The Kingdom of Eli

CHAPTER 24. The Kingdom of Eli

Eli is a kingdom towards the west, about 300 miles from Comari.

The people are Idolaters and have a king, and are tributary to nobody and have a peculiar language.

There is no proper harbour in the country. But there are many great rivers with good estuaries, wide and deep.

Pepper and ginger grow there, and other spices in quantities.

The King is rich in treasure, but not very strong in forces. The approach to his kingdom however is so strong by nature that no one can attack him, so he is afraid of nobody.

If any ship enters their estuary and anchors there, having been bound for some other port, they seize her and plunder the cargo.

For they say, “You were bound for somewhere else, and ’tis 386God has sent you hither to us, so we have a right to all your goods.”

They think it no sin to act thus.

This naughty custom prevails all over these provinces of India – if a ship is driven by the weather into some other port than that to which it was bound, it is sure to be plundered.

But if a ship come bound originally to the place they receive it with all honour and give it due protection.

The ships of Manzi and other countries that come hither in summer lay in their cargoes in 6 or 8 days and depart as fast as possible, because there is no harbour other than the river-mouth, a mere roadstead and sandbanks, so that it is perilous to tarry there.

The ships of Manzi indeed are not so much afraid of these roadsteads as others are, because they have such huge wooden anchors which hold in all weather.

There are many lions and other wild beasts here and plenty of game, both beast and bird.

CHAPTER 25. The Kingdom of Melibar

Melibar is a great kingdom lying towards the west. The people are Idolaters. They have a language of their own, and a king of their own, and pay tribute to nobody.

In this country you see more of the North Star, for it shows two cubits above the water.

From this kingdom of Melibar, and from another near it called Gozurat, there go forth every year more than 100 corsair vessels on cruize.

These pirates take with them their wives and children, and stay out the whole summer.

Their method is to join in fleets of 20 or 30 of these pirate vessels together, and then they form what they call a sea cordon,{2} that is, they drop off till there is an interval of 5 or 6 miles between ship and ship, so that they cover something like an hundred miles of sea, and no merchant ship can escape them.

For when any one corsair sights a vessel a signal is made by fire or smoke, and then the whole of them make for this, and seize the merchants and plunder them.

After they have plundered them they let them go, saying: “Go along with you and get more gain, and that mayhap will fall to us also!”

But now the merchants are aware of this, and go so well manned and armed, and with such great ships, that they don’t fear the corsairs.

Still mishaps do befall them at times.{3}

This kingdom has a lot of pepper, and ginger, and cinnamon, and turbit, and of nuts of India.

They also manufacture very delicate and beautiful buckrams.

The ships that come from the east390 bring copper in ballast. They also bring hither cloths of silk and gold, and sendels; also gold and silver, cloves and spikenard, and other fine spices for which there is a demand here, and exchange them for the products of these countries.

Ships come hither from many quarters, but especially from the great province of Manzi.

Coarse spices are exported hence both to Manzi and to the west, and that which is carried by the merchants to Aden goes on to Alexandria, but the ships that go in the latter direction are not one to ten of those that go to the eastward; a very notable fact that I have mentioned before.

CHAPTER 26. The Kingdom of Gozurat

Gozurat is a great kingdom. The people are Idolaters and have a peculiar language, and a king of their own, and are tributary to no one. It lies towards the west, and the North Star is here still more conspicuous, showing itself at an altitude of about 6 cubits.{1}

The people are the most desperate pirates in existence, and one of their atrocious practices is this.

When they have taken a merchant-vessel they force the merchants to swallow a stuff called Tamarindi mixed in sea-water, which produces a violent purging.

This is done in case the merchants, on seeing their danger, should have swallowed their most valuable stones and pearls. And in this way the pirates secure the whole.

In Gozurat there grows much pepper, and ginger, and indigo.

They have also a great deal of cotton.

Their cotton trees are of very great size, growing full six paces high, and attaining to an age of 20 years. It is to be observed however that, when the trees are so old as that, the cotton is not good to spin, but only to quilt or stuff beds withal.

Up to the age of 12 years indeed the trees give good spinning cotton, but from that age to 20 years the produce is inferior.{3} Mediæval Architecture in Guzerat. (From Fergusson.)

They dress in this country great numbers of skins of various kinds, goat-skins, ox-skins, buffalo and wild ox-skins, as well as those of unicorns and other animals. In fact so many are dressed every year as to load a number of ships for Arabia and other quarters.

They also work here beautiful mats in red and blue leather,394 exquisitely inlaid with figures of birds and beasts, and skilfully embroidered with gold and silver wire. These are marvellously beautiful things;

They are used by the Saracens to sleep upon, and capital they are for that purpose. They also work cushions embroidered with gold, so fine that they are worth six marks of silver a piece, whilst some of those sleeping-mats are worth ten marks.{4}

CHAPTER 27. The Kingdom of Tana

Tana is a great kingdom lying towards the west, a kingdom great both in size and worth.

The people are Idolaters, with a language of their own, and a king of their own, and tributary to nobody.

No pepper grows there, nor other spices, but plenty of incense; not the white kind however, but brown.{2}

There is much traffic here, and many ships and merchants frequent the place; for there is a great export of leather of various excellent kinds, and also of good buckram and cotton. The merchants in their ships also import various articles, such as gold, silver, copper, and other things in demand.

With the King’s connivance many corsairs launch from this port to plunder merchants.

These corsairs have a covenant with the King that he shall get all the horses they capture, and all other plunder shall remain with them.

The King does this because he has no horses of his own, whilst many are shipped from abroad towards India; for no ship ever goes thither without horses in addition to other cargo. The practice is naughty and unworthy of a king.

CHAPTER 28. The Kingdom of Cambaet

Cambaet is a great kingdom lying further west. The people are Idolaters, and have a language of their own, and a king of their own, and are tributary to nobody.{1}

The North Star is here still more clearly visible;398 and henceforward the further you go west the higher you see it.

There is a great deal of trade in this country.

It produces indigo in great abundance; and they also make much fine buckram. There is also a quantity of cotton which is exported hence to many quarters.

There is a great trade in hides, which are very well dressed; with many other kinds of merchandize too tedious to mention. Merchants come here with many ships and cargoes, but what they chiefly bring is gold, silver, copper [and tutia].

There are no pirates from this country; the inhabitants are good people, and live by their trade and manufactures.

CHAPTER 29. The Kingdom of Semenat

Semenat is a great kingdom towards the west.

The people are Idolaters, and have a king and a language of their own, and pay tribute to nobody.

They are not corsairs, but live by trade and industry as honest people ought.

It is a place of very great trade. They are forsooth cruel Idolaters.