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| The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2 |
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Citation Information
CHAP. XVII. TUIE PROVINCE OF MAABAR
341
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for the love of (such a god) ! " Then he takes another
knife and sticks it through his other arm, and takes a
third knife and runs it into his belly, and so on until he
kills himself outright. And when he is dead his kinsfolk
take the body and burn it with a joyful celebration.8
Many of the women also, when their husbands die and
are placed on the pile to be burnt, do burn themselves
along with the bodies. And such women as do this
have great praise from all.9
The people are Idolaters, and many of them worship
the ox, because (say they) it is a creature of such
excellence. They would not eat beef for anything in
the world, nor would they on any account kill an ox.
But there is another class of people who are called Govy,
and these are very glad to eat beef, though they dare
not kill the animal. Howbeit if an ox dies, naturally or
otherwise, then they eat him.'°
And let me tell you, the people of this country have
a custom of rubbing their houses all over with cow-
dung.11 Moreover all of them, great and small, King
and Barons included, do sit upon the ground only, and
the reason they give is that this is the most honourable
way to sit, because we all spring from the Earth and to
the Earth we must return ; so no one can pay the Earth
too much honour, and no one ought to despise it.
And about that race of Govis, I should tell you that
nothing on earth would induce them to enter the place
where Messer St. Thomas is —I mean where his body
lies, which is in a certain city of the province of Maabar.
Indeed, were even 20 or 3o men to lay hold of one of
these Govis and to try to hold him in the place where
the Body of the Blessed Apostle of Jesus Christ lies
buried, they could not do it ! Such is the influence of
the Saint ; for it was by people of this generation that
he was slain, as you shall presently hear.12 • ;.
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