[Zyx]

Ibn Battuta, arguably the most worldly traveler of the pre-modern era, traveled to "Black Africa." A marvelous resource concerning his travels is Ibn Battuta in Black Africa by Said Hamdun and Noel King. I chanced to read this text, and I came across a particular passage that delighted me very greatly. It had turned out that I was becoming harassed by some on how Blacks were inherently more criminal than Whites, and despite records in slavery suggesting that Blacks were rather pacific, I began to ruminate on--well, I really never believed this but for the sake of introducing the refutation thereof, I wanted to say that I had my doubts. I did not have doubts, but literary tradition is literary tradition. I'll skip ahead and you may pretend that I went through the formality of seeming to be surprised by this data.

I hope that you chuckled. To continue, though, Ibn Battuta began to sum up his experience in Black Africa. I transcribed from the book his summary therefore. I even contained the bad parts on how Blacks ate animals like dogs and donkeys whereas he, Ibn Battuta, a Muslim Berber Moroccan, had not. I do not really see them as too bad, especially in light of the earlier part of the transcription. Namely, to the significant and surprising lack of criminality throughout Black Africa. This is interesting for both its refutation on the criminal gene of Negroes, and to the refutation of the idea of an inherent criminal necessity of communities [i.e. when one blames capitalism for crime, it is reasonable.] Since crime was so low in Black Africa, it is clear that social construction arguments on how crime is a factor of society has much more merit. Bear in mind, people, that Ibn Battuta is highly critical in his travels and the Arabs, which he considered himself, no doubt, had their own set of opinions of Blacks within their custody {I may write on this source in due time--note now, though, that the criticisms of Blacks in Arabic culture is on Black slaves and Ibn Battuta comments on Black civilizations (from Iwalatan, to Mali, to Mogadishu to Zaghari . . .}. Ibn Battuta's narrative is therefore highly factual and significant in what it says. He spent a long while in Black Africa and these are his conclusions on the Blacks. If you merely want the aspect of his travels on the criminal gene then go no further than the first paragraph. Everything additional was added for your reading pleasure. Also, look at the comment on women and their liberties; it makes one wish that they lived in Africa, innit?

*smiles.*

AN ACCOUNT OF WHAT I FOUND GOOD AMONGST THE BLACKS AND OF WHAT I DISLIKED

Amongst their good qualities is the small amount of injustice amongst them, for of all people they are the furthest from it. Their sultan does not forgive anyone in any matter to do with injustice. Among these qualities there is also the prevalence of peace in their country, the traveller [sic] 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 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 habits amongst them is the way they meticulously observe the times of the prayers and attendance at them, so also it is with regard to their congregational services and their beating of their children to instill these things in them.

When it is Friday, if a man does not come early to the mosque he will not find a place to pray because of the numbers of the crowd. it is their custom for every man to send his boy with his prayer mat. He spreads it for him in a place commensurate with his position and keeps the place until he comes to the mosque. Their prayer-mats are made of the leaves of a tree like a date palm but it bears no fruit.

Amongst their good qualities is their putting on of good white clothes on Friday. If a man among them has nothing except a tattered shirt, he washes and cleans it and attends the Friday prayer in it. Another of their good qualities is their concern for learning the sublime Qur'an by heart. They make fetters 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 before people naked, exposing their private parts. I used to see many of them in this state in Ramadan, for it was the custom of the farariyya [commanders] to break the fast in the sultan's house. Everyone of them has his food carried in to him by twenty or more of his slave girls and they are naked, every one. Also among their bad customs is the way women will go in the presence of the sultan naked, without any covering; and the nakedness of the sultan's daughters--on the night of the twenty-seventh of Ramadan, I saw about a hundred slave girls coming out of his palace with food, with them were two of his daughters, they had full breasts and no clothes on. Another of their bad customs is their putting of dust and ashes on their heads as a sign of respect. And another is the laughing matter I mentioned of their poetic recitals. And another is that many of them eat animals not ritually slaughtered, and dogs and donkeys.

I'm glad that you enjoyed that.