In This Other Temple I Found The Priests Of The
Idols, Who Open And Adorn The Temples At The Kalends, And The People Make
Offerings Of Bread And Fruits.
I shall first describe the general rites of
idolatry, and then those of the Jugurs, who are a kind of sect different
from the others.
They all worship towards the north, with joined hands,
prostrating themselves upon their knees to the earth, and resting their
foreheads on their hands. For which reason the Nestorians never join their
hands in prayer, but spread their hands on their breasts. Their temples are
built from east to west, having a chamber or vestry for the priests on the
north; or if the building is square, they have a similar chamber on the
middle of the north side in place of a choir, and before it is placed a
long broad chest like a table, behind which, facing the south, stands the
principal idol. That which I saw at Caracarum was as large as the picture
of St Christopher. A Nestorian priest, who came from Catay, told me there
was an idol in that country so large, that it could be seen at the distance
of two days journey[2]. Other idols are placed around the principal one,
and all are beautifully gilt; All the gates of their temples open to the
south, contrary to the customs of the Mahometans; and they have large
bells, as is the case with us, wherefore the oriental Christians will not
use them, though they are customary among the Russians and the Greeks in
Casaria.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 327 of 810
Words from 89517 to 89782
of 222093
