Their dress, as he notices, has, in some cases, a curious
resemblance to costumes of Switzerland, or of Brittany, popular at fancy
balls.[1] Coloured figures of some of these races will be found in the
Atlas to Garnier's work; see especially Plate 35.
NOTE 2. - All the French MSS. and other texts except Ramusio's read 15. We
adopt Ramusio's reading, 25, for reasons which will appear below.
[1] There is a little uncertainty in the adjustment of names and figures
of some of these tribes, between the illustrations and the incidental
notices in Lieutenant Garnier's work. But all the figures in the
present cut certainly belong to the tract to which we point as Anin;
and the two middle figures answer best to what is said of the
Ho-nhi.
CHAPTER LVIII.
CONCERNING THE PROVINCE OF COLOMAN.
Coloman is a province towards the east, the people of which are Idolaters
and have a peculiar language, and are subject to the Great Kaan. They are
a [tall and] very handsome people, though in complexion brown rather than
white, and are good soldiers.[NOTE 1] They have a good many towns, and a
vast number of villages, among great mountains, and in strong
positions.[NOTE 2]
When any of them die, the bodies are burnt, and then they take the bones
and put them in little chests.
These are carried high up the mountains, and placed in great caverns,
where they are hung up in such wise that neither man nor beast can come at
them.
A good deal of gold is found in the country, and for petty traffic they
use porcelain shells such as I have told you of before. All these
provinces that I have been speaking of, to wit Bangala and Caugigu and
Anin, employ for currency porcelain shells and gold. There are merchants
in this country who are very rich and dispose of large quantities of
goods. The people live on flesh and rice and milk, and brew their wine
from rice and excellent spices.
NOTE 1. - The only MSS. that afford the reading Coloman or Choloman
instead of Toloman or Tholoman, are the Bern MS., which has Coloman
in the initial word of the chapter, Paris MS. 5649 (Pauthier's C) which
has Coloman in the Table of Chapters, but not in the text, the Bodleian,
and the Brandenburg MS. quoted in the last note. These variations in
themselves have little weight. But the confusion between c and t in
mediaeval MSS., when dealing with strange names, is so constant that I
have ventured to make the correction, in strong conviction that it is the
right reading. M. Pauthier indeed, after speaking of tribes called Lo on
the south-west of China, adds, "on les nommait To-lo-man ('les nombreux
Barbares Lo')." Were this latter statement founded on actual evidence we
might retain that form which is the usual reading.
![The Travels Of Marco Polo - Volume 2 Of 2 By Marco Polo And Rustichello Of Pisa
- (See Deveria, p.
135.) - H.C.]
We give one of M. Garnier's woodcuts representing some of the races in
this - Page 127](../images/travel.jpg)
