Robert Kerr

“ From thence I travelled into Chaldea, which is a great kingdom, having a language peculiar to itself, and I passed beside the Tower of Babel. The men of this country have their hair nicely braided and trimmed, like the women of Italy, wearing turbans richly ornamented with gold and pearls, and are a fine looking people: but the women are ugly and deformed, and are clad in coarse shifts, only reaching to their knees, with long sleeves hanging down to the ground, and breeches or trowsers which likewise reach the ground, but their feet are bare. ”

“ All barons or others, who approach within half a mile of the residence of the great khan, must be still and quiet, no noise or loud speech being permitted in his presence or neighbourhood. Every one who enters the hall of presence, must pull off his boots, lest he soil the carpets, and puts on furred buskins of white leather, giving his other boots to the charge of servants till he quits the hall; and every one carries a small covered vessel to spit in; as no one dare spit in the halls of the palace. ”

“ The king of this country wears a string of 300 large and fair pearls about his neck, which he employs as a rosary for counting his prayers; and says every day as many prayers to his god. He wears also on his finger a marvellously large and brilliant stone, of a span long, which resembles a flame of fire, so that no one dare approach him, and it is said to be the most valuable precious stone in all the world. The great Tartar emperor of Cathay, hath often used every endeavour to procure this wonderful jewel, but has never been able to prevail, either by force, policy, or money. ”

“ When the body is carried through the city to be buried, wooden cottages are built at certain distances by the way, having porches covered with silk, in which the coffin is set down, with a table spread out with bread and wine and delicate viands, that the spirit of the dead may be refreshed with the savour. ”

“ On the morning of this festival of the new year, all the captains, barons, soldiers [4] , physicians, astrologers, governors of provinces, generals of armies, and other officers of the great khan, assemble before the emperor, in the great hall of the palace, all placed in due order, according to their rank and dignity, and those who have no place or employment, stand without, that they may see the ceremonies. One of the heads of their priests then rises, and cries out with a loud voice, "Bow down and adore," on which all who are present bend down their foreheads to the earth. ”

“ I was told of an abominable custom in this country; that when any one is sick, his relatives send to inquire at the sorcerers if he is to recover? If they answer no, the kindred then send for a person, whose office it is to strangle the sick person, whom they immediately cut in pieces and devour, even to the marrow of their bones, for they allege, that if any part were to remain, worms would breed in it, which would be in want of food, and would therefore die, to the great torture of the soul of the dead person. ”

“ The inhabitants mostly dwell in tents of black felt, The principal city is surrounded by beautiful walls, built of large white and black stones, disposed chequerwise; and all the highways of the country are well paved. In this country, from certain religious notions, no one dares shed the blood of a man, or of any beast. 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 great khan celebrates four great feasts every year; on the anniversaries of his birth, his circumcision, his coronation, and his marriage. Sitting upon his throne of state, all his kindred, barons, and stage-players, attend in great ceremony and in rich attire; the highest order being dressed in green, the second in red, and the third in yellow, all girt with golden girdles, half a foot broad, and every one holding a small ivory tablet in his hand, they all stand in regular order, keeping the most profound silence. ”

“ After him is the emperor of China, who is styled King of Mankind, for no king has more absolute authority over his subjects, and no people can be more dutiful and submissive than his subjects. Next is the king of the Turks, whose kingdom borders on China, and who is styled the King of Lions. Next is the king of the Elephants, who is king of the Indies, whom we call King of Wisdom. Last of all is the King of Greece, whom we call King of Men, as there are no men of better manners, or comlier appearance, on the face of the earth, than his subjects. ”

“ The Chinese surpass all nations in all arts, and particularly in painting, and they perform such perfect work, as others can but faintly imitate. When an artificer has finished a piece, he carries it to the prince's palace to demand the reward which he thinks he deserves, for the beauty of his performance; and the custom is for the prince to order the work to be left at the gate of the palace for a whole year, and if in that time no person finds a just fault in the piece, the artificer is rewarded, and admitted into the body of artists ”

“ In our time a discovery has been made, of a circumstance quite new and unknown to our ancestors. No one ever imagined that the great sea which extends from the Indies to China had any communication with the sea of Syria. Yet we have heard, that in the sea of Rum, or the Mediterranean, there was found the wreck of an Arabian ship, which had been shattered by a tempest, in which all her men had perished. Her remains were driven by the wind and weather into the sea of the Chozars, and thence by the canal of the Mediterranean sea, and were at last thrown upon the coast of Syria. ”

“ 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. ”

“ At the present time Mangalu, one of the sons of the great khan, has the supreme command of this kingdom. This country yields great plenty of silk, and cloth of gold, and all things necessary for the subsistence of an army, and the maintenance of its numerous inhabitants. The people are mostly idolaters, but there are some Christians and Mahometans among them. Five miles from the city stands the palace of Mangalu, in a fine plain, watered by numerous springs and rivulets, and abounding in game. ”

“ In God we live and move and have our being. Such is our God, and you must not hold that there is any other." "It is not so," said he; "for there is one highest in heaven, whose origin or generation we know not, and there are ten under him, and on earth they are infinite in number." ”

“ They then stuff the horses skin with straw, and sew it up, so as to appear entire, fixing pieces of wood under the skin of the legs, that the stuffed animal may stand up as it did when alive. They next construct a scaffold, amid the branches of a large tree, upon which they fix the stuffed horse skin, and worship it as a god; offering up to it the furs of sables, ermines, grey squirrels, and foxes, which they hang among the boughs of the sacred tree, just as we offer up wax-lights to the images of the saints. ”

“ But they believe in a future life, in which they shall tend flocks, eat and drink, and do those very things which they do in this life. At new moon, or when the moon is full, they begin any new enterprise; they call the moon the great emperor, and they worship that luminary on their knees. All who dwell in their houses must undergo purification by fire, which is performed in this manner. ”

“ And between the station of each wife there is the distance of a stone's throw, so that the court of a rich Moal appears like a large city, but in which there are very few men. One girl is able to lead twenty or thirty carts; for the ground being quite plain, they fasten the carts, whether drawn by camels or oxen, behind each other, and the girl sits on the front of the foremost cart of the string, directing the cattle, while all the rest follow with an equable motion. ”

“ In the midst of the profound ignorance and barbarism which overspread the nations of Western Europe, after the dissolution of the Roman empire in the West, a transient ray of knowledge and good government was elicited by the singular genius of the great Alfred, a hero, legislator, and philosopher, among a people nearly barbarous. ”

“ The fishermens boats of this country are made in the form of a weavers shuttle, long and narrow, and pointed at each end; constructed of a light frame of fish bones, cased all over with the skins of fishes, sewed together in many doubles, and so tight and strong, that it is wonderful to see the people bind themselves fast within them during storms, and allow the winds and waves to drive them about, without fear of their boats splitting or of themselves being drowned. Even when they are driven against a rock, they remain sound and without hurt or damage. ”

“ When a son is born to any person, he is immediately consecrated to the protection of some particular idol, and the father nourishes a sheep in his house for a year with great care; and on the anniversary day of that idol, he presents his son and the sheep as a sacrifice, with great reverence and many ceremonies, before the shrine of this tutelary deity. The flesh of the sheep is boiled and set before the idol during the continuance of the prayers and invocations, as an offering for the preservation and protection of the boy, and the idol is supposed to inhale the savour of the meat. ”

“ Coral is held in great estimation in this country, and sells dearer than in any other part of the world. There are certain hermits in this province, who live with great abstinence in cells and monasteries, devoting their whole lives to the service of their idols, and observing the strictest chastity; Many of these men are reputed as saints and are held in high estimation among the people. From this province you may go to the Indies and the ocean; but I shall not now follow out the course to India, but returning to Balaxiam, shall trace the way to Kathay, betwixt the east and north-east. ”

“ It often happens in these seas that a whitish cloud suddenly appears over-head, which lets down a long thin tongue or spout, quite to the surface of the water, which is then turned swiftly round as if by a whirlwind, and if a vessel happens to be in the way, she is immediately swallowed up in the vortex. ”

“ The Dogbiim have many priests to officiate in their temples, who are the most skilful sorcerers and enchanters in the world. Before every temple there is a large pit, in which a great fire is kindled every day, called Alhuta, through which their children are made to pass as a purification; into it likewise they cast the bodies of their dead, and even some of their nobles occasionally are so superstitious as to devote themselves to be consumed alive in honour of the deity, in which they are encouraged by their relations, as ensuring their eternal welfare. ”

“ Into this delightful residence, the old man used to entice all the young and valiant men he could procure, where they were initiated into all the delights of the earthly paradise, in which milk and wine flowed in abundance, through certain hidden conduits. When desirous of assassinating any prince or nobleman, who had offended him, the old man would order the governor of his paradise to entice into that place, some acquaintance or servant of the prince or baron whom he wished to slay. ”

“ The Balhara is the most illustrious sovereign in all the Indies, and though all the other kings in India are masters and independent each in their own dominions, they thus so far acknowledge his preeminence, that when he sends ambassadors to the other princes, they are received with extraordinary honours. This king makes magnificent presents after the manner of the Arabs, and has vast numbers of horses and elephants, and great treasures in money. His silver coin is what we call Thartarian drams, being equal to one and a half of the Arabian dram. ”

“ I then went to another island named Java, the coast of which is 3000 miles in circuit; and the king of Java has seven other kings under his supreme dominion. This is thought to be one of the largest islands in the world, and is thoroughly inhabited; having great plenty of cloves, cubebs, and nutmegs, and all other kinds of spices, and great abundance of provisions of all kinds, except wine. The king of Java has a large and sumptuous palace, the most lofty of any that I have seen, with broad and lofty stairs to ascend to the upper apartments, all the steps being alternately of gold and silver. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It has been already said that the Tartars are idolaters. Each man of any consequence has a table aloft in the wall of one of his chambers, on which a name is written, to signify the great God of Heaven, whom he adores once each day, with a censer of burning incense ”

“ Upon a certain time, when the approach of the khan to Cambalu was announced, one of our bishops, together with several minorite friars and myself, went out two days journey from the city to meet him. When we came nigh to his presence, we bore aloft a cross upon a pole, and began to sing Veni Creator, in a loud voice, while I carried the censer. When he came up to the place where we were singing by the way side, he called us to come towards him; for no man dare approach within a stones throw of his chariot, unless called, except those only who are appointed to attend upon his person. ”

“ The inhabitants have a very high notion of their own superior intelligence, which they express by saying, that they only of all the people on earth have two eyes; to the Latins they allow one, and consider all other nations as blind. The Kathayans have small eyes and no beards. Their money consists of small square pieces of paper, impressed with the seal of their emperor. To the west, this empire is bounded by that of the Tarsae; to the north by the desert of Belgian; and to the south by the sea, in which there are innumerable islands. ”

“ Beyond these two islands is the sea of Andaman. The people on this coast eat human flesh quite raw; their complexion is black, with frizzled hair, their countenance and eyes frightful, their feet very large, almost a cubit in length, and they go quite naked. They have no sort of barks or other vessels, or they would seize and devour all the passengers they could lay their hands upon. When ships have been kept back by contrary winds, and are obliged to anchor on this barbarous coast, for procuring water, they commonly lose some of their men. ”

“ On the masters side of the door is another image, having the udder of a mare, being the tutelary deity of the men who milk the mares. When they meet together for drinking, they, in the first place, sprinkle the master's idol with some of the liquor, and then all the rest in their order; after which a servant goes out of the house with a cup of drink, and sprinkles thrice towards the south, making a genuflexion between each, in honour of the fire, then towards the east, in honour of the air, next towards the west, in honour of the water, and lastly, towards the north, for the dead. ”

“ When they make a great feast, all the guests clap their hands and dance to the music, the men before the lord, and the women before the lady of the house. When the lord hath drank, the servant calls out as before, and the minstrel ceases; then all drink round in their turns, both men and women, and they sometimes carouse on hearing the news of a victory, to a shameful and beastly degree. ”

“ In the mountainous parts of India, there are tribes who differ little from those we call Kanisians and Jelidians and who are addicted to all manner of superstition and vice; between whom, and the inhabitants of the people on the coast, there subsists great emulation, each daring the others to imitate them in the performance of strange superstitious tortures. There once came a man from the mountains on this errand, who gathered a multitude of the inhabitants of the coast to the following strange exhibition, daring them to imitate him, or otherwise to acknowledge themselves overcome. ”

“ When the hour of music comes, the philosophers give the word, and they all sound their instruments, making a great and melodious noise; after which, orders are given to cease from the music. Then come the women musicians, who sing sweetly before the emperor, which I thought delightful. After them, the lions are led in, and are made to pay their obeisance to the emperor. Then the jugglers cause golden cups, full of wine, to fly up and down in the air, and to apply themselves to mens mouths, that they may drink. ”

“ Nothing in the world can be more pleasant or delightful than this lake, from its immense variety of rich objects on all sides; particularly the city ornamented with so many temples, monasteries, palaces, gardens, trees, barges, and innumerable people taking their recreations; for they ordinarily work only a part of each day, spending the remainder in parties of pleasure with their friends, or with women, either on the lake, or in driving through the city in chariots. ”

“ Still farther to the south, I came to a certain island, called Bodin [1] , which name signifies unclean; and this island is inhabited by a most wicked people, who devour raw flesh, and commit all manner of wickedness and abominable uncleanness to an incredible extent; insomuch, that they kill and eat each other, the father eating his son, the son his father, the husband his wife, and the wife her husband. If any man be sick, the son goes to the soothsayer, or prognosticating priest, requesting him to inquire of his god, whether or not his father is to recover. ”

“ Widows never marry, as their belief is, that all who have served a man in this life, shall do so in the next; so that widows believe that they shall return after death to their husbands. Hence arises an abominable custom among them, that the son sometimes marries all his father's wives except his own mother; for the court or household of the father and mother always devolves to the younger son, and he has to provide for all his father's wives, which fall to his share along with the inheritance ”