After 15 day of sailing, I managed to
reach my destination. This was the town of Maqdasha (Document R). Most of the
citizens there were merchants and had a surplus of camels. There were so many
camels, they would slaughter them just for food to eat (Document R). I learned
that these people carry out a ritual when a ship arrives at the port. Many
young men would go out to the ships in small rowing boats with food and greet
the merchant with food as if he was royal. The host then sells his goods for
him and buys for him, and if anyone buys anything from him at too low a price,
or sells to him in the absence of his host, the sale is regarded by them as
invalid (Document R). I feel that this
is odd, but it is their own tradition and I think they probably think some of
my traditions are odd. We stayed there [in Mogadishu] three days, food being
brought to us three times a day, and on the fourth, a Friday, the qadi and one of
the wazirs brought me a set of garments (Document R). Then I was allowed to visit their mosque.
What a beautiful sight! I was greeted by the Shaykh and was asked to put a pair
of sandals on to walk with him to the palace (Document R). This was a great
welcoming considering everyone else had no shoes. His head was covered with 4 canopies of silk,
each with golden birds mounted on them. After the palace ceremonies ended,
everyone retired to their area and saluted (Document R).
This is a very good blog. I like how you talked about the sales between people in the town. Also you included how you found this to be weird but that they might also see your traditions as weird.
ReplyDeleteI like how you wrote this blog. I like how you described how the young men would go out in rowboats to greet the merchant. I also like how you described how they traded.
ReplyDeleteThis blog was very interesting and realistic. The description of the town was clear and fun to read.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you were very descriptive about everything. You used some really good details, especially about how the Shaykh gave him a pair of shoes when everyone else was barefoot.
ReplyDelete