There Are No Elephants Nor Camels In The
Island, Nor Any Leopards, Bears, Or Lions.
Indeed, I have no doubt that Marco, combining information from different
sources, made some confusion between Makdashau (Magadoxo) and
Madagascar, and that particulars belonging to both are mixed up here.
This accounts for Zanghibar being placed entirely beyond Madagascar, for
the entirely Mahomedan character given to the population, for the
hippopotamus-teeth and staple trade in ivory, as well for the lions,
elephants, and other beasts. But above all the camel-killing indicates
Sumali Land and Magadoxo as the real locality of part of the information.
Says Ibn Batuta: "After leaving Zaila we sailed on the sea for 15 days,
and arrived at Makdashau, an extremely large town. The natives keep
camels in great numbers, and they slaughter several hundreds daily" (II.
181). The slaughter of camels for food is still a Sumali practice. (See
J.R.G.S. VI. 28, and XIX. 55.) Perhaps the Shaikhs (Esceqe) also
belong to the same quarter, for the Arab traveller says that the Sultan of
Makdashau had no higher title than Shaikh (183); and Brava, a
neighbouring settlement, was governed by 12 shaikhs. (De Barros, I.
viii. 4.) Indeed, this kind of local oligarchy still prevails on that
coast.
We may add that both Makdashau and Brava are briefly described in the
Annals of the Ming Dynasty. The former Mu-ku-tu-su, lies on the sea, 20
days from Siao-Kolan (Quilon?), a barren mountainous country of wide
extent, where it sometimes does not rain for years.
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