Chapter XIII (3)

[55] Some curious particulars respecting this practice
may be seen in a paper on the duties of a faithful
Hindu widow, by Henry Colebroke, Esq. in the 4th
vol. of _Dissertations and Miscellaneous Pieces
relating to the History, Antiquities_, &c. _of
Asia_, reprinted for Vernor and Hood, 1798. _E. T._

[56] See a full account of these sculptures and ruins by
William Chambers, Esq. in the first volume _Asiatic
Researches_, reprinted for Vernor and Hood, 1798.
_E. T._

[57] The oldest pagodas in India, and a great many of
the ancient Egyptian temples, are cut out in the
solid rock. This mode of architecture, peculiar to
the oldest nations, was derived from the nature of
their own dwellings. It is probable that the first
men lived in mountainous districts, and that holes
or cavities in the earth, partly natural and partly
formed by art, were their earliest habitations. The
_Troglodytes_, that is, the inhabiters of holes, dug
out places of the like kind for performing their
religious worship. At later periods they ventured
to quit the mountains to reside on low hills and
plains; and, that they might not suffer from
inundations, to build houses and towns on artificial
eminences, and to dig canals and ditches in order to
procure earth for making these artificial mounts. In
places destitute of stones they built habitations of
brick dried in the sun, which they cemented together
by means of lime, bitumen, and other substances. It
was not till periods much later that burnt bricks
and cut stone began to be employed for building
temples and palaces. _F._

[58] All rivers which have their sources in high
mountainous districts generally flow with great
impetuosity after heavy rains, so that it is
sometimes dangerous, if not impossible, to cross
them. Various instances of the truth of this
observation may be found in Vaillant’s _Travels into
the interior Parts of Africa_. _F._

[59] It is, indeed, worthy of remark, that the many petty
princes on the Malabar coast have maintained their
independence, notwithstanding the great revolutions
by which the whole face of India has been changed,
and though each singly was not sufficiently powerful
to withstand a formidable enemy, and though they
are seldom in such a state of friendship with each
other as to oppose with united forces any antagonist
that might attack them from the north and the east.
The author explains this phenomenon very properly.
The conquest of these small states is, however,
possible: 1st, by fomenting quarrels between the
princes, and then espousing the cause of one of
the parties: 2d, by establishing strong posts and
erecting fortresses in the defiles of the mountains
and places where the rivers are fordable: 3d, by
employing artillery and troops acquainted with the
European discipline. The last method was employed by
Tippoo Saib, in order to reduce some places on the
sea coast. _F._

[60] The Mahometan Arabs, who, under the Caliph Valid,
established themselves on the coast of Malabar,
and in the northern part of India, are at present
commonly called _Moors_. The _Patans_, or, as
they are otherwise called, _Afgans_ or _Afguans_,
have nothing in common with these Arabs but their
religion. They are a branch of the Albanians from
Mount Caucasus, as has been already remarked by
Gœrber and Dr. Reineggs, or Ehlich. The Armenians
cannot pronounce the letter _l_ in the middle of
a word, and therefore they call the Albans or
Alwans _Aghwans_. These aborigines of the Caucasian
territories were known to the ancient writers,
Strabo, Pliny, Ammianus Marcellinus, and Dio
Cassius. According to the last-mentioned author
they extended themselves from the Tanais (Don) to
the Ganges. These people, who had thus wandered as
far as India, were subdued by the Saracens, and
converted to the Mahometan Religion by the sword,
but they afterwards recovered their independence.
Some of these Patan chiefs founded in the
neighbourhood of Delhi small principalities; others
penetrated into the Decan, and made themselves
masters of small provinces, which have been since
taken from them by Nizam Aly, the Marattas, and
Tippoo Saib. Even the _Rohillas_ are a race
descended from the Patans. See Edwards’s _Memoir of
a Map comprehending the countries between the Black
Sea and the Caspian_. London 1788, p. 6. and M. C.
Sprengel’s _Allgem. Hist. Taschenbuch_. Berlin 1786.
_F._

[61] This account of the Jews on the Malabar coast is
partly incomplete, and partly doubtful. We know
something more certain respecting the Jews at
Cochin, by M. Adrian Moens, governor and director
of the Dutch East India Company on that coast,
which has been published in Busching’s _Magazine_,
vol. xiv. p. 123-154. The Jews on the Malabar coast
are distinguished into two kinds, white and black.
The former, in their synagogue near Cochin, have
two oblong square plates of copper, containing old
Malabar writing in lines that run across them, and
in a mixed dialect of the Malabar, Tamulic, and
Tulengic languages. The subject of this writing is
a charter granted to _Isup Rabbaan_ at Cranganor,
by _Erawi Wanmara_ emperor of Malabar, in the year
from _Kalijogam_ 3481 (that is 426 after the birth
of Christ), and in the thirty-sixth year of his
reign, in virtue of which he confirmed to _Isup
Rabbaan_ (Joseph Rabbi) the same privileges as had
been before enjoyed by the petty Malabar viceroys.
“He and the seventy-two families (related probably
to each other) were to enjoy them as long as the
sun should illuminate the earth; but all other Jews
and their descendants were to be obedient to his
commands, and to those of his successors.”--In a
Portuguese book, _Notisias dos Judeos de Cochim_,
printed at Amsterdam in 1681, it is said: In the
year of the world 4130, according to the Jewish
mode of computation (that is 369 years after the
birth of Christ), seventy or eighty thousand Jews
were landed from the kingdom of Majorca on the
coast of Malabar. Now, as the Balearic islands
were subdued by the Vandals exactly in the year
425 after the birth of Christ, it is probable
that the Jews who were settled there removed to
Jerusalem and Egypt; and being supported by their
Jewish brethren, were conveyed thence by sea to
India, in the year 426 of the Christian æra. Their
number, however, may perhaps not have been so great.
These Jews established themselves in Cranganor
and the neighbouring districts, and founded a
small kingdom. They purchased slaves, particularly
black ones, and converted them, as well as several
more of the natives, to their religion. These new
converts gave rise to the black Jews, who wished
to enjoy the same privileges as the white, and to
unite themselves with them by intermarriages. As
their claims were not allowed, they disowned the
authority of the white Jews and of their king; and
a war was the consequence, in which the latter were
almost destroyed. They were, however, assisted by
the prince of the country, and the black Jews were
again reduced to obedience. After that period the
black and white Jews had distinct synagogues, and
lived apart from each other. Two brothers of the
royal race ruled in common; but they afterwards
separated, and the native princes raised a violent
persecution against the Jews. They were so much
oppressed by the Portuguese at Cranganor, that they
were obliged, in 1565, to solicit the protection
of the king of Cochin, near which city they still
reside. The ancient royal race, and the descendants
of those who went to India before the year 1371, are
totally extinct. The white Jews, who reside near
Cochin at present, went to India at later periods,
from Palestine, Persia, Constantinople, Bagdad and
Egypt, and even from England, Poland, Germany, Spain
and Holland. The black Jews are the descendants of
the ancient race above mentioned. Their books are
according to the Spanish ritual, and they procure
them from Amsterdam. They have nine synagogues, and
consist of about 460 families, who amount perhaps to
3000 or 4000 persons. _F._

[62] A full account of the migration, incursions, wars,
revolutions, laws and manners of those foreign
nations who established themselves in India, may
be seen in the writings of _Hyde_, _Texeira_,
_Renaudot_, _Barros_, the _Abbe Guyon_, _Raynal_,
_St. Lubin_, _Anquetil du Perron_, and in the lives
of _Tamerlane_ and _Thamas Kuli Khan_; also in the
Persian books _Vakiat-Babri_, _Monte-Keb-el-Tarik_,
_Akbar Nama_, and _Magir-Gehan Guiri_, which are to
be found partly in the library at Paris, and partly
in that of Mr. Samuel Guise. _A._

[63] These philosophers are called properly _Joqui_; from
_Joga_, community; under which name is understood
people who have every thing in common. In the
Samscred they are named _Gòsuàmi_, from _Go_ a cow,
and _Suami_ a lord; consequently lords of the cow:
for they are accustomed to besprinkle and paint
their bodies with dried cow’s dung. They are known
also by a more ancient Samscred name, viz. _Samanà_
or _Shamanà_, that is, the Mild; for they kill no
animal, cut no plants, and never eat fish, but feed
merely on rice, wild herbs, roots and fruit. They
live together in company, under a common chief or
teacher, who in the Samscred is called _Guru_. As
true gymnosophists, they go quite naked, and sleep
on the ground, having nothing under them but mats
made of palm leaves interwoven with each other.
They avoid all intercourse with the world; study
philosophy, theogony, botany and astronomy, and have
written a great many treatises on these sciences
in the Indian languages. They are real stoics, and
often impose upon themselves the severest penances.
They are mentioned by Cicero, Plutarch, Clemens
of Alexandria, and Arrian. The last author says,
besides other things respecting them, that they
were accustomed to walk down into the sea at Cape
Comari, in order to purify themselves;--a custom
which they have retained to this day. _A._----These
_Dschoqui_ or _Jogui_ are therefore the followers of
the old Indian philosophers called Samanæi. Because
they went naked, they were called by the Greeks
gymnosophists, that is, naked philosophers. _F._

[64] This conduct of Fra Paolino seems rather
unevangelical and harsh, and to have been somewhat
in the style of a Boanerges, or those sons of
thunder who wished to call down fire immediately
from heaven. Our zealous monk procured full power
from the magistrate in order to execute his
inquisitorial sentence. This, no doubt, cost him
a considerable sum of money, and must have been
charged under the head of _secret service_. Instead
of advice and admonition, the monk administered a
sound beating! This may properly be called obeying
the command: _Compelle illos intrare!_ The other
means by which the Indians are converted to the
Catholic religion, are no doubt of the same kind as
this church discipline. _F._

[65] An account of the violent measures as well as arts
employed by the Romish Church to make the Nestorians
in India unite themselves to it, may be seen in
the work published by the ingenious and learned
La Croze on the state of Christianity in that
country. The above-mentioned synod at _Diemper_ or
_Udiamper_, at which the violent, enthusiastic, and
despotic Alexis de Menezes effected a pretended
union of the Christians of St. Thomas, is a real and
lasting monument of shame for the Romish Church.
It is impossible to read the history of it without
the most affecting sensations, and without being
sensible that the spirit of enthusiasm is always
combined with ignorance and the most striking
barbarity. Since the reformation the Romish Church
has exhibited very little of its former violence,
and some of its members have learned to know the
importance of ancient monuments, particularly those
of Eastern Christianity. This is sufficiently shewn
by Assemanni and Renaudot in their writings, and
by the valuable collections of the noble Cardinal
Borgia at Velitri. _F._

[66] The decline of the Nestorian monasteries on the
coast of Malabar was not occasioned merely by the
establishment of the Portuguese in that country,
but by the furious persecuting spirit and the
violent conduct of the Portuguese clergy. The mild
beneficent teachers of the Christians of St. Thomas
were either compelled to join the Romish Church, or
suffered to become extinct; as it was impossible
for new ecclesiastics or monks to go to India from
Persia, or the Persian gulph, where the Portuguese
at that time had great power. Afterwards, indeed,
when the Dutch got the better of the Portuguese,
Syrian and Nestorian ecclesiastics went from Persia
and Antioch to India; but these priests, who
belonged to different sects, were always at variance
with each other. See _Relatio historica ad Epistolam
Syriacam a Maha Thome_, _i. e._ _Magna Thoma Indo,
antiquorum Syrorum in India Episcopo, ex Chaddenad
in Malabaria scriptam ad Ignatium Patriarcham
Antiochenum, et ipsa illa Episcopi Indi Epistola
Syriaca, cum Versione Latina, &c. accurante_ CAROLO
SCHAAF. Lugduni Batavorum, 1714. 4to. _F._

[67] The two kinds of potatoes here mentioned by the
author do not probably belong to the real species of
the potatoe, _solanum_, but to some other vegetable
production of the like kind, such as the _Dioscorea
alata L._, the exterior skin of which is black,
but the internal pulpy part, when roasted in the
ashes, is white, or of a purple colour. The round
potatoes may be a kind of the Spanish potatoes,
_Convolvulus Batatas_, or the gold-coloured root of
the _Convolvulus Chrysorrhizus_, which is not only
cultivated, but grows wild also in the islands of
the South Sea, and which has been described by my
son George in his Treatise _De Plantis Esculentis
Insularum Maris Pacifici_. The _Convolvulus Batatas_
was carried from America by the Spaniards to the
Philippines and neighbouring islands; and on that
account the plant there is called _Castile_, because
it was first introduced by the Castilians or
Spaniards. _F._

[68] That in the impenetrable forests of the Gauts there
are wild elephants, is well known; but the people
on the sea-coast content themselves with those of
Ceylon, which are more docile, and easier to be
tamed.--It may be readily seen by the wild buffaloes
that this is the original country of these animals,
which were first brought from India ta Italy in
the time of Agilulph king of Lombardy, between the
years 591 and 616.--The deer mentioned by the author
form probably more than one kind. India produces,
1st, the _Cervus Axis L._ or the spotted deer,
which is somewhat larger than our fallow deer. 2d,
The porcine deer, _Cervus Porcinus L._ brown with
round white spots, and from two feet four inches
to three feet and a half in height. 3d, The elk,
_Cervus Alce L._ Professor Zimmerman, however, in
his _Zoological Geography_, does not allow the
elk, or rein-deer, to be an inhabitant beyond the
50th degree of north latitude; but the former has
been bold enough to overstep the boundaries which
he has drawn on his chart, and has penetrated to
the woody, marshy, solitary valleys of India. See
_Essais philosophiques sur les Moeurs de divers
Animaux étrangers_, par Foucher D’Obsonville, p.
115. In the same work much information may be
obtained respecting the black and white kinds of
apes, which inhabit the Indian forests in flocks of
thousands.--The real Indian striped (not spotted)
tyger, which is from nine to ten feet in length,
and from four to four and a half in height, is not
common even in India, and is to be found only in
the thickest forests. He gives place to no animals
but the lion, elephant, and rhinoceros.--The Indian
parrots are, in a literal sense, almost innumerable,
for every traveller brings home new kinds to Europe.
The old Grecian name ψιττακη, seems to be of Egyptian
origin: Π-ϹΙΤΤΑΚΗ. The Π is an article: the Germans,
therefore, have omitted it, and converted the word
into _Sittich_. _F._

[69] Many instances may be found, both in ancient and
modern history, of great changes having been
produced on the surface of the earth, and on the
coasts of the ocean, by hurricanes and earthquakes,
as well as by the waters of the sea and by rivers.
That piece of water, known by the name of the Dead
Sea, arose by a fiery eruption from the earth; and
in Egypt, along the northern bank of the Delta, and
on both sides, there are large lakes, particularly
the lakes Mœris and Serbau, which were indebted for
their origin to storms, earthquakes, and inundations
of the Nile. In Peloponnesus, or the present Morea,
the cities of Helice, Bura, and some others in
Achaia, were swallowed up by the sea, two years
before the battle of Leuctra. Even in the eighteenth
century, Callao in Peru was overwhelmed, and, with
all its houses, inhabitants, and the ships in the
harbour, became a prey to the waves of the ocean.
The great changes effected by the earthquake in
Calabria, are still fresh in the memory of every
one: during that horrid catastrophe whole mountains
and rocks were precipitated into the sea. _F._

[70] The low inundated land at the bottom of the Gauts,
which consists of marl or clay and strata of chalk,
together with the higher strata where the mountains
are steep towards the sea, being violently torn away
in the rainy season by the streams and currents
collected in the mountains, form, at their influx
into the sea, banks and accumulations which are
still raised higher, and are driven back by the sea
towards the land. In this manner are formed plains,
islands, and little hills; the origin of which can,
in this manner, be very naturally explained. _F._

[71] In the time of the Romans a freedman of Annius
Plocanus experienced a similar fate. See _Plin.
Hist. Nat._ lib. vi. c. 22. _A._

[72] More information respecting Cochin may be found
in Philip Baldæus’s _Description of the Coasts of
Malabar and Coromandel_, Amsterdam 1672, fol. p.
111-136; Francis Valentin’s _Beschryving van’t
Nederlandsch Comptoir op de Kust van Malabar_, Amst.
1726. fol. in the fifth part of his _Oude en Niewe
Oost-Indien_; and in Hamilton’s _New Account of the
East Indies, from 1688 to 1723_. Lond. vol. I. and
II, 1739. 8vo. p. 321, &c. _F._

[73] The reproaches thrown out by the Protestants against
the celibacy of the Catholic clergy is so far right,
as that state gives rise to immoral conduct and
dissipation, of which too many instances may be
found, both among the higher and lower clergy of
the Romish church. The immorality, however, of the
English and Dutch is no less worthy of censure. _F._

[74] See _Istoria della Vita e Fatti illustri del Ven.
Monsign. Giuseppe di S. Maria de’ Sebastiani_.
Roma 1719. l. xi. p. 254. where these excesses are
particularly described. _A._

[75] In the map published by Faden, in 1788, entitled
_The Southern Countries of India from Madras to Cape
Comorin_, by Capt. Wersebe, this place is called
_Tripunctare_.

[76] It is no wonder that the native princes should
endeavour to lay the trade open to foreign nations,
when the merchants of the neighbouring factories
raise the price of their own goods, and pay as
little as they can for those of India. These
monopolies must, in the end, induce the petty
princes of India to adopt wiser regulations, more
conducive to the prosperity of their dominions. The
English even, though so powerful at present in that
country, must excite the hatred of the natives and
princes if they do not alter their conduct. _F._

[77] Respecting the ancient state of _Cranganor_, the
reader may consult the before-mentioned works of
_Baldæus_, _Valentin_, and _Hamilton_. In regard
to its present condition, I know as little as the
author. _F._

[78] On the before-mentioned map of Capt. Wersebe this
place is called _Gnareca_. _F._

[79] On Wersebe’s map _Palipuram_ is called _Paliporto_;
_Aycotta_, _Aicotta_, or _Chuvocat_; and _Paravur_
is named _Parour_. _F._

[80] We know from various accounts, published by the
English and the missionaries, with what cruelty
the followers of the Brahman religion were treated
by the inhuman Tippoo Sultan, and in what manner
he endeavoured by the rack and famine to make them
embrace the Mahometan faith. He was, however,
deprived of a full third of his dominions, which
he had enlarged by robbery; and he is now closely
watched, to prevent him from entering into any
treaty of alliance with the other Indian powers, or
from disturbing the tranquillity of India. _F._

[81] That pirates formerly resided in the neighbourhood
of Mount _Illi_, which is mentioned by Ptolemy under
the name of ΕΛΑΓΚΩΝ, or EΛIΓKΩΝ, as an emporium, or
place of trade, and that even in the present century
the pirate Angria had established himself on this
coast, is well known. For an account of Angria, see
Clement Downing’s _History of the Indian Wars, with an
Account of Angria the Pyrate_. London 1737, 8vo. The
appellation of _Molandis_ given to these sea-robbers
is to me entirely new. _F._

[82] All the Indian languages and characters used on
this side the Ganges, seem to be derived from the
Samscred: and even the religious ideas of the
natives are only here and there modified in a
different manner. The Indian literature, branched
out into so many languages, merely on account of the
great extent of the country, was introduced at the
same time as its religious worship. _F._

[83] That the post has been introduced into India, and
distinguished by the name of _Angelà_, was before
unknown. A kind of post was established formerly in
Persia. Certain persons, employed by the king for
carrying letters, small articles, and dispatches,
and who were called Αγγαροι (Angari), had a right
to require of all those whom they met to remove out
of their way; to take from them horses, ships, and
carriages, &c.; and to compel the owners themselves
to carry burdens. This compulsive service the Greeks
distinguished by the name of Αγγαρειον, a word derived
from the Persian, which is to be found in the New
Testament, Matth. xxvii. This old Persian word,
_Angaros_, seems to have an affinity to the Indian
word _Angelà_; and it is not improbable that the
Persians borrowed their establishment of the post
from the Indians, or the latter theirs from the
Persians. I am almost inclined to think that it was
first introduced among the Indians. The above-mentioned
couriers are called in Persia, at present, _Tschaptar_,
that is, those who ride on a full gallop. _F._

[84] This population, in a country so small as the
coast of Malabar, or Malayala, is undoubtedly very
great. About forty _coss_ or Malabar miles make a
degree. This coast, therefore, contains at most
450 geographical square miles, and to each of
these there are consequently almost 3703 persons.
In other parts of India a far greater number of
persons live on a square mile; but we must take
into consideration the mountains, forests, lakes
and rivers in Malabar, and also the devastation
occasioned in the country by the merciless Tippoo
Saib. _F._

[85] The author ought not to have called milk, butter and
coco-nut oil food easy of digestion. The continual
use of milk renders it at length very heavy for the
stomachs of most people. The fat parts of butter
and coco-nut oil are indigestible; and as the acid
parts of fat separate from it, this acid attacks
the stomach and the bowels. Now the Indians use no
flesh, which contains abundance of alkaline parts,
and therefore the acid cannot be neutralised by
these parts. It is, however, true in general, that
the great moderation of the Indians, though indeed
often occasioned by want, contributes greatly to
their healthfulness. That such moderation promotes
the generative powers is very doubtful. _F._

[86] Monogamy, the great care employed by parents to get
their daughters married, the want of nunneries, the
great honour in which marriage is held in India,
and the little expence required for educating and
clothing children, are the real causes of the
increase of population in that country. Even among
us the middle and lower classes would produce more
children were they not afraid of the expences of
education. _F._

[87] I have, in general, observed, that the small-pox
are malignant where the body, in order to prevent
perspiration, is frequently rubbed over with fat or
oily substances. Dirtiness, immoderation, or luxury
in eating and drinking, and particularly the use
of heating things, greatly increase the malignity
of the disease. A confirmation of what I have here
asserted, may be found in America, at the Cape of
Good Hope, in Africa among the Negroes, and among
the Calmucks in Russia. Among people who employ the
warm bath, as the Russians, Turks, Persians, &c. the
small-pox are less malignant. _F._

[88] That the polygamy of the Mahometans and Indians of
higher rank does not contribute to population is
certain: for, 1st, polygamy deprives many a male
of a female; 2d, it occasions more female children
to be born, and consequently destroys the true
proportion so well suited to monogamy.--Perhaps
the polyandria of the women among the Nayrs causes
more males to be brought into the world, and thus
supplies the deficiency.

[89] It is well known, that the ancient Greek authors
have observed, in regard to the Indian literati
and persons of rank, that they lived in woods, and
places planted with palm-trees.--The intelligent
reader will here recollect Otaheite, where those who
are under no necessity of exposing themselves to
the sun and the sea air, have a pale-brown colour,
inclining to yellow; and where the complexion of the
most beautiful women approaches nearer to the colour
of the Europeans than that of the men, so that an
agreeable ruddiness can be seen to flush in their
cheeks when they are animated. The _Tautaus_, or
labouring class, are much browner; so that one might
believe they belong to another race. _F._

[90] Bruce also, during his travels through Arabia,
observed that the women soon acquired every mark of
old age, and that they left off child-bearing at
an early period. This, perhaps, has given rise to
polygamy in Arabia. _F._

[91] There are various reasons which prevent the Indians
from imitating the household furniture and cooking
utensils of the Europeans. The poorer sort of people
cannot do it, on account of their circumstances; and
the rich will not, because they hate and detest the
whites, by whom they are oppressed. Besides, many of
the European customs, articles of furniture, &c. are
not suited to the climate of India. The attachment
of the Indians to every thing handed down to them by
their ancestors, arises from that pride prevalent
among all little cultivated nations, who, like the
Chinese for example, consider what they themselves
possess as the best in the world. _F._

[92] The object of agriculture in India is almost
exclusively rice, and that kind of it the growth
and increase of which are particularly promoted
by inundating the fields. As the chief point is
to devise proper means for watering the land, the
large rivers have been divided into small streams,
and conducted by ditches and canals to the nearest
plains. When the rivers are not swelled up by
abundant rains, so as to overflow their banks,
the water is raised by machines put in motion
by men or oxen; or large reservoirs are formed,
which the Europeans call _Tangs_ or _Tanks_. In
these reservoirs the rain water, which pours down
in torrents during the time of the monsoons,
is collected, and afterwards conveyed through
different channels to the rice fields. A great
deal of sesamum is sown on account of its oil; and
poppies, particularly in Bengal, are cultivated,
in order to produce opium. Millet, maize, and the
kind of rice which grows in dry soil, are less
generally cultivated. Rice, when freed from the
husk, is called _Nella_. Every Indian has in his
house a wooden mortar and pestle for reducing it
to that state.--Horticulture, in India, consists
only in planting certain portions of ground with
palms and different kinds of fruit trees. The
fruits are figs, oranges, lemons, pomegranates,
&c. The coco, areca, and butter-palms are the
trees most common in gardens: roses, jasmin, and
different kinds of lilies, are reared on account of
their smell.--Botany is comprehended only in the
_Upaveda_ books, written in the earliest periods,
in the Samscred language; one division of which,
the _Adschurveda_, gives an account of the uses
of the Indian plants, together with the method of
cultivating them. This part of the sacred books
is, however, studied by very few of the learned
Brahmans. It is not improbable that it contains a
number of observations carefully made and collected
in the most remote ages, though it may readily
be supposed that a great deal of useless and
superstitious matter must be interspersed throughout
them; for every plant and flower is dedicated to
one or more of the Indian deities. Lovers in India
have the art, as may be seen in the play called
_Sacontala_, to express various ideas by flowers,
and by the method of arranging them, or interweaving
them into garlands; and this art is, no doubt,
taught in the before-mentioned work.--Hunting is the
occupation of great men and princes, who employ,
for that purpose, tamed leopards (_Tschittahs_),
falcons, dogs, nets, and a great number of
attendants.--Fishing is the employment only of the
_Mucoas_, or persons of the meanest and lowest
classes.--The architecture of the Indians, in their
large public buildings, and particularly those
devoted to religious worship, or the sciences,
such for example as observatories, is far from
being contemptible. Their cement, with which they
mix oil, is durable, and almost indestructible.
Their style in their oldest edifices, such as the
temple of Elephanta at Bombay, has a great likeness
to the Egyptian. Whether the Indians were taught
architecture by the Egyptians, or the Egyptians by
the Indians, will always remain doubtful, until
better and more decisive proofs are produced to
determine the question. _F._

[93] The Teka wood (_Tectona grandis_ LINN. GMEL.)
employed in India for building houses and ships,
is indeed strong and durable; but the dry climate
of that country is one of the chief causes why
edifices constructed of such timber stand so long.
The common people in India build houses of mud and
loam, the walls of which are infested by centipedes
(_Scolopendræ_), scorpions, and snakes; so that it
is not only unpleasant, but dangerous, to reside in
them. _F._

[94] Such readers as are acquainted with the different
voyages to the South Seas, will here be struck with
the similarity between the Indian manners and those
of the natives of Otaheite. _F._

[95] The great respect paid to superiors and preceptors
among the Indian nations, shows that they possess a
certain degree of cultivation, and a delicate sense
of moral obligation and gratitude. _F._

[96] Since the English have taken from the Dutch the
island of Ceylon (_Singhala_), and got possession
of the real cinnamon tree, _Laurus cinnamomum_
LINN. they will make little or no use of the
Malabar cinnamon, _Laurus cassia_ LINN. which is
perhaps only a variety of that of Ceylon. The
Malabar cinnamon will in time be totally forgotten
and banished from commerce; as the real cinnamon
tree, as well as those which produce nutmegs and
cloves, have been raised from the seed, and planted
several years ago in the isles of Reunion and France
(Bourbon and Mauritius), and also in the Sechelle
isles, Guadaloupe, Jamaica, and the northern
Circars. This much is certain, that the Malabar
cinnamon has not so aromatic a smell, and does not
contain so many particles of ethereal oil, as that
of Ceylon. The former, hitherto, has been imported
to England only through necessity, in order to
prevent the sale of the latter. _F._

[97] A lack amounts to about 12,500 l. sterling.

[98] Kings of the first, rank were, the _Samuri_,
and _Perumpadapil_, or the king of Cochin. To
the second rank belonged the kings of _Tannur_,
_Codungalur_, _Parpurangàri_, _Airur_, _Cannanur_,
_Edapallì_ or _Rapolim_, _Cajamcollam_, _Temàli_,
_Parur_, _Punettur_, _Alangatta_, _Angamàli_, and
_Ayanicurra_, Those of the third rank were called
_Karttàva_, that is, princes or lords. Such were
the _Karttàva_ of _Panamucatta_, _Nandielette_,
_Ciangracòtta_, _Puducòtta_, _Maprànam_, _Muriata_,
_Cunateri_, _Codacèri_, _Cettatur_, _Puttenpidia_,
_Curumbilaga_, and _Cettuà_. Several of these petty
princes and lords still existed at the time I
arrived in Malabar. _A._

[99] This information is of the utmost importance to the
modern history of India; and the author is entitled
to thanks for having communicated it to the public.
_F._

[100] It is here evident, that confounding the different
casts was assigned as a reason by the Roman
Catholic clergy, why women of the inferior casts,
who differed themselves to be kept as concubines,
by _Nayrs_ of the higher casts, ought to be
punished. By these means they supported a Pagan
custom, totally inconsistent with the spirit of
true Christianity, which considers all mankind as
children of the same father. This syncretism of the
Pagan and the Christian religion has at all times
been allowed by the church of Rome. In China, for
example, the Jesuits declared the heavens to be a
divinity, and permitted their adherents to worship
it, as well as allowed different kinds of oblations.
_F._

[101] That the Christians on the coast of Malabar
received their first teachers, as well as their
religious notions, customs and expressions from
the Syrio-Nestorian Christians at Bagdad and Basra
(Bassora), has been fully proved by La Croze, in his
State of the Indian Church. The deviations from the
Roman Catholic Church, here mentioned, may serve to
shew how many innovations it has gradually made in
the Christian worship without the least necessity.
_F._

[102] Of this Alexis de Menesez, or Menezes, I have
already spoken in the note, p. 91. The acts of the
council of _Udiamper_, which are extremely scarce,
clearly shew that this archbishop was a violent
overbearing man. It cannot excite any surprise, that
people united by force to the Romish church should
make themselves independent as soon as they could.
_F._

[103] This conduct, in regard to the re-admission of
excommunicated persons into the Church, is extremely
partial. Those who are rich, are merely fined. A
great many of the Roman Catholic clergy, who are as
avaricious as they are fond of power, behave in the
same manner. _F._

[104] These _Agapæ_ have been retained also in the Greek
church, and Christians of other sects are readily
admitted to them. _F._

[105] Making provision for young women in poor
circumstances is indeed praise-worthy. Were this
conduct imitated by the Christians of the west, many
a destitute girl would be saved from prostitution.
_F._

[106] The Romish Church is acquainted with no other means
than force to retain men in its bosom. If the clergy
do not possess this force themselves, they procure
by money or flattery the support of the Pagan
priests, in order to punish those who think too
freely or see too clearly. _F._

[107] It is a very just observation, that since the
establishment of Christianity, nothing has
contributed so much to its propagation, as the
singing of sacred hymns and songs. Even in the
New Testament, Eph. v. 19. we find some traces of
church-singing; and Pliny the younger, in one of his
letters to the emperor Trajan, informs him that the
Christians sung hymns in their religious assemblies.
Arius, by his talent for composing harmonious
verses, and his tender pathetic songs, gained over
many Christians to his party. It is also well known,
that the Moravian brethren, or Hernhuters, as they
are called, gain many partisans by their soft and
agreeable melody. This circumstance may be easily
accounted for by the effects produced on the greater
part of mankind by music. _F._

[108] In this method of converting the Pagan Indians there
is not much to be condemned: the secrecy employed
is, in my opinion, the only objectionable part.
The reader will hereafter see, that to convert
these people is a transgression of the laws of the
country; and the missionaries ought by all means to
be bound by them. _F._

[109] The Protestant missionaries in India boast also of
having brought over many Catholic Christians to
their church. This, however, is no proof in favour
of either party. _F._

[110] The appellation _Tupasi_ is derived from the
Samscred word _Duibhasbi_. _Dui_ signifies two,
and _Bhasbi_ a man who speaks two languages;
an interpreter. This name, indeed, may with
propriety be given to the _Tupasi_; for, besides
their mother tongue, they speak some one of the
European languages, either English, French, Dutch,
or Portuguese. At Cochin they are called _Gens
de chapeau_, because they wear a _Topi_ or small
hat; whereas the other Indians, not descended from
Europeans, make use of the _Romali_, that is, a
white turban of the finest muslin. These people
have the upper part of their bodies quite naked;
but bind round their loins a piece of white linen,
which is called _Bastra_. As long as this cloth
is new, it is named _Codi_. If it has interwoven
in it red stripes, it is called _Sòmen_, _Tòmen_,
and _Pudava_. If such stripes are painted on this
linen, it is called _Tùvaden_ or _Toren_. If
it consists of yellow or red silk, it is named
_Pattupudava_.--_Ciatta_ or _Penncupayan_ is the
name of a jacket lying close to the body, worn
by Malabar female Christians when they appear in
public. It reaches no lower than the girdle, to
which the _Pudava_ is fastened, and which they
wear as well as the men. On the head they have no
ornament whatever, but turn up their hair smooth
behind, and fasten it in a roll on the crown. How
much would these Indian dames be astonished at the
ornamented head-dresses of our European ladies! _A._

[111] In the above observations may be found one of the
reasons why neither Hayder Aly nor Tippoo Sultan
could maintain their ground against the English and
the king of Travancor, on the coast of Malabar. The
great number of Christians residing there, whom
Hayder and his son every where persecuted, and often
compelled by violence to embrace Mahometanism,
always took part with the English. _T._

[112] This will serve to explain the cause of the
before-mentioned secrecy observed in regard to
conversion. It is, indeed, very improper that
the Pagan princes should assume power over the
consciences of their subjects, and over their
freedom of thought; but many of the Christians
act no better, in being attached to the foolish
prejudice that the voice of truth can be silenced by
prohibitions. _F._

[113] The assertion, that all the Arabian and Persian
horses are small, I do not consider as just. I have
seen several Arab horses, particularly a stallion
and mare of considerable size in the stud of Lord
Grosvenor. Both these animals had been brought to
England by the way of India. _F._

[114] Cheese made of buffaloes milk is highly esteemed
by the Italians, notwithstanding their celebrated
Parmesan (Lodesan.) It is called _Caccio di
cavallo_. _F._

[115] The veterinary art of the Indians highly deserves
to be studied by the Europeans who apply to the
Samscred language. It no doubt contains good
prescriptions founded on experience. _F._

[116] The red colour of these goats relates to something
of a like kind in Egypt, traces of which may be
found in the writings of Moses. _F._

[117] The fine shawls made in Cachemir, and sold chiefly
to the Indians, are, as far as I know, made of
sheep’s wool, and not of the hair of wild goats. _F._

[118] The flesh of animals used as food is totally changed
by their way of feeding; and therefore it may be
very true that the flesh of the tame swine, which
feed on pilchards near the sea-coast in Malabar, may
be ill tasted and unhealthful. It is well known,
that the hams brought from Bayonne are firmer and
better tasted, because the swine are fed at the
bottom of the Pyrenees on chestnuts. _F._

[119] In _Coschotey_, between the latitude of 40° and 30°
north, there are wild camels with two bunches on
their backs; but I never heard of any other wild
kind of these animals. _F._

[120] The above-mentioned wild urus, ten feet in height,
with large horns, and ash-grey silver-coloured
hair, belongs probably to the same kind as that in
the northern forests of India, which rove about in
large herds. The latter, however, are fourteen feet
in height; weigh from 3000 to 4000 pounds; are of
a perfect black colour, except a tuft of red hair
between the horns; and in the northern part of India
are called _Arni_. Skulls of these monstrous oxen
are found in Russia among the bones of the elephant
and rhinoceros. See Dr. Anderson’s _Bee_ for
December 1792, and Pallas’s _Nordische Beiträge_,
vol. vi.

[121] Whether the animal here mentioned belongs to the
species of the wolf, or the hyæna, cannot with
certainty be determined. The wolf, in general, is
not such a terrible animal; whereas the hyæna, of
which there are two or three kinds in Asia and
Africa, is exceedingly fierce, and will even attack
men. _F._

[122] The striped tyger is properly the real tyger (_Felis
Tigris L._). The _Puli_ is not the _Kuguar_, which
is a ravenous animal in South America of the cat
species, but the real Leopard (_Felis Leopardus
L._). The third kind, of a chestnut colour, and
striped also, seems to be a species not yet known
to zoologists, and very inaccurately defined. The
fourth kind, of a white colour, with black spots,
(_Felis Uncia L._) is represented by Schreber in
_Tab._ C.--The animals of the cat genus, both of
the old and new world, are in general not yet
defined and described with so much accuracy as
might have been expected from the progress lately
made in zoology. The Europeans, whom avarice
induces to visit India, being engaged in trade or
war, have neither time nor inclination for the
study of natural history, which in the end would
be productive of riches were it sufficiently
cultivated. _F._

[123] The squirrel here described is different from the
_Taguan_, the _Sciurus petaurista_ of Pallas, and
the _S. sagitta_ of Nordgren. It appears to be a
kind not yet known; for the northern _S. volans_,
_S. volucella_, and _S. Hudsonius_, are none of them
so large. _F._

[124] The Malabar _Marapatti_ is by no means the Serval
of the naturalists. The latter, as is well known,
is a kind of lynx; whereas the Marapatti is an
Indian variety of the _Viverra ichneumon_, for
it is improper to make a distinct kind of the
_Mungo_.--The ichneumon climbs up the palm-trees and
eats the fruit of them, as well as cats, mice, and
particularly snakes, but especially the poisonous
kind, Naja, called in the Portuguese _Cobra de
Cabelo_. _F._

[125] The antelopes have never yet been systematically
known in a proper manner, notwithstanding the
trouble which Pallas has taken, in his excellent
works, to give an accurate description of them. The
first here mentioned, black or brown, with crooked
twisted horns, seems to be the _Orcas L._ found at
the Cape of Good Hope. The second, if it be the
_A. cervicapra_, has not red but yellow hair, and
is larger than a goat, or about the size of the
fallow-deer. _F._

[126] The bezoar goat, _Antelope Gazella L._--Which of the
antelopes of the ancients this _Kuran Antelope_ is,
cannot with certainty be determined. _F._

[127] The civet cat is the _Viverra Zibetha_, and _V.
Civetta L._ for I am convinced that these two
varieties have been unnecessarily made distinct
species.--The _Kirri_ is the small variety of the
_Viverra Ichneumon L._ and the above-mentioned
_Marapatti_ is a larger. The red variety, mentioned
afterwards, belongs also to this species. _F._

[128] Of the two kinds of squirrel, here mentioned, one
probably is the _Sciurus maximus L._ a figure of
which is given in Sonnerat’s _Voyage aux Indes_,
vol. ii. tab. 87. The second seems to be a new
animal not yet known. _F._

[129] These species of the mouse, according to the
imperfect account here given of them, are not to be
found in the system. _F._

[130] It is well known that the European cats do not
attack the Norway rat, _Mus decumanus L._ _F._

[131] This kind of hedge-hog is the hystrix, or _Erinaceus
Malaccensis_. The bezoar procured from this species
of animal is that called by the Portuguese _Piedra
del porco_, which was formerly sold at a dear rate,
but at present is of little value. _F._

[132] The above-mentioned _Coringuranga_ is without doubt
the _S. Silenus L._ or the _Ouanderou_ of Buffon.
The other apes mentioned by the author, for want of
a more accurate description, cannot be referred to
their proper place in the system. _F._

[133] The _Adibe_, or _Adive_, is the jackal, well known
in every part of the East. These animals rove about
in flocks; and when one of them sets up a cry at a
distance, he is imitated by all the rest who hear
him. In the book of Judges, ch. xv. v. 4. the hyæna
is called _Schualim_. _F._

[134] The _Cenna_ (Tschenna), with red hair, which the
author here describes as a wolf, may perhaps be
a yellowish coloured kind of that animal, as his
_Adibe_ is the real hyæna.--The mountain civet cat,
_Malaweruva_, and the _Naypulla_, are without doubt
varieties of the common civet cat. A few differences
in colour and spots are not sufficient to make new
species. _F._

[135] See the note, p. 212. Lucullus caused large ponds to
be dug, and to be filled with sea-water, in order
to keep in them conger-eels. Some of the Romans fed
these fish with the flesh of their slaves. Ducks,
which eat nothing but fish, acquire a fishy taste;
but when they have been again fed for some time with
corn, and other things of the like kind, their flesh
becomes excellent. _F._

[136] India and Ceylon are the real native country of the
common peacock. There can be nothing more beautiful
than a flock of these animals flying in the
sun-shine. This spectacle I have often seen. John
Blackburne, Esq. of Oxford Hall, near Warrington,
had a great number of peacocks in a park, which was
at least two miles from his house, yet they often
flew thither. _F._

[137] The wild cock, found in the Gauts, and the
neighbouring forests, has been fully described
by Sonnerat in his Voyage to India, vol. ii. p.
116-125. A very good engraving of it may be seen
also in plate 94. One of these birds stuffed
is preserved in the Royal Cabinet of Natural
Curiosities at Halle. It is a great rarity, and its
feathers are remarkably beautiful. _F._

[138] The falcon and sparrow-hawk were in Egypt
consecrated to Horus.--As the Nayrs, or warriors,
in the time of peace, lead a very indolent life,
they commonly employ themselves in hunting, to
which they train falcons. It is not improbable,
therefore, that the art of falconry was conveyed
from India to the Saracens. The emperor Frederic
II. learned it from the Saracens and his Arabian
subjects in Sicily during the time of the crusades,
and wrote a book on it, entitled, _Ars venandi cum
avibus_, which was continued by his son Manfredus,
and which the learned Professor Schneider published
at Leipsic, in 1788 and 1789, in two parts, 4to;
because the first edition, in 8vo, of Augsburg, was
out of print. The most valuable part of this work
are the additions and illustrations of that learned
naturalist; but one cannot help being surprised that
the above-mentioned emperor should have possessed
so much knowledge, and even of anatomy.--It is
impossible to determine to what class the _Kaka_ and
_Cembòtta_ belong, but the _Wesbambel_ is the large
Asiatic pelican (_Pelecanus onocrotalus_.) _F._

[139] The _Magnakli_ is probably the _Oriolus galbula L._
or our golden thrush, which is found every where in
the old world; but the Indian bird is a variety.
That the small bird of paradise, _Paradisea regia
L._ is to be found in the Gauts, is an observation
entirely new, which requires to be confirmed by
eye-witnesses; for, as far as is yet known, all
the different kinds of the bird of paradise are to
be found only in New Guinea, and the neighbouring
islands, particularly Aru. _F._

[140] Without doubt Buffon’s _Poule sultane_ (_Fulica
porphyrio L._) a very beautiful bird. _F._

[141] It is rather singular that the author should class
bats among the birds merely because they can fly,
when they are _mammalia_. Those here mentioned
are probably the same as Buffon’s _Roussette_
(_Vespertilio vampyrus_, or, according to
Blumenbach, _V. caninus_.) They live entirely on
fruits, and are not blood-thirsty, as we might be
induced to believe from Gmelin’s assertion in _Linn.
Syst. Nat._ ed. xiii. In this respect they are
confounded with the real Vampyre of Surinam (_Vesp.
Spectrum_). This Vampyre exhales a very disagreeable
smell, and is not eatable; but the former may be
eaten, and are used as food by the natives of New
Holland. They are accustomed to suspend themselves
in the day time by the large hooks of their wings
from the _Casuarina_ trees. I brought down six
of them at one shot in the island of Amsterdam
(_Tonga-Tabu_), and several more remained dead on
the tree; for there was an immense multitude of them
together. _F._

[142] This black-bird is the so called _Mayno_, or _Mayna_
(_Gracula religiosa L._). Numbers of them may be
seen in England, particularly in London. They are
brought from India and the Philippines, because they
pipe exceedingly pretty; are easily taught; learn
whole tunes, and even imitate words. _F._

[143] See a description of this bird in the _Asiatic
Researches_, vol. ii. p. 109.

[144] The _Bajà_ or _Berbera_ is the gross-beak of
the Philippines (_Loxia Philippina L._) already
described by Brission. A great many of these nests
are brought to Europe. _F._

[145] The Indian crocodile (_Lacerta Gangetica_,) has
very long narrow jaw-bones, and is easily tamed.
It is very remarkable that the crocodile is held
sacred in India, as it formerly was in Egypt. Some
of the Malays, for instance, at Batavia, are so
superstitious as to imagine that such a crocodile is
their brother or sister. They endeavour, therefore,
to save some of their provisions, that they may
every day carry food to the crocodile, which
approaches at their call. _F._

[146] These _Candimarams_ are, by the English sailors,
called _Catamarans_. Some of the islanders in the
South Sea venture out to fish in another manner.
Two long bundles of the boughs of trees supply the
place of a log of wood, and some tie into bundles
of the like kind canes or reeds. Several of these
are united together in strata placed cross-wise;
and sometimes the person who directs this frail
vessel ventures to add to it a mast, and a sail
formed of a mat. All vessels of this kind the
English distinguish by the corrupted Indian word
_Catamarans_. _F._

[147] All uncultivated nations formerly built, and still
build their ships without employing sometimes
a single nail. Vessels of this kind are still
constructed at Archangel. In Arabia the planks of
ships were sewed together. See Plin. _Hist. Nat._
lib. xxiv. c. 40. and _Arriani mare Erythræum_.
The latter calls these ships _Madarate_. Niebuhr
saw a ship of this kind from Oman, which was
called _Tarad_. These vessels and their name
have been therefore preserved these 1700 years;
for the syllable _ma_ is a _formativum nominis_,
and _Darate_ and _Tarad_ have a great affinity,
or are the same word. In Otaheite also, and the
neighbouring islands, all the ships, or rather large
war-boats, have their planks sewed together, and the
seams are filled up with the fibres which surround
the coco-nut, in the same manner as our ships are
caulked with oakum. Among the dissolved gums with
which the seams between the planks are daubed over
in India, we are no doubt to reckon resin. As far,
however, as I know, the _Tschinam_, which consists
of coco-nut oil, fresh lime burnt from muscle
shells, and other ingredients, is principally used
for this purpose. It is well known, that, for some
time past, large ships have been sheathed with
copper, to prevent them from being pierced by the
sea-worm (_Teredo navalis L._) or the bottoms of
them are daubed over with a particular mixture of
tar and pounded glass. It has lately been discovered
in England, that tar made from pit-coal is the best
for withstanding the sea-worm. Oil of pilchards is
here recommended for the same purpose; and indeed
it would be worth while for some of the maritime
nations of Europe to make experiments with it. _F._

[148] The Souffleur is the _Delphinus Orca L._ Because
it is often seen at the northern Cape of Europe,
the fishermen gave it the name of the _Nordkaper_.
A figure and description of it may be found in the
_Phil. Trans._ vol. lxxvii. p. ii. tab. 16, 17. I am
rather surprised that the author should have been
so soon acquainted with Professor Schneider’s work
which did not appear till 1795, and that he makes no
mention of John Hunter, whose observations on whales
were translated from the Philosophical Transactions
by my learned countryman Schneider, who added to
them very valuable and useful notes. _F._