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WORK ISSUED BY
The Hakluyt Society.
DESCRIPTION OF THE COASTS OF
EAST AFRICA AND MALABAR.
A DESCRIPTION
OF THE COASTS OF
EAST AFRICA AND MALABAR
IN THE BEGINNING OF
THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY,
BY
DUARTE BARBOSA,
A PORTUGUESE.
TRANSLATED FROM
AN EARLY SPANISH MANUSCRIPT IN THE BARCELONA LIBRARY
WITH NOTES AND A PREFACE,
BY
THE HON. HENRY E. J. STANLEY.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.
JOHNSON REPRINT CORPORATION JOHNSON REPRINT COMPANY LTD.
111 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10003
Berkeley Square House, London, W1X6BA
_Landmarks in Anthropology_, a series of reprints in cultural
anthropology
_General Editor_: Weston La Barre
First reprinting 1970, Johnson Reprint Corporation
Printed in the United States of America
_Note to Thirty-fifth Publication of the Hakluyt Society,
"Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar."_
This volume was published by the Hakluyt Society as the work of
Duarte Barbosa on the authority of Ramusio, for neither the three
Spanish MSS. of Barcelona and Munich, nor the Portuguese MS., give
his name; it is probable that Barbosa contributed a largo part of
it, for Damian de Goes refers his readers for an account of Malabar
and its religion and customs to a book by Duarte Barbosa, who is
stated to have spoken the language of Malabar with great
correctness, and who resided a long time in that country; yet the
authorship must be ascribed to Magellan, for I have just seen, in
the possession of Don Pascual de Gayangos, another Spanish MS. which
states at the top of the first page,--"Este libro compuso Fernando
Magallanes Portugues piloto lo qual el vio y anduvo." "This book was
composed by the Portuguese Fernando Magellan the pilot, the things
narrated in which he saw and visited." This heading is in the same
writing as the rest of the MS., which is clear handwriting of the
sixteenth century, and like that of the second part of the MS. No
571 of the Munich Library. The MS. of Mr. Gayangos appears to be
part of a larger book, since its second leaf is numbered 111 (the
corner of the first is worn off), and the last is numbered 170, and
ends with the description of the Lequeos. The _Epitome de la
Biblioteca Oriental, Occidental, Nautica y Geografica_ of D. Antonio
de Leon Pinelo, Madrid, 1737, mentions, at p. 667 a work of
Magellan's under the following heading: _Fernando de Magallanes,
Efemerides, or Diary of his Navigation_, a MS. which existed in the
possession of Antonio Moreno, Cosmographer of the House of Trade,
according to Don Nicolas Antonio.
THE TRANSLATOR.
_Madrid, February 1867._
ERRATA.
Page iii, line 11, _for_ "dearer," _read_ "clearer."
" 44 " 34, " "Atuxsia," " "Atauxia."
" 73, " 19, " "albejas," " "mussels."
" 96, " 13, " "laced," " "placed."
" 159, " 8, " "antoridade," " "autoridade."
" 200, " 7, " "they burn," " "they burn it."
" 232, " 10, " "et d'aller," " "est d'aller."
NOTE TO pp. 228-229.--See pages 249-251 of _The Travels of Ludovico
de Varthema_ Hakluyt Society, and notes, also Mr. R. Major's able
Introduction to the _Early Voyages to Terra Australis, now called
Australia_. This passage, written about five years later than when
Varthema wrote, is a fuller statement than Varthema's: and taking
the two together, there can be little doubt that the information
they contain was based on actual knowledge of Australia.
COUNCIL
OF
THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.
SIR RODERICK IMPEY MURCHISON, K.C.B., G.C.St.S., F.R.S.,
D.C.L., Corr. Mem. Inst. F., Hon. Mem. Imp. Acad. Sc.
Petersburg, etc., etc., PRESIDENT.
REAR-ADMIRAL C. R. DRINKWATER BETHUNE, C.B.}VICE-PRESIDENTS.
THE RT. HON. SIR DAVID DUNDAS, M.P. }
REV. G. P. BADGER, F.R.G.S.
J. BARROW, ESQ., F.R.S.
REAR-ADMIRAL R. COLLINSON, C.B.
SIR HENRY ELLIS, K.H., F.R.S.
GENERAL C. FOX.
R. W. GREY, ESQ.
JOHN WINTER JONES, ESQ., F.S.A.
JOHN W. KAYE, ESQ.
HIS EXCELLENCY THE COUNT DE LAVRADIO.
THOMAS K. LYNCH, ESQ.
R. H. MAJOR, ESQ., F.S.A.
SIR WILLIAM STIRLING MAXWELL, BART., M.P.
SIR CHARLES NICHOLSON, BART.
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR HENRY C. RAWLINSON, K.C.B.
VISCOUNT STRANGFORD.
WILLIAM WEBB, ESQ.
ALLEN YOUNG, ESQ., R.N.R.
CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, ESQ., F.S.A., HONORARY SECRETARY.
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
The Spanish manuscript from which this volume has been translated is
in the handwriting of the beginning of 1500, full of abbreviations,
and without punctuation or capital letters at the beginnings of
sentences or for the proper names, which adds much to the difficulty
of reading it. It contains eighty-seven leaves. The handwriting more
resembles an example of the year 1510 than those dated 1529 and
1531, given at p. 319 of the "Escuela de Leer Letras Cursivas
Antiguas y Modernas desde la entrada de los Godos en Espana, por el
P. Andres Merino de Jesu Christo, Madrid, 1780." This work was
translated into Spanish from the original Portuguese in 1524, at
Vittoria, by Martin Centurion, ambassador of the community of Genoa,
with the assistance of Diego Ribero, a Portuguese, cosmographer and
hydrographer to his Majesty Charles V. There are reasons (as will be
shewn in the notes) for supposing that the Spanish translation,
probably this copy and not the Portuguese original, assisted the
compilers of the early atlases, especially that of Abraham Ortelius,
of Antwerp, 1570, other editions of which were published in
succeeding years.[1] The similarity of the orthography of this
manuscript and of that of the names in maps as late as that of
Homann, Nuremberg, 1753, shews how much geography up to a recent
period was indebted to the Portuguese and Spaniards. It may also be
observed that from their familiarity at that time with the sounds of
Arabic, the proper names are in general more correctly rendered in
European letters, than used to be the case in later times.
This MS. is in the Barcelona Library and is there catalogued "Viage
por Malabar y costas de Africa, 1512: letra del siglo xvi." It was
supposed to be an original Spanish work, for the statement of its
having been translated is in the body of the MS., no part of which
can be read without more or less difficulty. This work is not a book
of travels as the title given in the catalogue, though not on the
MS., indicates; it is rather an itinerary, or description of
countries. It gives ample details of the trade, supplies, and water
of the various seaports mentioned in it. It contains many
interesting historical details, some of which, such as the account
of Diu, the taking of Ormuz, the founding of the Portuguese fort in
Calicut, their interruption of the Indian trade to Suez by capturing
the Indian ships, the rise of Shah Ismail, etc., fix pretty nearly
the exact date at which this narrative was composed as the year
1514.
Two other MS. copies of this work are preserved in the Royal Library
at Munich: the first of these, No. 570 of the catalogue of that
library, is in a handwriting very similar to that of the Barcelona
MS., and apparently of the same period. It consists of one hundred
and three leaves, and is stated to have proceeded from the episcopal
library of Passau. This MS. does not contain the appendix respecting
the prices of the precious stones. The other MS. No. 571, is of
fifty-three leaves, and is written in two handwritings, both of
which are much rounder and clearer than that of No. 570; the
catalogue states that this MS. came from the library of the Jesuits
of Augsburg. There are several verbal differences between the two
MSS., and perhaps No. 571 agrees more exactly with the Barcelona MS.
The two Munich MSS. frequently write words such as rey with a double
r, as _rrey_, which does not occur in the Barcelona MS., where,
however, words begin with a large r, which is also used for a double
r in the middle of a word.
The piracies of the Portuguese are told without any reticence,
apparently without consciousness of their criminality, for no
attempt is made to justify them, and the pretext that such and such
an independent state or city did not choose to submit itself on
being summoned to do so by the Portuguese, seems to have been
thought all sufficient for laying waste and destroying it. This
narrative shows that most of the towns on the coasts of Africa,
Arabia, and Persia were in a much more flourishing condition at that
time than they have been since the Portuguese ravaged some of them,
and interfered with the trade of all. The description of the early
introduction of the cultivation and weaving of cotton into South
Africa by the Arab traders will be read with interest; and the
progress then beginning in those regions three hundred and fifty
years ago, and the subsequent stand still to which it has been
brought by the Portuguese and by the slave-trade to America, may be
taken as supporting the views lately put forward by Captain R.
Burton and others at the Anthropological Society.
The greater part of this volume was printed in Italian by Ramusio in
1554 in his collection of travels (Venetia, nella Stamperia de'
Giunti), as the narration of Duarte Barbosa, and a large part of
this work must have been written by Barbosa; and a Portuguese
manuscript of his was printed at Lisbon in 1812 in the "Colleccao de
noticias para a historia e geografia das nacoes ultramarinas." This
manuscript of Barbosa's, however, is much less full than this
Spanish MS. of Barcelona, or than the Italian version of Ramusio,
and the Lisbon editors have added from Ramusio translations of the
passages which were wanting in their MS. These publications do not
contain the number of leagues between one place and another which
are given in the Spanish translation.
That the Portuguese manuscript printed at Lisbon in 1812 belongs to
Barbosa, stands only on the authority of Ramusio, who gives an
introduction by Odoardo Barbosa of the city of Lisbon, which is not
to be found either in the Barcelona MS. or in the Portuguese MS.,
and which has been translated from the Italian of Ramusio and
published in the Lisbon edition. The introduction to the Lisbon
edition states that the Portuguese MS. is not an autograph MS., and
that the account of Barbosa is bound up along with other papers.
This introduction refers to the passages in the Portuguese MS. which
are not to be found in Ramusio, and says it may be doubted whether
these were additions posterior to the work of Duarte Barbosa.
It had occurred to me that this work might be attributed to the
famous navigator Magellan, and that it must have been through him
that it found its way to Charles the Fifth's court: there are
several reasons for this supposition, and some difficulties in the
way of it; I will, however, follow Sr. Larranaga's advice, and state
both sides of the question.
Duarte Barbosa, cousin of Magellan, Alvaro de Mezquita, Estevan
Gomez, Juan Rodrigues de Carvalho were Portuguese employed by Spain
along with Magellan[2] in the fleet which sailed on the 21st
September 1519, from San Lucar de Barrameda to Brazil and the
straits which bear the name of that Admiral.
Now the _Panorama_ or Spanish version of the _Univers Pittoresque_
states (page 140):
"It was at that time, although it has not been possible to
ascertain exactly the year, when the illustrious Viceroy of the
Indies sent Francisco Serrano to the Moluccas, a friend, and
also, as it is believed, a relation of Magellan, the same person
who by reason of the exact and precise data which he furnished
to the celebrated navigator deserved later to see his name
inscribed amongst those of other notable persons, whose fame
will last as long as history endures."
* * * * *
"At the beginning of the same century Duarte Barbosa also
proceeded to the Moluccas, and cruised among those countries for
the space of sixteen years, collecting interesting notes, which
although they were not published till three centuries after the
event, are not on that account the less admirable and precious;
these reports were published in Lisbon in a work which bears the
following title: _Colleccao de noticias para a historia e
geografia das nacoes ultramarinas_; those reports which relate
to Barbosa are contained in the second volume."
Now this Barcelona MS. contains in an appendix the voyage of three
Portuguese, a Spaniard, and five Malays, whose captain was Francisco
Serrano, to the Moluccas in the year 1512: this supplies the date of
his voyage which the above quoted paragraph says could not be
ascertained, and this account is not in Ramusio's collection, and
there is every reason to suppose that it was as yet unpublished.
In addition to what has been said by the writers of the _Panorama_
and _Univers Pittoresque_, in which statement they follow the 3rd
Decade of the "Asia" of Barros, lib. v. cap. 8:--
"We wrote before how Francisco Serrao wrote some letters from
the Maluco Islands where he was, to Fernao de Magalhaes, on
account of being his friend from the time when both were in
India, principally at the taking of Malaca:"
it was to be expected that Barbosa and Serrano would furnish their
information to Magellan, whether as the head of their family, or as
the Portuguese who had been longest at the Spanish Court, and
through whom they might hope for advancement and further employment,
such as Duarte Barbosa obtained with the fleet which discovered the
Straits of Magellan.
Magellan returned to Europe in 1512. Duarte Barbosa probably did not
return till 1517, since he is said to have remained sixteen years in
the Indian Ocean, and in that case he could not have returned before
1515--however, it is said in the introduction to the Lisbon edition
that he is the son of Diego Barbosa, named in the Decades as having
sailed in 1501 with the first fleet with Joao de Nova: the same
introduction also says that the time of his departure to and return
to India are unknown.
Ramusio's edition of Barbosa's narrative says the writing of it was
finished in 1516; it does not, however, mention any facts which
occurred later than the year 1514. There is reason to suspect that
Ramusio obtained his copy from the same source as the Barcelona
manuscript, because the name of the precious stone zircon is spelled
differently, giagonza, jagonza, and gegonza, and this difference of
orthography coincides in the same places in the Spanish manuscript
and in Ramusio. Ramusio gives an appendix containing the prices of
precious stones and of spices, but has not got the voyage to the
Moluccas of Francisco Serrano. The only reason I can conjecture for
this not having reached Ramusio is, that it was a confidential
paper, on account of the rivalry of Spain and Portugal with regard
to those islands; and it is stated in history that Serrano increased
the distances so as to enable Magellan to persuade the Spaniards
that the Moluccas were more to the eastward, and that they fell
within the demarcation of territories assigned by the Pope to
Castille. This account of Francisco Serrano's voyage, and of his
remaining behind married at Maluco, was either written by the
Spaniard who accompanied him, or was translated by some other person
than Diego Ribero and the Genoese ambassador Centurione, since all
the points of the compass which in the body of the work are
indicated by the names of winds, are here described by their names,
as este, sudoeste, etc. Tramontana, greco, maestro, siloque, are all
Spanish terms, but are less literate than the names of the points of
the compass, and seem to be owing to the Genoese translator, to whom
they would be familiar. It must be observed that the handwriting and
paper of the narrative and two appendices of the Barcelona MS. are
identical, and the leaves are numbered consecutively, so that there
is no reason for supposing that the whole papers were not
originally, as they now are, placed together.
Ramusio in various parts of the narrative leaves a blank with the
words, _Here several lines are wanting_; this may be owing to
passages having been struck out for political reasons. The
Portuguese edition has a short passage not in the Spanish MS., the
only apparent motive for its omission being that it was to the
glorification of the Portuguese.
Since so large a portion of the present volume is contained in the
Portuguese manuscript of Barbosa printed at Lisbon, it would be
natural to follow Ramusio in attributing the work to him: at the
same time it is not easy to understand how Barbosa, who was in the
Indian Ocean at the time, should have confounded the two naval
actions at Diu in 1508 and 1509, which he relates as one only,
although the Portuguese were beaten in the first and victorious in
the second. It is also difficult to imagine that one person visited
all the places described in this volume, even in the space of
sixteen years, at a period when travelling was slower than at
present: and the observations on the manners and customs show a more
intimate knowledge than what could be acquired by touching at a port
for a few days only.
This work is that of no ordinary capacity; it shews great power of
observation, and also the possession by the writer of great
opportunities for inquiry into the manners and habits of the
different countries described. It could hardly have been drawn up by
an ecclesiastic, there is too great an absence of condemnation of
idolatrous practices, and the deficiencies of St. Thomas's
Christians are too lightly spoken of. An ecclesiastic would not have
been so indifferent to their mode of communion and to the sale of
the sacraments, which caused many to remain unbaptized. The scanty
mention of Albuquerque and of Goa, and its being the sort of
political memorandum which a person in Magellan's position, seeking
service from Spain, and desirous of pushing the Spanish government
to eastern as well as western enterprise, would be likely to write;
the commercial details, which are not those of a merchant, but
rather of a soldier, for the prices given chiefly relate to
provisions, horses and elephants, things useful in war, whilst the
prices of jewels and spices, drawn up in a business-like manner, are
in an appendix and not referred to in the narrative,--all these
circumstances seem almost to justify the conclusion that this volume
was drawn up by Magellan, or under Magellan's guidance, for the
purpose of being laid before Charles V, at the time that Magellan
was seeking the command which he received a short time later.
This volume derives additional value from the numerous passages in
which it runs parallel to the _Lusiad_, so that the two confirm one
another, and this prose description serves as a commentary to
Camoens. Several passages descriptive of the customs of the nairs of
Malabar in this work present very forcibly the connection between
Plato and the Hindus.
The travels of Varthema, a former publication of the Hakluyt
Society, gave evidence of the good administration of India
especially in regard to justice in olden times; similar testimony
will be found in this volume. The expedient of the King of Narsinga
for correcting his high officials, without either removing them or
lowering them in the eyes of those they had to rule, has not, I
believe, been before narrated. Though Suttee has been so often
described, the account of it in these pages possesses much interest
and novelty, probably from having been written by an eye-witness,
before that institution was disturbed by European influence. An
allusion to the English longbow as to a weapon in actual use, gives
an appearance of antiquity to this narrative even greater than that
which belongs to its date. The orthography of the manuscript is not
always uniform, therefore where a name is spelt in two different
ways, I have left them as they are given. I have altered the
original spelling of the names of only a few familiar places, and
have retained the Portuguese expressions of Moor and Gentile, which
mean Mussulman and heathen, one of which has survived up to the
present time in Southern India as Moorman.
Any further observations I may have to make on this manuscript will
be found in the notes.
I wish to express my thanks to Sr. D. Gregorio Romero Larranaga, the
head of the Barcelona Library, and to the other gentlemen of his
department, for the cordial manner in which they have supplied me
with the contents of their Library, and for their assistance in
discussing doubtful points.
London, October 21, 1865.
[Illustration: facsimile of handwritten manuscript.]
[Illustration: facsimile of handwritten manuscript.]
PREFACE.
(TRANSLATED FROM THE PORTUGUESE EDITION, LISBON, 1812.)
I, Duarte Barbosa, a native of the very noble city of Lisbon, having
navigated for a great part of my youth in the Indies discovered in
the name of the king our lord, and having travelled through many and
various countries neighbouring to the coast, and having seen and
heard various things, which I judged to be marvellous and
stupendous, and which had never been seen nor heard of by our
ancestors, resolved to write them for the benefit of all, as I saw
and heard of them from day to day, striving to declare in this my
book the towns and limits of all those kingdoms to which I went in
person, or of which I had trustworthy information; and also which
were kingdoms and countries of the Moors and which of the Gentiles,
and their customs. Neither have I left in silence their traffic, the
merchandise which is met with in them, the places where they are
produced, nor whither they are transported. And besides what I saw
personally, I always delighted in inquiring of the Moors,
Christians, and Gentiles, as to the usages and customs which they
practised, and the points of information thus gained I endeavoured
to combine together so as to have a more exact knowledge of them,
this being always my special object, as it should be of all those
who write on such matters; and I am convinced that it will be
recognized that I have not spared any diligence in order to obtain
this object, as far as the feeble extent of the power of my
understanding allows of. It was in the present year of 1516 that I
finished writing this my book.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EAST INDIES AND COUNTRIES ON THE SEABORD OF THE
INDIAN OCEAN IN 1514.[3]
THE CAPE OF ST. SEBASTIAN AFTER PASSING THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
Having passed the Cape of Good Hope in a north-easterly direction,
at Cape San Sebastian, there are very fair mountain lands, and
fields, and valleys, in which there are many cows and sheep, and
other wild animals; it is a country inhabited by people who are
black and naked. They only wear skins with the fur of deer, or other
wild animals, like some cloaks in the French fashion, of which
people the Portuguese, up to the present time, have not been able to
obtain information, nor to become acquainted with what there is in
the interior of the country. They have no navigation, neither do
they make use of the sea, neither have the Moors of Arabia and
Persia, or the Indies, ever navigated as far as this, nor discovered
them, on account of the strong currents of the sea, which is very
stormy.
ISLANDS OF THE GREAT UCIQUES.[4]
Having passed Cape San Sebastian towards the north-east for India,
there are some islands close to the mainland to the east, which are
called the Great Uciques; in which, on the side towards the mainland
there are a few small towns of Moors, who deal with the people of
the continent, and they provision themselves from them. In these
Uciques much amber is found of good quality, which the Moors collect
and sell in other places, and likewise many pearls and small seed
pearls are found in the sea in beds (crusts), which they cannot
gather or fish up, and whenever they do get them out they boil them,
and extract the said pearls and seed pearls dingy and burnt, and
there is no doubt that there are many and good ones, if they knew
how to extract them, as is done in Sael, Cochoromandel, and in
Barahe,[5] which will be mentioned hereafter.
THE LITTLE VCIQUES ISLANDS IN RIVERS.
Having passed the Vciques grandes towards Sofala, a fortress which
the King of Portugal made there, and where there is much gold, at
xvii or xviii leagues from it there are some rivers, which make
between their branches, islands, called the Little Vciques, in which
there are some villages of the Moors, who also deal with the
Gentiles of the mainland in their provisions, which are rice,
millet, and meat, and which they bring in small barks to Sufala.[6]
SOFALA.
Having passed the Little Vciques, for the Indies, at xviii leagues
from them there is a river which is not very large, whereon is a
town of the Moors called Sofala,[7] close to which town the King of
Portugal has a fort. These Moors established themselves there a long
time ago on account of the great trade in gold which they carry on
with the Gentiles of the mainland: these speak somewhat of bad
Arabic (garabia), and have got a king over them, who is at present
subject to the King of Portugal.[8] And the mode of their trade is
that they come by sea in small barks which they call zanbucs
(sambuk), from the kingdoms of Quiloa, and Mombaza, and Melindi; and
they bring much cotton cloth of many colours, and white and blue,
and some of silk; and grey, and red, and yellow beads, which come to
the said kingdoms in other larger ships from the great kingdom of
Cambay, which merchandise these Moors buy and collect from other
Moors who bring them there, and they pay for them in gold by weight,
and for a price which satisfies them; and the said Moors keep them
and sell these cloths to the Gentiles of the kingdom of Benamatapa
who come there laden with gold, which gold they give in exchange for
the before mentioned cloths without weighing, and so much in
quantity that these Moors usually gain one hundred for one. They
also collect a large quantity of ivory, which is found all round
Sofala, which they likewise sell in the great kingdom of Cambay at
five or six ducats the hundred weight, and so also some amber, which
these Moors of Sofala bring them from the Vciques. They are black
men, and men of colour--some speak Arabic, and the rest make use of
the language of the Gentiles of the country. They wrap themselves
from the waist downwards with cloths of cotton and silk, and they
wear other silk cloths above named, such as cloaks and wraps for the
head, and some of them wear hoods of scarlet, and of other coloured
woollen stuffs and camelets, and of other silks. And their victuals
are millet, and rice, and meat, and fish. In this river near to the
sea there are many sea horses, which go in the sea, and come out on
land at times to feed. These have teeth like small elephants, and it
is better ivory than that of the elephant, and whiter and harder,
and of greater durability of colour. In the country all round Sofala
there are many elephants, which are very large and wild, and the
people of the country do not know how to tame them: there are also
many lions, ounces, mountain panthers, wild asses, and many other
animals. It is a country of plains and mountains, and well watered.
The Moors have now recently begun to produce much fine cotton in
this country, and they weave it into white stuff because they do not
know how to dye it, or because they have not got any colours; and
they take the blue or coloured stuffs of Cambay and unravel them,
and again weave the threads with their white thread, and in this
manner they make coloured stuffs, by means of which they get much
gold.
KINGDOM OF BENAMATAPA.
On entering within this country of Sofala, there is the kingdom of
Benamatapa, which is very large and peopled by Gentiles, whom the
Moors call Cafers. These are brown men, who go bare, but covered
from the waist downwards with coloured stuffs, or skins of wild
animals; and the persons most in honour among them wear some of the
tails of the skin behind them, which go trailing on the ground for
state and show, and they make bounds and movements of their bodies,
by which they make these tails wag on either side of them. They
carry swords in scabbards of wood bound with gold or other metals,
and they wear them on the left hand side as we do, in sashes of
coloured stuffs, which they make for this purpose with four or five
knots, and their tassels hanging down, like gentlemen; and in their
hands azagayes, and others carry bows and arrows: it must be
mentioned that the bows are of middle size, and the iron points of
the arrows are very large and well wrought. They are men of war, and
some of them are merchants: their women go naked as long as they are
girls, only covering their middles with cotton cloths, and when they
are married and have children, they wear other cloths over their
breasts.
ZINBAOCH.[9]
Leaving Sofala for the interior of the country, at xv days journey
from it, there is a large town of Gentiles, which is called
Zinbaoch; and it has houses of wood and straw, in which town the
King of Benamatapa frequently dwells, and from there to the city of
Benamatapa there are six days journey, and the road goes from
Sofala, inland, towards the Cape of Good Hope. And in the said
Benamatapa, which is a very large town, the king is used to make his
longest residence; and it is thence that the merchants bring to
Sofala the gold which they sell to the Moors without weighing it,
for coloured stuffs and beads of Cambay, which are much used and
valued amongst them; and the people of this city of Benamatapa say
that this gold comes from still further off towards the Cape of Good
Hope, from another kingdom subject to this king of Benamatapa, who
is a great lord, and holds many other kings as his subjects, and
many other lands, which extend far inland, both towards the Cape of
Good Hope and towards Mozambich. And in this town he is each day
served with large presents, which the kings and lords, his subjects,
send to him; and when they bring them, they carry them bareheaded
through all the city, until they arrive at the palace, from whence
the king sees them come from a window, and he orders them to be
taken up from there, and the bearers do not see him, but only hear
his words; and afterwards, he bids them call the persons who have
brought these presents, and he dismisses them. This king constantly
takes with him into the field a captain, whom they call Sono, with a
great quantity of men-at-arms, and amongst them they bring six
thousand women, who also bear arms and fight. With these forces he
goes about subduing and pacifying whatever kings rise up or desire
to revolt. The said king of Benamatapa sends, each year, many
honourable persons throughout his kingdoms to all the towns and
lordships, to give them new regulations, so that all may do them
obeisance, which is in this manner: each one of the envoys comes to
a town, and bids the people extinguish all the fires that there are
in it; and after they have been put out, all the inhabitants go to
this man who has been sent as commissary, to get fresh fire from him
in sign of subjection and obedience; and, whoever should not do this
is held as a rebel, and the king immediately sends the number of
people that are necessary to destroy him, and these pass through all
the towns at their expense: their rations are meat, rice, and oil of
sesame.[10]
RIVER ZUAMA.
Leaving Sofala for Mozambich, at forty leagues from it, there is a
very large river, which is called the Zuama;[11] and it is said that
it goes towards Benamatapa,[12] and it extends more than 160
leagues. In the mouth of this river there is a town of the Moors,
which has a king, and it is called Mongalo.[13] Much gold comes from
Benamatapa to this town of the Moors, by this river, which makes
another branch which falls at Angos, where the Moors make use of
boats (almadias), which are boats hollowed out from a single trunk,
to bring the cloths and other merchandise from Angos, and to
transport much gold and ivory.
ANGOY.
After passing this river of Zuama, at xl leagues from it, there is a
town of the Moors on the sea coast, which is called Angoy,[14] and
has a king, and the Moors who live there are all merchants, and deal
in gold, ivory, silk, and cotton stuffs, and beads of Cambay, the
same as do those of Sofala. And the Moors bring these goods from
Quiloa, and Monbaza, and Melynde, in small vessels hidden from the
Portuguese ships; and they carry from there a great quantity of
ivory, and much gold. And in this town of Angos there are plenty of
provisions of millet, rice, and some kinds of meat. These men are
very brown and copper coloured; they go naked from the waist
upwards, and from thence downwards, they wrap themselves with cloths
of cotton and silk, and wear other cloths folded after the fashion
of cloaks, and some wear caps and others hoods, worked with stuffs
and silks; and they speak the language belonging to the country,
which is that of the Pagans, and some of them speak Arabic. These
people are sometimes in obedience to the king of Portugal, and at
times they throw it off, for they are a long way off from the
Portuguese forts.
MOZAMBIQUE ISLAND.
Having passed this town of Anguox, on the way to India, there are
very near to the land three islands, one of which is inhabited by
Moors, and is called Mozambique.[15] It has a very good port, and
all the Moors touch there who are sailing to Sofala, Zuama, or
Anguox. Amongst these Moors there is a sheriff, who governs them,
and does justice. These are of the language and customs of the Moors
of Anguox, in which island the King of Portugal now holds a fort,
and keeps the said Moors under his orders and government. At this
island the Portuguese ships provide themselves with water and wood,
fish and other kinds of provisions; and at this place they refit
those ships which stand in need of repair. And from this island
likewise the Portuguese fort in Sofala draws its supplies, both of
Portuguese goods and of the produce of India, on account of the road
being longer by the mainland.
Opposite this island there are many very large elephants and wild
animals. The country is inhabited by Gentiles, brutish people who go
naked and smeared all over with coloured clay, and their natural
parts wrapped in a strip of blue cotton stuff, without any other
covering; and they have their lips pierced with three holes in each
lip, and in these holes they wear bones stuck in, and claws, and
small stones, and other little things dangling from them.
ISLAND OF QUILOA.
After passing this place and going towards India, there is another
island close to the mainland, called Quiloa,[16] in which there is a
town of the Moors, built of handsome houses of stone and lime, and
very lofty, with their windows like those of the Christians; in the
same way it has streets, and these houses have got their terraces,
and the wood worked in with the masonry, with plenty of gardens, in
which there are many fruit trees and much water. This island has got
a king over it, and from hence there is trade with Sofala with
ships, which carry much gold, which is dispersed thence through all
Arabia Felix, for henceforward all this country is thus named on
account of the shore of the sea being peopled with many towns and
cities of the Moors; and when the King of Portugal discovered this
land, the Moors of Sofala, and Zuama, and Anguox, and Mozambique,
were all under obedience to the King of Quiloa, who was a great king
amongst them. And there is much gold in this town, because all the
ships which go to Sofala touch at this island, both in going and
coming back. These people are Moors, of a dusky colour, and some of
them are black and some white; they are very well dressed with rich
cloths of gold, and silk, and cotton, and the women also go very
well dressed out with much gold and silver in chains and bracelets
on their arms, and legs, and ears. The speech of these people is
Arabic, and they have got books of the Alcoran, and honour greatly
their prophet Muhamad. This King, for his great pride, and for not
being willing to obey the King of Portugal, had this town taken from
him by force, and in it they killed and captured many people, and
the King fled from the island, in which the King of Portugal ordered
a fortress to be built, and thus he holds under his command and
government those who continued to dwell there.
ISLAND OF MOMBAZA.
Passing Quiloa, and going along the coast of the said Arabia Felix
towards India, close to the mainland there is another island, in
which there is a city of the Moors, called Bombaza,[17] very large
and beautiful, and built of high and handsome houses of stone and
whitewash, and with very good streets, in the manner of those of
Quiloa. And it also had a king over it. The people are of dusky
white, and brown complexions, and likewise the women, who are much
adorned with silk and gold stuffs. It is a town of great trade in
goods, and has a good port, where there are always many ships, both
of those that sail for Sofala and those that come from Cambay and
Melinde, and others which sail to the islands of Zanzibar, Manfia,
and Penda, which will be spoken of further on. This Monbaza is a
country well supplied with plenty of provisions, very fine sheep,
which have round tails, and many cows, chickens, and very large
goats, much rice and millet, and plenty of oranges, sweet and
bitter, and lemons, cedrats, pomegranates, Indian figs, and all
sorts of vegetables, and very good water. The inhabitants at times
are at war with the people of the continent, and at other times at
peace, and trade with them, and obtain much honey and wax, and
ivory. This King, for his pride and unwillingness to obey the King
of Portugal, lost his city, and the Portuguese took it from him by
force, and the King fled, and they killed and made captives many of
his people, and the country was ravaged,[18] and much plunder was
carried off from it of gold and silver, copper, ivory, rich stuffs
of gold and silk, and much other valuable merchandize.
MELINDE.
After passing the city of Mombaza, at no great distance further on
along the coast, there is a very handsome town on the mainland on
the beach, called Melinde,[19] and it is a town of the Moors, which
has a king. And this town has fine houses of stone and whitewash, of
several stories, with their windows and terraces, and good streets.
The inhabitants are dusky and black, and go naked from the waist
upwards, and from that downwards they cover themselves with cloths
of cotton and silk, and others wear wraps like cloaks, and handsome
caps on their heads. The trade is great which they carry on in
cloth, gold, ivory, copper, quicksilver, and much other merchandise,
with both Moors and Gentiles of the kingdom of Cambay, who come to
their port with ships laden with cloth, which they buy in exchange
for gold, ivory, and wax. Both parties find great profit in this.
There are plenty of provisions in this town, of rice, millet, and
some wheat, which is brought to them from Cambay, and plenty of
fruit, for there are many gardens and orchards. There are here many
of the large-tailed sheep, and of all other meats as above; there
are also oranges, sweet and sour. This King and people have always
been very friendly and obedient to the King of Portugal, and the
Portuguese have always met with much friendship and good reception
amongst them.[20]
ISLAND OF SAN LORENZO.[21]
Opposite these places, in the sea above the Cape of the
Currents,[22] at a distance of eighty leagues, there is a very large
island, which is called San Lorenzo, and which is peopled by
Gentiles, and has in it some towns of Moors. This island has many
kings, both Moors and Gentiles. There is in it much meat, rice, and
millet, and plenty of oranges and lemons, and there is much ginger
in this country, which they do not make use of, except to eat it
almost green. The inhabitants go naked, covering only their middles
with cotton cloths. They do not navigate, nor does any one do so for
them; they have got canoes for fishing on their coast. They are
people of a dark complexion, and have a language of their own. They
frequently are at war with one another, and their arms are azagayes,
very sharp, with their points very well worked; they throw these in
order to wound, and carry several of them in their hands. They are
very well built and active men, and have a good method of wrestling.
There is amongst them silver of inferior quality. Their principal
food is roots, which they sow, and it is called yname,[23] and in
the Indies of Spain it is called maize. The country is very
beautiful and luxuriant in vegetation, and it has very large rivers.
This island is in length from the part of Sofala and Melinde three
hundred leagues, and to the mainland there are sixty leagues.
PENDA, MANFIA, AND ZANZIBAR.
Between this island of San Lorenzo and the continent, not very far
from it, are three islands, which are called one Manfia, another
Zanzibar, and the other Penda;[24] these are inhabited by Moors;
they are very fertile islands, with plenty of provisions, rice,
millet, and flesh, and abundant oranges, lemons, and cedrats. All
the mountains are full of them; they produce many sugar canes, but
do not know how to make sugar. These islands have their kings. The
inhabitants trade with the mainland with their provisions and
fruits; they have small vessels, very loosely and badly made,
without decks, and with a single mast; all their planks are sewn
together with cords of reed or matting, and the sails are of palm
mats. They are very feeble people, with very few and despicable
weapons. In these islands they live in great luxury, and abundance;
they dress in very good cloths of silk and cotton, which they buy in
Mombaza of the merchants from Cambay, who reside there. Their wives
adorn themselves with many jewels of gold from Sofala, and silver,
in chains, ear-rings, bracelets, and ankle rings, and are dressed in
silk stuffs: and they have many mosques, and hold the Alcoran of
Mahomed.
PATE.
After passing Melinde, and going towards India, they cross the Gulf
(because the coast trends inwards) towards the Red Sea, and on the
coast there is a town called Pate,[25] and further on there is
another town of the Moors, called Lamon;[26] all these trade with
the Gentiles of the country, and they are strongly-walled towns of
stone and whitewash, because at times they have to fight with the
Gentiles, who live in the interior of the country.
BRAVA.
Leaving these places, further on along the coast is a town of the
Moors, well walled, and built of good houses of stone and whitewash,
which is called Brava. It has not got a king; it is governed by its
elders,[27] they being honoured and respectable persons. It is a
place of trade, which has already been destroyed by the Portuguese,
with great slaughter of the inhabitants, of whom many were made
captives, and great riches in gold, silver, and other merchandise
were taken here, and those who escaped fled into the country, and
after the place was destroyed they returned to people it.
MAGADOXO.[28]
Leaving the before-mentioned town of Brava, on the coast further on
towards the Red Sea, there is another very large and beautiful town,
called Magadoxo, belonging to the Moors, and it has a king over it,
and is a place of great trade in merchandise. Ships come there from
the kingdom of Cambay and from Aden with stuffs of all sorts, and
with other merchandise of all kinds, and with spices. And they carry
away from there much gold, ivory, beeswax, and other things upon
which they make a profit. In this town there is plenty of meat,
wheat, barley, and horses, and much fruit; it is a very rich place.
All the people speak Arabic; they are dusky, and black, and some of
them white. They are but bad warriors, and use herbs with their
arrows to defend themselves from their enemies.
AFUNI.[29]
Having passed the district and town of Magadoxo, further on along
the coast is another small town of the Moors, called Afuni, in which
there is abundance of meat and provisions. It is a place of little
trade, and has got no port.
CAPE GUARDAFUN.
After passing this place the next after it is Cape Guardafun,[30]
where the coast ends, and trends so as to double towards the Red
Sea. This cape is in the mouth of the Strait of Mecca, and all the
ships which come from India, that is to say, from the kingdom of
Cambay, of Chaul, Dabul, Baticala, and Malabar, Ceylon, Choromandel,
Bengal, Sumatra, Poggru, Tanaseri, Malacca, and China, all come to
meet at this cape, and from it they enter into the before-mentioned
Red Sea with their merchandise for Aden, Berbera, and Zeyla, and
Guida, the port of Mecca, for which ships the ships of the King of
Portugal sometimes go and lie in wait and take them with all their
riches.
MET.
In doubling this Cape of Guardafun, towards the inner part of the
Red Sea, there is, just near the said cape, a town of the Moors
called Met,[31] not very large, where there is plenty of meat; it is
of little trade.
BARBARA.
Further on, on the same coast, is a town of the Moors called
Barbara;[32] it has a port, at which many ships of Adeni and Cambay
touch with their merchandise, and from there those of Cambay carry
away much gold, and ivory, and other things, and those of Aden take
many provisions, meat, honey, and wax, because, as they say, it is a
very abundant country.
ZEYLA.
Having passed this town of Berbara, and going on, entering the Red
Sea, there is another town of the Moors, which is named Zeyla,[33]
which is a good place of trade, whither many ships navigate and sell
their cloths and merchandise. It is very populous, with good houses
of stone and whitewash, and good streets; the houses are covered
with terraces, the dwellers in them are black. They have many
horses, and breed much cattle of all sorts, which they make use of
for milk, and butter, and meat. There is in this country abundance
of wheat, millet, barley, and fruits, which they carry thence to
Aden.
DALAQUA.
After continuing along the coast from the town of Zeyla, there is
another place of the Moors, called Dalaqua,[34] the seaport which is
most made use of by the Abaxins[35] of the country of Prester John.
And all round this place there are much provisions, and much gold
comes there from the country of Prester John.
MASAVA SAVAQUIN[36] AND OTHER PLACES.
Leaving Dalaqua for the interior of the Red Sea, there are Massowa,
Suakin, and other towns of the Moors; and this coast is still called
Arabia Felix, and the Moors call it Barra Ajan,[37] in all which
there is much gold which comes from the interior of the country of
Prester John, whom they call Abexi. All these places on this coast
trade with the country with their cloths and other merchandise, and
they bring from it gold, ivory, honey, wax and slaves; and sometimes
they are at war with them, for they are Christians, and they capture
many of them; and such captives are much valued by the Moors, and
amongst them are worth much more money than other slaves because
they find them sharp and faithful, and well-built men in body, and
when they turn Moors, they become greater emperors than the original
Moors. These Moors of Arabia Felix are all black[38] and good
fighting men; they go bare from the waist upwards, and from thence
downwards they cover themselves with cloths of cotton; and the more
honourable men amongst them wear their cloths over them like
Almalafas,[39] and the women are covered in the same way:[40]...
KINGDOM OF PRESTER JOHN.