Fhe Difcovery, Settlement, and Commerce 
Book L 
At laft he comes to the Pile, throws himfelf into it, and is 
foon reduced to Afhes*. 
55 . A certain Perfoh, to whom we give intire Credit, 
fays, he be held one of thefe Indians burn himfelf, and avers, 
that when he came near to the Pile, he drew out a Cangiar, 
and with it ripp’d down his Bread to the Rim of his Belly *, 
and that this done, he with his left Hand pulled out a Flap 
of his Liver, and with the Cangiar cut a Piece of it, which 
he gave to one of his Brothers, talking all the time, and 
difcovering an invincible Contempt of Death, and a won- 
derful Patience under his Torments, till at laft he leaped 
into the Fire in his Paffage to Hell. 
56. The Perfon who affirmed this added, that in the 
Mountains of this Country there are Indians , who in Opi- 
nions and Manners differ but little from thofe we call Kani- 
ftans and Jelidians , and who are addidled to all manner of 
Superftition and Vice •, there is a great Emulation between 
thefe Mountaineers and the People on the Coaft* the latter 
continually going up to the Mountains to dare the Inhabi- 
tants there to do as they do, and the Mountaineers on their 
Part as frequently coming down to the Coaft with Defiances 
of the fame Nature. 
Among others, there once came down a Man bn this 
Errand, and having gathered a Number of the Inhabitants 
of the Coaft about him, who came as well out of Curiofity 
to fee the Sight, as with Intent to imitate him, he told 
them to do what he was about to perform, or if they defpaired 
of doing it, to acknowledge themfelves overcome. He fat 
himfelf down then in a Place planted with Canes, and 
diredled them to bend one of them down to the Ground. 
Thefe Canes are like our Sugar Canes, bend like them, 
and have a very large Stem •, when they are pulled down 
they lie along, but when let go they rife again with prodi- 
gious Violence. One of the largeft of thefe he caufed to be 
bowed down to his Height, and faftened his Hair ftrongly 
thereto, when taking in his Hand his Cangiar, which 
fparkled like Fire, he faid to thofe about him, I am going 
to cut off my Head with this Cangiar. As foon as it is 
fevered from my Body, let go the Cane, and when it flies 
up with my Head, I will laugh, and you fhall hear me. 
The People of the Coaft had not Courage enough to imitate 
him. The Perfon who related thefe Things to us did it 
without Emotion or Wonder ; and in our times thefe 
Fads are very generally known, for this Part of the Indies 
is in the Neighbourhood of the Country of the Arabs, 
and we hear from thence every Day. 
57. It is a cuftomary Thing alfo for Men and Women 
of the Indian Blood, to defire thofe of their Family to 
throw them into the Fire, or drown them when they are 
grown old, or perceive themfelves fink under the Weight 
of their Years, firmly believing that they are to return in 
other Bodies. They burn their dead. It has often Times 
happened in the Ifle of Sarandib , where there is a Mine of 
precious Stones in a Mountain, a Pearl Fiffiery, and other 
rare and extraordinary Things, that an Indian would come 
into the Buzar, or Market-place, with his Kris, as they 
call a kind of Cangiar they wear, made after a very par- 
ticular Manner, and feize on the moft wealthy Merchant 
there prefent, and holding his Kris to his Throat, leading 
him by the Veil out of the City in the Midft of a Throng 
of People, while not a Soul of them dared attempt his Ref- 
cue j for if any Attempt of this kind was made, the Indian 
was fure to kill the Merchant, and make away with 
himfelf : When he had got him out of the City, he obliged 
him to redeem himfelf with a Sum of Money. This 
Outrage continuing, the Kings ordained that fuch Indians 
fhould be feized •, but when they came to execute this Or- 
der, the Indian killed the Merchant firft, and then himfelf : 
The fame Misfortune befel many other Merchants ; and 
after this Manner a Number both of Arabs and In- 
dians perifhed : The Merchants therefore fought after other 
Means to fecure themfelves, and the Indians were no 
longer apprehended. 
58. In the Mountain of Sarandib they find precious 
Stones of various Colours, red, green, and yellow, moft 
of which are at certain Times forced out of Caverns and 
other Receffes by Rains and Torrents. In thefe Places 
the King has his Officers to keep an Eye over thofe who 
pick them up : Many Times alfo they are dug out of 
Mines in the fame Manner as Metals ; and they fometimes 
find precious Stones in the Oar, which mult be broken 
to get at them. 
The King of this I (land makes Laws, which are the Fun- 
damentals of the Religion and Government of the Coun- 
try ; here are Doctors and Affemblies of learned Men, 
like thofe of the Hadithis among the Arabs . The Indians 
repair to thefe Affemblies, and write down what they hear 
of the Lives of their Prophets, and the various Expofi- 
tions of their Laws. Here is a very great Idol of the 
fineft Gold, but concerning the Weight thereof Travel- 
lers are not agreed. Here alfo are Temples, where great 
Sums of Money are expended in Incenfe K 
In this fame Eland there is a very great Multitude of 
Jews , as well as of many other Sects, even Fanouts, or 
Manichees , the King permitting the free Exercife of every 
Religion. At the End of this Eland are Vallies of great 
Length and Breadth, which extend quite to the Sea. Here 
Travellers ftay two Months and more in that called Gab 
Sarandib, allured by the Beauty of the Country, chequered 
with Groves and Plains, Water and Meads, and bieffed 
with a wholfome Air. This Valley opens upon the Sea 
called Hark and, and is tranfcendantly pleafant. You there 
buy a Sheep for half a Dram, and for the fame you pur- 
chafe as much of their Drink as may fuffice many Perfons. 
This Drink is made of Palm-honey, boiled and prepared 
with Fart ( Foddi ) or Juice which runs from the Tree. 
59. Gaming is the ufual Diverfions of the Inhabitants 
here ; they play at Draughts, and their other principal 
Paftime is fighting of Cocks, which are very large in. 
this Country, and better provided with Spurs than Cocks 
commonly are ; and, befides this, the Indians arm them 
with Blades of Iron in the Form of Cangiars. Upon 
thefe Combats they bet Gold, Silver, Lands, Farms, 
which are won by the Owner of the Cock that beats. 
They play alfo at Draughts, and venture great Sums upon 
this Game, but with fuch Fury, that thofe who have not 
wherewithal, Debauchees and defperate People, often play 
away the Ends of their Fingers. 
While they are at play, they have a Fire by them, and 
thereon a Pot of Walnut or Seafame-oil (they have no 
Oil of Olives) and they place a little, but very fharp 
Hatchet between them ; when one of them has won a 
Game, the other lays his Hand upon a Stone, and the 
Winner cuts off the End of the Lofer’s Finger with the 
Hatchet, and the Patient dips the injured Part into the 
boiling Oil to cauterife the Wound, and yet they cannot 
ffiake off this evil Habit of gaming ; on the contrary, 
they fometimes perfift in it fo obftinately and fo long, that 
before they part, they have all their Fingers thus muti- 
lated. Some of them will take a Wick, and foaking it in 
Oil, apply it to fotne Member, fet Fire to it, and let it 
burn, fo that the Scent of the burnt Flefh is fmelt by thofe 
who play with them, while the Parties themfelves betray 
not the leaft Senfe of Pain. 
There is much Debauchery in this Country, as well 
among the Women as among the Men, for they are laid 
under no Reftraint. It runs fo high, that fometimes a 
foreign Merchant, juft arrived from Sea, fhall fend for 
the Daughter of a King of the Country, and fhe fhall 
come to him to the fiffiing Grounds, with her Father’s 
k There are many modern Authors who atteft every Circumftance mentioned in this Account ; but it muft be acknowledged, few befides Women burs 
themfelves • and that the Bramins, who were wont to behave with fo much Conftancy on fuch Occafions, are now content to die in the fame way with 
other Men ; and even the Women, generally fpeaking, are far enough from that Spirit of Heroifm for which they were fo famous in former Ages. 
They burn themfelves, indeed, with the dead Bodies of their Hufbands, as in Times paft, but not with fo good a Will ; nor would they do it at all, 
but that the Cuftom of their Country, and the Power their Relations have over them, oblige them to it. 
1 It appears, that this Ifland, which is that of Ceylon, has been in all Ages famous for its immenfe Wealth and Riches. As to the Idol that our 
Author mentions, it is not impoffibie that the Priefts of this Country might praftife the fame Art, which has been ufed at Siam, where they have a 
monftrous Idol of Clay and Bricks, very artificially gilt, which was for many Ages fuppofed to be pure Gold ; though it muft be allowed, that there 
sot: few Countries were fuch a golden Image might be looked for, with greater Probability, than in this Eland, the People having been always equally 
s&maik able for their Wealth and their Superftition. 
