CONCERNING THE CITY OF CAIL.
Cail is a great and noble city, and belongs to ASHAR, the eldest of
the five brother Kings. It is at this city that all the ships touch
that come from the west, as from Hormos and from Kis and from Aden, and
all Arabia, laden with horses and with other things for sale. And this
brings a great concourse of people from the country round about, and so
there is great business done in this city of Cail.{1}
The King possesses vast treasures, and wears upon his person great
store of rich jewels. He maintains great state and administers his
kingdom with great equity, and extends great favour to merchants and
foreigners, so that they are very glad to visit his city.{2}
This King has some 300 wives; for in those parts the man who has most
wives is most thought of.
As I told you before, there are in this great province of Maabar five
crowned Kings, who are all own brothers born of one father and of one
mother, and this king is one of them. Their mother is still living.
And when they disagree and go forth to war against one another, their
mother throws herself between them to prevent their fighting. And
should they persist in desiring to fight, she will take a knife and
threaten that if they will do so she will cut off the paps that suckled
them and rip open the womb that bare them, and so perish before their
eyes. In this way hath she full many a time brought them to desist. But
when she dies it will most assuredly happen that they will fall out and
destroy one another.{3}
[All the people of this city, as well as of the rest of India, have
a custom of perpetually keeping in the mouth a certain leaf called
_Tembul_, to gratify a certain habit and desire they have, continually
chewing it and spitting out the saliva that it excites. The Lords and
gentlefolks and the King have these leaves prepared with camphor and
other aromatic spices, and also mixt with quicklime. And this practice
was said to be very good for the health.{4} If any one desires to offer
a gross insult to another, when he meets him he spits this leaf or its
juice in his face. The other immediately runs before the King, relates
the insult that has been offered him, and demands leave to fight the
offender. The King supplies the arms, which are sword and target, and
all the people flock to see, and there the two fight till one of them
is killed. They must not use the point of the sword, for this the King
forbids.]{5}
NOTE 1.—KAIL, now forgotten, was long a famous port on the coast
of what is now the Tinnevelly District of the Madras Presidency.
It is mentioned as a port of Ma’bar by our author’s contemporary
Rashiduddin, though the name has been perverted by careless
transcription into _Báwal_ and _Kábal_. (See _Elliot_, I. pp.
69, 72.) It is also mistranscribed as _Kábil_ in Quatremère’s
publication of Abdurrazzák, who mentions it as “a place situated
opposite the island of Serendib, otherwise called Ceylon,” and as
being the extremity of what he was led to regard as Malabar (p.
19). It is mentioned as _Cahila_, the site of the pearl-fishery,
by Nicolo Conti (p. 7). The _Roteiro_ of Vasco da Gama notes it as
_Caell_, a state having a Mussulman King and a Christian (for which
read _Káfir_) people. Here were many pearls. Giovanni d’Empoli
notices it (_Gael_) also for the pearl-fishery, as do Varthema and
Barbosa. From the latter we learn that it was still a considerable
seaport, having rich Mahomedan merchants, and was visited by many
ships from Malabar, Coromandel, and Bengal. In the time of the last
writers it belonged to the King of Kaulam, who generally resided at
Kail.
The real site of this once celebrated port has, I believe, till
now never been identified in any published work. I had supposed
the still existing Káyalpaṭṭanam to have been in all probability
the place, and I am again indebted to the kindness of the Rev. Dr.
Caldwell for conclusive and most interesting information on this
subject. He writes:
“There are no relics of ancient greatness in Káyalpaṭṭanam, and no
traditions of foreign trade, and it is admitted by its inhabitants
to be a place of recent origin, which came into existence after
the abandonment of the true Káyal. They state also that the
name of Káyalpaṭṭanam has only recently been given to it, as a
reminiscence of the older city, and that its original name was
Sônagarpaṭṭanam.[1] There is another small port in the same
neighbourhood, a little to the north of Káyalpaṭṭanam, called Pinna
Cael in the maps, properly Punnei-Káyal, from _Punnei_, the Indian
Laurel; but this is also a place of recent origin, and many of the
inhabitants of this place, as of Káyalpaṭṭanam, state that their
ancestors came originally from Káyal, subsequently to the removal
of the Portuguese from that place to Tuticorin.
“The Cail of Marco Polo, commonly called in the neighbourhood _Old
Káyal_, and erroneously named _Koil_ in the Ordnance Map of India,
is situated on the Tâmraparnî River, about a mile and a half from
its mouth. The Tamil word _káyal_ means ‘a backwater, a lagoon,’
and the map shows the existence of a large number of these _káyals_
or backwaters near the mouth of the river. Many of these kayals
have now dried up more or less completely, and in several of them
salt-pans have been established. The name of Káyal was naturally
given to a town erected on the margin of a _káyal_; and this
circumstance occasioned also the adoption of the name of Punnei
Káyal, and served to give currency to the name of Káyalpaṭṭanam
assumed by Sônagarpaṭṭanam, both those places being in the vicinity
of kayals.
“KAYAL stood originally on or near the sea-beach, but it is now
about a mile and a half inland, the sand carried down by the river
having silted up the ancient harbour, and formed a waste sandy
tract between the sea and the town. It has now shrunk into a petty
village, inhabited partly by Mahommedans and partly by Roman
Catholic fishermen of the Parava caste, with a still smaller hamlet
adjoining inhabited by Brahmans and Vellalars; but unlikely as
the place may now seem to have been identical with ‘the great and
noble city’ described by Marco Polo, its identity is established by
the relics of its ancient greatness which it still retains. Ruins
of old fortifications, temples, storehouses, wells and tanks, are
found everywhere along the coast for two or three miles north of
the village of Kayal, and a mile and a half inland; the whole plain
is covered with broken tiles and remnants of pottery, chiefly of
China manufacture, and several mounds are apparent, in which,
besides the shells of the pearl-oyster and broken pottery, mineral
drugs (cinnabar, brimstone, etc.), such as are sold in the bazaars
of sea-port towns, and a few ancient coins have been found. I send
you herewith an interesting coin discovered in one of those mounds
by Mr. R. Puckle, collector of Tinnevelly.[2]
“The people of the place have forgotten the existence of any trade
between Kayal and China, though the China pottery that lies all
about testifies to its existence at some former period; but they
retain a distinct tradition of its trade with the Arabian and
Persian coasts, as vouched for by Marco Polo, that trade having
in some degree survived to comparatively recent times.... Captain
Phipps, the Master Attendant at Tuticorin, says: ‘The roadstead of
Old Cael (Káyal) is still used by native craft when upon the coast
and meeting with south winds, from which it is sheltered. The depth
of water is 16 to 14 feet; I fancy years ago it was deeper....
There is a surf on the bar at the entrance (of the river), but
boats go through it at all times.’
* * * * *
“I am tempted to carry this long account of Kayal a little further,
so as to bring to light the _Kolkhoi_ [κόλχοι ἐμπόριον] of the
Greek merchants, the situation of the older city being nearly
identical with that of the more modern one. _Kolkhoi_, described
by Ptolemy and the author of the Periplus as an emporium of the
pearl-trade, as situated on the sea-coast to the east of Cape
Comorin, and as giving its name to the Kolkhic Gulf or Gulf of
Manaar, has been identified by Lassen with Keelkarei; but this
identification is merely conjectural, founded on nothing better
than a slight apparent resemblance in the names. Lassen could not
have failed to identify Kolkhoi with KORKAI, the mother-city of
Kayal, if he had been acquainted with its existence and claims.
Korkai, properly KOLKAI (the _l_ being changed into _r_ by a
modern refinement—it is still called _Kolka_ in Malayalam), holds
an important place in Tamil traditions, being regarded as the
birthplace of the Pandyan Dynasty, the place where the princes
of that race ruled previously to their removal to Madura. One of
the titles of the Pandyan Kings is ‘Ruler of Korkai.’ Korkai is
situated two or three miles inland from Kayal, higher up the river.
It is not marked in the Ordnance Map of India, but a village in
the immediate neighbourhood of it, called _Mâramangalam_, ‘the
Good-fortune of the Pandyas,’ will be found in the map. This
place, together with several others in the neighbourhood, on both
sides of the river, is proved by inscriptions and relics to have
been formerly included in Korkai, and the whole intervening space
between Korkai and Kayal exhibits traces of ancient dwellings. The
people of Kayal maintain that their city was originally so large
as to include Korkai, but there is much more probability in the
tradition of the people of Korkai, which is to the effect that
Korkai itself was originally a sea-port; that as the sea retired it
became less and less suitable for trade, that Kayal rose as Korkai
fell, and that at length, as the sea continued to retire, Kayal
also was abandoned. They add that the trade for which the place was
famous in ancient times was the trade in pearls.” In an article
in the _Madras Journal_ (VII. 379) it is stated that at the great
Siva Pagoda at Tinnevelly the earth used ceremonially at the annual
festival is brought from Korkai, but no position is indicated.
NOTE 2.—Dr. Caldwell again brings his invaluable aid:—
“Marco Polo represents Kayal as being governed by a king whom he
calls _Asciar_ (a name which you suppose to be intended to be
pronounced _Ashar_), and says that this king of Kayal was the elder
brother of Sonderbandi, the king of that part of the district of
Maabar where he landed. There is a distinct tradition, not only
amongst the people now inhabiting Kayal, but in the district
of Tinnevelly generally, that Kayal, during the period of its
greatness, was ruled by a king. This king is sometimes spoken of as
one of ‘the Five Kings’ who reigned in various parts of Tinnevelly,
but whether he was independent of the King of Madura, or only a
viceroy, the people cannot now say.... The tradition of the people
of Kayal is that ... _Sûr-Raja_ was the name of the last king of
the place. They state that this last king was a Mahommedan, ...
but though Sûr-Raja does not sound like the name of a Mahommedan
prince, they all agree in asserting that this was his name.... Can
this Sûr be the person whom Marco calls Asciar? Probably not, as
Asciar seems to have been a Hindu by religion. I have discovered
what appears to be a more probable identification in the name of
a prince mentioned in an inscription on the walls of a temple at
Sri-Vaikuntham, a town on the Tamraparni R., about 20 miles from
Kayal. In the inscription in question a donation to the temple
is recorded as having been given in the time of ‘_Asaḍia-deva
called also Surya-deva_.’ This name ‘Asaḍia’ is neither Sanskrit
nor Tamil; and as the hard _ḍ_ is often changed into _r_, Marco’s
_Ashar_ may have been an attempt to render this _Asaḍ_. If this
Asaḍia or Surya-deva were really Sundara-pandi-deva’s brother, he
must have ruled over a narrow range of country, probably over Kayal
alone, whilst his more eminent brother was alive; for there is an
inscription on the walls of a temple at Sindamangalam, a place only
a few miles from Kayal, which records a donation made to the place
‘in the reign of Sundara-pandi-deva.’”[3]
NOTE 3.—[“O aljofar, e perolas, que me manda que lha enuie, nom
as posso auer, que as ha em Ceylão e Caille, que são as fontes
dellas: compralashia do meu sangue, a do meu dinheiro, que o
tenho porque vós me daes.” (Letter of the Viceroy Dom Francisco
to the King, Anno de 1508). (_G. Correa, Lendas da India_, I. pp.
908–909.)—_Note by Yule_.]
NOTE 4.—_Tembúl_ is the Persian name for the betel-leaf or _pán_,
from the Sanskrit _Támbúla_. The latter is also used in Tamul,
though _Vettilei_ is the proper Tamul word, whence _Betel_ (_Dr.
Caldwell_). Marsden supposes the mention of camphor among the
ingredients with which the pán is prepared to be a mistake, and
suggests as a possible origin of the error that _kápúr_ in the
Malay language means not only camphor but quicklime. This is
curious, but in addition to the fact that the lime is mentioned in
the text, there seems ample evidence that his doubt about camphor
is unfounded.
Garcia de Orta says distinctly: “In chewing _betre_ ... they mix
areca with it and a little lime.... Some add _Licio_ (_i.e._
catechu), _but the rich and grandees add some Borneo camphor_,
and some also lign-aloes, musk, and ambergris” (31 v. and 32).
Abdurrazzák also says: “The manner of eating it is as follows:
They bruise a portion of _faufel_ (areca), otherwise called
_sipari_, and put it in the mouth. Moistening a leaf of the betel,
together with a grain of lime, they rub the one upon the other,
roll them together, and then place them in the mouth. They thus
take as many as four leaves of betel at a time and chew them.
_Sometimes they add camphor to it_” (p. 32). And Abu’l Fazl: “They
also put some betel-nut and _kath_ (catechu) on one leaf, and some
lime-paste on another, and roll them up; this is called _a berah.
Some put camphor and musk into it_, and tie both leaves with a silk
thread,” etc. (See _Blochmann’s Transl._ p. 73.) Finally one of the
Chinese notices of Kamboja, translated by Abel Rémusat, says: “When
a guest comes it is usual to present him with _areca, camphor, and
other aromatics_.” (_Nouv. Mél._ I. 84.)
NOTE 5.—This is the only passage of Ramusio’s version, so far as
I know, that suggests interpolation from a recent author, as
distinguished from mere editorial modification. There is in Barbosa
a description of the _duello_ as practised in Canara, which is
rather too like this one.
[Illustration: Map showing the position of the Kingdom of ELY in
MALABAR.
Sketch showing the position of KÁYAL in TINNEVELLY.
Lit. Frauenfelder, Palermo]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] “Sônagar or Jônagar is a Tamil corruption of _Yavanar_, the
Yavanas, the name by which the Arabs were known, and is the name
most commonly used in the Tamil country to designate the mixed race
descended from Arab colonists, who are called _Mâpillas_ on the
Malabar coast, and _Lubbies_ in the neighbourhood of Madras.” (Dr.
C.’s note)
[2] I am sorry to say that the coin never reached its destination. In
the latter part of 1872 a quantity of treasure was found near Káyal
by the labourers on irrigation works. Much of it was dispersed
without coming under intelligent eyes, and most of the coins
recovered were Arabic. One, however, is stated to have been a coin
of “Joanna of Castille, A.D. 1236.” (_Allen’s India Mail_, 5th
January, 1874.) There is no such queen. Qu. Joanna I. of _Navarre_
(1274–1276)? or Joanna II. of _Navarre_ (1328–1336)?
[3] See above, p. 334, as to Dr. Caldwell’s view of Polo’s Sonderbandi.
May not _Ashar_ very well represent _Áśháḍha_, “invincible,” among
the applications of which Williams gives “N. of a prince”? I
observe also that _Áśchar_ (Sansk. _Áśchariya_ “marvellous”) is the
name of one of the objects of worship in the dark _Sakti_ system,
once apparently potent in S. India. (See _Taylor’s Catalogue
Raisonné_, II. 414, 423, 426, 443, and remark p. xlix.)
[“Ils disent donc que Dieu qu’ils appellent _Achar_, c’est-à-dire,
immobile ou immuable.” (_F. Bernier, Voy._, ed. 1699, II. p.
134.)—_MS. Note._—H. Y.]