The Abassi,
Who Is Their Pope, Dwells In The City Already Mentioned, Being The Head Or
Prince Of All The Idolaters, On Whom He Bestows Gifts; Just As Our Pope Of
Rome Considers Himself To Be The Head Of All The Christians.
The women of
this country wear a prodigious number of ornaments, and they have two long
teeth like the tusks of a boar.
When any man dies in this country, his son
assembles all the priests and musicians that he can procure, to do honour
to his father, whose body he causes to be carried out into the fields,
accompanied by all the kindred, friends, and neighbours of the family. Then
the priests, with great solemnity, cut off the head of the deceased, which
they give to his son; after which, they divide the whole body into small
pieces, which they leave strewed about the place; and then the whole
company return home in solemn procession, accompanied with prayers, the son
bearing his fathers head. On their departure from the field, the vultures
of the country, accustomed to similar banquets, come down from the
mountains, and carry off all the remains of the deceased person; who is
thereupon pronounced holy, because the angels of God, as they say, have
carried him to paradise. When the procession returns to the dwelling of the
deceased, the son boils the head of his father, and eats the flesh,
converting the skull into a drinking cup, out of which he, and all his
family, and kindred, carouse with much, mirth and solemnity, in remembrance
of his father. This nation has many other vile and abominable customs,
which I refrain from describing, because no one would believe them unseen.
[1] This strange word, both in the Latin and English of Hakluyt, is
obviously the Italian for Prester John, information concerning whom
will be found in the travels of Marco Polo. - E.
SECTION XVIII.
Of a certain Rich Man, who was Fed by fifty Virgins.
While in the province of Mangi, or Southern China, I passed by the palace
of a rich man, who is continually attended upon by fifty young virgins, who
feed him at every meal as a bird feeds her young; and all the time they are
so employed, they sing to him most sweetly. The revenues of this man are
thirty toman of tagars of rice, each toman being 10,000 tagars, and one
tagar is the burthen of an ass. His palace is two miles in circuit, and is
paved with alternate plates of gold and silver. Near the wall of his
palace, there is an artificial mound of gold and silver, having turrets and
steeples, and other magnificent ornaments, contrived for the solace and
recreation of this great man.[l] I was further informed, that there are
four such great men in the kingdom of Mangi. It is reckoned a great mark of
dignity, among the great men of this country, to have their nails of great
length; more especially their thumb nails, which are sometimes of
sufficient length to be wrapped round the hand.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 353 of 425
Words from 183896 to 184412
of 222093
