'Collections of travels through Turky into Persia, and the East Indies. Giving an account of the present state of those countries, as also a full relation of the five years wars, between Aureng-Zebe and his brothers in their father's life time, about the succession. And a voyage made by the Great Mogul (Aureng-Zebe) with his Army from Dehli to Lahor, from Lahor to Bember, and from thence to the Kingdom of Kachemire, by the Mogols, call'd, the Paradise of the Indies. Together with a relation of the Kingdom of Japan and Tunkin, and of their particular manners and trade. To which is added a new description of the Grand Seignior's Seraglio, and also of all the Kingdoms that encompass the Euxine and Caspian Seas, being the travels of Monsieur TavernierBernier, and other great men.' [‎180] (509/1024)

T«apni
tttg • ~
80
Travels
v;as nothing to be feen but the heads of the people. As for the Bramim th
Itay alhore to receive the richer fort, and thofe that give moll • to dry th?
bodies and ter give them dry Linnen to their bellies. Afterwards they cauf
them to fit down in a Chair, where the moft liberal of .the Idolaters have rJf
vided Rice, Pulfe, Milk, Butter, Sugar, Meal, and Wood. Before the Chair th"
Bramin makes a place very clean about live foot fquare ; then with Cow-dui?
fteep’d in a kind of yellow Bafon,he rubs all the place, for fear any Emet Ihould
come thereto be burnt. For indeed they would never make ufe of Wood if
they could help it; and wheil they do, they are very careful that there be no
Worms or Infedts in it. In the place which they have thus cleans’d, they draw
feveral Figures, as Triangles, Ovals, Half-Ovals, &c. Then upon every Figure
they lay a little Cows-dting, with two or three fmall Hicks of Wood, up on
every one of which they lay a feveral fort of Grain ^ after that pouring Butter
and fetting fire to each} by the fmoak which rifes, they judg of the plenty
of every fort of Grain that year. y
When the Moon is at the full in March^ they keep a folemn Feftival for their
Idol, which is in form of a Serpent. This Feftival continues nine dayes •, and
when it comes, they do nothing but make Holiday all the while, as well men
as beafts, which they beautifie by making Circles about their eyes with Ver
million, with which they alfo colour the Horns ; and if they have a particular
kindnefs for the beaft, they hang them with Leaves of Guilded Tin. Every
morning they worlhip the Idol, and the Maids dance about it for an hour to
the nbile of Fluits and Drums j after which they eat and drink and are merry
till the evening, and then they worlhip and dance about their Idol again.
Though the Idolaters never drink any ftrong drink at other times, yet at
this Feftival they drink Palm-wine, and ftrong water, which is made of the
fame in remote Villages } Tor elfe their Mahometan Governour would not fuffer
them to make Wine, nor to fell any which might be brought out of lerfia.
Their ftrong Water is thus made .* They take a great Earthen pot, well glaz’d
within, which they call Manavane } into one of thefe Veflels, that holds three
hundred Vans pints, of Vdma-win^ they put in fifty or fixty pound of brown
Sugar unrefin’d, which looks like yellow Wax ; with about twenty pound ofa
great thick bark of a Thorn, not much unlike that which our Leather-dreflers*
ufe. This bark fets the Palma-wine a bubling and working juft like our new
wines, for five or fix days together, till it becomes ef a fweet Liquor, as
fowre as our Crabs. Then they diftill it, and according to the tafte they would
give, they either put into a Cauldron full, a little Bag of Mace, or three or
lour handfuls of Annife-feed. They can make it alfo as ftrong as they pleafe.
Being at u 4 gra in the year 1642, an Idolater, whofe name was Woldas, Brea
ker to. the Hollanders^ about feventy years of age, receiving news that the
chief Bramin at the Pagod of Mamra was dead, went to the Hollander 2nd
defir’dhim to even all accounts j for faid he, the chief Prieft being dead, it
behoves me to dye, that I may ferve him in the other world. Thereupon
having ended his accounts, he took' his Coach, with fome of his Kindred \
but having neither eaten nor drank from the time he receiv’d the news,-he
dy’d by the way j having famifh’d himfelf for grief.
The Indian Idolaters have a cuftom, that when any perfon gives a thing,
they.fhap their fingers, crying out, Gi-Narami r remember Narami, who was
a great Saint among them, for fear the Evil Spirit, Ihould enter into the body
of him that gives.
Being at Surat in the year 1653,3 Bafpoute being demanded Cuftom for
three or four pieces of Calicut, boldly ask’d theGoveniour,whetheraSoul-
dier th&t had ferv’d the King all his life-time, ought to pay Cuftom for two
or three pitiful pieces of Calient, not worth four or five Roupies} telling him
it was only to cloath his Wife and Children. The Governour netl’dathis
faweinefs, call’d him Bethico^ or Son of a Whore 5 adding,that if he were Prince
he would make him pay his Cuftoms. Whereupon the Souldier incens’d at the
affront, making as if he felt for Money to pay his dues, bearing up to the Go
vernor, ftab’d him in the belly, fo that he dy’d immediately. Butthe Soul-
di^r was prefently cut in pieces by the Governors Servants. ^