PORCA.
Beyond this kingdom of Cochin towards the south, the kingdom of Coulam is entered; between these kingdoms there is a place which is called Porca, it belongs to a lord. In this place dwell many Gentile fishermen who have no other business than to fish in the winter, and in summer to plunder at sea the property of whoever is weaker than themselves: they have small vessels like brigantines, good rowers, and they assemble in numbers with bows and arrows, and go in such a crowd all round any ship that they find becalmed, that they make it surrender by discharging arrows, and take the vessels or ships and put the people safe on shore; and what they steal they divide with the lord of the country, and so they maintain themselves. They call these vessels catur.
KINGDOM OF COULAM.
Having passed this place the kingdom of Coulam commences, and the first town is called Caymcolan in which dwell many Gentiles, Moors, and Indian Christians of the before-mentioned doctrine of Saint Thomas. And many of these Christians live inland amongst the Gentiles. There is much pepper in this place, of which there is much exportation.
THE CITY OF COULAM.
Further on along the same coast towards the south is a great city and good sea-port, which is named Coulam, in which dwell many Moors and Gentiles, and Christians. They are great merchants and very rich, and own many ships, with which they trade to Cholmendel, the Island of Ceylon, Bengal, Malaca, Samatara, and Pegu: these do not trade with Cambay. There is also in this city much pepper. They have a Gentile king, a great lord of much territory and wealth, and of numerous men at arms, who for the most part are great archers. At this city, withdrawn a little from it, there is a promontory in the sea where stands a very great church which the apostle St. Thomas built miraculously before he departed this life.[257] It must be known that on arriving at this city of Coulan where all were Gentiles, in a poor habit, and going along converting some poor people to our holy faith he brought with him a few companions natives of the country, although they were very few: and while he was in this city, one morning there was found in this port of Coulam a very large piece of timber which had been stranded on the sea-beach, and news of it was immediately brought to the king. He sent many people and elephants to draw it out upon dry land, but they could never move it; and the king himself went in person to it later, and they were unable to draw it out. And as soon as St. Thomas saw them despair of the timber, he went to the king, and said to him: "If I were to draw out this timber would you give me a piece of land upon which to build a church with it, to the praise of our Lord God, Who sent me here." And the king laughed at him, and said to him: "If you see that with all my power it cannot be dragged out, how do you hope to draw it out." And Saint Thomas answered him: "To draw it out by the power of God, which is greater." The king immediately ordered all the land which he asked for this purpose to be given to him. And when it was granted to him, by the grace of the Lord, he went alone to the timber, and tied a cord to it, with which he began to draw it on shore without anyone assisting him. And the timber followed behind him as far as the place where he wished to build the church. The king seeing such a miracle commanded that they should let him do what he pleased with the timber and the land which had been given him; and that he should be shewn favour, because he held him to be a holy man. But he did not choose to turn Christian, and many people became converted to our holy faith. And the said Apostle whom they call Martoma,[258] called many carpenters and sawyers of the country, and began to have the timber worked, and it was so large that it was sufficient by itself for the building of the whole church. And it is a custom amongst the Indians that when the workmen or any persons are going to set to work, the master of the work gives them at midday a certain quantity of rice to eat, and at night he gives to each man a small coin of inferior gold called fanam.[259] And St. Thomas at midday took a measure full of sand, and gave to each of these workmen his measure, which turned into very good rice, and at night he gave to each one a little bit of the wood which he was hewing, and they turned into fanams; so that they went away well satisfied, and so the said Apostle finished the church of Coulam. And when those people saw these miracles and many others which our Lord did by this glorious saint, many Indians turned to the Christian faith, through the whole kingdom of Coulam, which reaches to the frontier of Ceylon, so that there are more than two thousand houses of Christians scattered throughout the country among the Gentiles; and they have a few churches, but most of them are deficient in teaching and some of them wanting in baptism. And when the King of the Indians saw so great a change he feared that if he gave more opportunity for it, the said Christians would multiply so much that they would be able to rise and possess the country. And so he began to persecute the said St. Thomas, who withdrew himself to Cholmendel, and then to a city which was called Muylepur,[260] where he received martyrdom, and there he is buried, as will be mentioned hereafter. And so the Christians remained in the kingdom of Coulam with the before mentioned church which St. Thomas built, and with others about the country. This church was endowed by the King of Coulam with the revenue from the pepper, which remains to it to this day. These Christians had not any Christian doctrine amongst them, nor were they baptized, only they held and believed the faith of Christ in a gross manner. And at a certain period they held a council amongst them and sent men about the world to study the Christian doctrine, and manner of baptism; these men reached Armenia, where they found many Greek Christians and a patriarch who governed them, who seeing their good intention sent with them a bishop and six priests to baptize them and administer the sacraments and perform divine service, and indoctrinate them in the Christian faith. And these remain there for five or six years and then are relieved for an equal period of time, and so on. And in this manner they improved themselves somewhat. These Armenians[261] are white men; they speak Arabic, and have the sacred scriptures in Chaldean, and recite the offices in that language in our fashion. They wear tonsures on their heads the opposite of ours; that is to say, that, where ours shave they wear hair, and where we have the hair they shave it. They go dressed in white shirts and caps on their heads, barefooted, and with long beards; they are very devout people, and say mass on altars like ours with a cross (+) in front of them. And he who says mass is in the middle of the altar, and those who assist him are at the sides. They communicate with salt bread instead of a wafer, and they consecrate of that bread enough for all that are in the church, and they give it to all of them divided like blessed bread.[262] Each one who communicates goes to receive it at the foot of the altar with his hand.[263] The wine is in this manner, because there is no wine in India; they take raisins which come from Mekkah and Ormuz, and put them for a night in water; and on the next day when they have to say mass they squeeze them and with the juice they say their mass. These priests baptize for money,[264] and go away from this country of Malabar very rich when they return to their own country. And many remain unbaptized for want of money.
TIRINANGOTO.
Further on along the same coast towards the south, is a town of Moors and Gentiles called Tirinamgoto, which also possesses shipping. The town and territory belong to a lord, a relation of the King of Coulam; it is abundantly supplied with provisions, rice and meat.
CAPE OF COMORY.
[Further along the coast is the Cape of Comery where the Malabar country finishes; but the kingdom of Coulam reaches thirty leagues further, as far as a city which is called Cael.][265] [At this Cape Comory there is an ancient church of Christians, which was founded by the Armenians, who still direct it, and perform in it the divine service of Christians and have crosses on the altars. All mariners pay it a tribute, and the Portuguese celebrate mass there when they pass. There are there many tombs, amongst which there is one which has written on it a Latin epitaph: "Hic jacet Cataldus Gulli filius qui obiit anno...."[266]][267]