710 3 the VO TAG E 0/" Francis Pirard de Laval Book I. 
like ours, they could not have the free Ufe of their Arms. 
Perfons of Quality commonly wear fuch Coats 1 but fome 
have a Cuftom of covering their Skin from the Girdle up- 
wards, with an odoriferous Pafte, made of the Powder of 
Camphire and Sanders, beaten upon- a frnooth Stone, and 
incorporated with the diftilled Water of fweet-fcented 
Flowers. They make their Wives or Friends anoint their 
Backs, &c. with this Paint, and draw various Figures up- 
on them ; however, they muft: not appear with that Piece 
of Foppery before the King, or be feen in his Palace. 
The Men of this Country wear upon their Heads red or 
party-coloured Turbans, fome of which are of Cotton, for 
the meaner fort of People, and others of Silk, for the Per- 
fons of Quality. The King’s Officers and Soldiers have 
frequently embroidered Handkerchiefs on their Heads, 
which other Subj efts are not allowed to wear. Their 
Feet are always naked, excepting that within Doors they 
ufe wooden Sandals, which: they pull off when vifited by a 
Perfonof fuperior Hank •, often times their Legs- are like- 
wife naked. 
The Women wear a Coat of Cotton, or Silk, which 
peaches from their Middle tP 'their Ancles ; above that 
t-hey have a long Robe of Taffaty, or line Cotton, reach- 
ing to their Feet, without .any Slit belides the Neck, 
where, it is fattened with two little gilded Buttons. This 
Robe they pull quite up to fuckle thek Children. Their 
Arms are loaded from their Wrift to the Elbow with 
Bracelets of Silver, infomuch that fometimes they have 
three or Tour. Pound of fine Silver upon them; though 
indeed the poor , fort alloy the Silver with Brafs. The 
Women of Quality have many Chains of Gold, or Strings 
with little Pieces of Gold about their .Necks, and rich 
Pendants in their Ears. They have their Ears pierced 
when they are young, not only in the Cap, upon which 
there hangs an Ear-ring, but in twenty-four Places up the 
Griftle, in which they put as many gilded Nails, with 
precious Stones or Pearls on the Heads of them. When 
the Women walk inCthe Streets they cover their Heads 
with a Veil,, and are very cautious in fhewing their Faces 
before Men, though in the Prefence of Women of fupe- 
rior Rank, they take off their Veil. They are not allowed 
to wear Rings, Jewels,. Bracelets, or Ear-rings, or Chains 
of Gold, till they afk and obtain Leave of the Queen, as 
the Men do of the King, for the fame Priviledge, which 
commonly cofts them Money. 
The different Quality of the Women is diftinguilhed by 
the. Nature of their Ornaments, for none but Queens and 
Princeffes .are allowed to - wear Gold-Bracelets, or Gold- 
Rings on their Arms or- Legs ; befides, the Queens put 
Rings on their Fore-fingers, the Princeffes and Perfons of 
the firft Quality .upon their. Middle- fingers ; fo that all 
other Women have their Rings upon the Ring-finger and 
Little- fingers, and .the Men have theirs upon their Thumb 
.only. If a Man’s Wife begins to wear richer Ornaments 
..than fhe ufed to do in former Times, the Man’s Taxes 
are raifed, unlefs he be one of the King’s Officers, or an 
Inhabitant of Male, for thefe are exempted from all Taxes 
on Apparel ; Foreigners, and their Wives are alfo free, for 
they may wear what they pleafe, .as well as the Clergy. 
The W omen place a great Part of .Beauty in painting red 
the Nails of their Fingers and Tees, which they effeft 
.with the Juice of a certain Tree. In a Word, they are 
very handfome, and are very- careful in fetting themfelves 
off with a genteel Habit, and with frequent wafhing and 
.perfuming ;; Generally fpeaking - their .Complexion is an 
Olive Colour, though fome of them are. brown, and others 
very fair. 
1 8. The People of this Country have many peculiar Cuf- 
. toms with reference . to eating ; they reckon it is very diffio- 
nourable for a Perfon of fuperior Rank to eat with his Inferi- 
or ; and indeed -they feldom regale one another, unlefs it be at 
folemn Feftivais. If they mean to complement a Friend, 
they fend a covered Table with feveral Difhes of Meat to 
their Friend’s Houfe, who is thereby much honoured; 
but, in, their own Houfes they are .cautious of eating in 
,4:he Prefence of others ; before and after eating, they fay 
Prayers; and their Table is the Floor, covered with a fine 
Mat, upon which they fit crofs-legged ; they feed fo nicely 
that they will not drop one Crumb, nay, not fo much as a 
Drop of Water, though they waffi their Mouths before 
and after. Inftead of Table-cloths and Napkins they ufe 
Banane- Leaves : Their Ditties are made of Earth, or Chi- 
na Purcelane, which is very common in that Country, 
gold or filver Veffels being prohibited by Law. They are 
all round like Boxes, with an earthen Cover, over which, 
they put a Piece of Silk, for the Pifmires are there fo 
numerous and troublefome that it would be impoffile to 
keep Meat without a Cover upon it ; and the People are 
fo nice, that they will not tafte any Meat that has been 
touched by a Fly, Pifmire, or any Infeft or unclean 
Thing, but give it to the Fowls. As for the Poor,, 
whom they look upon as the Servants of God, they fcorn 
to offer them what they will not eat themfelves, and en- 
tertain them with the beft Viftuals they have. If they fpy 
the leaft Crack in a Diffi, they eat no more out of it, hold- 
ing it pointed. 
All Spoon-meat they eat with their Fingers, but withal 
fo nicely, that they let nothing fall, that being accounted 
a very natural Piece of Decency. If they have Occa- 
fion to cough or fpit at time of eating, they rife from 
the Table, and walk out ; they never feed themfelves with 
their Left-hand, becaufe they make ufe of it in Wafhing 
their Privites. They choofe to begin their Meals with 
eating a Cocoa-nut half ripe, and drinking the Water of 
it, which they fay loofens the Body. While they eat they 
are all filent, and make quick Difpatch, for with them it 
is an unmannerly Thing to be long eating. They take it 
for a Piece of Rudenefs and Incivility to drink before they 
have done eating, and even then they drink but once, ei- 
ther Water or Cocoa-wine frefh drawn. They drink out 
of Copper-cups well wrought, with Covers to them : After 
eating and wafhing, they ferve up a Plate of Betel inftead 
of Sweet-meats, for the Fruit is ferved with the Meat. 
They have no fet Meal-times, but eat when their Appe- 
tite provokes them ; and Viftuals is dreffed only by the 
Women, for the Men defpife the Charafter of a Cook, 
in fuch a Manner that they will not converfe with a Man- 
cook, or admit him to a Share of their Exercifes, he be- 
ing doomed by his Trade to the Company of Women. 
19. When they kill a Beaft for Food, they turn their 
Faces towardsMohammed’s Sepulchre, and fo cut its Throat 
in a particular Place ; after which they fuperftitioufly avoid 
the touching of it till it is quite dead. Their Butchers 
muft be ancient, and the Fathers of Children. When they 
awake out of their Sleep they prefently waffi their Eyes 
and Faces, and rub them with Oil, and blacken their Eye- 
Lids and Eye-Brows, for before the Performance of that 
Duty, they muft not fpeak, or bid any one Good-morrow. 
They are very careful in wafhing and cleanfing their Teeth, 
to the end that the Betel and Areca may the more rea- 
dily imprefs their red Colour upon them, which they are 
very fond of. They are always chewing Betel, which 
they continually carry about with them in the Plaits of 
their Gidle, and mutually prefent to each other upon oca- 
fional Salutations. They bathe before they enter the Tem- 
ple, and wafh with their Left-hand after natural Evacuati- 
ons. When they bathe at home, they plunge their Head 
three Times under the Water ; and in regard that they al- 
ways bathe and pray in publick, and that the refpeftive 
Crimes have peculiar Ceremonies, calculated for them ; 
every Man’s Crimes or Mifdemeanours are thus expofed to 
the publick View : When they fet out upon a Voyage, they" 
avoid touching or meeting any body, for if any unlucky 
Accident befalls them, they impute it to the Perfon that 
touched them. When they go a fifhingthey muft not fa- 
lute any, or bid them Good-morrow. From Sun-fet on 
Thurfday, till three or four a-Clock next Morning, they 
fuffer nothing to be carried out of their Houfe 3 but re- 
ceive all that is brought in. 
If they fall out one with another, they never rail, for 
if they did all the World would fall upon them. When 
crofted at Sea, they addrefs themfelves to the King of the 
Winds, (for they do not call him a God ;) and in every 
Eland there is a defolate Bye-place, called Slave, where 
thofe who have efcaped Danger make Offerings of little 
Boats and Ships, made on purpofe, and loaded with Gums, 
Perfumes, Flowers, and odoriferous Woods. They bum 
the Perfumes, and having fet fire to the Boats and Ships, 
turn 
