The Pacha Sent For The Pilot Of This Galley, And
Caused Him To Be Hanged For His Bad Management.
[Footnote 228:
Probably meaning the dominions of the zamorin of
Calicut - E.]
On the 25th an Indian who had turned Christian and belonged to the
garrison in the castle, was made prisoner in a sally, and being brought
before the Pacha, but refusing to answer any questions, was condemned to
be cut in two. On the same day an old man presented himself before the
Pacha, who said that he was upwards of 300 years old, which was
confirmed by the people of the country, who asserted that there were
several very old men in that neighbourhood. The natives of this country
are very lean and live sparingly. They eat no beef, but use their oxen
for riding upon. Their oxen are small and handsome, very tractable, and
have an easy pace. Instead of a bridle, they use a cord passed through a
hole in the nostrils of the ox. Their horns are long and straight, and
they are used as beasts of burden, like mules in Italy. These animals
are held in much veneration, especially the cows, and they even make
great rejoicings on the birth of a calf, on which account these people
are reckoned idolaters. When any of the men of this country happens to
die, the widow makes a great feast for the relations; after which they
go in procession with music and dancing to a place where a great fire
is prepared, into which the corpse is thrown, carrying along with them
many large pots full of scalding hot grease.
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