Who among the following has painted a horrific scene of a woman burning herself on her husband’s funeral pyre to the loud sound of drums?
Ibn Battuta vividly described the painful scene of a woman committing Sati, burning herself on her husband’s funeral pyre while drums beat loudly to drown her cries. His account provides one of the earliest foreign descriptions of this ritual. Though rare, such mentions help historians understand social practices in medieval India. Answer: (A) Ibn Battuta
Share
Ibn Battuta, the Moroccan traveller, recorded many unusual customs he witnessed in 14th-century India. One of his most striking descriptions is the horrific ritual of Sati, where a widow voluntarily—or sometimes under pressure—burned herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. Battuta wrote that loud drums were beaten during the act, possibly to mask the woman’s cries and reduce the emotional impact on spectators. His depiction is important because it comes from an unbiased foreign observer. Although Sati was never a widespread practice, accounts like his provide valuable historical evidence about regional traditions, social pressures and cultural complexities of medieval Indian society.
ANSWER:
(A) Ibn Battuta