IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Marco Polo : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE WORLD. THE BRAAMAN FROM LAR • r 76.
of this country «'hen they go to war, because they have great faith & hope in the ox TA and hold it for a holy thing, they wear on the head a hat of skin of the wild ox and they VL take of that hair of the wild oxen of which I have told you elsewhere; and if he is a horseman he causes those hairs of the ox to be bound on the neck' & to the feet of z VL his horse, and if he was a footman he put some of that ox hair on his shield, and such a one has it tied to his own hair or legs. And they do that because they believe LT that by that ox hair they may be better saved from the dangers of their enemies and y removed from all adversity; and all those who go in the army do it. And you may know that for this reason that hair of the wild ox is valuable enough there and is LT sold very dear; for he that has none of it does not count himself secure. Now we have told youof this matter and then we will leave it and will go farther forward y and will tell you of a province of the Braaman so as you will be able to hear.
HERE HE TELLS OF THE PROVINCE OF LAR FROM WHICH THE BRAAMAN ARE • 177
BORN. Lar is a province which is found toward sunsetting. For when one VA FB sets out from the province of Maabar, from the place where the body of Saint P z •
Thomas the glorious Apostle is, one enters very soon afterwards into this province. And all the R FB
Braaman of the world are sprung from this province and of it, and they first came z
from there. Moreover I tell you that [8 3cß of these Braaman are some of the best
merchants to be found in the world and of the most trustworthy, for they would z
not tell any lie nor falsehood for anything in the world, nor speak except a thing of VA
truth, even if they were to die for it. .And you may know that if any foreign merchant come R z
to this province to do his business being ignorant of the manners and customs of the district,
he will find one of these Braaman merchants to whom he will entrust his money and wares
asking hint to carry out all his affairs and trading that he may not be deceived, because he does
not know the customs of the district . That Braaman merchant will indeed take the wares of
the foreign merchant into his hands and will deal with them as lawfully in selling and
buying and will seek the advantage of the foreigner as carefully and better than for himself,
asking nothing from him for the work unless the foreigner may give him something of his
courtesy. These Braaman, they eat no flesh nor drink any wine. And they live a very FB V
honest life according to their customs, and they do not practise self-indulgence v
except2 only with their wives for anything. • And they would take and rob and steal FB VB V VA
nothing from anyone, and they would kill no animal, nor do a thing of which they v
might believe that they have to commit sin from it according to their law. Moreover z FB
I tell you that all the Braaman are known by a token which they wear. For you
may know that all the Braaman of the world wear a thick thread of cotton or cloth R V
i VA: coda P: trines TA, LT: "bridle". 2 V omits "except".
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