[1:] Large and fine pearls.
Of the Island of Sylan: and of the mountaine where Adam mourned for his sonne Abel.
I PASSED by also another island called Sylan,[1] which conteineth in compasse aboue ii M miles, wherin are an infinit number of serpents, & great store of lions, beares, & al kinds of ravening & wild beasts, and especially of elephants. In the said countrey there is an huge mountaine, whereupon the inhabitants of that region do report that Adam mourned for his son Abel ye space of 500 yeres. In the midst of this mountaine there is a most beautiful plain, wherin is a litle lake conteining great plenty of water, which water ye inhabitants report to haue proceeded from the teares of Adam & Eve: howbeit I proved that to be false, because I saw the water flow in the lake. This water is ful of hors-leeches, & blood suckers, & of precious stones also, which precious stones the king taketh not unto his owne use, but once or twise euery yere he permitteth certaine poore people to diue under water for ye said stones & al that they may get he bestoweth upon them, to the end that they may pray for his soule. But yt they may with less danger dive under water, they take limons[2] which they pil,[3] anointing themselves with the juice thereof, & so they may diue naked under ye water, the hors-leeches not being able to hurt them. From this lake the water runneth even unto the sea, and at a low ebbe the inhabitants dig rubies, diamonds & perles, and other precious stones out of the shore: wherupon it is thought, that ye king of this island hath greater abundance of pretious stones, then any other monarch in the whole earth besides. In the said countrey there be all kinds of beastes and foules: & the people told me, that those beasts would not invade nor hurt any stranger but only the natural inhabitants.
I saw in this island fouls as big as our countrey geese, having two heads, and other miraculous things, which I will not here write off. Traveling on further South, I arrived at a certaine island called Bodin,[4] which signifieth in our language unclean. In this island there do inhabit most wicked persons, who devour & eate rawe flesh, committing all kinds of uncleannes & abominations in such sort, as it is incredible. For the father eateth his son, & the son his father, the husband his owne wife & the wife her husband: & that after this maner. If any mans father be sick, the son straight goes unto the sooth-saying or prognosticating priest, requesting him to demand of his god, whether his father shall recover from his infirmity or no; Then both of them go unto an idol of gold or silver, making their prayers unto it in maner folowing: Lord, thou art our god, & thee we do adore, beseeching thee to resolve us, whether such a man must die, or recover of such an infirmity or no: Then the divel answereth out of ye aforesaide idol: if he saieth (he shal liue) then returneth his son and ministreth things necessary unto him til he hath attained unto his former health: but if he saith (he shall die) then goes ye priest unto him, & putting a cloth into his mouth doth strangle him therewith: which being done, he cuts his dead body into morsels, & al his friends and kinsfolk are invited unto the eating thereof, with musique & all kinde of mirth: howbeit his bones are solemnely buried. And when I found fault with that custome demanding a reason thereof, one of them gaue me this answere; this we doe lest the wormes should eat his flesh, for then his soule should suffer great torments, neither could I by any meanes remoove them from that errour. Many other novelties and strange things there bee in this countrey, which no man would credite, unles he saw them with his owne eyes. Howbeit, I (before almighty God) do here make relation of nothing but of that onely, whereof I am as sure, as a man may be sure. Concerning the foresaid islands, I enquired of divers wel-experienced persons, who al of them, as it were with one consent, answered me saying, that this India contained 4400 islands under it, or within it, in which islands there are sixty and foure crowned kings: and they say moreouer, that the greater part of those islands are wel inhabited. And here I conclude concerning that part of India.
[1:] Ceylon.
[2:] Lemons.
[3:] Peel.
[4:] Or Dadin.
Of the upper India: and of the province of Mancy.[1]
FIRST of al therefore, having traveled many dayes journey upon the Ocean-sea towards the East, at length I arrived at a certaine great province called Mancy, being in Latine named India. Concerning this India I inquired of Christians, of Saracens, & of Idolaters, and of al such as bare an office under the great Can; who all of them with one consent answered, that this province of Mancy hath mo then 2000 great cities within the precincts thereof & that it aboundeth with all plenty of victuals, as namely with bread, wine, rise, flesh, and fish. All the men of this province be artificers & marchants, who, though they be in never so extreme penurie, so long as they can help themselues by the labor of their handes, will neuer beg almes of any man. The men of this province are of a faire and comely personage, but somewhat pale, having their heads shaven but a little, but the women are the most beautiful under the sunne. The first city of the said India which I came unto, is called Ceuskalon, which being a daies journey distant from the sea, stands upon a river, the water whereof, nere unto the mouth, where it exonerateth it selfe into the sea, doth overflow the land for the space of 12 daies journey. All the inhabitants of this India are worshippers of idols. The foresaid city of Ceuskalon hath such an huge navy belonging thereunto, that no man would beleeve it unlesse he should see it. In this city I saw 300 li of good and new ginger sold for lesse than a groat. There are the greatest, and the fairest geese, & most plenty of them to be sold in al the world, as I suppose: they are as white as milke, & haue a bone upon the crowne of their heads, as bigge as an egge, being of the colour of blood: under the throat they haue a skin or bag hanging down halfe a foot. They are exceeding fat and wel sold. Also they haue ducks and hens in that countrey, one as big as two of ours. There be monstrous great serpents likewise, which are taken by the inhabitants & eaten; whereupon a solemne feast among them without serpents is not set by.
And to be briefe, in this city there are al kinds of victuals in great abundance. From thence I passed by many cities & at length I came unto a citie named Caitan,[2] wherein ye friers Minorites haue two places of abode, unto which I transported the bones of the dead friers, which suffered martyrdom for the faith of Christ, as it is aboue mentioned. In this citie there is abundance of al kind of victuals very cheap. The said city is as big as two of Bononia,[3] & in it are many monasteries of religious persons, al which do worship idols.
I myselfe was in one of those monasteries, & it was told me, that there were in it III M religious men, having XI M idols; and one of ye said idols which seemed unto me but litle in regard of the rest, was as big as our Christopher. These religious men euery day do feed their idol-gods: wherupon at a certaine time I went to behold the banquet: and indeed those things which they brought unto them were good to eate, & fuming hote insomuch that the steam of the smoke thereof ascended up unto their idols, and they said that their gods were refreshed with the smoke: howbeit all the meat they conveyed away, eating it up their owne selves, and so they fed their dumb gods with the smoke only.