IN CEYLON
ARRIVAL IN CEYLON TO SEE ADAM'S PEAK
When
we sailed, however, the wind changed upon us, and we were near being lost;
but arrived at last at the island of Ceylon, a place well known, and in
which is situated the mountain of Serendib. This appeared to us like a
pillar of smoke, when we were at a distance of nine days from it. When
we got near the land, we saw a harbour, into which we endeavoured to put,
but were threatened by the Reis, who was in a ship. The reason of this
was, the harbour was in a district belonging to an infidel prince, who
had no intercourse with the captains of Mohammedan vessels, as other infidel
princes had. He was likewise a very stupid being. He had also ships with
which he occasionally transported his troops against the Mohammedans. Beside
all this, we were in danger of drowning, unless we could enter the port:
I said to the Reis, therefore, Allow me to come on shore, and I will ensure
thy safety, and that of those about thee, with the King. To this he consented,
and myself, with some of my followers only, were brought on shore.
The
infidels then came about us and said: What are you? I answered, I am a
relation of the King of the Maabar districts, and am on a voyage to visit
him: whatever is in the ship, is a present for the King of the Maabar.
They then went to their king, and told him this. He therefore sent for
me, and I went to him. He is king of the city of Battala, which is small,
and surrounded by two wooden fences. The whole of its shore abounds with
cinnamon wood, bakam, and the kalanji aloe; which, however, is not equal
to the Kamari, or the Kakuli, in scent. The merchants of Malabar and the
Maabar districts transport it without any other price than a few articles
of clothing, which are given as presents to the king. This may be attributed
to the circumstance, that it is brought down by the mountain torrents,
and left in great heaps upon the shore. Between this city and the Maabar
districts, there is a voyage of one day and night.
The
king of Ceylon, Ayari Shakarti, by name, has considerable forces by sea.
When I was first admitted to his presence, he rose and received me honourably,
and said: You are to be my guest for three days. Security shall be forwarded
to the people of the ship, because your relation, the King of the Maabar,
is my friend. After thanking him, I remained with him, and was treated
with increasing respect.
One
day, when I was admitted to his presence, he had with him a great number
of pearls, which had been brought from the pearl-fishery, and these his
companions were sorting. He asked me whether I had ever seen pearl-diving,
in any country which I had visited. I said, yes, I had, in the island of
Finas. He said: Do not be shy; ask for what you wish. I answered: My only
desire in coming to this island was, to visit the blessed foot of our forefather
Adam; whom these people call Baba, while they style Eve, Mama. This, replied
he, is easy enough. We will send some one with you, who shall conduct you
thither. The ship (said I) which brought me here, shall return to the Maabar;
and when I return, you shall send me there in one of your ships. He answered,
It shall be so. When I told this to the commander of the ship, he refused
to accede to it; and said, I will wait for you, should you be absent a
whole year.
RUBIES AND ELEPHANTS
This
I told to the King, who said: He may stay at my charge until you return.
He then gave me a palanquin, which his servants carried upon their shoulders.
He also sent with me four Jogees, who were in the habit of visiting the
foot-mark every year; with these went four Brahmins, and ten of the King's
companions, with fifteen men carrying provisions. As to water, there is
plenty of it to be found on the road. We then proceeded on our journey;
and on the first day crossed a river in a boat made of reeds, and entered
the city of Manar Mandali, which is handsome, and situated at the extremity
of the territory of the infidel king who had entertained and sent us out.
We then proceeded to the port of Salawat, which is a small town.
The
roads, however, over which we travelled, were rough and abounding with
water. In these there were many elephants: but they never touched either
pilgrims or strangers, in consequence of the blessing obtained by the Sheikh
Abu Abd Allah Ibn Khafif, the first who opened this road of pilgrimage
to the foot. The infidels would not formerly allow the Mohammedans to make
this pilgrimage, but injured them; nor would they either sell, or give
them anything to eat. But when it happened that the elephants killed all
the companions of this Sheikh, one of them sparing and carrying him on
his back from among the mountains to an inhabited district, the infidels
ever after thought highly of the Mohammedans, admitted them into their
houses, and fed them. And to this very day they speak of the Sheikh in
the most extravagant terms of respect, and call him "the greatest Sheikh."
After
this we arrived at the city of Kankar, which is the seat of the Emperor
of Ceylon. It is built in a valley between two hills, upon an estuary called
the estuary of rubies, and in which rubies are found. Without the city
is the mosque of the Sheikh Othman of Shiraz, which both the Emperor and
the people of the city visit, and for which they have great respect.
The
Emperor is an infidel, and is known by the name of Kinar. He has a white
elephant, upon which he rides on feast days, having first placed on his
head some very large rubies. This is the only white elephant I had ever
seen. The ruby and carbuncle are found only in this country. These are
not allowed to be exported, on account of the great estimation in which
they are held: nor are they elsewhere dug up. But the ruby is found all
over Ceylon. It is considered as property, and is sold by the inhabitants.
When they dig for the ruby, they find a white stone abounding with fissures.
Within this the ruby is placed. They cut it out, and give it to the polishers,
who polish it until the ruby is separated from the stone. Of this there
is the red, the yellow, and the cerulean. They call it the Manikam. It
is a custom among them, that every ruby amounting in value to six of the
golden dinars current in those parts shall go the Emperor, who gives its
value and takes it. What falls short of this goes to his attendants. All
the women in the island of Ceylon have traces [=strings] of coloured rubies,
which they put upon their hands and legs as chains, in the place of bracelets
and ankle-rings. I once saw upon the head of the white elephant seven rubies,
each of which was larger than a hen's egg. I also saw in the possession
of the king Ayari Shakarti, a saucer made of ruby, as large as the palm
of the hand, in which he kept oil of aloes. I was much surprised at it,
when the King said to me, We have them much larger than this.
THE LEADER OF THE MONKEYS, AND FIERCE LEECHES
We then
proceeded from Kankar, and came to a cave known by the name of Ista Mahmud,
then to the estuary of Buzuta, which in their language signifies monkeys,
animals which are in great numbers in the mountains of these parts. These
monkeys are black, and have long tails: the beard of the males is like
that of a man. I was told by the Sheikh Othman and his son, two pious and
credible persons, that the monkeys have a leader, whom they follow as if
he were their king. About his head is tied a turban composed of the leaves
of trees; and he reclines upon a staff. At his right and left hand are
four monkeys, with rods in their hands, all of which stand at his head
whenever the leading monkey sits. His wives and children are daily brought
in on these occasions, who sit down before him; then comes a number of
monkeys, which sit and form a sort of assembly about him. One of the four
monkeys then addresses them, and they disperse. After this each of them
comes with a nut, a lemon, or some of the mountain fruit, which he throws
down before the leader. He then eats, together with his wives, children,
and the four principal monkeys; they then all disperse. One of the Jogees
also told me, that he once saw the four monkeys standing in the presence
of the leader, and beating another monkey, with rods; after this they plucked
off all his hair. I was also told by respectable persons, that if one of
these monkeys happens to attack, and be too strong for a young woman, he
will ravish her.
We next
proceeded to the estuary of reeds, where rubies are also found. The next
place we arrived at is known by "The house of the old woman," which is
the farthest inhabited part of the island of Ceylon. Our next stage was
the cave of Baba Tahir, who was one of the pious: the next, the cave of
Sibak, an infidel king, who retired to this place for the purposes of devotion.
Here we saw the fierce leech, which they call the zalaw. It remains in
trees, or in the grass near water. When any one comes near to it, it springs
upon him, and the part of the body attacked will bleed profusely. People
generally provide themselves with a lemon for this occasion, which they
squeeze over him, and then he drops off. The place upon which the leech
has fastened they cut out with a wooden knife made for that purpose.
It is
told of a pilgrim who passed by this place, that a leech fastened upon
him, so that the skin swelled; and, as he did not squeeze the lemon on
him, the blood flowed out and he died.
We next
came to a place called the seven caves, and after this to the Ridge of
Alexander; in which is a cave and a well of water. At this place is the
entrance to the mountain. This mountain of Serendib is one of the highest
in the world: we saw it from the sea at the distance of nine days. When
we ascended it, we saw the clouds passing between us and its foot. On it
is a great number of trees, the leaves of which never fall.
ADAM'S PEAK
There
are also flowers of various colours, with the red rose, about the size
of the palm of the hand, upon the leaves of which they think they can read
the name of God and of his Prophet. There are two roads on the mountain
leading to the foot (of Adam); the one is known by "the way of Baba," the
other, by "the way of Mama," by which they mean Adam and Eve. The way called
that of Mama is easy: to it the travellers come upon their first visiting
the place; but every one who has travelled only upon this, is considered
as if he had not made the pilgrimage at all. The way named Baba is rough,
and difficult of ascent. At the foot of the mountain where the entrance
is, there is a minaret named after Alexander, and a fountain of water.
The
ancients have cut something like steps, upon which one may ascend, and
have fixed in iron pins, to which chains are appended; and upon these those
who ascend take hold. Of these chains there are ten in number, the last
of which is termed "the chain of witness," because, when one has arrived
at this, and looks down, the frightful notion seizes him that he shall
fall. After the tenth chain is the cave of Khizr, in which there is a large
space; and at the entrance a well, of water, full of fish, which is also
called after his name. Of those, however, no one takes any. Near this,
and on each side of the path, is a cistern cut in the rock. In this cave
of Khizr the pilgrims leave their provisions, and whatever else they have,
and then ascend about two miles to the top of the mountain, to the place
of (Adam's) foot.
The
holy foot (mark) is in a stone, so that its place is depressed. The length
of the impression is eleven spans. The Chinese came here at some former
time, and cut out from this stone the place of the great toe, together
with the stone about it, and placed it in a temple in the city of Zaitun:
and pilgrimages are made to it from the most distant parts of China. In
the rock, too, in which the impression of the foot is, there are nine excavations
which have been cut out: into these the infidel pilgrims put gold, rubies,
and other jewels: and hence you will see the Fakeers, who have come as
pilgrims to the well of Khizr, racing to get first to the excavations,
in order to obtain what may be in them. We, however, found nothing but
a little gold with some rubies, which we gave to our guide.
THE RETURN JOURNEY
It is
customary for the pilgrims to remain in the cave of Khizr for three days;
and during this time to visit the foot both morning and evening. This we
did; and when the three days were expired we returned by the path of Mama,
and came down to the cave of Shisham, who is Sheth, the son of Adam. After
this we arrived at the fish port, then at the village of Karkun, then at
the village of Dildinuh, then at the village of At Kalanja, where the tomb
of Abu Abd Allah Ibn Khafif is situated. All these villages and tilled.
lands are upon the mountain. At its foot, and near the path, is a cypress,
which is large and never drops the leaf. But as to its leaves, there is
no getting to them by any means; and these people's heads are turned with
some strange and false notions respecting them. I saw a number of Jogees
about the tree, waiting for the falling of one; for they suppose that any
person eating one of them, will grow young again, however old he may be.
Beneath this mountain is the great estuary at which the rubies are obtained;
its water appears wonderfully blue to the eye.
From
this place we proceeded, and in two days arrived at the city of Dinaur,
which is large, and inhabited by merchants. In this is an idol, known by
the same name, placed in a large temple; and in which there are about a
thousand Brahmins and Jogees, and five hundred young women, daughters of
the nobility of India, who sing and dance all night before the image. The
officers of the city revenue attend upon the image. The idol is of gold,
and as large as a man. In the place of eyes it has two large rubies; which,
as I was told, shine in the night-time like two lighted candles.
From
this place we travelled to Kali, which is a large town; then to Kolambu
(Colombo), which is the finest and largest city in Serendib. After three
days we arrived at the city of Battala, from which we had been sent by
its king, with his servants, to visit (Adam's) foot. This we entered, and
were received honourably by the king, who furnished us with provisions.
*on to chapter 10*
