77-8 the Foyages and Obfervaiions of j. A. de Mandelfloe, Book I, 
would, but we loft fight of them by Night On the 
23d we had fight of them again, and fuppofed that they 
fteered their Courfe towards Ceylon , to affift the King 
again ft the Portugueze . About Noon we found ourfelves 
out of fight of the Land, in 13 0 Lat We intended to 
fteer for the Coaft of Malabar , upon Information that an 
EngUJh Ship, richly laden, coming from Bantam , was taken 
by thefe, after a brave Defence, in which it had blown up 
above 1200 of the Moors , after they were entered the 
Ship. Our Intent was to redeem the Mafter and the 
Mate with fourteen Prifoners that were taken aboard her ; 
but coming to an Anchor the fame Night in the Harbour 
of Cananor , we found three EngUJh Ships, the Dragon , 
the Catherine , and the Seymour , commanded by Captain 
Waddel , a very experienced Sea Officer, who had ferved 
at the taking of Ormuz , by whom being informed, that 
moft of thofe Prifoners were fet at Liberty, we refolved 
to leave the Coaft of Malabar. The City of Cananor is 
inhabited by Malabar S\ a People that inhabit that Coaft 
from the City of Goa as far as the Cape of Comorin , but 
the Portugueze have a good Fleet at Cananor. 
All that Trad of Land is very fertile in Spices, but es- 
pecially in Pepper, which is efteemed better even than 
that which is brought from Sumatra and Java. They go 
For the moft part naked, except that they cover their pri- 
vy Parts, have Holes in their Ears, and are like the Afri- 
can Moors , except that their Lips are not quite fo thick. 
Their Hair they tie in a Knot upon the Crown of their 
Heads, and let the Beard grow without any trimming, 
which makes them appear more like Monfters than Men, 
neither is their internal Difpofition unanfwerable to their 
external Appearance, being in Effed a very uncivilized and 
barbarous Generation, and making for the moft part Pro- 
feffion either of Piracy or Soldiery. They are rather 
fierce than brave, handle their BoWs and Arrows, and al- 
fo their Swords and Bucklers, with fufficient Dexterity. 
They have their particular King, who being of the Sed 
of the Bramans % is alfo their Pligh-Prieft, and ftiles him- 
felf Zamorin or Emperor of Cananor and Calicut. The 
Nayers are the Gentlemen of the Country, who by their 
Bracelets and Rings are diftinguiffied from the Polya’s , or 
vulgar fort, thefe laft being obliged to go out of their 
■Way, and pay them a peculiar Refped as they pafs by. 
I was told, that at the Time of the firft Settlement of the 
Portugueze in thofe Parts, the Nayers pretended to have 
the fame Honours from the Portugueze which thefe (who 
were no lefs proud than the other) refufing to comply 
with, it was agreed, the Difference Ihould be decided by 
a fingle Combat betwixt a Portugueze and a Nayer, in 
which the firft having got the better, the Nayers ever 
fince pay the fame Refped to the Portugueze as the Po- 
lya’s do to them. 
They have among other Priviledges this, that they may 
freely enter the Houfes of their Comrades, and pleafe 
themfelves with their Wives and Daughters, the Signal 
being to leave their Sword and Buckler at the Door ; which 
done, no body, not even the Mafter of the Houfe, will enter 
to difturb them *, but a Nayer will never degrade himfelf 
fo far, as to have any Commerce with the Wife of a Po- 
lya. The Malabars ufe Bodkins, with which they write 
upon the Bark of Cocoa- trees ; their Charaders being quite 
different from thofe of the other Indians , are underftood 
only fc>y the Bramans. The King of Calicut never eats 
or drinks any thing but what has been prefented before to 
his Pagod, or Idol. The Inheritance to the Crown does 
not fall to the Son, but his Sifter’s Son, fince, as the Bra- 
mans here have the Firft-fruits of the Bride’s Virginity, 
the Children are fuppofed to be begotten by them. As to 
the City of Cochin , Notice muft be taken, that there are 
two of that Name in the fame Kingdom of Cochin , one 
whereof is inhabited by Malabars , and lies upon a great 
River j the laft of which we now fpeak, lies upon the 
Coaft, and is under the Subjedion of the Portugueze , 
having the Sea to the Weft, and being furrounded on the 
Land-fide with a Foreft of certain black Trees, which the 
Inhabitants hollow out, and make Boats of, and will go 
with them as far as Goa . 
The Entrance of the Plarbour is rocky and dangerous. 
The Rains of the winter Seafon which fwells the neigh- 
bouring Brooks, Forces fo much Earth during that Time 
into the Mouth of the Harbour, that it is flopped up and 
quite unpaffable, till the Wind, which changes with the 
Seafon, carries the fame into the Sea. Th e Portugueze bay 
the Pepper here from the King at a certain Rate, who is 
one of the moft potent Princes of all thofe Parts, being 
able to bring into the Field 100,000 Men, moft Nayers , 
who are obliged to appear in Arms at their own Charge* 
His Subjeds are fomething more civilized than the other 
Malabars , but obferve the fame Rule in their Marriao-es 
concerning the Bramins , and confequently in refped ^of 
their Succeffion. The chief Trade of Cochin is in Pep- 
per, Ginger and Cinnamon. - The Malabars had former- 
ly but one King, till Sarama Perymal , who alone com- 
manded on all that Coaft from Goa to Comorin , having 
embraced the Mohammedan Religion, and refolved to fpend 
his Days near the Sepulchre of the Prophet, divided his 
Dominions among his neareft Friends, under Condition 
that the Kings of Cananor , Cochin and Chaul, ffiould pay 
Homage to the King of Calicut , upon whom for that 
reafon he beftowed the Title of Zamorin , or Emperor * 
but notwithftanding this the King of Cochin is much more 
potent than he. 
6 . On the 26th we left Cananor , and the next Day dif- 
covered eighteen Sail of Ships, which, making up to- 
wards us, we began to fufped them for Pirates, as indeed 
they proved. We had juft Time enough to put ourfelves 
in a Pofture of Defence, when they began to come pretty- 
near us, but did not think fit to attack us till Midni&ht, 
when the Moon ffiining very bright, they furrounded us 
on all Sides, but were fo warmly received, that we funk 
two and difabled three or four more, which made them 
think of retreating. We paffed that Night in Sight of 
the Fort of Cochin , and the 28th faw no more than four- 
teen of thefe Pirates following us at a Diftance ; we con- 
tinued our Courfe with a fair Gale in Sight of the Cape of 
Comorin , to the S. E. of us, being the moft fouthern Part 
of the Indies known among the Ancients by the Name of 
India on this Side the Ganges. The next Night the Ma- 
labars made a Shew as if they intended to venture the 
other Bruffi with us ; but a Volley of Shot, though with- 
out Bullets, fent them a going, fo that we heard no more 
of them. 
The 29th we came within Sight of the Hand of Ceylon , 
at the very Point of which we were becalmed for three 
W eeks. This He extends from the South-Eaft to the 
North-Eaft, between the two Capes of Comorin and Ne- 
gapatan , about ten Leagues from the Continent ; its 
Length being fixty Leagues, and its Breadth forty ; its 
Circumference two hundred and fifty ; and, according to 
the Report of the Inhabitants, its Compafs was much lar- 
ger before the Violence of the Sea carried away a large 
Part of Land on the Side towards Comorin. It is the 
richeft and moft fertile of all the Indian Hands, which I 
fuppofe to be the faprobana of the Ancients, though I 
am not ignorant that fome of our modern Geographers 
make it the He of Sumatra , of which more hereafter. I 
did not, without Reafon, call the Iile of Ceylon the richeft 
and moft fertile of all the Indian Hands, it being unquefti- 
onable that it has not only great Plenty of every thing that 
other Hands produce, but befides this whole Forefts of 
Orange, Lemon, and Cinnamon-trees, which diffufe their 
fragrant Smell at a great Diftance into the Sea. Befides 
that, there is no precious Stone but what it affords, except 
Diamonds : Pearls they take there in abundance, but not 
altogether fo fine as thofe of Baharam ; in recompence of 
which it affords the fineft Ivory in the World. The firft 
Difcovery of it is owing to the Portugueze in 1506, when 
Laurence , Son of Francefco Almeida made a T reaty with 
one of the Kings of the Hand ; fince which Time they 
took Care to fortify themfelves in the Town of Colombo , but 
were chafed thence, and confequently from the whole 
Hand, by th eDutch^ in 1657. 
The Dutch did not trade here till 1602, under the 
Reign of Dimala Derma Suriada , King of Candy , the 
moft potent, and in a manner the only Sovereign Prince 
of* the whole Hand, who afcended the Throne in a 
very extraordinary manner ; for the Throne of Candy 
being become vacant by the Death of Derma.> who. 
