88 
'travels into thelHT>\'E S. Part III. 
Samorhi, or 
Emperour. 
that King. The King bi Cochin made AUiance wit;h them , and the Kings 
of Cananor and Coulam invited them to come and Trade with them. 
MaLjbar. Malabar (which is the CoLintrey of all thdè Kings) begins at Camnor^ and 
ends at Cape Cowory-, the moft çowerfid of all thefe Princes, was the King 
o^Calecut, who took the Quality of Samorin or Emperour. The Port of Ca- 
kcut , lying in the Latitude of eleven degrees twenty two minutes, is at fome 
diftadce from the Town -, befote the coming of the Portugaefe^ it was the moft 
confiderable Port of the Indies for Commerce, and Ships came thither from 
a-U parts. The Town has no Walls, becaufe there is no ground for lay- 
in^ a Foundation upon , for water appears as foon as they begin to digg. 
There are no good Buildings in Calecut^ but the Kings Palace and fome Pa- 
gods \ the Houfes ioyn not , they have lovely Gardens , and of all things 
necefiary For life, there is plenty in tha; Town. 
The K-ing of Cochin was a moft feitfeful Friend to the Portuguefi y for, for 
their fake he was deprived of his Kyiigdom by tljeKingof but they 
reftored him,and gained fo much upon himjtftat he gave them leaveto buiict 
a Fort in that part of the Town, which is called Lower-Cochin upon the Sea 
fide, to diftinguifli it from the Higher-Cochin where the King refides , and 
from which it is diftant a quarter of a League. The-FortugueJeh^LVC held 
that Fort a long time,but three or fowr years fince, it was taken from them 
by the Dutch. ^ , _ 
The Port of Cochin is very good, there is fix Fathom water clofe by the 
Shoar, and upon a Plane one may eafily come from on Board the Veffels. 
The Town of Cochin is about thirty fix Leagues from CaUcut -, it is watered 
by a River , and there is plenty of Pepper in the Countrey about it , which 
is fruitful in nothing elfe. There are People in that Countrey who have 
Legs like an Elephant, and I faw a Man at Cochm with fuch a Leg ^ the Son 
Inherits not after his Father, becaufe a Woman is allowed by the cuftom 
to lye with feveral Men , fo that it cannot be known who is' the Father of 
the Child fhe brings forth -, and for Succeffions , the Child of the Sifter is 
preferred, becaufe there is no doubt of the Line by the Female. The Si- 
fters (even of the Kings themfelves ) have liberty to chufe fuch Nairs or 
Gentlemen as they pleafe to lye with -, and when a Nair is in a Ladies Cham- 
ber,he leaves his Stick or Sword at the î)oor, that others (who have a mind 
to come) ihould know that the place is taken up , no body offers to come 
in then : And this cuftom is Eftablifh'd all over Malabar. 
Heretofore the King of Cochin was Crowned upon the Coaft, though ft 
was pofleft by the Vortuguefe -, but he who ought now to be King,would not 
be Crowned there , becaufe it is in the power of iht Dutch : And he made 
them anfwer , when they invited him to follow the Cuftom,that he would 
have nothing to do with them -, and that when the Portuguefe were refto- 
red to the poflèflîon of that coail , he would be Crowned there. In the 
meane time the Dutch have Crowned another Prince , who is the Kings 
Kinfman, and have given him the Title of Samorin or Emperour , which 
the King of Calecut pretends to. 
The tme King of Cochin is retired to T^wor, which is the firft Principality 
of his Houfe, to the Prince of Tanor his Uncle, eight Leagues from Cochin. 
They Sail from one Town to the other in little Barks , upon a pretty 
pleafant River. 
Thefe Nair es or Gentlemen we have been fpeaking of, have a great con- 
ceit of their Nobility , becaufe they fancy themfelves defcended from the 
Sun \ they give place to none but the Tortuguefe , and that precedency cofl 
Blood. The Tortuguefe General (to'compofe the Debates that happened of- 
ten betwixt them ) agreed with the King of Cochin^ that the Matter fhould 
be decided by a duel of two Men, and that if the Naire had the better ont , 
the Tortuguefe fhould give place to the Naires-^ or if the contrary happened , 
tioc Naires fhould allow the Tortuguefe the advantage for which they fought, 
and the Naire being overcome^the Tortuguefe take place of the Naires-^ they go 
ftark naked from the girdle upwards , and have no other Cloathing from 
the girdle to the knee, buta piece of Cloath -, their head is covered with a 
Turban, and they carry always a naked Sword and a Buckler. The Naire 
Women are cloathed like the Men , and the Queen her felf is in no other 
drefs. 
The Town of 
Cakciit. 
Cochin. 
King otOochin. 
The Fort of 
Cochin, taken 
from the Por- 
tugueje by the 
Dutch. 
The Port of 
Cochin. 
Abimdance of 
Pepper at 
Cochin. 
A Man with a 
leg hke an 
Elephant. 
Sncceflion in 
Malabar. 
The Women 
have hberty to 
chufe their 
Galants. 
The Coronati- 
on of the King 
of Cochin. 
sanor. 
The Nair es. 
A duel betwixt 
a Portuguefe 
and a Naire 
lor the place. 
The Apparel 
ot the Ni4ir ei. 
