'Tis a truth and no
lie! and so will tell you the sages of our own country who understand
necromancy, for they also can perform it.[NOTE 11]
And when the Idol Festivals come round, these Bacsi go to the Prince and
say: "Sire, the Feast of such a god is come" (naming him). "My Lord, you
know," the enchanter will say, "that this god, when he gets no offerings,
always sends bad weather and spoils our seasons. So we pray you to give us
such and such a number of black-faced sheep," naming whatever number they
please. "And we beg also, good my lord, that we may have such a quantity
of incense, and such a quantity of lignaloes, and" - so much of this, so
much of that, and so much of t'other, according to their fancy - "that we
may perform a solemn service and a great sacrifice to our Idols, and that
so they may be induced to protect us and all that is ours."
The Bacsi say these things to the Barons entrusted with the Stewardship,
who stand round the Great Kaan, and these repeat them to the Kaan, and he
then orders the Barons to give everything that the Bacsi have asked for.
And when they have got the articles they go and make a great feast in
honour of their god, and hold great ceremonies of worship with grand
illuminations and quantities of incense of a variety of odours, which they
make up from different aromatic spices. And then they cook the meat, and
set it before the idols, and sprinkle the broth hither and thither, saying
that in this way the idols get their bellyful. Thus it is that they keep
their festivals. You must know that each of the idols has a name of his
own, and a feast-day, just as our Saints have their anniversaries.[NOTE
12]
They have also immense Minsters and Abbeys, some of them as big as a small
town, with more than two thousand monks (i.e. after their fashion) in a
single abbey.[NOTE 13] These monks dress more decently than the rest of
the people, and have the head and beard shaven. There are some among these
Bacsi who are allowed by their rule to take wives, and who have plenty
of children.[NOTE 14]
Then there is another kind of devotees called SENSIN, who are men of
extraordinary abstinence after their fashion, and lead a life of such
hardship as I will describe. All their life long they eat nothing but
bran,[NOTE 15] which they take mixt with hot water. That is their food:
bran, and nothing but bran; and water for their drink.
