In It There
Are Four Kings, The Principal One Of Whom Is Sinder Candi, In Whose Kingdom
They Fish For Pearls, Between Ceylon And Moabar, In A Bay Where The Sea
Does Not Exceed Ten Or Twelve Fathoms Deep.
Here the divers descend to the
bottom, and in bags or nets which are tied about their bodies, bring up the
oysters which contain the pearls.
On account of certain great fish which
kill the divers, they hire bramins to charm them from doing harm, and these
have the twentieth part of the pearls, the king getting the tenth part[2];
These oysters are only found from the beginning of April to the end of May
in this place; but from the beginning of September to the middle of
October, they are got in another place, about three hundred miles distant.
The king of this country goes naked, like the rest of his subjects, except
that he wears some honourable marks of distinction, as a collar of precious
stones about his neck, and a thread of silk hanging down to his breast, on
which are strung 104 large fine pearls, by which he counts his prayers as
with a rosary. These prayers are merely the word Pacaupa, repeated 104
times over. He wears a sort of bracelets on three places of his arms and on
his legs, and rings on all his fingers and toes. This king has a thousand
concubines, and if any woman pleases his fancy, he takes her away from
whoever she may happen to belong to. He once did this unjust deed to his
own brother, in consequence of which a civil war had nearly ensued; but as
their mother threatened to cut off her own breasts if they continued their
enmity, they were reconciled. He has a numerous guard of horsemen, who are
under a vow, when he dies, to throw themselves into the fire in which his
body is consumed, that they may serve him in the next world.
This prince, and the other kings of Moabar, buy their horses from Ormus and
other parts, as their country produces none, or if any happen to be bred
there, they are ugly and useless[3]. Condemned persons often offer
themselves to die in honour of a particular idol; on which the devotee puts
himself to death with twelve knives, giving himself twelve deep wounds in
various parts of his body, calling out aloud on the infliction of each,
that he does this in honour of such or such an idol; and the last of all is
through his own heart, after which his body is burned by his kindred. The
women of this country voluntarily burn themselves along with the bodies of
their deceased husbands, and those who neglect to do this are held in
disrepute. They worship idols, and most of them hold cows in such high
veneration, that they would not eat their holy flesh for any consideration
on earth. A certain tribe is called Gaui, who feed upon such oxen as die of
themselves, but never kill any.
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