by the Mogul to read his Letter upon a publick Court day This brought down the Mogul's Letters to the Governour The Mogul's Letters for our release requiring a speedy Respect and Civility to the English with a permission and Encouragement of Trade But the Pishcashes or Presents expected by the Nabobs and Omrahs retarded our Inlargement for some time notwithstanding The Reason of the English's longer Confinement For the strong Contest and Application which was made for the Government of Suratt which was then said to be dispos'd of put a stop to the Emperours more absolute determinations The Mogul's Resolution of continuing the present Governour frustrated all the Court Interests for themselves which mov'd Salabet Chan a Bosom Favourite to wave the Solicitations he had begun for his Son and end them for the Governour For he design'd to send his Son to Suratt Invested with the Command of the City and the Messenger of this welcom News to us which would render him thereupon more acceptable to the English Nation and would be apt to gain him some costly Present from us at his Entrance upon his Authority The English released Therefore December the 2d in the Evening word was brought by the Brokers to our President of a Cosset's Arrival with Letters from Court to the Vacinavish injoyning our immediate Release and the day following the Chocadars or Souldiers were remov'd from before our Gates A generous Arab. Sheak Jemme a brave and hearty Arab who had all along wisht Prosperity to our Affairs was so transported at the hearing of our Inlargement that he gave to the President 's Peon who carried him the News of it a rich flower'd Coat And when this generous Arab was called upon by one of the Mullahs or Priests and authoritatively demanded why he would countenance the Cafries or Unbelievers meaning us against the Musoulmen or true Believers Bravely answer'd that it was his principle to Encourage Truth wherever he found it and that he knew the English innocent of the Fact which the Turks insisted upon against them That none were so much Cafries in his Opinion as those that were false in their Words and Dishonest in their Actions and that the best Believers should always act the best things In September the Year following The second Confinement of the English which was 1692. did Abdel-Gheford our Old Implacable Adversary revive his Enmity upon a Report he forg'd that some of his Ships from Mocha were feiz'd on by some English Pirates and upon this pretence secur'd us in our Factory under a Guard of Chokadars The Reason of it ' til the latter end of October The Governour upon this sent for the English Dutch and French Presidents the two latter of which disputed that Precedence which they allow'd to the English but the French unwilling to raise any Contest in the Governours Presence immediately departed He insisted upon a Restitution for the Damages which were sustain'd by Abdel-Gheford and menac'd them with a Prohibition of Traffick Which they told him they were willing to relinquish rather than be liable to the Payment of such unjust Demands Abdel-Gheford's baseness to the English discover'd The Villany of Abdel-Gheford and the Baseness of his Actions were after a while made apparent to the whole City For part of the Money which he charg'd upon us was convey'd from on Board his Ship into a Garden near that of Nocha Damus's by the River side Four Thousand Checkins he privately tyed to the Flooks of an Anchor under Water and some lie hid within his Tanques on Board and in the Ballast of his Ship The rest was put privately into a Palanquin which the Souldiers observ'd to sway very heavily as it past the Gates and searching it upon the mistrust found the Gold in it So the Injury he would have laid upon us was fixt with a scandalous Note of Infamy upon himself The Releasment of the English and we were before November fortunately released I shall now take leave of these Misfortunes which in some measure compensate for their Uneasiness by the Pleasure which they afford in a Relation and before I proceed to Cape Bone Esperance in Africa will make some stay in Arabia Felix in a Description of two of the most Fam'd Emporys and other parts of that Kingdom viz. Muscatt upon the Persian Gulf and Mocha which lies upon the Red-Sea THE CITY OF MUSCATT IN Arabia Felix MVSCATT is a City in Arabia Felix which lies to the Eastward of that Kingdom The Situation of Muscatt situated upon the Persian Gulf. Tho' none of the Arabia's are equally fruitful as many other parts of the World that are less fam'd yet this part of Arabia because of its Pleasantness and Fertility in respect of the other two has obtain'd the name of Hyaman which signifies Happy For besides the great increase of Cattle which is here to be seen the Soil in some places is Rich and Fruitful and Corn and Wine Fruits and fragrant Spices are produc'd in great plenty Arabian Goods It abounds with many useful and Beneficial Commodities with several kinds of Druggs with Balsom and Myrrhe Incense Cassia Manna Dates Gold Frankincense and Pearl and maintains a constant Trade of rare and valuable Goods to Persia Egypt Syria the Indies c. And Muscatt above all those places which are situated near the Gulf of Ormus is the Principal Town of Traffick between the East and that part of Arabia the Happy only at one Season of the Year which is in June July and August the Pearl-Fishing of the Island Baharem which lies higher up in the Gulf renders that place of more Note and Fame yielding to the Persian Emperour yearly the value of Five hundred Thousand Ducats besides one hundred thousand more which are suppos'd to be diverted Muscatt lies under the Tropick Muscatt is Situate between the Capes of Raz al-Gate and Moccandon in 23 Degrees 30 Min. North Latitude exactly under the Tropick of Cancer 'T is about three Miles in its Circumference built at the bottom of a small Bay It s Extent encompassed with high Rocky Mountains and guarded with a strong Wall Besides it is fortifyed with five or six Castles and Batteries and lies very convenient for Trade by its nearness to a safe Harbour Tho' this City lies at the utmost Bounds of the Suns progress towards the North The great Heat here yet it is infested with a more intense Heat than several places that are nearer the Line The Desart Ground and high Mountains reflect the warm Rays of the Sun with so much vigour that it may as justly challenge a Title to the name of the Torrid Zone as any place between the Tropicks for some would perswade us that it has a Title to the most literal meaning of these words and that a small Fish laid in the hollow part of a Rock where the Sun-beams reflect from every side in the heat of
Europe again than upon the Confines of scorcht Africk Such was the Beauty of the pleasant Fields and fruitful Valleys the Gayety of the Woods and diversity of Inclosures cut out by Nature rather than cultivated by Art that it would almost foil the Pencil of a Painter to outdo the Original but surely it would afford him Ground for an admirable Landskip The Fertility of this populous Climate which lies within the Torrid Zone has quite confuted the Opinion of blind Antiquity which could not discern the Life of either Man or Vegitable there I could not behold any great Plenty of Corn or Grain but this proceeded rather from the Native Laziness than from the Penury of the Soil whose Native Turf seem'd well prepar'd for Fertility and Production but it abounds with store of Fruits particularly Coco-Nuts and the most fragrant Pine-Apple which carries the Precedence from all the rest whose Excellencies are center'd there and exert themselves in its incomparable Taste and Smell Abundance of well-grown Deer are ranging in the Fields and Pastures whose Fatness is very apt to make them almost a Prey to a nimble Footman without the Assistance of any Hound But Horses and black Cattle are not many We were not yet come to an Anchor which continued the scarcity of our Water notwithstanding the former shower and made us prize it almost equal with our Wine with which we were well stockt from the fruitful Island of Madeira but on a sudden we were more concern'd and affrighted at the sight we had of that Element than we were refresh'd by it A Spout at Sea For we espy'd very near us a mighty Mass of Water drawn up into the Air from the Surface of the Ocean in fashion of a large round Pipe incircled with a hoary Mist or grey Cloud it rose gradually and for some time hover'd there till at length it fell in such a Cataract such a Torrent and mighty Flood that no Ship was able to sustain its fall but would sink and founder by its Weight This Spout which is a kind of Aqueduct between the Clouds and the Ocean put us in a great Fear of its ruinous Descent upon us had we not industriously steered from it and kept to Windward But if there is no avoiding the likelihood of being driven under it there are two ways prescrib'd for breaking its pendulous resting in the Air before a Ship comes too near it The first which is seldom used by any Protestant prevents its Danger by a kind of Charm When they espy a Spout at Sea at some distance from them the Master of the Ship or any one else a-board kneels down by the Mast with a Knife in his Hand which has a black Handle and reading in St. John the Verse of our Saviours Incarnation Et verbum Caro facta est habitavit in nobis he turns towards the Spout and with the Inchanted Knife makes a Motion in the Air as if he would cut it in two which he says breaks in the middle and lets the inclosed Water fall with a Noise into the Sea The way of breaking a Spout Another Method for preventing all Peril that might arise from this Mass of Water suckt up from the Ocean is to fire a Cannon or two when they are near it which immediately shakes and dissolves its threatning Suspension aloft and this softer Thunder and Lightning scatters and dissolves it from its unnatural Position What the Quality of this Water is which is thus powerfully exhaled whether fresh or mixt with Saline Particles those that had the Fate to try had scarce the Happiness to discover but sure the Phaenomenon is very stupendous and unaccountable that such a vast Body of Water should by a forcible extraction out of the Sea bubble and mount upwards like a small Rivulet springing up into the Air. And indeed the Works of the Almighty are inscrutable and these may be some of his Wonders in the Deep which the Royal Prophet extolled and was amazed at Having arrived within four Leagues of the Shoar Eight Negroes came towards us in a Canoo who stood upright as they rowed and looked forward contrary to our Proverbial Observation The Shaft of their Oars was framed out of a long piece of Timber and a thin broad square board resembbling a wooden Trencher served for the Blade They had caught in their Boat a Shark A Shark called a Shovel-Mouth of a different shape from the common Fish of that Name and of a different appellation for on each side of his Mouth grew a large piece of Fish six Inches broad in form of a Shovel which gave it the Name of Shovel-mouth and at the extremity of those parts were the Eyes placed as Centinels at the Out-Guards to preserve the Body With these came two of the Principal Men of the place one of them appertaining to the King the other a Retainer to the Mafoucko or General Upon their Heads they wore Caps very Curious and Costly Curious Caps made in Africa the Work of the Natives wrought with so much Ingenuity and Art of the Needle that they are not only valued there but admired in all the parts whither the Europeans carry them Their Expence in Cloathing is otherwise small The Cloaths of the Natives as the Garb is that they put on which only consists in a Clout about the middle to hide their Nakedness and the Furs of an Hare or some such Animal which hangs down before them between their Leggs which they value as the richest Ermin or Sables Their frizled Hair was tyed up in a Bunch upon the Crown of the Heads of some of them others wore it neatly braided behind Some cut their Hair in the figure of a Cross others were shaved all bare excepting a small Tuft above like a Mahometan Lock as each Man's Humour or Fancy led him Their Ornaments On each side of their Temples and on their Fore-heads the Skin was raised as if it were with the pricking of a Pin in Figures of a Diamond cut which with them is not only a Badge of Honour and Character of Greatness but is esteem'd a sort of Cosmetick to the Face and admired as Fucus and Black Patches are with us Coral Beads Coories or Indian-shels and Black Jet Beads are wore as Ornaments about their Necks and about their Wrists ten or twelve Wreaths of Brass Iron or Copper Ill Language not allowed of These Africans are by Nature apprehensive of the least Affront tho' it proceeds no farther than Ignominious Expressions Scurrility and reproachful Words are so detestable that a Penalty is imposed on all foul and abusive Language according to the quality of the Offender and the Person abused The Scandalum Magnatum is in force among these Heathens For since Urbanity and good Words are things so pleasant in themselves and so easily attainable and a pleasant Look and Expression may as soon be given as what are Sowre and Offensive they
till his Superiour passes by him The Mahometan Religion of which the Mogul is a zealous Professor is that which is spread very far and is chiefly countenanced in India The Mogul's Piety the Mogul never neglecting the Hours of Devotion nor any thing which in his Sense may denominate him a sincere Believer insomuch that there spread a Report a little before I left Suratt that his ardent Zeal had carried him to design a long Pilgrimage for Meccha to visit the Venerable Shrine of their False Prophet His eldest Son Sultan Mozum was to be left Inheritor of the Throne to secure his peaceable Possession yet would not this defend the Claims from the Royal Brothers who are ready to dispute it with their Wit and Courage with all the Force and Art of War And 't is not unlikely The likelihood of Cha-Egber's succeeding his Father whenever the Crown becomes vacant and is under a Contest but that Cha-Egber Son-in-law to the Persian Emperour will in that Martial Lottery gain the Prize and defeat the other Pretenders Which if it should happen What Advantage the English may receive by his Succession and the English should be assisting to his Designs at that time either by accommodating him with Ships from Gombrone or befriending him at Suratt they might expect very considerable Advantages in their Trade and Customs both in India and the Persian Gulph The Mogul delights much in Proselyting all the Rajahs he conquers The Mogul's Zeal and bringing them to the Mahometan Faith which has much exasperated those Grandees and the Gentile Sects of his Kingdom And he was so sensibly taken with a Horse presented to him by an English Merchant His kindness for a Horse that he commanded him to be fed near his own Apartment and to be frequently brought forth before him to delight his Eyes with the daily pleasant Spectacle for no other Reason but because he observ'd him match a Horse which Mahomet was wont to ride and nearly resembled in Shapes and Colour as he somewhere read a stately Steed of the Grand Prophet's The whole Kingdom of Indoston is intirely the Possession of the Mogul's All the Land in India is the Mogul's who appoints himself Heir to all his Subjects so that neither the Widow nor Children of a General can peremptorily challenge one Piece after his Decease without the Emperour 's bounteous Indulgence He that tills the Ground and spends his time in Agriculture is allowed half the Product for his Pains and the other Moyety is reserv'd for the King which is collected by Under-Officers who give in their Accounts to the Superiours in the Provinces and they discount to the Publick Exchequer Only for the Encouragement of Trade in Cities and Maritime Towns he dispenses with the Merchants building their Houses and the Propriety of them descending in their Families very few are allowed Paternal Inheritances but even all this is the extraordinary Grace and Favour of the Prince and revocable at his Pleasure His Will likewise is the Law The Mogul absolute and his Word incontestably decides all Controversies among them So that he is the main Ocean of Justice and Equity and from him all the smaller Rivulets of Wealth flow His Justice and to him they all pay Tribute and return again He generally determines with exact Justice and Equity for there is no pleading of Peeridge or Priviledge before the Emperour but the meanest Man is as soon heard by Aureng-Zebe as the chief Omrah Which makes the Omrahs very circumspect of their Actions and punctual in their Payments because all Complaints against them are readily adjusted and they never want jealous Rivals at Court who are willing to bring them into Disgrace with their King for any Fault Since the Conquest of Viziapour the Diamond Mines are claim'd and possess'd by the Indian Emperour who for some time since thought fit to shut them up The Rate of digging for Diamonds They formerly paid to the King of Golconda so much hourly for the liberty of digging whether they were fortunate in finding any Diamond or no a Pagod which is a piece of Gold valued there at Nine Shillings was the stated Price for an Hours time We have an Account that he reserv'd another Diamond Ground in his Country for his own Use which yielded him daily several Ounces whenever he imploy'd his Labourers to work which were reckon'd to be near Six Thousand whose very Wages consum'd a great part of the Gains Those that dig the Ground are narrowly look'd to All Diamonds of such a size belong to the Mogul and examin'd at their Departure that nothing be privately convey'd or stole away and yet they sometimes escape all Discovery by slipping a Stone into their Mouths or thrusting it upwards in their lower Parts or by bribing of the Overseers By this means we sometimes meet with large Stones very valuable Two I saw at Suratt the smaller was a sort of Table-Diamond rated at Twelve Thousand Pounds the other was larger and exceeded the Price of the other almost Eight Thousand Pounds All Stones of such a Size are Royalties and Sacred to the Crown and whoever finds them or wheresoever they are heard of they are presently seized and taken for the use of the Mogul Therefore the Owner of these Noble Diamonds solemnly engaged our Secresie and bound us to Silence before we were permitted a sight of them The Stones of India are not so rich or of equal Repute with those of the Island Borneo Diamonds from Borneo most fam'd whose Sparkling and Brightness gives a glorious and surpassing Splendour The Diamonds are found rough cover'd with a Coat or Shell which is taken off and then the Diamond is polish'd and cut in such Figures as the natural Shape of the Stone or the Design of the Lapidary inclines to The way to know true Diamonds The Art of discerning the excellence of Diamonds by the Eye is very curious because there is such an Affinity between the Brightness of Stones that some eminent Indian Jewellers have been impos'd upon by false ones brought from Europe because they shot such Rays and the Lustre with which they shin'd was so extraordinary But the Hammer and Scales discover'd that Fallacy which the Eyes could not they were softer than a genuine Diamond and lighter than one of the same size For no Stone comes near a Diamond in hardness nor of the same magnitude in Weight Diamonds take their Estimate from their Magnitude The valuable Qualities in Diamonds Splendour Figure and Water for some Persons value a Diamond of such a Water much more than of another and some are pleas'd with such a sort of Cut beyond any else Thus a fair Rose-Diamond of Black Water and Diamond Cut was of general Esteem with some Europeans at Suratt whilst a White Water gain'd a Repute with the Dutch and Table-Diamonds were with them of best Esteem The Moors exalt the Rate of such a
saw but Currs into which our fiercest and most lively Dogs degenerate after a Litter or two by the constant unallay'd heat of the Country The Grayhounds and Hounds are likewise equally valuable and divertive and live for some time if they run them not in the Heat of the Day but if they chance to hunt with them about Noon the ambient Air mixing with the natural when it is fermented and chafed commonly proves too strong for their Constitutions so that they frequently expire upon the spot and rarely live out any number of Years or Months The Irish Wolf-Dogs much esteem'd of A couple of Irish Wolf-Dogs were so prized in Persia that they were taken as a welcom and admired Present by the Emperour himself Two more of which which were given to me by the Earl of Inchequin when we put into Kingsale after the Voyage I dispos'd of to the East-India Company who dispatcht them in their Ships immediately to the Indies to be there bestowed in some of the Eastern Courts A Quarrel about an English Mastiff A large English Mastiff given by a Merchant was look'd upon as such a Rarity and Favour by a Noble Omrah that he engag'd himself and Six Hundred of his Followers in a hot Dispute concerning his Property in the Dog with another as potent a Grandee who claim'd a Right in him For the Decision of this Controversie they each led forth a like number of Men to determin their Right by a bloody Contest Till one a little wiser and more cool than the other two intreated their respite and bespoke their Audience and told them the case might be easily remitted to the English President who was able to give a just determination in it This by their joynt consent and application kindly prevented the Design'd Quarrel and the English President Arbitrated fairly in justice to him to whom the Dog was given And because the Moors have invented peculiar Arts and methods in their Recreations from what obtain among us I shall instance in some of their diversions which will not be ungrateful to the Reader especially if he be a Man of Sports In hunting their Antilopes and Deer The Hunting of Deer with Leopards as they are destitute of Dogs so they endeavour to supply their want by tame Leopards train'd and brought up for that purpose which warily leap upon they Prey and having once caught it hold it fast In Persia in the room of Dogs and Leopards they bring up Faulcons to hunt their Antilopes and Bucks Deer Hunted by Hawks which are brought to India from thence and are train'd to it after this manner Whenever the Hawk they breed up to it is hungry they fix its meat upon the Nose of a Counterfeit Antilope and from thence only feed it without allowing it any Meat but what it Eats there After this they carry one or two of these Falcons into the Fields and flying one of them at an Antilope it fastens just upon his Nose which so blinds and stops the Antilope by the force and fluttering of its Wings that he can neither well espy his way nor find his Feet as nimbly as he would and this gives a very easie admittance to the Men or Dogs to come in and catch him If this Hawk is beaten off which is sometimes done with much ado another aloft stoops and lights upon the same place and strikes him backwards with his Talons 'till at length he is made a Prey For one of the Hawks always mounts as the other stoops Another way of Hunting the Game Sometimes a great company of Men range the Fields and walk together into the Inclosures to look after their Game when once they have espy'd the place where they fancy the Game lies they inclose the Ground and stand in a Ring with Clubs or Weapons in their Hands whilst they employ others to beat up the Ground and raise it for them Nor are they destitute of ingenious Inventions when they recreate themselves with Fowling any less than they are in their Hunting Sports For in the room of our stalking Horses they make use of stalking Oxen Stalking Oxen. which are manag'd and bred up to the purpose even to admiration I have seen a Moor Indian shoot at once five or six Ducks under one of their Bellies without the least starting or surprisal to the Ox and the quiet temper of this laborious Animal renders it I believe as easily brought up to it and as proper for this Game as any Horse Some of the Indians maintain themselves very well by this Art But they use another ingenious method for catching Wild Fowl which is very pretty The Fowler when he is in quest of his Game espying at length his sport at a distance An Ingenious way to catch Wild-Fowl prepares a Man to go before him toward the place where he sees his Game and carry in his Hand the boughs of Trees so artificially wrought and joyn'd together that they perfectly resemble a small Bush or Hedge which is a shelter both to the Fowler and him that carries it By this contrivance the Fowler passes altogether undiscover'd towards his sport and gains the convenience not only of shooting at what distance he pleases but sometimes approaches his Game so near that he takes it almost in his Hand If the Wild Fowl be at a distance upon the Water he then contrives another method for coming near them Another ingenious contrivance to catch Wild-Fowl and surprizing them with his Hands He takes a Pitcher or Earthen Jarr so large that he fits it to his Head which he covers all over and decks it with the Feathers of what Water-Fowl he thinks convenient and making holes in it for him to breath and look thro' he then fastens it upon his Head and being expert in swimming ventures into the Pond where he sees the Fowl and moves towards them without any thing visible but the Pitcher above the Water when he comes near them where they swim about he catches them one by one by their Legs and silently pulls them under Water and there fastens them to his Girdle They all this while fancy the moving Feather'd Jarr a living Fowl and those that were pluckt under the Water to have been Diving 'till sometimes the Fowler catches the whole Flock Next to the Moors the Bannians are the most noted Inhabitants at Suratt The Bannians who are Merchants all by Profession and very numerous in all parts of India They are most innocent and obsequious Their Temper and obsequious deportment humble and patient to a Miracle sometimes they are heated into harsh Expressions to one another which is seldom and this Tongue-Tempest is term'd there a Bannian Fight for it never rises to Blows or Blood-shed The very killing of a Fly with them is at Crime almost inexpiable They cannot so much as endure hot Words as they call them from the Europeans but if they see them exasperated and in
retires into his Apartment till Hunger calls him forth to a fresh Meal and is now both by the Scrivan and his Family as carefully attended as if his Father were alive This fond indulgent Indian is as profuse in his Favours to some Rats The same Bannian's kindness to Rats which lodge in his House and are grown as familiar as Cats for to these he allows some daily Food because he is certain they harbour the Souls of some departed Relations An Opinion concerning the Transmigration Some Men think that this Opinion of the Metempsycosis takes its Original from the Transformation of Nebuchadnezzar into a Beast which is mentioned in the Book of Daniel and that when his Soul passed into that of a Brute when he was under a corporal Transformation the Souls of other Men might undergo the same Fate after Death as a Punishment for their Crimes as his was For the ancient Gauls maintain'd the Immortality of the Soul and its shifting continually from one Body to another and that according to its Deportment here such and such Bodies were appointed it by God more or less painful and suitable to its Condition Claud. in Ruff. Lib. 2. Muta ferarum Cogit vincla pati truculentos in gerit Vrsis Pradonesque Lupis fallaces vulpibus addit Atque ubi per varios Annos per mille figuras Egit Lethaeo purgatos flumine tandem Rursus ad humanae revocat primordia formae He made them wear the silent Yoak of Brutes some that were Cruel he lodged in the Bodies of Bears and Wolves those that were Crafty in Foxes and others in other Animals 'till after the succession of a thousand Years and Shapes at length they are re-plac'd into Human Shapes when they had been well purg'd in Lethe's Flood But to strengthen this Consideration the more concerning Nebuchadnezzar they observe that this wonderful Transformation of that great Monarch happen'd at or about the very same time that Pythagoras was at Babylon whither he travell'd to gain the Eastern Learning but this may be a small mistake in time Hence he brought the Report fresh with him and being of a fanciful Genius thought the best way to solve that strange occurrence was to assert a Metempsychosis But tho' there is no mention of the Soul's Transmigration more ancient among the Greeks than Pythagoras yet among the Chineses â—e ancint Opinion of the Chinese of the Transmigration whose Antiquities are said to be stretcht backwards above four thousand Years there is this Opinion yet current among their Learned Men as well as among the Indians and is agreed to be of ancient Date That the Souls after Death are Subject to a Transmigration And it is not improbable that much of the Phaenician as well as Grecian and Egyptian Institutions were deriv'd from the ancient and remote Fountains of Learning the Indies and China Especially if we consider not only the Opinion of the Soul's Transmigration but of the Eternity of Matter the four Cardinal Virtues the Indolence of Body and Tranquility of Mind Abstinence from living Creatures and several others which seem to be intirely Oriental and brought from thence by Pythagoras Democritus Lycurgus and others who travell'd into those distant parts The Days set apart for the publick Devotion of the Bannians The Bannians Days of Devotion are only two in a Month about our ninth and twenty fourth in which by a very strict Discipline they abstain from all things eatable 'till the Evening most Religiously And inculcate this severity upon their younger Children in their Infant Growth to induce the observance of it with facility upon them Their Abstinence and to render the Abstinence tolerable and less troublesome in their riper Age. The Pagans who are bred to labour and Manual Occupations consecrate each Day in the Week Holy Ballads Sung all the day long and every thing they take in Hand thus far that they fill their Mouths with a pious Song at the first dawning of the Morning as soon as ever they ingage in their several Employments and Manual Occupations and never cease their Secular Vocation without concluding with the mixture of a Holy Rhime When a Company of Labourers are employ'd together about the same Work this sacred Ballad is repeated by them sometimes alternately sometimes by single persons the rest answering in a Chorus all the Day long without the intermission of one quarter of an Hour The Lascars or Sea-Men upon the Water all the while they handle the Oar divert themselves by turns with this tuneful Melody This piece of Religion they are so solemnly and constantly inur'd to that if they design'd the undertaking any work in secresie and un-observ'd the custom they have acquir'd in singing would be apt by some sudden Eruption to betray their Privacy and discover the silence and obscurity they desir'd A Conjecture at the reason of this Singing I fancy the warmth of the Air which is apt to stupifie the Spirits and render them unweildy and dull was as likely a Reason for introducing this melodious Diversion which is apt to keep them active and awake at their Work as it was to exercise the Devotion of their Thoughts It s rise used in China The Introduction of this Custom was probably design'd by him who writ the second Volume of the five principal ones that are extant in China which is a Collection of Odes and several other little things of that nature For Musick being greatly esteem'd and much used in China and whatever is publish'd in this Volume having respect only to the Purity of Manners and practice of Virtue those that wrote it compos'd it in Verse to the end that every one being inabled to sing the things therein contain'd they might be in every ones Mouth And from thence it might spread it self for this very reason as far as India Aureng-Zebe Aureng-Zebe's restraining Pagan-worship upon an implacable detestation to the Idolatry of the Bannians and other Gentiles has forbid in a great measure their Pagodes and commanded both a defacing of them and suppressing the Solemnities of their publick Meetings which thereupon is not so common as formerly and that which is conniv'd at is generally in some distant Priviledg'd Parts They repeat their Devotions The Indians very publick in their Devotions especially the Moors in the Corners of the Streets and upon the House tops in the High Ways and where there is commonly a publick Concourse of People as if they were ambitious of opportunities of demonstrating their Zeal to the God they worship whom they always approach with Postures most submissive and suitable to the respect of that awful Majesty they implore After they have bended the Knee They show great Reverence at Prayer they in the most profound Prostration kiss the Ground frequently with their Fore-heads express their servency in Devotion with the most ardent pathetick Aspirations in the Mornings especially and with the setting Sun Their
should arrive and such a particular Person in her The Thoughts of it hasten'd them back again towards the Custom-House to enquire if there were any English News and upon their Return were surpriz'd at the sight of an English Boat which they espyed was rowing up the River and were no sooner arrived at the Custom-House but they found the English Man who had been expected in her The News of this was very grateful to the President and not ungrateful to the Bramin who received a curious Paramin from the Hands of the Governour whom he had oblig'd with so faithful and particular a Prophetick Relation And the worthy President Mr. Harris who had himself been sometimes in distress for English News has likewise told me of a Bramin's Proposals to him of bringing him undoubted Intelligence how the Companies Affairs in England stood within the space of four days But that he durst not accept of the Proposition because he was confident that it depended upon the Assistance of a Familiar And surely those sprightly Beings can easily dispatch a very tedious Voyage in a very short time For if we only consider the nimble progress of Light thro' the Air with what swiftness it darts its bright active Atoms from East to West and flies thro' the immense Expanse from the lofty Regions of the Skie we cannot with any great Reason deny this same or greater Power to the active Spirits of Darkness who are stript of all the Clogs of Matter and void of all material Substance The Bannians are far from any thing of Severity and not prone to the inflicting any Corporal Punishments The reproach of being slipper'd and have a perfect Antipathy to those that are Capital but the ignominious Punishment which they all sorely dread is Slippering that is when any Person who has been offended by a Bannian takes off his Slipper spitts upon it and then strikes the Bannian with the sole of it This is more detestable and abominated by them than for any among us to spitt or throw dirt in another's Face for it is not only esteem'd the most hainous Abuse but the redemption of the Affront is very costly and the disgrace is not wiped off without difficulty and Expence This touching the Bannian with the sole of a Slipper is as unsufferable and odious in India as touching with the Hand the Head of a Siamese An Affront to touch the Head at Siam for that being the highest part of the Body is with them accounted of principal Honour and never to be stroakt or toucht without the greatest Offence and Affront Insomuch that the King himself permits no Person to dress his Head but is so far his own Valet that he puts the Covering upon it himself This is the Substance of what I thought might contribute to fill the Account of the Bannians of whom I have discours'd concerning their Natural Tempers and Religious Opinions concerning their Abstinence and Days of Devotion their Diet and Ingenuity in their Vocations their Attire and Ornaments their Marriages Naming of their Children and their Burials and have Concluded with a Relation of some of the common Diseases of India and of the tedious Plague at Suratt And shall now endeavour to entertain the Reader with a Description of the strange Manners of the Indian Faquirs near Suratt and with an Account of the Parsies and Halalchors THE FAQUIRS NEAR SURATT TWO Miles distant from Suratt Pulparrock frequented by the Faquirs is a very delightful place nam'd Pulparrock adorn'd with pleasant Walks and Groves of Trees near the gentle Streams of the River Tappy The Ground is all very even except only near the Banks of the River where the rising Hills enlarge the prospect upon the Water And the Hot Air is temper'd by the shady Walks under the spreading Branches and the nearness of the Current of the Water glideing by For these Religious Santones here as well as in Europe are industrious in culling out the most delightful Habitations in the Country and taking up their Abode where ever either Art or Nature Invite their Residence by a commodious pleasant Dwelling For there is not any place near Suratt that yields either the Beauty or the Delight that Pulparrock affords The Original of the Faquirs The Original of these Holy Mendicants is ascrib'd according to their Account to a certain Prince named Revan who quarrell'd with Ram a Knowing and Victorious Prince and being Conquer'd and depriv'd of all by a certain Ape named Herman or Hanneman which was his Assistant on Earth spent the remainder of his Days in Pilgrimage and rambling without any Maintenance either to himself or his Followers but what was given them in Charity It was for the good Services done to Ram in his Life time by the Apes The Indian's respect for Apes that they are in so great Esteem both with the Moors and Gentues in the Indies and this arch unlucky Creature is in that Repute among them all that they seriously declare were the Blood of one of them spilt upon the Ground the Earth would suddenly become unfruitful and the Judgment upon it would be at least a Years Famin. And therefore when a large Ape had broke loose from the English Factory at Suratt and skipping to and fro' had snatch'd away several things of value and in his Anger had bit a Child or two so sorely that they afterwards died of the Wounds as it was reported yet was it an inexcusable Crime at the same time for any violent Hand to touch him These Philosophical Saints have since the first forming of their Order The Rudeness of the Faquirs assum'd a liberty of taking that by violence which they find is denied their civil Requests and sometimes force a Charity from the People when Intreaties cannot prevail especially in the Country Villages For their numbers render them imperious and upon pretension of extraordinary Sanctity they commit a thousand Villanies unbecoming their Profession They imitate the Romish Orders in Vows of Piety and Celibacy and in their Pretensions to a strange Intimacy and prevailing Interest with Heaven Thus they endeavour to raise their Veneration and Respect thus they acquire constant Homage and Address daily Applications and large Presents from the People And some by a seeming neglect of themselves indulge their Bodies and pamper their Ambition the more Their filthiness They are called Faquirs by the Natives but Ashmen commonly by us because of the abundance of Ashes with which they powder their Heads and mix with their Hair which falls down sometimes to the middle of their Backs They use no Pillabers to repose their Heads on but lay them unconcernedly upon the Ground where they gather a constant supply of Dust and Filth which makes them in their Opinion of a very becoming appearance because it is squalid but gives the Ascetick or votary in our Eyes a very disagreeable and sordid Aspect The Immodesty of some Faquirs Of this
the Day and when the Sun is in the Zenith will be half Roasted in a little time by the Heat Rains fall seldom It rains here but seldom and in some places of Arabia not above twice or thrice in two or three Years but the abundance of Dew which falls at Night refreshes the Ground supplies the Herbs with Moisture and makes the Fruits excellent The Muscatters for the most part are lean and of a middle Stature The nature of the Inhabitants very swarthy in their Complexion and not of very strong Voice They are stout and manly and expert at the Bow and Dart and since their ingagement in the War with the Portuguese are excellent Marks-men and very dexterous and ready in the exercise of Fire-Arms in which they Employ always some part of the Day The Ground yields them variety of excellent Fruits as Oranges Lemons Citrons Grapes Apricocks and Peaches and most sorts of Roots and green Herbs But the Staple Commodity of the Country is Dates Dates the chief Commodity of which there are whole Orchards for some Miles together They have so much plenty of this Fruit for which they have so ready a vent in India that several Ships are sent thither loaded from hence without any other Cargo The Hills are bare The Hills are generally all steril and bare and he that takes only a prospect of them would conclude the Land quite uninhabitable and unable to afford either sustenance for Man or nourishment for Beast For the Soil there languishes for want of Moisture and the ground is dried up like a barren Wilderness The Valleys fruitful the Earth brings forth neither Grass nor Flowers nor Trees with either Leaves or Fruit. But casting his Eyes down into the Valleys he sees them all flourishing and green and cover'd with Vegetables fit for the Pleasure and Refreshment of Animals and very Beautiful to Admiration There are Arable Fields and green Pastures Fruit-Trees that look neither wither'd nor faded nothing there is Barren or Unprofitable but bountiful Nature compensates with the fruitfulness of the Valleys for the nakedness of the Hills so that here if upon their Tops a Man would be apt to think himself among the Lybian Wastes yet let him but descend lower The Watering their Trees and he would fancy himself in the pleasant Fields of Tempe All this is due to the Industry of the People who for want of Rains are forc'd to water their Gardens every Morning and Evening by the labour of the Ox who draws the Water twice a day to the Root of every Tree in their Gardens There are several Channels cut out in the ground for the Water to run thro' and at the Banks of these Canals the Trees are Planted near the Water for the Moisture and Nourishment of the Roots which together with the Mists that descend in the Night time preserve them fresh and green and very Fruitful Having spoke thus much of Arabia in general of the Extent and Situation of Muscatt and the quality of its Climate of the Stature and Complexion of the Inhabitants and nature of the Soil thereabouts I will now relate one thing observable concerning the Food of their Cattle and will then proceed to an Account of the Temperance and Justice of the Arabians of Muscatt for which two things they are more remarkable than any other Nation this day in the World Their Cattle here are fed with Fish Fish the Food of their Cattle which is a sort of Food that seems as Unnatural for them as for Fish to live upon Grass which is the proper Meat for Cattle But the Fish which they eat is not fresh and just taken out of the Sea but when a great quantity of it is caught the Muscatrers dig a large Hole in the Ground wherein they put it 'till it remains so long that it rotts and comes to a kind of Earth After this it is taken up and boil'd with Water in great Earthen Pots which makes a kind of thick Broth and standing 'till it is cool it is then given to the Cattle by which they grow extreme Fat and yet their Flesh is very savory not tainted with either an ill Taste or Smell The Food of the Natives The Inhabitants of Muscatt feed promiscuously upon either Fish or Flesh they eat Beef Mutton Goat and Deer and the Flesh of Camels is admir'd by them and is in repute for a Healthful sort of Meat But they are very nice and curious in killing those Animals on which they feed and which they refuse to taste 'till the Meat is cleans'd and washt from the Blood They abound too in many sorts of Fish and are scrupulous in Eating of some kinds of them such especially as have no Scales from which they totally refrain and esteem the Food of such as well as of Blood an Abomination The Soil affords abundance of Wheat which might be properly made use of for their Bread but the Dates are so plentiful so pleasant and admir'd that they mix them with all their Food and eat them instead of Bread through all these parts of Arabia both with their Fish and Flesh But of all the Followers of Mahomet and zealous Admirers of his four principal Doctors Abu Becre Osman Omar and Hali none are so rigidly Abstemious as the Arabians of Muscatt The great Abstinence of the Natives as well from the Juice of the Grape as other more common and innocent Liquors For Tea and Coffee which are judg'd the privileg'd Liquors of all the Mahometans as well Turks as those of Persia India and other parts of Arabia are condemn'd by them as unlawful Refreshments and abominated as Bug-bear Liquors as well as Wine He that would turn Advocate for any of these sorts of Drink and commend the Use of them as convenient for their Stomachs as fit to chear their Hearts and chase away Melancholy from their Spirits would be look'd upon as a vile Contemner of their Law and an Encourager of Libertinism and Intemperance They abhor likewise the smoaking of Tobacco and the warm intoxicating Fumes of that Indian Weed and constantly burn all that they can find brought into their Country Sugar Water and Orange mixt together which they call Sherbet is their only Drink such is their Antipathy to all Liquors that are warm and strong that in perfect Indignation they rased a Jews House to the ground that had only made some strong Waters Therefore they call themselves the strict Arabs the Chaste Mahometans the only true Professors of the Mussulman-Law and genuine followers of the Prophet To this degree of Abstinence they are all bred up who are Natives of this Region hereabouts thus they abstain from all those sensible gratifications of their Palates which may any way inebriate their Faculties and render the Mind dull and unactive and shun the Taste of any thing that may disturb their Person or raise up in them any irregular Appetites Nor is the
performance in a clear and ample Account of what is yet unknown and very worthy the publick Notice among these People I shall observe no other Method in this Relation than what Nature has chalkt out to us in the Situation of the Towns which shall briefly be describ'd according as they lie upon the Sea-Coast Why called the Red Sea And shall begin with the Arabian Gulph or Red Sea the reason of which Name is perplext with variety of Opinions and different Conjectures for Antiquity we find did not confine the Name of the Red Sea only to that narnow Channel which divides Arabia from Africk and gives a boundary to some parts of those Ancient Kingdoms but included also the Persian Gulf and all the Seas about Arabia and all that vast Tract of Ocean which extends from Capè bone Esperance even beyond the River Ganges And the later Western Writers have limited it only to this Gulph because it lies the nearest and was first discover'd to them Therefore they contend that because King Erythros who was Master of this Sea was interr'd in one of its Islands it obtain'd the Name of Mare Erithraeum which signifies the Red Sea and the Latines and others from thence have retain'd the same Appellation Some fancy that the redness of the Sand or Corall which lie at the Bottom or the redness of its Waters and others affirm that the strong reflexion of the Sun's Beams upon the Surface or the redness of the Neighbouring Hills might justly occasion the immposition of this Name Herodotus takes notice of a place hereabouts called Erythrobolus or the Red Soil which might Countenance another Opinion In the Hebrew this Sea is called Suph or the Sea of Weeds because according to Kimchi there grew abundance of Weeds upon the sides of it The length of the Red Sea This Gulph runs from 12 Degrees No. Latitude to 29 and farther most of it along the Shoar of Arabia the Happy which is a large Peninsula as it stands divided from the other two Arabia's The time of the Ships coming towards Mocha The Ships from Suratt that Sail for the Red Sea take their departure generally about March and Arrive at Mocha towards the latter end of April or before the 20th of May at which time or as the Moon Changes or is in the Full the Winds vary and prevent any more Ships entring into the Sea that Year In their Passage at that time of the Year they generally make the Island of Socatra and keep under Cape Guardifeu and the Abasseen Coast to escape the danger of those impetuous Currents that run strong on the Arabian Shore Socatra The Island of Socatra lies 12 Deg. 30 M. No. and is subject to the King of Casseen one of whose Sons is always plac'd in the Government whose main Revenue arises from the Aloes Dragons-Blood and Goats and Cows Skins which are sent every Year either to Seer or Casseen The Road here is very good when once the Danger is past in entring into it and that is easily evaded by the Pilots who are always ready to conduct the Ships with safety into the Harbour To the Eastward of this Island is very good Anchorage but the Water is neither Healthful nor is there any great store of Provisions They exceed all their Neighbours in the quantity and Art of making Butter and furnish with it Casseen and Seer sometimes Mocha and Aden with that valuable Commodity Their Ships for Traffick are very few not above 6 or 7 Grabbs or Gelva's belonging to the Island most of which are imploy'd upon the King's Account The Natives are of a swarthy Complexion and of civil Demeanour and would gladly invite the English to a settlement among them but the meanness of the Trade will not permit them to accept the Profer Cape Guardifeu Opposite to this Island upon the Main of Africa is Cape Guardifeu which is very remarkable Land and lies in 12 Deg. No. Lat. The Reason of mentioning this Cape is because most Ships that come for this Sea in April or later desire for their safety to make that Land or Promontory Mount Felix Near this is Mount Felix which is only a small Mountain but shews it self in appearance at a distance like a small Island yet joins the Main by low Land and the Ships keeping their Course along this Shore for about 150 Miles Westward from the Cape at length they espy a small white Island from whence they cross the Gulph towards Aden on the Arabian Shore which now follows in order to be describ'd Upon this Coast of Arabia are variety of places noted for Traffick the first of which that I shall here take notice of is Dofar Dofar which is situated towards the Eastern part of this Sea The King of this place Ingages now and then in small Skirmishes and Martial Disputes with his Neighbouring Princes the Kings of Seer and Casseen but their Contests are seldom very Bloody And his People are inur'd but very little to the Laws of Hospitality and Kindness The nature of the Inhhabitants but are injurious in their Commerce and Villanous to Strangers The Country produces only some Olibanum Coco-Nuts and Butter The Religion of the Natives is Mahometan of which they are such zealous Admirers and are heated with such extatick Warmths that they are not asham'd sometimes to pretend even to Inspiration especially when they are seiz'd with a sit of Dancing For among them prevails a particular Custom of Dancing with so much pains and Zeal A violent Enthusiastick sort of Dance so much fervency and Passion that their strength decays and their Spirits fail them thro' those violent Motions and being at length quite spent they fall as it were quite dead upon the Ground All the while this merry Humour does possess them they cry aloud God is a great God the only God and Mahomet his Prophet and fill the Air with such like pious and devout Expressions of their Law 'till they are not able any longer to speak or stand While they lie thus lifeless as it were and intranc'd upon the Ground they talk they say with God and the Prophet who Communicates to them Divine Revelations and the credulous Multitude who are easily perswaded to give assent to what they say firmly believe that they are Heavenly Inspir'd This is done in imitation as I conceive and to countenance the Practice of their False Prophet who wisely contriv'd that a Bodily Disease should pass for the Infusion of the Spirit and being subject to the Falling Sickness declar'd that those Swoonings were Heavenly Raptures in which he convers'd familiarly with the Angel Gabriel Casseen Next to this place Westward is Casseen which stands in 15 Deg. No. The Road here in the Western Mussouns is very safe but it lies open to the Eastward The Town looks mean and is no way beautified with stately Edifices nor made strong by Fortifications only 't is dignified