CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Arrival atAbi Sardar — Kabaniuar — Manjarun — Mohammedan merchants here — Hili — Jurkhannan
— Dadkannan — Miraculous Tree — Fattan — Fandaraina — Kalikut — Chinese Junks — Embassy
goes on board, and is wrecked — Proceeds to Kawlam after his property ; arrives at Kanjarkaru ;
returns to Kalikut — Joins an expedition against Sindabur — The place carried by assault
Arrives at Hinaur — Fakanaur — Manjarur — Hili — Jarafattan — Badqfattan — Fandaraina
Shaliat ; returns to Sindabur, and sets out for the Maidive Islands.
The first town we entered in the country of Malabar was that of "Abi
Sardar which is small, and is situated on a large estuary of the sea. We
next came to the city of " Kakanwar, which is large, and also upon an
estuary of the sea. It abounds in the sugar-cane. The Sultan is an
infidel. He sent his son as a pledge to our vessel, and we landed accord-
ingly, and were honourably received. He also sent presents to the ship,
as marks of respect to the Emperor of India. It is a custom with them,
that every vessel which passes by one of their ports shall enter it, and
give a present to its Sultan ; in this case they let it pass, but otherwise
they make war upon it with their vessels, they then board it out of con-
tempt, and impose a double fine upon the cargo, just in proportion to the
advantage they usually gain from merchants entering their country.
We next arrived at the city of ^Manjarun, which is situated upon a large
estuary of the sea, called the “ '^estuary of the wolf,'" and which is the
greatest estuary in the country of Malabar. In this place are some of the
greatest merchants of Persia and Yemen. Ginger and black pepper are
here in great abundance. The king of this place is the greatest of the
kings of Malabar, and in it are about four thousand Mohammedan mer-
chants. The king made us land, and sent us a present.
We next came to the town of ’ Hill, which is large and situated upon an
estuary of the sea. As far as this place come the ships of China, but
they do not go beyond it ; nor do they enter any harbour, except that of
this place, of ‘Kalikut, and of ‘Kawlam.*
•jr-
i.nwkam.
* This name often appears in our MSS. as well as in that of Mr. Apetz, thus : ^^Ka
It is given correctly by Abulfeda , and in the long. ^ 132° 8' ; lat. i_ - i ^ ^ 12° 8' ;
170
HINDUSTAN.
The city of Hili is much revered both by the Mohammedans and infidels,
on account of a mosque, the source of light and of blessings,* * * * § which is
found in it. To this seafaring persons make and pay their vows, whence
its treasury is derived, which is placed under the control of the principal
Moslem. The mosque maintains a preacher, and has within it several
students, as well as readers of the Koran, and persons who teach writing.
We next arrived at the city of " Jurkannan, the king of which is one of
the greatest on these coasts. We next came to ""Dadkannan, which is a
large city abounding with gardens, and situated upon a mouth of the sea.
In this are found the betel leaf and f nut, the cocoa-nut and colocassia.:}:
Without the city is a large pond for retaining water ; about which are gar-
dens. The king is an infidel. His grandfather, who had become Moham-
medan, built its mosque and made the pond. The cause of the grandfa-
ther’s receiving Islamism was a tree, over which he had built the mosque.
This tree is a very great wonder its leaves are green, and like those of
the fig, except only that they are soft. The tree is called Darakhti Sha-
hadet (the tree of testimony), darakht meaning tree. I was told in these
by Ibn Said ; and in the Atwill o , ^ J i- e. long. 110° 8'; lat. 18° 30'. It is the Coulan
of the maps.
* I am not at all satisfied with my own translation of this passage. It stands thus
in the original two of the MSS. j^\ .
Nothing of this occurs in the edition by Mr. Apetz. I have given, however, the only tolerable
sense I can find in it.
-j- This, according to the Medical Dictionary of Ibn El Hosain, AxiU t - ^ lJj-C
Jj^, It is a fruit
in power something like the red sandal-wood. Its tree is like that of the cocoa-nut ; it is in its
nature cold and dry, &c.
§ Mr. Apetz thinks he finds a description of the banyan tree here ; his words are : “ arborem
istam vere singularem jam veteres mirati sunt;” after which we have a citation from Strabo in
the words of Onesicritus, and another from Pliny, and then we are told, that it is the Bengal
fig-tree (Ficus Bengalensis), &c. How Mr. Apetz got to this conclusion it is extremely difficult
to say, unless he supposed the wonder of our traveller to have risen from the same cause with
that of the ancients : but, as the ground of his wonder is explained to be the leaf’s changing its
colour, &c. there appears to be very little reason for supposing, that this is the tree mentioned by
Onesicritus and Pliny.
HINDUSTAN.
171
parts, that this tree does not generally drop its leaves; but, at the season of
autumn in every year, one of them changes its colour, first to yellow, then
to red; and that upon this is written, with the pen of power, “ There is no
God but God; Mohammed is the Prophet of God;” and that this leaf
alone falls. Very many Mohammedans, who were worthy of belief, told
me this ; and said, that they had witnessed its fall, and had read the
writing; and further, that every year, at the time of the fall, credible
persons among the Mohammedans, as well as others of the infidels, sat
beneath the tree waiting for the fall of the leaf : and when this took place,
that the one half was taken by the Mohammedans, as a blessing, and for
the purpose of curing their diseases ; and the other, by the king of the infi-
del city, and laid up in his treasury as a blessing ; and that this is con-
stantly received among them. Now the grandfather of the present king
could read the Arabic ; he witnessed, therefore, the fall of the leaf, read the
inscription, and, understanding its import, became a Mohammedan ac-
cordingly. At the time of his death he appointed his son, who was a
violent infidel, to succeed him. This man adhered to his own religion, cut
down the tree, tore up its roots, and effaced every vestige of it. After two
years the tree grew, and regained its original state, and in this it now is.
This king died suddenly ; and none of his infidel descendants, since his
time, has done any thing to the tree.
We next came to the city of ^Fattan (Pattan), the greater part of the
inhabitants of which are Brahmins, who are held in great estimation among
the Hindoos. In this place there was not one Mohammedan. Without it
was a mosque, to which the Mohammedan strangers resort. It is said to
have been built by certain merchants, and afterwards to have been destroyed
by one of the Brahmins, who had removed the roof of it to his own house.
On the following night, however, this house was entirely burnt, and in it
the Brahmin, his followers, and all his children. They then restored the
mosque, and in future abstained from injuring it ; whence it became the
resort of the Mohammedan strangers.
After this we came to the city of ^Fandaraina, a beautiful and large
place, abounding with gardens and markets. In this the Mohammedans
have three districts, in each of which is a mosque, with a judge and preacher.
Z 2
172
HINDUSTAN.
We next came to “Kalikut, one of the great ports of the district of Malabar,
and in which merchants from all parts are found. The king of this place
is an infidel, who shaves his chin just as the ^Haidar! Fakeers of Room do.
When we approached this place, the people came out to meet us, and with
a large concourse brought us into the port. The greatest part of the Mo-
hammedan merchants of this place are so wealthy, that one of them can
purchase the whole freightage of such vessels as put in here ; and fit out
others like them. Here we waited three months for the season to set sail
for China : for there is only one season in the year in which the sea of
China is navigable. Nor then is the voyage undertaken, except in vessels
of the three descriptions following : the greatest is called a “"junk, the
middling sized a *^zaw, the least a ^kakam. The sails of these vessels are
made of cane-reeds, woven together like a mat ; which, when they put into
port, they leave standing in the wind. In some of these vessels there will
be employed a thousand men, six hundred of these sailors, and four
hundred soldiers. Each of the larger ships is followed by three others,
a middle-sized, a third, and a fourth sized. These vessels are no where
made except in the city of El Zaitun in China, or in Sin Kilan, which
is Sin El Sin.* They rowf in these ships with large oars, which may
be compared to great masts, over some of which five and twenty men
will be stationed, who work standing. The commander of each vessel
is a great Emir. In the large ships too they sow garden herbs and
* This place, according to the Arabic geographers, is situated on the eastern coast of China.
Edrisi says, that the tenth part of the second climate ^°*^tains tlie
eastern districts of China, the city Susat El Sin and Siniat El Sin Si2\ ^
(^^^1 ... &c. And Ibn El Wardi ^ U1
. As to Sin El Sin, it is the extreme eastern part
which is inhabited, and beyond which there is nothing but the ocean.
f The verb ■ seems here to be used in rather an unusual sense: and were it not
repeated, it might be supposed to be an error of the copyists for , which is generally taken
in this sense. The passage is : o
I , &c.
HINDUSTAN.
173
ginger, which they cultivate in cisterns (made for that purpose), and placed
on the sides of them. In these also are houses constructed of wood, in
which the higher officers reside with their wives : but these they do not hire
out to the merchants. Every vessel, therefore, is like an independent city.
Of such ships as these, Chinese individuals will sometimes have large num-
bers : and, generally, the Chinese are the richest people in the world.
Now, when the season for setting out had arrived, the Emperor of Hindus-
tan appointed one of the junks, of the thirteen that were in the port, for our
voyage. El Malik Sambul, therefore, who had been commissioned to pre-
sent the gift, and Zahir Oddin, went on board : and to the former was the
present carried. I also sent my baggage, servants, and slave-girls on
board, but was told by one of them, before I could leave the shore, that the
cabin which had been assigned to me was so small, that it would not take
the baggage and slave girls. I went, therefore to the commander, who
said. There is no remedy for this ; if you wish to have a larger, you had
better get into one of the kakams (third-sized vessels) : there you will find
larger cabins, and such as you want. I accordingly ordered my property
to be put into the kakam. This was in the afternoon of Thursday, and
I myself remained on shore for the purpose of attending divine service on
the Friday. During the night, however, the sea arose, when some of the
junks struck upon the shore, and the greatest part of those on board
were drowned ; and the rest were saved by swimming. Some of the junks,
too, sailed off, and what became of them I know not. The vessel in which
the present was stowed, kept on the sea till morning, when it struck on the
shore, and all on board perished, and the wealth was lost. I had, indeed,
seen from the shore, the Emperor’s servants, with El Malik Sambul and
Zahir Oddin, prostrating themselves almost distracted : for the terror of the
sea was such as not to be got rid of. I myself had remained on shore,
having with me my prostration carpet and ten dinars, which had been given
me by some holy men. These I kept as a blessing, for the kakam had
sailed off with my property and followers. The missionaries of the King of
China were on board another junk, which struck upon the shore also.
Some of them were saved and brought to land, and afferwards clothed by
the Chinese merchants.
I was told that the kakam in which my property was, must have put
174
HINDUSTAN.
into-^ Kawlam. I proceeded, therefore, to that place by the river. It is
situated at the distance of ten days from ^ Kfilikut. After five days I came
to ^ Kanjarkara, which stands on the top of a hill, is inhabited by Jews,
and governed by an Emir who pays tribute to the King of 'Kawlam. All
the trees (we saw) upon the banks of this river, as well as upon the sea-
shores, were those of the cinnamon and bakam,* which constitute the fuel
of the inhabitants : and with this we cooked our food. Upon the tenth
day we arrived at Kawlam, which is the last city on the Malabar coast.
In this place is a large number of Mohammedan merchants ; but the king
is an infidel. In this place I remained a considerable time, but heard
nothing of the kakam and my property. I was afraid to return to the
Emperor, who would have said. How came you to leave the present, and
stay upon the shore ? for I knew what sort of a man he was, in cases of
this kind. I also advised with some of the Mohammedans, who dissuaded
me from returning, and said : He will condemn you because you left the
present : you had better, therefore, return by the river to ^ Kalikut.
I then betook myself to ^Jamfil Oddln, King of ™ Hinaur, by sea, who,
when I came near, met me and received me honourably, and then appointed
me a house with a suitable maintenance. He was about to attend on diwne
service in the mosque, and commanded me to accompany him. I then
became attached to the mosque, and read daily a khatma or two.f At
this time the King was preparing an expedition against the "island of
Sindabur. For this purpose he had prepared two and fifty vessels, which.
. LyHj
\.
* Mr. Apetz translates this passage, “ arbores cinnamomi et Caesalpinia? Sappan.” The original is,
. That the first signifies cinnamon there is perhaps little doubt : but I know
not whether Mr. Apetz is right or not in his interpretation of the second. It may not be amiss,
howevei’, to give an extract respecting it from the medical dictionary already cited.
&c. Bakam is the wood of a tree which grows on the shores of India. It is used by dyers in
dyeing black. It is in its nature warm and dry.
f The passage is, ^ which means that he daily read the Koran
through once or twice.
HINDUSTAN.
175
when ready, he ordered me to attend with him for the expedition. Upon
this occasion I opened the Koran, in search of an omen ; * and, in the first
words of the first leaf which I laid my hand upon, was frequent mention of
the name of God, and (the promise) that he would certainly assist those
who assisted him, I was greatly delighted with this ; and, when the King
came to the evening prayer, I told him of it, and requested to be allowed to
accompany him. He was much surprised at the omen, and prepared to set
out in person. After this he went on board one of the vessels, taking me
with him, and then we sailed. When we got to the island of Sindabur, we
found the people prepared to resist us, and a hard battle was accordingly
fought. We carried the place, however, by divine permission, by assault.
After this the King gave me a slave girl, with clothing and other neces-
saries ; and I resided with him some months. I then requested permis-
sion to make a journey to Kawlam, to inquire after the kakam with my
goods. He gave me permission, after obtaining a promise that I would
return to him. I then left him for "Hinaur, and then proceeded to
PFakanawr, and thence to ^Manjarur, thence to ’ Hill, ^Jarafattan, Bada-
fattan, “Fandaraina, and Kalikut, mention of which has already been
made. I next came to the city of Shaliat, where the shaliats are made,
and hence they derive their name. This is a fine city: I remained at it
some time, and there heard that the kakam had returned to China, and
that my slave girl had died in it : and I was much distressed on her ac-
count. The infidels, too, had seized upon my property, and my followers
had been dispersed among the Chinese and others.
I then returned to Sindabur to the King Jamal Oddin, at the time when
an infidel king was besieging the town with his troops. I left the place,
therefore, and made for the ^'Maldive Islands, at which, after ten days, I
arrived.
• cT"
•JJ'
-A
* SjUli L . This seems to be a very favourite practice in the East. The
omen is termed a J~al ( Jli), and the verses which direct how it is to be obtained, are called a
falnamah (^ul) Jb). A copy of this is generally found in most of the fine copies of the
Koran.
176
MALDIVE ISLANDS.