the sons of the Prester John. These are like banished men; as it was
revealed to King Abraham, before spoken of, to whom the angels for
forty years administered bread and wine for the sacrament, that all
his sons should be shut up in a mountain, and that none should remain
except the first born, the heir, and that this should be done for ever
to all the sons of the Prester of the country, and his successors:
because if this was not so done there would be great difficulty in the
country, on account of its greatness, and they would rise up and seize
parts of it, and would not obey the heir, and would kill him. He being
frightened at such a revelation, and reflecting where such a mountain
could be found, it was again told him in revelation to order his
country to be searched, and to look at the highest mountains, and that
mountain on which they saw wild goats on the rocks, looking as if they
were going to fall below, was the mountain on which the princes were to
be shut up. He ordered it to be done as it had been revealed to him,
and they found this mountain, which stands above this valley, to be the
one which the revelation mentioned, round the foot of which a man has
to go a journey of two days; and it is of this kind: a rock cut like
a wall, straight from the top to the bottom; a man going at the foot
of it and looking upwards, it seems that the sky rests upon it. They
say that it has three entrances or gates, in three places, and no more;
I saw one of these here in this country, and I saw it in this manner.
We were going from the sea to the court, and a young man, a servant
of the Prester, whom they call a calacem, was guiding us, and he did
not know the country well; and we wished to lodge in a town, and they
would not receive us; this belonged to a sister of Prester John. The
night had not yet advanced much, and he began travelling, telling us to
follow him, and that he would get us lodgings. And because he travelled
fast on a mule, and on a small path, I told one Lopo da Gama to ride
in sight of the calacem, and that I would keep him in sight, and the
ambassador and the other people would ride in sight of me. And the
night closed in when we were quite a league from the road towards the
mountain of the princes, and there came forth from all the villages so
many people throwing stones at us, that they were near killing us, and
they made us disperse in three or four directions. The ambassador had
remained in the rear, and he turned back, and others who were about in
the middle of the party started off in another direction; and some one
there was who dismounted from his mule and fled in panic.[107] Lopo da
Gama and I could not turn back, so we went forward and reached another
town, which was still better prepared, on account of the noise which
they heard behind in the other towns. Here many stones rained upon us,
and the darkness was like having no eyes. In order that they might not
throw stones at me by hearing the mule’s steps, I dismounted and gave
the mule to my slave. God was pleased that an honourable man came up to
me, and asked me who I was. I told him that I was a _gaxia neguz_,
that is to say, a king’s stranger. This man was very tall, and I say
honourable, because he treated me well; and he took my head under his
arm, for I did not reach any higher, and so he conducted me like the
bellows of a bagpipe player, saying, _Atefra, atefra_, which means
“Do not be afraid, do not be afraid.” He took me with the mule and the
slave, until he brought me into a vegetable garden which surrounded
his house. Inside this garden he had a quantity of poles stuck up one
against another, and in the midst of these poles he had a clean resting
place like a hut, into which he put me. As it seemed to me that I was
in safety, I ordered a light to be lit; and when they saw the light
they rained stones on the hut, and when I put out the light the stone
throwing ceased. The host, as soon as he left me, returned at the
noise, and then remained an hour without coming. Whilst he was away,
Lopo da Gama heard me, and broke through the bushes,[108] and came to
me. On this the host came and said, “Be quiet, do not be afraid,” and
ordered a candle to be lit, and to kill two fowls; and he gave us bread
and wine and a hospitable welcome, according to his power. Next day, in
the morning, the host took me by the hand and led me to his house, as
far as a game of ball, where there were many trees of an inferior kind,
and very thick, by which it was concealed as by a wall; and between
them was a door, which was locked; and before this door was an ascent
to the cliff. This host said to me: “Look here; if any of you were to
pass inside this door, there would be nothing for it but to cut off his
feet and his hands, and put out his eyes, and leave him lying there;
and you must not put the blame on those who would do this, neither
would you be in fault, but those who brought you hither: we, if we did
not do this, we should pay with our lives, because we are the guardians
of this door.” Lopo da Gama, I, and the calacem then at once mounted
and rode down to the road, which was below us, a good league off, and
we found that none of our party had passed by; and vespers were over,
and yet we had not come together.
CAP. LIX.--_Of the greatness of the mountain in which they
put the sons of Prester John, and of its guards, and how his
kingdoms are inherited._
The manner they have of shutting up these sons of the kings. Until this
King David Prester John, all had five or six wives, and they had sons
of them or of most of them. By the death of the Prester, the eldest
born inherited; others say that he who appeared to the Prester the most
apt, and of most judgment, inherited: others say that he inherited
who had the most adherents. Of this matter I will say what I know by
hearing it from many. The King Alexander, the uncle of this David, died
without a son, and he had daughters, and they went to the mountain and
brought out from it Nahu his brother, who was father of this David.
This Nahu brought with him from the mountain a legitimate son, who
was, they say, a handsome youth, and a good gentleman, but of a strong
temper. After that Nahu was in the kingdoms, he had other wives, of
whom he had sons and daughters, and at his death they wished to make
king that eldest son who had come from the mountain with his father;
and some said that he was strong in temper, and would ill-treat the
people. Others said that he could not inherit because he had been born
as in captivity, and outside of the inheritance. So they set up as king
this David who now reigns, and who at that time was a boy of eleven
years of age. The Abima Martos told me that he and the Queen Helena
made him king, because they had all the great men in their hands. Thus
it appears to me, that beyond primogeniture, adherence enters into the
question. Other sons of Nahu, who were infants, remained with the
eldest who had come from the mountain with his father, and they took
them all back to the said mountain, and so they do with all the sons
of the Prester from the time of that King Abraham until now. They say
that this mountain is cold and extensive, and they also say that the
top of it is round, and that it takes fifteen days to go round it;[109]
and it seems to me that may be so, because on this side, where our road
lay, we travelled at the foot of it for two days; and so it reaches to
the kingdoms of Amara and of Bogrimidi, which is on the Nile, and a
long way from here. They say that there are on the top of this mountain
yet other mountains which are very high and contain valleys: and they
say that there is a valley there between two very steep mountains,
and that it is by no means possible to get out of it, because it is
closed by two gates, and that in this valley they place those who are
nearest to the king, that is to say, those who are still of his own
blood, and who have been there a short time, because they keep them
with more precaution. Those who are sons of sons, and grandsons, and
already almost forgotten are not so much watched over. Withal, this
mountain is generally guarded by great guards, and great captains;
and a quarter of the people who usually live at the court are of the
guards of this mountain and their captains. These captains and guards
of the mountain who are at court, lodge apart by themselves, and no one
approaches them, nor do they go near others, so that no one may have
an opportunity of learning the secrets of the mountain. And when they
approach the door of the Prester, and he has to receive a message or
speak to them, they make all the people go away, and all other affairs
cease whilst they are speaking of this.
CAP. LX.--_Of the punishment that was given to a friar, and also
to some guards, for a message which he brought from some princes
to the Prester; and how a brother of the Prester and his uncle
fled, and of the manner in which they dealt with them._
With regard to the matter of these princes, I saw this: they brought
here a friar who was about thirty years old, and with him quite two
hundred men. They said that this friar had brought a letter to the
Prester John from one of the princes of the mountain, and these two
hundred men were guards of the same mountain. They flogged this friar
every two days, and they also flogged these men, distributing them in
two parties. On the day they flogged the friar, they flogged half of
the guards, and they always began with the friar, then all the others
were always in sight of one another, and each time they put questions
to the friar, who gave him that letter, for whom, and if he had brought
more letters, and what monastery he belonged to, and where he had
become a friar, and where he had been ordained for mass? The wretched
friar said that it was sixteen years since he had come out of the
mountain, and that they had then given him that letter, and that he
had never returned there, nor had dared to give the letter except now;
that sin had caught him (and this might be the truth, because in this
country they are not accustomed to put in a letter the year, nor the
month, nor the day). To the guards they did not put any other question,
except how had they let this friar get out. The manner of flogging is
this: they throw the man on his stomach, and fasten his hands to two
stakes, and a rope to both feet, and two men both pulling at the rope;
there are also two as executioners to strike one at one side and the
other at the other; and they do not always strike the flogged man,
many blows fall on the ground, because if they hit him every time, he
would die there, so severe is the flogging, and of this company I saw
a man taken away from the flogging, and before they could cover him
with a cloth he died. Immediately they informed the Prester John of it,
because these justices are done before his tents, and he ordered the
dead man to be taken back to where he had been flogged, and those who
were to be flogged afterwards he ordered to put their heads on the feet
of the dead man. This justice lasted two weeks, for this regularity of
flogging the friar every two days never ceased, and half the guards
after him; except Saturdays and Sundays, on which days justice was not
done. It was the common fame and report through all the court that this
friar had brought letters to the Portuguese from the princes of the
mountain that we might take them out of it, and we were innocent of
this, and I believe the friar was in the same case.
But in the days and time that we were there, a brother of the Prester
John, a youth (as they said) of sixteen years of age, fled from the
mountain, and came to the house of his mother, a queen, who had been
wife of Prester John, and on account of the pain of death that here
falls on whoever takes in a prince from the mountain, the mother
would not take in her son, but had him arrested and taken to Prester
John.[110] They said that he asked his brother why he fled, and that he
answered that he was dying of hunger, and that he had not come except
for the purpose of relating this to him, since no one would bring this
message to him. They said that the Prester John dressed him richly, and
gave him much gold, and silk stuffs, and ordered him to return to the
mountain. They also said generally in this court that he only fled in
order to go away with the Portuguese. With regard to this individual
who thus fled and was sent back to the mountain, when we, and this
ambassador who is going to Portugal, were at Lalibela, where the rock
churches are, and he was going to take possession of the lordship of
Abrigima, which Prester John gave him, there came that way a calacem
with many people, and he brought as a prisoner this brother of the
Prester; and he and his mule were covered with dark cloths, so that
nothing of him appeared, and the mule only showed its eyes and ears.
The messengers said that this man had run away in the habits of a
friar in company with a friar, and that this friar, his companion, had
discovered him the day on which they left the lands of Prester John,
and had caused him to be arrested, and so the friar himself brought
him a prisoner. They did not allow any person to approach or speak to
this brother of Prester John, except two men, who went close to the
mule. Everybody said that he would die, or that they would put out his
eyes. I do not know what became of him. Of another we heard say (and
he is still alive) that he had attempted to fly from the mountain, and
that in order to get away he had made himself into a bush, that is,
covered himself with many boughs; and some cultivators who were at
their tillage saw the said bush move, and went to see what it was, and
finding a man they took him prisoner, and the guards, as soon as they
had him in their power, put out his eyes. They say that he is still
alive, and that he is an uncle of this Prester John. They relate that
there are in this mountain a great multitude of these people, and they
call them Ifflaquitas, or sons of this Israel, or sons of David, like
the Prester John, because all are of one race and blood. There are in
this country (as they say) many churches, monasteries, priests, and
friars.[111]
CAP. LXI.--_In what estimation the relations of the Prester are
held, and of the different method which this David wishes to
pursue with his sons, and of the great provisions applied to the
mountain._
In this country Prester John has no relation of his own, because those
on the mother’s side are not held or reckoned or named as relations;
and those on the father’s side are shut up and held to be dead, and
although they marry and have children, as they say that they have an
infinite number of sons and daughters, yet none of them ever comes out
of the mountain, except, as has been mentioned before, if the Prester
dies without an heir, then they bring out from it his nearest relation,
and the most fit and proper. It is said that some women go out to be
married outside, and they are not held to be relations, nor daughters
nor sisters of the Prester, although they are so: they are honoured
so long as their father or brother lives, and as soon as these die
they are like any other ladies. I saw, and we all saw, at the court,
a lady who was daughter of an uncle of this Prester, and although
she still went about with an umbrella,[112] she was much neglected.
We knew a son of hers who was as ill-treated as any servant, so that
in a short time his lineage died and remained without any mention of
being related to the king. This King David Prester who now reigns, had
at our departure two sons; they said that he gave them large settled
estates or dotations[113] of large revenues assigned to them. They
showed to me in what part one of them had extensive lands. But the
general voice was that as soon as the father should close his eyes,
and that one of them should be made king, that the others would go to
the mountain like their predecessors, without taking anything with
them except their bodies. I also heard say that the third part of the
expenses of the Prester were made for these princes and Ifflaquitas,
and that this Prester dealt better with them than his predecessor had
ever done; and that, beside the large revenues which were appropriated
to them, he sent them much gold and silks and other fine cloths, and
much salt, which in these kingdoms is current as money. And when we
arrived and gave him much pepper, we learned for certain that he sent
them the half of it; and he sent word to them to rejoice that the King
of Portugal, his father, had ordered a visit to be paid to him, and
had sent him that pepper. We also knew for certain, and by seeing it
in many parts, that Prester John has in most of his kingdoms large
tillages and lands, like the King’s lands[114] in our parts. These
lands, or king’s patrimony, are ploughed and sown by his slaves, with
his own oxen. These have their provisions and clothes from the king,
and they are more free than any other people, and they are married, and
they proceed originally[115] from slaves, and they intermarry. Of all
the tillage that is near the mountain, most of it goes there, and the
rest to monasteries, churches, poor people, and principally to poor and
old gentlemen who once have held lordships and no longer hold them:
and he twice ordered some of this bread to be given to us Portuguese,
that is to say, once in Aquaxumo five hundred loads, and another time
another five hundred in Aquate, and of this tillage he has nothing for
himself, neither is any of it sold, and all is spent and given, as has
been said.
CAP. LXII.--_Of the end of the kingdom of Angote, and beginning
of the kingdom of Amara[116], and of a lake and the things there
are in it, and how the friar wished to take the ambassador to a
mountain, and how we went to Acel, and of its abundance._
We return to our journey and road[117]. We went along the mountains
and by a river, and above it a very pretty country, with much millet
and other grains of the country, and yet they had not wheat. There was
much population on the skirts of the mountains on either side of the
river, and coming to the end of the valley, we left the river, and
began to find a country of thickets and stones: not mountainous, but
of small valleys, and other lands of much wheat, barley, and the other
vegetables which the country produces. Here the kingdom of Augote ends,
and the kingdom of Amara begins. Here towards the East, and in the
kingdom of Amara, there is a great lake where we halted, and this lake
or lagoon is quite three leagues long, and more than a league wide.
This lake has in the middle a small island, on which is a monastery of
St. Stephen with many friars. This monastery has many lemons, oranges,
and citrons. They go to and from this monastery with a boat of reeds,
with four large calabashes,[118] because they do not know how to build
boats. These which I call reeds are bulrushes[119] with which they make
mats in Portugal. This boat or ferrying is conducted in this manner:
they take four pieces of wood and place them around those bulrushes,
which are well arranged, and other four planks upon the bulrushes at
right angles to the others, and they separate them well, and at each
corner they place a great calabash, and so pass over on it. This lake
does not run except in winter with the excess of water: they say that
it pours out at two ends. There are in this lake very large animals
which they call in this country _gomaras_;[120] they say that
they are sea horses. There is also a fish, properly a conger, and it
is very large. It has the ugliest head that could be described, and
formed like a large toad, and the skin on its head looks like the skin
of dog-fish:[121] the body is very smooth like the conger, and it is
the fattest and most savoury fish that could be found in the world.
This lake has large villages all round, and all of them come down to
the water. It is said that there are round this lake fifteen Shumats
or captaincies, all within a space of two or three leagues. There are
around good lands of wheat and barley. Of these lakes we saw many in
this country, and this is the largest I saw.
From here we travelled quite four leagues through bushes and muddy
places, a country of much millet, and well watered. At the end of the
journey and much overtired, the friar wished to take the ambassador to
some very high mountains to halt and sleep. The ambassador answered
him, that he had not come to go all round countries, but to travel by
straight roads; and that with regard to food, that he brought enough
to buy it, either with gold or silver, or pepper, and cloths of the
King of Portugal, which his captain-major had given us, and that on the
roads where we halted outside the towns they brought us provisions,
if he, the friar, did not take them by force from those that brought
them, and from fear of him they did not bring them. We remained on the
road halted in the open air, and the friar with his men went up the
mountain; and at midnight he sent us bread and wine. Friday we set
out from the place where we slept thus, and the friar did not come
nor any message from him, nor people for the baggage, When we had
gone the distance of a league, a servant of the friar reached us, and
said that we should not go beyond the first town which was a good one
for halting at Saturday and Sunday: and this we did. As soon as we
arrived at this first town, and saw that it was good, we did not wish
to pass it. This town is named the Acel; it is situated on a small
hill between two rivers and is good land, there were here many millet
fields, and all other grain crops and wheat. It is a very good town,
and they hold a great fair in it. Beyond one of the rivers there is a
large town of Moors, rich with great trade of slaves, silks and all
other kinds of merchandise. It is like the town of Manadeley in the
territory of Tigrimahom. The Moors of this place also say that they pay
to the Prester very heavy tribute like the others. Here there is great
intercourse between the Christians and Moors, because the Christians
and Christian women carry water to the Moors and wash their clothes.
The Christian women go to the town of the Moors, which is separate
and alone, from which we formed a bad opinion. We stayed Saturday and
Sunday in a field at the foot of the town, where our people were all
night with their lances, keeping off the tigers which fought with us
energetically, that is to say, with the mules, and our people did not
sleep all night. Here there were disputes between Jorge d’Abreu and the
ambassador about a very small matter.
On Monday we travelled over flat country between mountains which were
very populous and much cultivated, for a distance of two leagues. We
ascended a very high mountain without cliffs or stones or bushes, all
taken advantage of for tillage; and on the summit of this mountain
we passed our midday rest, separated from one another, on account
of the quarrels which had taken place in Acel, at the foot of some
small bushes. From this place one could see much land at a great
distance; there sat down with me ten or twelve respectable men, and
the interpreter, was with us, and the talk was about the height of
this mountain on which we were, and of the many countries we saw.
They showed me the mountain where the princes were, and which I have
mentioned before; it seemed to be three or four leagues from here: its
scarped rock, like that further back, ran to such a length towards the
Nile, that we could not sight the end of it. And the mountain where we
were was so high that that of the princes seemed to be commanded by it.
Here they related to me more fully the numerous guards and restrictions
over these princes, and the great abundance they had of provisions
and clothes. And because from here one could discern a very extensive
view as far as the eyes could see towards the West, I asked what
countries went in that direction, and if they all belonged to Prester
John. They told me that for a month’s journey in that direction were
the dominions of the Prester; after that, one entered mountains and
deserts, and after them very wretched people, very black and very bad.
In his opinion, these lasted for a distance of fifteen days’ journey,
and when these were finished, there appeared white Moors of the kingdom
of Tunis. (And I am not surprised, because it is from Tunis that the
Kafilas come to Cairo and to this country of the Prester.) They bring
white burnooses, but not good ones, and other merchandise. They also
told me that on this mountain was divided the country of the millet
from that of the wheat, and that further on we should not find more
millet, but wheat and barley.
CAP. LXIII.--_How we came to another lake, and from there to the
church of Macham Celacem, and how they did not let us enter it._