In the kingdom of Moabar there is a wonderful idol in the shape of a man, all of pure and polished gold, as large as our image of St Christopher; and there hangs about its neck a string of most rich and precious stones, some of which are singly more valuable than the riches of an entire kingdom. The whole house, in which this idol is preserved, is all of beaten gold, even the roof, the pavement, and the lining of the walls, both within and without556. The Indians go on pilgrimages to this idol, just as we do to the image of St Peter; some having halters round their necks, some with their hands bound behind their backs, and others with knives sticking in various parts of their legs and arms; and if the flesh of their wounded limbs should corrupt, owing to these wounds, they believe that their god is well pleased with them, and ever after esteem the diseased limbs as sacred. Near this great idol temple, there is an artificial lake of water in an open place, into which the pilgrims and devotees cast gold and silver, and precious stones, in honour of the idol, and as a fund for repairing the temple; and when any new ornament is to be made, or any repairs are required, the priests take what is wanted from the oblations that are thrown into this lake.
At each annual festival of this idol, the king and queen of the country, with all the pilgrims, and the whole multitude of the people assemble at the temple; and placing the idol on a rich and splendid chariot, they carry it from the temple with songs and all kinds of musical instruments, having a great company of young women, who walk in procession, two and two, singing before the idol. Many of the pilgrims throw themselves under the chariot wheels, that they may be crushed to death in honour of their god, and the bodies of these devotees are afterwards burned, and their ashes collected as of holy martyrs. In this manner, above 500 persons annually devote themselves to death. Sometimes a man devotes himself to die in honour of this abominable idol. On which occasion, accompanied by his relations and friends, and by a great company of musicians, he makes a solemn feast; after which, he hangs five sharp knives around his neck, and goes in solemn procession before the idol; where he takes four of the knives successively, with each of which he cuts off a piece of his own flesh, which he throws to the idol, saying, that for the worship of his god he thus cuts himself. Then taking the last of the knives, he declares aloud that he is going to put himself to death in honour of the god; on uttering which, he executes his vile purpose. His body is then burned with great solemnity, and he is ever after esteemed as a holy person.
The king of this country has vast treasures in gold and silver, and precious stones, and possesses the largest and fairest pearls that are to be seen in the whole world. Leaving this country, I travelled fifty days journey to the southward, along the shore of the ocean, when I came to a country called Lamouri557, in which, owing to the extreme heat, the whole inhabitants go stark naked, both men and women, and they derided me for wearing clothes, saying, that Adam and Eve were created naked. In this country the women are all common, so that no one has a wife; and when a child is born, the mother gives it to any of the men she pleases, who may have been connected with her. The whole of the land, likewise, is possessed in common, but everyone has his own house. Human flesh, if fat, is used as commonly in that country as beef with us; and though the manners and customs of the people are most abominable, the country is excellent, and abounds in flesh and corn, gold and silver, aloes-wood, and camphor, and many other precious commodities. Merchants who trade to this country, usually bring with them fat men, among their other commodities, which they sell to the natives as we do hogs, and these are immediately slain and devoured.
In this region, toward the south, there is an island or kingdom called Symolora558, where both the men and women mark themselves with a hot iron in twelve different parts of their faces559; and this nation is continually at war with a certain naked people in another region. I then went to another island named Java, the coast of which is 3000 miles in circuit; and the king of Java has seven other kings under his supreme dominion. This is thought to be one of the largest islands in the world, and is thoroughly inhabited; having great plenty of cloves, cubebs, and nutmegs, and all other kinds of spices, and great abundance of provisions of all kinds, except wine. The king of Java has a large and sumptuous palace, the most lofty of any that I have seen, with broad and lofty stairs to ascend to the upper apartments, all the steps being alternately of gold and silver.
The whole interior walls are lined with plates of beaten gold, on which the images of warriors are placed sculptured in gold, having each a golden coronet richly ornamented with precious stones. The roof of this palace is of pure gold, and all the lower rooms are paved with alternate square plates of gold and silver. The great khan, or emperor of Cathay, has had many wars with the king of Java, but has always been vanquished and beaten back.
Near to Java is another country called Panten, or Tathalmasin560, the king of which has many islands under his dominion. In this country there are trees which produce meal, honey, and wine, and likewise the most deadly poison in the world; the only remedy for which is human ordure dissolved in water, which, drank in considerable quantify, acts as a cathartic, and expels the poison. These trees are very large; and, when cut down, a quantity of liquor exudes from the trunk, which is received into bags made of leaves, and after exposure for fifteen days to the sun, it hardens into meal. This is first steeped in sea water, and is afterwards washed in fresh water, when it becomes a savoury paste, which may either be eaten as bread, or cooked in various ways561. I have eaten of this bread, which is fair on the outside, and somewhat brown within. Beyond this country, the Mare Mortuum, or Dead Sea562, stretches with a continual current far to the south, and whatever falls into it is seen no more. In this country there grow canes of an incredible length, as large as trees, even sixty paces or more in height. There are other canes, called cassan, which spread over the earth like grass, even to the extent of a mile, sending up branches from every knot; and in these canes they find certain stones of wonderful virtue, insomuch, that whoever carries one of these about him, cannot be wounded by an iron weapon; on which account, most of the men in that country carry such stones always about them. Many of the people of this country cause one of the arms of their children to be cut open when young, putting one of these stones into the wound, which they heal up by means of the powder of a certain fish, with the name of which I am unacquainted. And through the virtue of these wonderful stones, the natives are generally victorious in their wars, both by sea and land. There is a stratagem, however, which their enemies often successfully use against them, to counteract the power of these stones. Providing themselves with iron or steel armour, to defend them from the arrows of these people, they use wooden stakes, pointed like weapons of iron, and arrows not having iron heads, but infused with poison which they extract from certain trees, and they thus slay some of their foes, who, trusting to the virtue of these stones, wear no defensive armour. From the canes formerly mentioned, named cassan, they build themselves small houses, and manufacture sails for their ships, and many other things are made from them. From thence, after many days travel, I came to another kingdom, called Campa563, which is a very rich and beautiful kingdom, abounding in all kinds of provisions. The king who reigned at the time of my being there, had so many wives and concubines, that he had three hundred sons and daughters. He had likewise 10,004564 tame elephants, which were pastured in droves as we feed flocks and herds.
556
More recent and more accurate travellers have informed us, that this profusion of gold, on the idols and temples of the Buddists, especially, is only rich gilding. –E.
557
This seems properly enough corrected on the margin by Hakluyt, by the word Comori, or the country about Cape Comorin. –E.
559
Probably alluding to tatooing, which will be explained in the voyages to the islands of the Pacific ocean. –E.
560
Hakluyt endeavours to explain this on the margin by Malasmi. It is possible the river Banjar, and the port of Masseen, otherwise called Bendermassin, or Banjar-massin, in the great island of Borneo, may be here indicated. Panten, Petan, or perhaps Bentam, is perhaps a small woody island mentioned by Marco Polo, near great Java or Borneo. The names of places, however, in these early travellers, have been so confounded by ignorant transcribers as often to defy all criticism. –E.
562
The Pacific Ocean, the navigation of which was then so much unknown, that those who ventured to navigate it never returned.-E
564
In the Latin, this number is decies millesies et quatuor, which may even be read 14,000; certainly a vast exaggeration either way. –E.