What were the elements of the practice of sati that drew the attention of Bernier?
The practice of sati according to Bernier showed the difference in the treatment of women in western and eastern society. He noticed how a child widow were forcefully burnt screaming on the funeral pyre while many of the older women were resigned their fate.
The following elements drew his attention.
(i) Under this cruel practices an alive widow was forcibly made to sit on the pyre of her husband.
(ii)People had no sympathy for her.
(iii)The widow was an unwilling victim of the sati-practice. She was forced to be a Sati.
On an outline map of the world, mark the countries visited by Ibn Battuta. What are the seas that he might have crossed?
Do you think Ibn Battuta's account is useful in arriving at an understanding of life in contemporary urban centres? Give reasons for your answer.
Read this excerpt from Bernier:
List the crafts mentioned in the passage. Compare these with the descriptions of artisanal activity in the chapter.
Discuss the extent to which Bernier’s accounts enables historians to reconstruct contemporary rural society.
Compare and contrast the perspectives from which Ibn Battuta and Bernier wrote their accounts of their travels in India.