‘The travels of Sig. Pietro della Valle, a noble Roman, into East-India and Arabia Deserta. In which, the several countries, together with the customs, manners, traffique, and rites both religious and civil, of those Oriental princes and nations, are faithfully described: In familiar letters to his friend Signior Mario Schipano. Whereunto is added a relation of Sir Thomas Roe’s voyage into the East-Indies’ [‎433] (454/508)

^ E AS T-INDIA, 4^5
none that minifter more delight, than fomc of their Burying
places do > neither do they beftow fo much cofl, nor fhew fo
much Ikill in Architedure in any other Strudures as in thefe.
Now amongft n^any very fair Piles there dedicated to the re
membrance of their dead, the moft famous one is at Secandra, a
Village three miles from Agra 5 it was begun by Achahar-Jhathe
late Mogols Father, who there lies buried^and finifhed by his
Son, who fincewas laid up befide him. The materials of that
moft ftately Sepulchre are Marble of divers colours, the ftones
fo clofely cemented together, that it appears to be but one con
tinued ftone, built high like a Pyramis with many curiofities
about it, and a fair Mofquit by it 5 the Garden wherein it ftands
very large planted (as before) and compaffed about with a wall
of Marble: this moft fumptuous Pile of all the Strufturesthat
vaft Monarchy affords, is moft admired by ftrangers. TomCo-
r/at had a moft exad view thereof, and fo have many other
Englifh-men had , all which have fpoken very great things
of it. . ) ■
And now Reader I have done with this, and (hall proceed to
fpeak more particularly^
SECTION XIX
! - '!> H J , , ; , ■
Of the Hindoo s, or Heathens, which inhabitc that Ent-
fire, &c.
an i).
AND for thefe,the firft thing 1 (hall take notice of,is, that
they agree with others in the world, about the firft Roots
of Mankind Adam and £z/e:and the firft of them they call
Babba Adam, or Adamah, Father Adam ^ndthefceond Mam
ma Havah, Mother Eve, And from Adam they call a man,
For Adam they further fay, that when his wife was tempted
to eat the forbidden fruit, (he took it and chaw'd it, and then
fwallowed itdown-, but, when her husband was fwallowing it,
the hand of God ftop'd it in his Throat, and from he^e (they
fay) that every man hath there an hollow bunch which women
have not. .
The names they give to diftinguilh one man from another are
many, and amongft them thefe following are very common.
As J hc M o , or Midas, or Cooregee, or Hergee, and tne like. Ca-
(iuria and Prefiotta, are Womens names amongft them i but
whether thefe, as thofe names they call their men or women
by, are names of fignification, or only of found, I know not.
Thofe Hindoo's are a very laborious, and an induftnous
people.- thefe are they which Till and Plant the Ground and
breed the Cattle; thefe are they which make and felf thole
Kkk curious