They Allowed Only Of Three
Sacraments, Baptism, Ordination And The Eucharist:
Instead of confession
they used perfuming in their churches:
The wine employed in the
sacrament was made from cocoas: their host was a cake made with oil and
salt: their priests were ordained at seventeen years of age, and were
permitted to marry after ordination: fathers, sons, and grandsons
administered the sacrament in the same church: the Catatorias or
Caffaneras, so they called the wives of priests, wore a distinguishing
mark to be known by: in matrimony, they used no other formalities except
the consent of parties and consummation: the women observed the time
prescribed by the law of Moses in regard to churching: no sacraments
were administered gratuitously: holy water was mixed with some powder of
frankincense, and some of the soil on which St Thomas was supposed to
have trodden: they used sorcery and witchcraft: In fine, that all was
error, confusion, and heresy.
[Footnote 422: This probably refers to her supposed immaculate purity
even after the birth of the Saviour. - E.]
Don Alexius with much labour and toil convinced them of their errors and
converted them to the true faith, so that whole towns were baptised and
reconciled to the Roman see. He even held a provincial synod at
Diamper, all the decrees of which were confirmed by the Pope; and
Francisco Rodriguez, a Jesuit who had assisted the archbishop on this
important visitation, was made bishop of that diocese. On the breaking
up of the synod, Don Alexius visited all the churches in these parts.
While in the country of the queen of Changanate, visiting the church
of Talavecare, one of the most ancient in those parts, they shewed him
three plates on which were engraven certain privileges and revenues
granted by the king of Ceylon, at the time when the Babylonians Zabro
and Proo[423], were in that country. At this place likewise Don
Alexius met Topamuta Pandara, king of Gundara[424] in the
neighbourhood of Changanate, to whom he presented a letter from king
Philip giving him the title of brother, for having allowed liberty for
the exercise of the Christian religion in his dominions[425].
[Footnote 423: Only a few pages before these men are named Xanio and
Prod; but we have no means of ascertaining which are the right
names. - E.]
[Footnote 424: These petty kings of small districts in the South of
India are now known by the titles of Polygars; and the hereditary female
chiefs are stiled Rana. It is prostituting the dignity of king to give
that denomination to the chiefs of small villages and trifling
districts, often not so large as parishes in Europe. They are mere
temporary chiefs, occasionally hereditary by sufferance; indeed such
could not possibly be otherwise, when all the larger dominions and even
empires have been in perpetual fluctuation from revolution and conquest
for at least 3000 years. - E.]
[Footnote 425: The history of this ancient Christian church of Malabar
has been lately illustrated by the Christian Researches of Dr Buchannan,
who seems to have opened a door for the propagation of the gospel in
India infinitely promising, if judiciously taken advantage of. - E.]
In the year 1596, a Moor, named Pate Marcar obtained leave from the
zamorin to build a fort in the peninsula of Pudepatam, 77 leagues from
Goa and 33 from Cochin, where was a most convenient station for
piratical paraos, to annoy the trade of the Malabar coast; and having
built a square fort at this place, he went thither with all his kinsmen
and followers, and did much injury to the Portuguese and their allies,
even making incursions upon their maritime possessions, whence, on
several occasions, he carried off much spoil. Pate Marcar soon died, and
was succeeded in the sovereignty of the fort by his nephew Mahomet
Cuneale Marcar, who added greatly to the strength of the fort; and
foreseeing that the Portuguese might seek to be revenged for the
injuries they had sustained, he fortified the town both by sea, and
land, which he named Cuneale after himself. On the land side he made a
deep ditch with a double wall above seven feet thick, flanked at regular
distances with towers called zarames, all of which were mounted with
small cannon. Between the two creeks forming the peninsula, he built a
strong wall with two towers to secure the town, and lined the sea-shore
with strong palisades; flanked by two bastions, one of which considerably
larger than the other, was mounted with heavy cannon to defend the
entrance of the harbour, which was farther secured by a boom of masts
strongly chained together. Having thus, as he thought, provided a secure
retreat, he continued his uncle's enterprises against the Portuguese
with much success, assisting all their enemies against them, even
robbing the Malabar traders on the coast, and filled his residence with
rich plunder. The viceroy Albuquerque had endeavoured to destroy this
nest of pirates, so prejudicial to the Portuguese trade, and had even
prevailed on the zamorin to concur in the destruction of Cuneale, so
that a treaty had been entered into, by which the zamorin engaged to
besiege Cuneale by land, while the Portuguese fleet attacked him by sea.
Both parties provided according to stipulation for this joint
expedition; but it was postponed for some time, in consequence of the
change in the government by the arrival of the Count of Vidigueyra as
viceroy, and even by the secret concurrence of the zamorin in the
piracies of Cuneale, who communicated to him a share of the plunder.
At length, however, the zamorin became incensed against Cuneale, who
assumed the title of king of the Malabar Moors, and lord of the Indian
Sea; but chiefly because he had caused the tail of one of his elephants
to be cut off, and had used one of his Nayres in a cruel and scandalous
manner. Laying hold of this favourable opportunity, the viceroy, De
Gama, probably in 1598, renewed the league with the zamorin against
Cuneale, and sent some light vessels under Ferdinand de Noronha to
blockade the entrance into the port of Cuneale, till a larger force
could be provided to co-operate with the zamorin, who was marching to
besiege it by land with 20,000 men and some cannon.
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