378 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. ( CEYLON). [VOL. XIX. 



Indians call it Ylinarim. It is a rich and luxuriant land, 3 in- 

 habited by Gentiles, and ruled by a Gentile king. Many Moors 

 live in the sea-ports of this island in large quarters, and all the 

 inhabitants are great merchants. There are fifty leagues of 

 channel towards the north-east from the said cape until passing 

 the island of Maylepur. 4 Both Moors and Gentiles are well- 

 made men, and almost white, and for the most part stout, with 

 large stomachs, and luxurious. 5 They do not understand nor 

 possess arms, they are all given to trade and to good living. They 

 go bare from the waist upwards, and below that cover themselves 

 with good cloths of silk and cotton, 6 caps on their heads, and the 

 ears pierced with large holes in which they wear many gold rings 

 and jewellery, 7 so much that their very ears reach to their 

 shoulders, 8 and many rings and precious jewels on their fingers ; 

 they wear belts of gold richly adorned with precious stones. 

 Their language is partly Malabar and partly of Cholmendel, 9 

 and many Malabar Moors come to live in this island on account 

 of its being so luxuriant, abundant, and very healthy. Men live 

 longer here than in other parts of India. 10 They have a 

 great deal of very good fruit ; and the mountains are full of sweet 

 and sour oranges of three or four kinds, and plenty of lemons and 

 citrons, and many other very good fruits which do not exist in our 

 parts, and they last all the year. 11 And there is plenty of meat 

 and fish, 12 little rice, for most of it comes from Cholmendel, 13 

 and it is their chief food ; much good honey and sugar brought 

 from Bengal, 14 and butter of the country. All the good cin- 

 namon grows in this island upon the mountains, on trees which 

 are like laurels. And the king of the country orders it to be cut 

 in small sticks, and has the bark stripped off 15 in certain months 

 of the year, and sells it himself to the merchants who go there to 

 buy it, because no one can gather it except the king. 16 There 

 are likewise in this island many wild elephants which the king 

 orders to be caught and tamed ; and they sell them to merchants 

 of Cholmendel, Narsynga, and Malabar, and those of the kingdoms 

 of Decam and Cambay go to those places to buy them. These 



elephants are caught in this manner They make great 



merchandize of them, and they are worth much, because they are 

 much valued by the kings of India for 17 war and for labour, and 

 they became as domestic and quick at understanding as men. 

 The very good ones are worth in the Malabar country and in 

 Cholmendel from a thousand to one thousand five hundred ducats, 

 and the others from four to six 18 hundred ducats, according as 

 they may be, but in the island they are to be had for a small 

 price. And all have to be brought and presented to the king. 19 

 There are also many jewels in this island, rubies which they call 

 manica, sapphires, jacinths, topazes, jagonzas, 20 chrysolites, and 

 cat's eyes, which are as much esteemed amongst the Indians as 

 rubies. And all these stones are all gathered in by the king, and 

 sold by himself. And he has men who go and dig for them in the 

 mountains and shores of the rivers, who are great lapidaries and 

 who are good judges in those matters : so much so that if they have 



