The Kings And Nobles Of Malabar Are Of A Brown Complexion, And Go Naked
From The Waist Upwards, All The
Under parts of their bodies being clothed
in silk or cotton Vestments; yet they sometimes wear short gowns on their
Upper parts, called _basus_, of rich silk, or cloth of gold, or of
scarlet, splendidly ornamented with precious stones, of all which the
zamorin hath great store. They shave their beards, leaving only the hair
on their upper lips, and do not shave the head like the Turks. In general,
the natives of this country, even of the higher ranks, use little state
in their households, and are very sparing in their diet; but the zamorin
is served with considerable splendour. These kings or nobles never marry;
but every one has a mistress of the Nayre cast, which, among the Malabars,
are considered as the gentry; even the zamorin has only a mistress, who
has a house of her own near the palace, and a liberal allowance for the
charges of her household and maintenance at her own disposal. Upon any
dislike or difference, he may always leave her for another. The children
are only considered as the offspring of the mother, and have no right or
title to inherit the kingdom, or any thing else belonging to the father;
and when grown up, are only held in that rank or estimation which belongs
to the blood or parentage of their mother. Brothers succeed to brothers;
and in lack of these, the sons of their sisters, who do not marry, and
have no certainty respecting the fathers of their children; as they are
very free and dissolute in their manners, choosing paramours as they
please.
These sisters of the zamorin, and other kings of Malabar, have handsome
allowances to live upon; and when any of them reaches the age of ten,
their kindred send for a young man of the Nayre cast, out of the kingdom,
and give him great presents to induce him to initiate the young virgin;
after which he hangs a jewel round her neck, which she wears all the rest
of her life, as a token that she is now at liberty to dispose of herself
to any one she pleases as long as she lives.
When these kings are at war with each other, they often go personally
into the field, and even join personally in fight upon occasion. When one
of them dies, the body is carried out into the fields, and burned on a
pile of sanders, and of another sweet smelling wood called _aguila_, all
his brothers and kindred, and all the nobles of the country being present
at the ceremony; which is uniformly postponed to the third day after
death, that all may have time to gather from a distance, and may have an
opportunity of being assured whether his death was natural, or caused by
violence: Since, if he died by the hand of any one, all are bound to
prosecute revenge. After the body is burnt, and the ashes buried, the
whole company shaves every part of their bodies, even to the youngest
child of these idolaters. This is their token of mourning; and during the
ensuing thirteen days, they all refrain from chewing betel, any one
infringing this law being punished by cutting his lips. During this
period of thirteen days, he who is to succeed to the throne must abstain
from all exercise of government, that any one who pleases may have an
opportunity of urging any valid objection why he should not acquire the
vacant government. After, this the successor is sworn before all the
nobles of the country, to preserve and enforce all the laws and customs
of their ancestors, to pay the debts of his predecessor, and to use his
utmost endeavours to recover any portion of the kingdom that may have
been lost. While taking this oath, having his sword in his left hand, he
holds in his right hand a burning candle, on which is a gold ring, which
he touches with his fingers. After this they throw some grains of rice
over him, using many other ceremonies, and numerous prayers, and then
worship the sun three times. When all these ceremonies are gone through,
all the _Caymayles_, or lords of noble birth, taking hold of the candle,
take an oath to be true and faithful subjects to the new king.
After the end of the thirteen days mourning, they all begin to chew betel,
and to eat flesh and fish as formerly, the new king alone excepted. He is
bound to mourn for his predecessor during a whole year, chewing no betel,
eating no flesh or fish, neither shaving his beard nor cutting; his nails
during all that time. He must eat only once a-day, washing himself all
over before this single meal, and devoting certain hours of every day to
prayer. After the expiry of the year, he uses a certain ceremony for the
soul of the king his predecessor, much like our solemn dirge; at which
100,000 persons are often assembled, among whom he distributes large alms.
When this ceremony is ended, the prince is confirmed as inheritor of the
kingdom, and all the people depart.
The zamorin of Calicut, and the other kings of Malabar, have each one
especial officer, to whom the administration of justice is confided, and
whose authority in all matters of government is as ample as that of the
king himself. The soldiers employed by these kings are called _Nayres_,
who are all gentlemen, and who follow no other office or employ but that
of fighting when needed. They are all idolaters, armed with bows, arrows,
spears, daggers of a hooked form, and targets, and they march in a very
regular and warlike manner; but they go entirely naked and barefooted,
wearing only a piece of painted cotton cloth, which reaches from the
girdle to the knees, and a cloth or kerchief on their heads.
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