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The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2 |
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i
345
CHAP. XVII. THE PROVINCE OF MAABAR
beasts are entirely different from ours, all but one bird
which is exactly like ours, and that is the Quail. But
everything else is totally different. For example they
have bats, —I mean those birds that fly by night and
have no feathers of any kind ; well, their birds of this
kind are as big as a goshawk ! Their goshawks again
are as black as crows, a good deal bigger than ours, and
very swift and sure.
Another strange thing is that they feed their horses
with boiled rice and boiled meat, and various other kinds
of cooked food. That is the reason why all the horses
die off.r7
They have certain abbeys in which are gods and
goddesses to whom many young girls are consecrated ;
their fathers and mothers presenting them to that idol for
which they entertain the greatest devotion. And when
the [monks] of a convent * desire to make a feast to
their god, they send for all those consecrated damsels
and make them sing and dance before the idol with
great festivity. They also bring meats to feed their
idol withal ; that is to say, the damsels prepare dishes of
meat and other good things and put the food before the
idol, and leave it there a good while, and then the
damsels all go to their dancing and singing and festivity
for about as long as a great Baron might require to eat his
dinner. By that time they say the spirit of the idols has
consumed the substance of the food, so they remove the
viands to be eaten by themselves with great jollity.
This is performed by these damsels several times every
year until they are married.18
[The reason assigned for summoning the damsels to
these feasts is, as the monks say, that the god is vexed
and angry with the goddess, and will hold no coin-
* The G.T. has nuns, " Li nosnain do znostisr." But in Ramusio it is monks, which is more probable, and I have ac:opted it.
mow
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