This Country Is Fifty Days
Journey In Breadth, And It Is Above Sixty Days Journey In Length.
This is
one of the twelve great provinces belonging to the great khan.
Farther on, I came into another kingdom belonging to the khan, called Tebek
or Thibet, which is, in my opinion, more abundant in bread and wine than
any other country in the world. The inhabitants mostly dwell in tents of
black felt, The principal city is surrounded by beautiful walls, built of
large white and black stones, disposed chequerwise; and all the highways of
the country are well paved. In this country, from certain religious
notions, no one dares shed the blood of a man, or of any beast. The Abassi,
who is their Pope, dwells in the city already mentioned, being the head or
prince of all the idolaters, on whom he bestows gifts; just as our Pope of
Rome considers himself to be the head of all the Christians. The women of
this country wear a prodigious number of ornaments, and they have two long
teeth like the tusks of a boar. When any man dies in this country, his son
assembles all the priests and musicians that he can procure, to do honour
to his father, whose body he causes to be carried out into the fields,
accompanied by all the kindred, friends, and neighbours of the family. Then
the priests, with great solemnity, cut off the head of the deceased, which
they give to his son; after which, they divide the whole body into small
pieces, which they leave strewed about the place; and then the whole
company return home in solemn procession, accompanied with prayers, the son
bearing his fathers head.
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