Chapter CXIII: Section XVIII

_Account of Various Countries, Provinces, Islands, and Cities in the Indies_.

Sailing from Zaitum, 1500 miles to the south westwards, we pass a gulf called Cheinan[1], which extends two months sail to the northward, still confining on the south-east[2] of Mangi, and elsewhere, with Ania and Toloman, and other provinces mentioned formerly. Within it are infinite islands all in a manner inhabited [3], and in them is found abundance of gold, and they trade with each other. This gulf seems like another world; and after 1500 miles sailing, is the rich and great country of Ziambar[4]. The people are idolaters, and pay an yearly tribute to the great khan of twenty elephants, and great quantities of aloes wood. In the year 1268, hearing of the riches of this country, the khan sent one of his generals, named Segatu, to invade it, Acambute, who was then king of the country, was old, and chose to avoid the dangers and miseries of war, by agreeing to pay the before-mentioned tribute. In Ziambar there are many woods of black ebony, of great value.

Sailing thence for 1500 miles, betwixt the south and southeast, we came to Java[5], which is considered by mariners to be the largest island in the world, being above 3000 miles in circumference. It is governed by a king who pays tribute to none; as, owing to the length and danger of the voyage, the great khan has made no attempt to annex it to his vast dominions. The merchants of Zaitum and Mangi, bring from thence abundance of gold and spices. South and south-westwards six hundred miles, are the islands of Sondur and Condur, both desolate, of which Sondur is the larger[6]. Fifty miles south-east from them is a rich and great province, or island, called Lochae[7]. The people are idolaters, and have both a king and language of their own. In it there grows great plenty of Brazil wood; and it has much gold, many elephants, wild beasts, and fowls, and an excellent fruit called bercias, as large as lemons. The country is mountainous and savage, and the king permits no person to come into his dominions, lest they should get acquainted with the county and attempt its conquest. It produces abundance of porcelain shells, which are transported to other places, where they serve as money.

Five hundred miles southward from Lochae, is the isle of Pentan[8], a savage place, which produces sweet trees in all its woods. For sixty miles of this voyage, between Lochae and Pentan, the sea in many places is only four fathoms deep Thirty miles to the south-east from Pentan, is the island and kingdom of Malaiur[9], which has a king and a peculiar language of its own, and has a great trade carried on in spices from Pentan. One hundred miles south-east is Java the less[10], which is about two thousand miles in circuit, and is divided into eight kingdoms, each having its own language. I was in six of these kingdoms, of which I shall give some account, omitting those I did not see.

One of these kingdoms is Felech or Ferlach, in which the formerly idolatrous inhabitants of the cities have been converted to the Mahometan religion, in consequence of much trade and intercourse with the Saracens; but the mountaineers are very savage, eating human flesh, and living upon every kind of unclean food, and they worship all day what they first happen to meet in the morning. The next kingdom is called Basma, which has a language peculiar to itself, the people living without law or religion like beasts: But they sometimes send hawks to the khan, who lays claim to the sovereignty of the whole island. Besides wild elephants, there are unicorns in this country, which are much less than elephants, being haired like the buffalo, but their feet are like those of die elephant. These animals have one horn in the middle of their foreheads; but they hurt no one with this weapon, using only their tongue and knee, for they trample and press any one down with their feet and knees, and their tongue is beset with long sharp prickles, with which they tear a person to pieces. The head is like that of a wild boar, which the animal, carries hanging down to the ground. They are filthy beasts that love to stand and wallow in the mire, and they do not in the least resemble those unicorns which are said to be found in some other parts of the world, which allow themselves to be taken by maids[11]. In this country, there are many apes of different kinds, some of them, being black with faces like men, which they put into boxes, preserved with spices; these they sell to merchants, who carry them to various parts of the world, and pass them for pigmies or little men. This country likewise produces large goshawks, as black as ravens, which are excellent for sport.

Samare or Samara is the next kingdom, in which I remained for five months against my will, in consequence of bad weather[12], during all which time, none of the stars in the constellation of the great-bear were seen. Being forced to remain here for five months. I landed with 2000 men, and erected fortifications to defend us against any unforeseen attack from the savage cannibals of the island, with whom we established a trade for provisions. They have excellent wine, both red and white, made from the palm tree, which is a very wholesome beverage, as it is medicinal for consumption, the dropsy, and for disorders of the spleen. They have likewise abundance of fine fish, and eat of all sorts of flesh, without making any difference. Their cocco nuts are as large as a mans head, and the middle of them is full of a pleasant liquor, better than wine.

Dragoian[13] is another of those kingdoms claimed by the khan, which has a king and a peculiar language. 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. They afterwards carry away the bones, and conceal them carefully in caves in the mountains, that no beast may touch them. If they can lay their hands on any stranger, they treat him in the same barbarous manner.

Lambri is the fifth kingdom of Java-minor, or Sumatra, in which is great plenty of Brazil wood, some of the seeds of which I brought to Venice, but they would not vegetate, as the climate was too cold for them. In this country there are great numbers of unicorns or rhinoceroses, and plenty of other beasts and birds. Fanfur is the sixth kingdom, having the best camphor, which Is sold weight for weight with gold. In that kingdom, they make a kind of meal from great and long trees, as thick as two men are able to fathom. Having taken off the thin bark, the wood within is only about three fingers thick, all the rest being pith, from which the meal is made. This pith is broken to pieces, and stirred among water, the light dross swimming, and being thrown away, while the finer parts settle at the bottom, and is made into paste[14]. I brought some of this to Venice, which tastes not much unlike barley bread. The wood of this tree is so heavy as to sink in water like iron, and of it they make excellent lances, but being very heavy, they are under the necessity of making them short. These are hardened in the fire, and sharpened, and when so prepared, they will pierce through armour easier than if made of iron. About 150 miles to the northward of Lambri, there are two islands, one called Nocueran and the other Angaman,[l5] in the former of which the inhabitants live like beasts, and go entirely naked, but have excellent trees, such as cloves, red and white sanders, coco-nuts, Brazil, and various spices in the other island the inhabitants are equally savage, and are said to have the heads and teeth of dogs.

[1] Probably the gulph of Siam.--E.

[2] South-west, certainly.--E.

[3] The inlands in the gulf of Siam are small, and not numerous; so that
the passage is probably corrupted; and may have been in the original,
"that, leaving the gulf of Cheinan on the north, they left infinite
islands, &c; on the south." After all, the gulf of Cheinan may mean
the whole sea of China.--E.

[4] It is difficult to say precisely what division of farther India is here
meant by Ziambar. 1500 miles would carry us to the coast of Malaya;
but 1500 li, or about 500 miles reach only to the coast of
Cochin-China, or it may be Tsiompa. Ziambar, in the editions, is
variously written Ciambau, Ciariban, and Ziambar.--E.

[5] The direction of the voyage is here obviously erroneous, it must have
been between the south and the south-west, or south-south-west. In the
Trevigi edition, the Java of this part of our text is Lava, and
according to Valentine, Lava is the name of the principal city and
kingdom in Borneo; which at all events must be the island here
mentioned by Marco.--E.

[6] According to the Trevigi edition, as reported by Pinkerton, these
islands are only seven miles from Lava or Borneo. At about seventy
miles distance to the south-west, there are two islands named Caremata
and Soorooto, which may be those mentioned in the text.--E.

[7] Called Lochach in some of the editions, and said to be 200 miles from
Sondor and Condur. Whether this may be Ma-lacca or Ma-laya, it is
impossible to determine.--E.

[8] In the Trevigi edition only five miles, and the island is called
Pentara. This may possibly be the island of Bintang in the
south-eastern entrance of the straits of Malacca.--E.

[9] Most probably the kingdom of Malacca. From the Trevigi edition
Pinkerton calls this Malonir, and curiously identifies Pepetam,
Pentara, or Pentan, as the name of the city and kingdom of Malonir or
Malaiur.--E.

[10] If right in our former conjectures, the island spoken of in the text
must be Sumatra not that now called Java. Indeed, the mention
immediately afterwards of the islands of Nocueran and Angaman 150
miles to the north, which can only he the Nicobar and Andaman islands,
establish the identity of Java-minor, here called Java the less, and
Sumatra.--E.

[11] The animal here described under the name of unicorn is the Rhinoceros
monoceros, or one-horned rhinoceros of naturalists; but the single horn
is placed a little above the nose, not on the middle of the forehead,
as here erroneously described by Marco.--E

[12] He had evidently missed the Monsoon, and had to await its return. From
this kingdom or division of the island, it probably acquired the name
of Sumatra, by which it is known in modern geography. From the
circumstance in the text of not seeing the great bear, it is probable
that Marco was stopped near the south-eastern extremity of the island.
What is here translated the great bear, Pinkerton calls, from the
Trevigi edition _del Maistro._ The polar star was invisible of
course.--E.

[13] Called Deragola by Pinkerton, from the Trevigi edition.--E.

[14] He here distinctly indicates the manufacture of sego.--E.

[15] Nicobar and Andaman, on the east side of the bay of Bengal; called
Necunera and Namgama in the Trevigi edition.--E.