The king of Narsinga exceeds in riches and dominion, all the princes I have ever seen or heard of. In beauty and situation the city resembles Milan, only that being on the slope of a hill it is not so level. Other subject kingdoms lie round about it, even as Ausonia and Venice surround Milan. The bramins or priests informed me that the king receives daily of tribute from that city only the sum of 12,000 pardaos. He and his subjects are idolaters, worshipping the devil like those of Calicut. He maintains an army of many thousand men, and is continually at war with his neighbours. The richer people wear a slender dress, somewhat like a petticoat, not very long, and bind their heads with a fillet or broad bandage, after the fashion of the Mahometans, but the common people go almost entirely naked, covering only the parts of shame. The king wears a cape or short cloak of cloth of gold on his shoulders, only two spans long; and when he goes to war he wears a close vest of cotton, over which is a cloak adorned with plates of gold, richly bordered with all kinds of jewels and precious stones. The horse he rides on, including the furniture or caparisons, is estimated to equal one of our cities in value, being all over ornamented with jewels of great price. When be goes a hunting, he is attended by other three kings, whose office it is to bear him company wherever he goes. When he rides out or goes a journey he is attended by 6000 horsemen; and from all that we have said, and various other circumstances respecting his power, riches, and magnificence, he certainly is to be accounted one of the greatest sovereigns in the world. Besides the pieces already mentioned, named pardaos, which are of gold, he coins silver money called fano, or fanams, which are worth sixteen of our smallest copper money. Such is the excellent government of this country, that travellers may go through the whole of it in safety, if they can avoid the danger of lions[78]. This king is in amity with the king of Portugal, and is 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, Onouè? 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, Onouhè 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. Warehouses or lodgings for merchants may be bought for 15 or 20 pieces of gold; but the common run of houses cost only two pieces of gold or even less.
The king and people of Calicut are idolaters, and worshippers of the devil, though they acknowledge one supreme God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the first chief cause of all things. But they allege that God could have no pleasure in his government, if he were to take it upon himself, and hath therefore given it in charge to the devil, who was sent as they say from heaven, to rule over and judge the world, rendering good or evil to men according to their deserts. The great God they call Tamerani, and this devil or subordinate deity Deumo. The king has a chapel in his palace, where this Deumo is worshipped. This chapel has an open vault or arch on all the four sides, about two paces in breadth, and it is about three paces high. The entrance is by a wooden gate, ornamented with carved work of monstrous forms or shapes of devils. In the midst of the chapel is a royal seat or throne of copper, on which sits the figure or image of the devil, likewise of copper. On the head of this image is a crown like that worn by the pope, but having the addition of four horns, besides which he is represented with a great gaping mouth, having four monstrous teeth. The nose is horridly deformed, with grim lowering eyes, a threatening look, and crooked hands, or talons like flesh-hooks, and feet somewhat like those of a cock; forming on the whole, a monster terrible to look at. In every corner of the chapel there are other figures of devils of shining copper, as if flames of fire devouring miserable souls. These souls are about the size of half a finger, some of them larger, and each figure puts one of these souls into his mouth with the right hand, while the left is on the ground lifting up another. Every morning the priests, who are called Bramins, wash the idol with rose water, and perfume him with sweet savours, after which they pray to him prostrate on the earth. Once every week they sacrifice to the idol after this form. They have a little altar or cupboard, three spans high, five spans long and four broad, on which they strew all manner of flowers and sweet-smelling powders; then bringing a great silver chafing-dish full of warming coals, they kill a cock with a silver knife, throwing the blood into the fire, together with many sweet perfumes, and even thrust the bloody blade of the knife often into the fire that none of the blood may be lost; then the priest maketh many strange gestures with the knife, like a fencer, giving or defending thrusts. In the mean time other priests with burning censers go round about the altar perfuming it with incense, and ringing a small silver bell all the time of the sacrifice. The priest who sacrifices the cock has his arms and legs garnished with silver plates and pendants, which make a noise when he moves like hawks-bells, and he wears a kind of boss on his breast inscribed with I know not what signs, being perhaps the secret character of some hidden mystery. When the sacrifice is finished, he fills both his hands with wheat, and goes backwards, keeping his eyes fixed on the altar till he comes to a certain tree whereon he casts the wheat; then returning to the altar he removes all that is upon it.