Cambaia, painted cloth of S. Thome, or of Masulipatan, and white cloth of
Bengala, which is spent there in great quantity. [Sidenote: An excellent
colour with a root called Saia.] They bring thither also much cotton, yarne
red coloured with a root which they call Saia, which will neuer lose his
colour: it is very wel solde here, and very much of it commeth yerely to
Pegu. By your money you lose much. The ships which come from Bengala, S.
Thome, and Masulipatan, come to the bar of Nigrais and to Cosmin. To
Martauan a port of the sea in the kingdome of Pegu come many ships from
Malacca laden with Sandall, Porcelanes, and other wares of China, and with
Camphora of Borneo, and Pepper from Achen in Sumatra. [Sidenote: Woollen
cloth and scarlets solde in Pegu.] To Cirion a port of Pegu come ships from
Mecca with woollen cloth, Scarlets, Veluets, Opium, and such like. There
are in Pegu eight Brokers, whom they call Tareghe, which are bound to sell
your goods at the price which they be woorth, and you giue them for their
labour two in the hundred: and they be bound to make your debt good,
because you sell your merchandises vpon their word. If the Broker pay you
not at his day, you may take him home, and keepe him in your house: which
is a great shame for him. And if he pay you not presently, you may take his
wife and children and his slaues, and binde them at your doore, and set
them in the Sunne; for that is the law of the countrey. [Sidenote: The
money of Pegu.] Their current money in these partes is a kinde of brasse
which they call Gansa, wherewith you may buy golde, siluer, rubies, ronske,
and all other things. The golde and siluer is marchandise, and is worth
sometimes more, and sometimes lesse, as other wares be. This brazen money
doeth goe by a weight which they call a biza; and commonly this biza after
our account is worth about halfe a crowne or somewhat lesse. [Sidenote: The
seuerall marchandises of Pegu.] The marchandise which be in Pegu, are
golde, siluer, rubies, saphires, spinelles, muske, beniamin or
frankincense, long pepper, tinne, leade, copper, lacca whereof they make
hard waxe, rice, and wine made of rice, and some sugar. The elephants doe
eate the sugar canes, or els they would make very much. [Sidenote: The
forme of their Temples or Varellaes.] And they consume many canes likewise
in making of their Varellaes or Idole Temples, which are in great number
both great and small. They be made round like a sugar loafe, some are as
high as a Church, very broad beneath, some a quarter of a mile in compasse:
within they be all earth done about with stone. They consume in these
Varellaes great quantity of golde; for that they be all gilded aloft: and
many of them from the top to the bottome: and euery ten or twelue yeeres
they must be new gilded, because the raine consumeth off the golde: for
they stand open abroad. If they did not consume their golde in these
vanities, it would be very plentifull and good cheape in Pegu. About two
dayes iourney from Pegu there is a Varelle or Pagode, which is the
pilgrimage of the Pegues: it is called Dogonne, and is of a woonderfull
bignesse, and all gilded from the foot to the toppe. [Sidenote: The
Tallipoies or Priests of Pegu.] And there is an house by it wherein the
Tallipoies which are their priests doe preach. This house is fiue and fifty
paces in length, and hath three pawnes or walks in it, and forty great
pillars gilded, which stand betweene the walks; and it is open on all sides
with a number of small pillars, which be likewise gilded: it is gilded with
golde within and without. There are houses very faire round about for the
pilgrims to lie in: and many goodly houses for the Tallipoies to preach in,
which are full of images both of men and women, which are all gilded ouer
with golde. It is the fairest place as I suppose, that is in the world: it
standeth very high, and there are foure wayes to it, which all along are
set with trees of fruits, in such wise that a man may goe in the shade
aboue two miles in length. And when their feast day is, a man can hardly
passe by water or by land for the great presse of people; for they come
from all places of the kingdome of Pegu thither at their feast. In Pegu
they haue many Tallipoies or priests, which preach against all abuses. Many
men resort vnto them. When they enter into their kiack, that is to say,
their holy place or temple, at the doore their is a great iarre of water
with a cocke or a ladle in it, and there they wash their feet; and then
they enter in, and lift vp their hands to their heads, first to their
preacher, and then to the Sunne, and so sit downe. [Sidenote: The apparell
of their priests.] The Tallipoies go very strangly apparelled with one
cambaline or thinne cloth next to their body of a browne colour, another of
yellow doubled many times vpon their shoulder: and those two be girded to
them with a broad girdle: and they haue a skinne of leather hanging on a
string about their necks, whereupon they sit, bare headed and bare footed:
for none of them weareth shoes; with their right armes bare and a great
broad sombrero or shadow in their hands to defend them in the Summer from
the Sunne, and in the Winter from the raine. When the Tallipoies or priests
take their Orders, first they go to schoole vntill they be twenty yeres
olde or more, and then they come before a Tallipoie appointed for that
purpose, whom they call Rowli: he is of the chiefest or most learned, and
he opposeth them, and afterward examineth them many times, whether they
will leaue their friends, and the company of all women, and take vpon them
the habit of a Tallipoie. If any be content, then he rideth vpon an horse
about the streets very richly apparelled, with drummes and pipes, to shew
that he leaueth the riches of the world to be a Tallipoie. In few dayes
after, he is caried vpon a thing like an horsliter, which they call a
serion, vpon ten or twelue mens shoulders in the apparell of a Tallipoie,
with pipes and drummes, and many Tallipoies with him, and al his friends,
and so they go with him to his house which standeth without the towne, and
there they leaue him. Euery one of them hath his house, which is very
little, set vpon six or eight posts, and they go vp to them with a ladder
of twelue or foureteene staues. Their houses be for the most part by the
hie wayes side, and among the trees, and in the woods. And they go with a
great pot made of wood or fine earth, and couered, tied with a broad girdle
vpon their shoulder, which cometh vnder their arme, wherewith they go to
begge their victuals which they eate, which is rice, fish, and herbs. They
demand nothing but come to the doore, and the people presently doe giue
them, some one thing, and some another: and they put all together in their
potte: for they say they must eate of their almes, and therewith content
themselues. [Sidenote: Obseruation of new moones.] They keepe their feasts
by the Moone: and when it is new Moone they keepe their greatest feast: and
then the people send rice and other things to that kiack or church of which
they be; and there all the Tallipoies doe meete which be of that Church,
and eate the victuals which are sent them. When the Tallipoies do preach,
many of the people cary them gifts into the pulpit where they sit and
preach. And there is one which sitteth by them to take that which the
people bring. It is diuided among them. They haue none other ceremonies nor
seruice that I could see, but onely preaching.
I went from Pegu to Iamahey [Marginal note: Iamahey fiue and twenty dayes
iourney Northeastward from Pegu.] which is in the countrey of the
Langeiannes, whom we call Iangomes; it is fiue and twenty dayes iourney
Northeast from Pegu. In which iourney I passed many fruitfull and pleasant
countreys. The countrey is very lowe, and hath many faire riuers. The
houses are very bad, made of canes, and couered with straw. Heere are many
wilde buffes and elephants. Iamahey is a very faire and great towne, with
faire houses of stone, well peopled, the streets are very large, the men
very well set and strong, with a cloth about them, bare headed and bare
footed: for in all these countreys they weare no shoes. The women be much
fairer then those of Pegu. Heere in all these countreys they haue no wheat.
They make some cakes of rice. Hither to Iamahey come many marchants out of
China, and bring great store of muske, golde, siluer, and many other things
of China worke. Here is great store of victuals: they haue such plenty that
they will not milke the buffles, as they doe in all other places. Here is
great store of copper and beniamin. In these countreys when the people be
sicke they make a vow to offer meat vnto the diuell, if they escape: and
when they be recouered they make a banket with many pipes and drummes and
other instruments, and dansing all the night, and their friends come and
bring gifts, cocos, figges, arrecaes, and other fruits, and with great
dauncing and reioycing they offer to the diuell, and say, they giue the
diuel to eat, and driue him out. When they be dancing and playing they will
cry and hallow very loud; and in this sort they say they driue him away.
And when they be sicke a Tallipoy or two euery night doth sit by them and
sing, to please the diuell that he should not hurt them. [Sidenote: They
burne their dead.] And if any die he is caried vpon a great frame made like
a tower, with a couering all gilded with golde made of canes caried with
foureteene or sixteene men, with drummes and pipes and other instruments
playing before him to a place out of the towne and there is burned. He is
accompanied with all his friends and neighbours, all men: and they giue to
the tallipoies or priests many mats and cloth: and then they returne to the
house and there make a feast for two dayes: and then the wife with all the
neighbours wiues and her friends go to the place where he was burned, and
there they sit a certaine time and cry and gather the pieces of bones which
be left vnburned and bury them, and then returne to their houses and make
an end of all mourning. And the men and women which be neere of kin do
shaue their heads, which they do not vse except it be for the death of a
friend: for they much esteeme of their haire.
Caplan [Marginal note: Caplan is the place the rubies and other precious
stones are found.] is the place where they finde the rubies, saphires, and
spinelles: it standeth sixe dayes iourney from Aua in the kingdome of Pegu.
There are many great high hilles out of which they digge them. None may go
to the pits but onely those which digge them.
In Pegu, and in all the countreys of Aua, Langeiannes, Siam, and the
Bramas, the men weare bunches or little round balles in their priuy
members: some of them ware two and some three. They cut the skin and so put
them in, one into one side and another into the other side; which they do
when they be 25 or 30 yeeres olde, and at their pleasure they take one or
more of them as they thinke good. When they be maried the husband is for
euery child which his wife hath, to put in one vntill he come to three and
then no more: for they say the women doe desire them. They were inuented
because they should not abuse the male sexe. For in times past all those
countries were so giuen to that villany, that they were very scarce of
people. It was also ordained that the women should not haue past three
cubits of cloth in their nether clothes, which they binde about them; which
are so strait, that when they go in the streets, they shew one side of the
leg bare aboue the knee. [Sidenote: Anthony Galuano writeth of these bals.]
The bunches aforesayd be of diuers sorts: the least be as big as a litle
walnut, and very round: the greatest are as big as a litle hennes egge:
some are of brasse and some of siluer: but those of siluer be for the king,
and his noble men. These are gilded and made with great cunning, and ring
like a litle bell. There are some made of leade, which they call Selwy
because they ring but litle: and these be of lesser price for the poorer
sort. The king sometimes taketh his out, and giueth them to his noblemen as
a great gift: and because he hath vsed them, they esteeme them greatly.
They will put one in, and heale vp the place in seuen or eight dayes.
The Bramas which be of the kings countrey (for the king is a Brama) haue
their legs or bellies, or some part of their body, as they thinke good
themselues, made black with certaine things which they haue: they vse to
pricke the skinne, and to put on it a kinde of anile or blacking, which
doth continue alwayes. And this is counted an honour among them: but none
may haue it but the Bramas which are of the kings kinred.
[Sidenote: The people of Pegu weare no beards.] These people weare no
beards: they pull out the haire on their faces with little pinsons made for
that purpose. Some of them will let 16 or 20 haires grow together, some in
one place of his face and some in another, and pulleth out all the rest:
for he carieth his pinsons alwayes with him to pull the haires out assoone
as they appeare. If they see a man with a beard they wonder at him. They
haue their teeth blacked both men and women, for they say a dogge hath his
teeth white, therefore they will blacke theirs.
The Pegues if they haue a suite in the law which is so doubtfull that they
cannot well determine it, put two long canes into the water where it is
very deepe: and both the parties go into the water by the poles, and there
sit men to iudge, and they both do diue vnder the water, and he which
remaineth longest vnder the water doth winne the sute.
The 10 of January I went from Pegu to Malacca, passing by many of the ports
of Pegu, as Martauan, the Iland of Taui, from whence commeth great store of
tinne, which serueth all India, the Ilands of Tanaseri, Iunsalaon, and many
others; and so came to Malacca the 8 of February, where the Portugals haue
a castle which standeth nere the sea. And the countrey fast without the
towne belongeth to the Malayos, which is a kinde of proud people. They go
naked with a cloth about their middle, and a litle roll of cloth about
their heads; Hither come many ships from China and from the Malucos, Banda,
Timor, and from many other Ilands of the Iauas, which bring great store of
spices and drugs, and diamants and other iewels. The voyages into many of
these Ilands belong vnto the captaine of Malacca: so that none may goe
thither without his licence: which yeeld him great summes of money euery
yeere. The Portugals heere haue often times warres with the king of Achem
which standeth in the Iland of Sumatra: from whence commeth great store of
pepper and other spices euery yeere to Pegu and Mecca within the Red sea,
and other places.
[Sidenote: The voyage to Iapan.] When the Portugals go from Macao in China
to Iapan, they carry much white silke, golde, muske, and porcelanes: and
they bring from thence nothing but siluer. They haue a great caracke which
goeth thither euery yere, and she bringeth from thence euery yere abouve
sixe hundred thousand crusadoes: and all this siluer of Iapan, and two
hundred thousand crusadoes [Marginal note: Eight hundred thousand crusadoes
in siluer imployed yerely by the Portugals in China.] more in siluer which
they bring yeerely out of India, they imploy to their great aduantage in
China: and they bring from thence golde, muske, silke, copper, porcelanes,
and many other things very costly and gilded. When the Portugales come to
Canton in China to traffike, they must remaine there but certaine dayes:
and when they come in at the gate of the city, they must enter their names
in a booke, and when they goe out at night they must put out their names.
They may not lie in the towne all night, but must lie in their boats
without the towne. And their dayes being expired, if any man remaine there,
they are euill vsed and imprisoned. The Chinians are very suspitious, and
doe not trust strangers. It is thought that the king doth not know that any
strangers come into his countrey. And further it is credibly reported that
the common people see their king very seldome or not at all, nor may not
looke vp to that place where he sitteth. And when he rideth abroad he is
caried vpon a great chaire or serrion gilded very faire, wherein there is
made a little house, with a latice to looke out at: so that he may see
them, but they may not looke vp at him: and all the time that he passeth by
them, they heaue vp their hands to their heads, and lay their heads on the
ground, and looke not vp vntil he be passed. The order of China is when
they mourne, that they weare white thread shoes, and hats of straw. The man
doth mourne for his wife two yeeres, the wife for her husband three yeeres:
the sonne for his father a yeere, and for his mother two yeres. And all the
time which they mourne they keepe the dead in the house, the bowels being
taken out and filled with chownam or lime, and coffined: and when the time
is expired they carry them out playing and piping, and burne them. And when
they returne they pull off their mourning weeds, and marry at their
pleasure. A man may keepe as many concubines as he will, but one wife
onely. [Sidenote: The writing of the people of China &c.] All the Chineans,
Iaponians, and Cauchin Chineans do write right downwards, and they do write
with a fine pensill made of dogs or cats haire.
Laban is a Iland among the Iauas from whence come the diamants of the New
water. And they finde them in the riuers: for the king will not suffer them
to digge the rocke.
Iamba is an Iland among the Iauas also, from whence come diamants. And the
king hath a masse of earth which is golde; it groweth in the middle of a
riuer: and when the king doth lacke gold, they cut part of the earth and
melt it, whereof commeth golde. This masse of earth doth appeare but once
in a yere; which is when the water is low: and this is in the moneth of
April.
Bima is another Iland among the Iauas, where the women trauell and labour
as our men do in England, and the men keepe house and go where they will.
The 29 of March 1588, I returned from Malacca to Martauan, and so to Pegu,
where I remained the second time vntill the 17 of September, and then I
went to Cosmin, and there tooke shipping; and passing many dangers by
reason of contrary windes, it pleased God that we arriued in Bengala in
Nouember following: where I stayed for want of passage vntill the third of
February 1589, and then I shipped my selfe for Cochin. In which voyage we
endured great extremity for lacke of fresh water: for the weather was
extreme hote, and we were many marchants and passengers, and we had very
many calmes, and hote weather. Yet it pleased God that we arriued in Ceylon
the sixth of March, where we stayed fiue dayes to water, and to furnish our
selues with other necessary prouision. This Ceylon is a braue Iland, very
fruitfull and faire; but by reason of continuall warres with the king
thereof, all things are very deare: for he will not suffer any thing to be
brought to the castle where the Portugals be: wherefore often times they
haue great want of victuals. Their prouision of victuals commeth out of
Bengala euery yere. The king is called Raia, and is of great force: for he
commeth to Columbo, which is the place where the Portugals haue their fort,
with an hundred thousand men, and many elephants. But they be naked people
all of them; yet many of them be good with their pieces which be muskets.
When the king talketh with any man, he standeth vpon one legge, and setteth
the other foot vpon his knee with his sword in his hand: it is not their
order for the king to sit but to stand. His apparell is a fine painted
cloth made of cotton wooll about his middle: his haire is long and bound vp
with a little fine cloth about his head: all the rest of his body is naked.
His guard are a thousand men, which stand round about him, and he in the
middle; and when he marcheth, many of them goe before him, and the rest
come after him. They are of the race of the Chingalayes, which they say are
the best kinde of all the Malabars. Their eares are very large; for the
greater they are, the more honourable they are accounted. Some of them are
a spanne long. The wood which they burne is Cinamom wood, and it smelleth
very sweet. There is great store of rubies, saphires, and spinelles in this
Iland: the best kinde of all be here; but the king will not suffer the
inhabitants to digge for them, lest his enemies should know of them, and
make warres against him, and so driue him out of his countrey for them.
They haue no horses in all the countrey. The elephants be not so great as
those of Pegu, which be monstrous huge: but they say all other elephants do
feare them, and none dare fight with them, though they be very small. Their
women haue a cloth bound about them from their middle to their knee: and
all the rest is bare. All of them be blacke and but little, both men and
women. Their houses are very little, made of the branches of the palmer or
coco-tree, and couered with the leaues of the same tree.
The eleuenth of March we sailed from Ceylon, and so doubled the cape of
Comori. Not far from thence, betweene Ceylon and the maine land of
Negapatan, they fish for pearles. And there is fished euery yere very much;
which doth serue all India, Cambaia, and Bengala, it is not so orient as
the pearle of Baharim in the gulfe of Persia. From cape de Comori we passed
by Coulam, which is a fort of the Portugals: from whence commeth great
store of pepper, which commeth for Portugall: for oftentimes there ladeth
one of the caracks of Portugall. Thus passing the coast we arriued in
Cochin the 22 of March, where we found the weather warme, but scarsity of
victuals: for here groweth neither corne nor rice: and the greatest part
commeth from Bengala. They haue here very bad water, for the riuer is farre
off. [Sidenote: People with swollen legges mentioned also by Ioh. Huygen.]
This bad water causeth many of the people to be like lepers, and many of
them haue their legs swollen as bigge as a man in the waste, and many of
them are scant able to go. These people here be Malabars, and of the race
of the Naires of Calicut: and they differ much from the other Malabars.
These haue their heads very full of haire, and bound vp with a string: and
there doth appeare a bush without the band wherewith it is bound. The men
be tall and strong, and good archers with a long bow and a long arrow,
which is their best weapon: yet there be some caliuers among them, but they
handle them badly.
[Sidenote: How pepper groweth.] Heere groweth the pepper; and it springeth
vp by a tree or a pole, and is like our iuy berry, but something longer
like the wheat eare: and at the first the bunches are greene, and as they
waxe ripe they cut them off and dry them. The leafe is much lesser then the
iuy leafe and thinner. All the inhabitants here haue very little homes
couered with the leaues of the coco-trees. The men be of a reasonable
stature; the women little; all blacke, with a cloth bound about their
middle hanging downe to their hammes; all the rest of their bodies be
naked: they haue horrible great eares with many rings set with pearles and
stones in them. The king goeth incached, as they do all; he doth not
remaine in a place aboue fiue or sixe dayes: he hath many houses, but they
be but litle: his guard is but small: he remooueth from one house to
another according to their order. All the pepper of Calicut and course
cinamom groweth here in this countrey. The best cinamom doth come from
Ceylon, and is pilled from fine yoong trees. Here are very many palmer or
coco trees, which is their chiefe food: for it is their meat and drinke:
and yeeldeth many other necessary things, as I haue declared before.
[Sidenote: Or Calicut or Cananor.] The Naires which be vnder the king of
Samorin, which be Malabars, haue alwayes wars with the Portugals. The king
hath alwayes peace with them; but his people goe to the sea to robbe and
steale. Their chiefe captaine is called Cogi Alli; he hath three castles
vnder him. When the Portugals complaine to the king, he sayth he doth not
send them out: but he consenteth that they go. They range all the coast
from Ceylon to Goa, and go by foure or fiue parowes or boats together: and
haue in euery one of them fifty or threescore men, and boord presently.
They do much harme on that coast, and take euery yere many foists and boats
of the Portugals. Many of these people be Moores. This kings countrey
beginneth twelue leagues from Cochin, and reacheth neere vnto Goa. I
remained in Cochin vntill the second of Nouember, which was eight moneths;
for that there was no passage that went away in all that time: if I had
come two dayes sooner I had found a passage presently. From Cochin I went
to Goa, where I remained three dayes. From Cochin to Goa is an hundred
leagues. From Goa I went to Chaul, which is threescore leagues, where I
remained three and twenty dayes: and there making my prouision of things
necessary for the shippe, from thence I departed to Ormus; where I stayed
for a passage to Balsara fifty dayes. From Goa to Ormus is foure hundred
leagues.
Here I thought good, before I make an end of this my booke, to declare some
things which India and the countrey farther Eastward do bring forth.
The pepper groweth in many parts of India, especially about Cochin: and
much of it doeth grow in the fields among the bushes without any labour:
and when it is ripe they go and gather it. The shrubbe is like vnto our iuy
tree: and if it did not run about some tree or pole, it would fall down and
rot. When they first gather it, it is greene; and then they lay it in the
Sun, and it becommeth blacke.
The ginger groweth like vnto our garlick, and the root is the ginger: it is
to be found in many parts of India.
The cloues doe come from the Iles of the Moluccoes, which be diuers Ilands:
their tree is like to our bay tree.
The nutmegs and maces grow together, and come from the Ile of Banda: the
tree is like to our walnut tree, but somewhat lesser.
The white sandol is wood very sweet and in great request among the Indians;
for they grinde it with a litle water, and anoynt their bodies therewith:
it commeth from the Isle of Timor.
Camphora is a precious thing among the Indians, and is solde dearer than
golde. I thinke none of it commeth for Christendome. That which is
compounded commeth from China: but that which groweth in canes and is the
best, commeth from the great Isle of Borneo.
Lignum Aloes commeth from Cauchinchina.
The beniamin commeth out of the countreys of Siam and Iangomes.
The long pepper groweth in Bengala, in Pegu, and in the Ilands of the
Iauas.
The muske commeth out of Tartarie, and is made after this order, by report
of the marchants which bring it to Pegu to sell; In Tartarie there is a
little beast like vnto a yong roe, which they take in snares, and beat him
to death with the blood: after that they cut out the bones, and beat the
flesh with the blood very small, and fill the skin with it: and hereof
commeth the muske.
Of the amber they holde diuers opinions; but most men say it commeth out of
the sea, and that they finde it vpon the shores side.
The rubies, saphires, and spinnelles are found in Pegu.
The diamants are found in diuers places, as in Bisnagar, in Agra, in Delli,
and in the Ilands of the Iauas.
The best pearles come from the Iland of Baharim in the Persian sea, the
woorser from the Piscaria neere the Isle of Ceylon, and from Aynam a great
Iland on the Southermost coast of China.
Spodium and many other kindes of drugs come from Cambaia.