I am indebted to Mr. Kay for the following extract from the work of Ibn Batuta, which will go far to prove the extreme conservatism of Africans in all that regards their rites and customs.
On his arrival at Khan Balik (Pekin), Ibn Batuta found that the khan, or emperor, was absent. His cousin had risen against him, and had been joined by most of the ameers, who accused the khan of having broken the laws of the Yassak, and had called upon him to abdicate.
The emperor marched against the rebels at the head of an army (which, Ibn Batuta says, consisted of a million cavalry and half a million infantry). A battle was fought, in which the khan was defeated and killed.
"This news reached the capital a few days after our arrival. The city was decorated, drums and trumpets were sounded, and games and rejoicings instituted, which continued for the space of a month.
"The dead body of the khan was then brought, together with the bodies of about a hundred men, his relations and followers.
"A large vault was constructed underground. It was spread with magnificent carpets, and the body of the khan was laid in it, along with his weapons and with the gold and silver vessels that were used in his household.
"Four female slaves and six memluks were led into the vault, each provided with a drinking vessel filled with liquid.
"The entrance of the vault was walled up, and earth was heaped on the top until it resembled a large hillock.
"Four horses were then brought and made to gallop in the neighbourhood of the tomb until they stood still with fatigue. A large beam of wood was erected over the tomb, and to this the horses were attached, being impaled with wooden pales, passed longitudinally through their bodies and projecting through their mouths.
"The bodies of the khan's relatives, whom I have previously mentioned, were likewise deposited in vaults, each with his weapons and with the vessels used in his house.