The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2 / Page 401 (Color Image)

0401	The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2

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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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