on to mention that this was their culture; “no one touches a dish unless the king has served him. As soon as he receives his share, a table is brought,” (27). However, these little traits Fadlan decided to point out however may differ from that of the common people, as opposed to someone who is of a higher status.

Later on, he also talks about all the “uncounted marvels” he saw in the area. With the northern lights, Fadlan talks about how he saw the horizon “turn a brilliant shade of red and in the upper air there was great noise and tumult,” (31). He describes it as men from two different sides clashing against each other; because they have never seen such a spectacle, Fadlan and his men began to pray. Another set of marvels he mentions is the howling of the dogs, and how “the people of that land consider the howling of dogs as a great blessing,” (33) as well as the many snakes about the place. He also talks about all the food they make (and how they make it) and the kinds of trees and things that they were surrounded by that he never saw before—as well as the kinds of social expectations that they have (punishments, taboos, family dynamic, etc.).

From the ways in which he focuses on certain details and customs of the people he met in this area, Fadlan seems to be most concerned with how different they are from his own people and customs. He notices how they eat, cook, and dress differently, as well as how their fraternal customs are a bit unorthodox to him. I believe he is noting all these differences in order to better understand the culture in this case. He does not seem to be judging them too much, apart from his usual outbursts of disgust or disbelief when he witnesses something he doesn’t like. However, overall Fadlan seems to just be taking in all the information he is given, and using it as a way to know the people better.

After crossing a mountain, Ibn Fadlan comes to the territory settled by the Ghuzz Turks. Here, he is almost entirely concerned with the cultural traditions, customs and practices of the Ghuzz Turks but also touches briefly upon their democratic form of government.

We don’t learn much about Ibn Fadlan’s physical journey at this point or the terrain, except for the first mention of crossing a mountain and the mention of the desert as a place to cast a poor man or slave who has fallen ill and leave him to the elements.

One of the most prevalent themes in this section of text is Ibn Fadlan’s focus on the cultural and societal place of Turkish women. His first anecdote after introducing the reader to the Turks and their government is that of a woman who “bared her private parts and scratched” in the presence of the travellers, but, as her husband is pleased to comment, “protects them and allows no one near” (12). Ibn Fadlan and his companions respond to this incident by “cover[ing] our faces with our hands” and seeking God’s forgiveness in a reaction of evident horror and shock. This moment of disgust with the Turks’ cultural understanding of modesty and the female body immediately follows a commentary on the Turks’ bathing habits, the lack of which is clearly frowned upon by the Muslim traveller who himself ritually washes frequently and considers this to be good practice. By using a description of filthiness and “pollution” as a transition into discussing the female body and what parts of it should be covered, Ibn Fadlan demonstrates an understanding of modesty that requires women to “hide” certain parts of their bodies from the male viewer. Not only does he impose his own cultural understanding onto his interaction with the Turkish woman and her husband, he relates her husband’s response to his reaction, stripping the woman of any voice she may or may not have had.

Ibn Fadlan also writes of Turkish marriage customs, emphasizing that once a man has “paid his debt” to the man who “posseses” the woman he wishes to marry, he “comes without the slightest shame, walks into the house where the woman is and takes possession of her in front of her father, her mother and her brothers, and they do not stop him” (13-4). Ibn Fadlan’s use of the work “shame” indicates his disapproval of this custom, but his disapproval stems not from the ritual of purchasing a wife, or the moment of “possession” (which is understood to be intercourse and possibly, if not likely, rape) but rather the fact that intercourse takes place before the woman’s family and that “they do not stop him” (14). The individual listing of the bride’s “father, her mother and her brothers” emphasizes the disapproval and focuses the reader’s attention to the audience of the marital “tak[ing of] possession” and collaborates with the final comment that “they do not stop him” to display that this is the source of Ibn Fadlan’s discomfort, not the purchasing of a wife, like a slave, nor the possibility of rape. In fact, Ibn Fadlan’s failture to mention the reception of the bride to her husband only highlights his disinterest in women’s well-being, never mind their rights, agency, voice or representation.

When he enters Jayhun, Ibn Fadlan talks mostly about the overall environment and how cold it is, as well as the people and some of their customs. First, he mentions the river freezing over for 3 months, and how because of this it was difficult to cross because all the cargo animals kept slipping and sliding over it. He goes on to say that him and the other men he was traveling with “saw land which made [them] think a gate to the cold of hell had opened up before [them],” (8) which evidently expresses just how cold it is to them.

In reference to the people who live there, he talks a lot about their social gestures and customs. For instance, he mentions that in the country they’re in, a friendly gesture would include something along the lines of , “ ‘Come to my house where we can talk, for there is a good fire there,’” (8) which in turn shows their generosity and kindness. Also, a beggar is not supposed to wait outside at the door, but should instead come inside to warm up by the fire. He then goes back to talking about how cold it is, and how the camels even died from the intenseness of the weather. He also mentions that “the roads and markets were so empty that one could wander through most of them without seeing a soul or coming face to face with another living being,” (9). Even walking from the bathouse to the main house, Fadlan mentions that his beard was a “block of ice” (9), and that he had to actually thaw it out in the fire. By the middle of February, Fadlan states that the ice began to melt, but it was still cold enough for them to have to layer more clothing—which they were encouraged to do by the locals.

I thought it was interesting the way the narrator described how cold it was; it made the contrast of where he was from seem that much more obvious. I also think that goes into who might be his intended audience. For him to focus so much on the harshness of the weather, and how despite being dressed in so many layers from their home, they still suffered from the cold—I think it says something about who he is writing to. It seems as though parts of his travel narrative serves as a sort of warning for the people back home in Baghdad, who might be reading about the places he’s been to. It is as if he is recording all these terrible things because of how much of a culture shock it is, but also because he wants his people to be aware of just how bad it would be for someone like them.

Both Fadlan and his people’s customs and environment are very different from that of the place he is in, and his travel narrative shows just how different it is. However, it seems to go beyond just showing the difference, and instead resembles a sort of cautionary guide for Muslims.