A great friend
to the Christians, so that the Portuguese are received and treated in
his dominions in a friendly and honourable manner.
[Footnote 78: Wherever lions are mentioned by this traveller in India,
tigers are to be understood. - E.]
When I had tarried many days in this great city, I returned to Cananore,
whence, after three days stay I went to a city twelve miles from thence,
named _Trempata_[79], a sea-port, inhabited by idolaters, but frequented
by many Mahometan merchants. The only riches of this place consists in
Indian nuts, or cocoa-nuts, and timber for ship-building. Passing from
thence, by the cities of _Pandara_ and _Capagot_[80], I came to the
famous city of Calicut. To avoid prolixity, I pass over many other
kingdoms and peoples, such as _Chianul_? _Dabul_, _Onoue_? _Bangalore_,
_Cananore_, _Cochin_, _Cacilon_? and _Calonue_, or _Coulan_[81]. I have
so done on purpose to enable me to treat more at large of Calicut, being
in a manner the metropolis of all the Indian cities, as the king thereof
exceeds all the kings of the east in royal majesty, and is therefore
called _Samoory_ or _Zamorin_, which in their language signifies _God on
earth_.
[Footnote 79: About that distance south from Cananore is
Dermapatam. - E.]
[Footnote 80: No names in the least respect similar to these are to be
found in the indicated route between Cananore and Calicut. - E.]
[Footnote 81: Of the three places marked with points of interrogation,
the names are so disfigured in the orthography as to be unintelligible;
_Cianul_ may possibly be Chaul, _Onouhe_ Onore, and _Cacilon_
Cranganore. - E.]
SECTION VIII.
_Account of the famous City and Kingdom of Calicut._
The city of Calicut is situated on the continent or main land of India,
close upon the sea, having no port; but about a mile to the south there
is a river which runs into the ocean by a narrow mouth. This river is
divided into many branches among the fields in the plain country, for
the purpose of being distributed by means of trenches to water the
grounds, and one of these branches not exceeding three or four feet
deep runs into the city. Calicut is not walled, and contains about 6000
houses, which are not built close adjoining each other, as in European
cities, but a certain space is left between each, either to prevent the
communication of fire, or owing to the ignorance of the builders. It is
a mile in length, and its houses are only mean low huts, not exceeding
the height of a man on horseback, being mostly covered with boughs of
trees, instead of tiles or other covering. It is said that on digging
only five or six spans into the ground they come immediately to water,
on which account they cannot dig foundations of any depth.
