The great Province of Maabar, which is called India the Greater, and is on the Mainland.

When you leave the Island of Seilan and sail westward about 60 miles, you come to the great province of Maabar which is called India the Greater.

It is best of all the Indies and is on the mainland.

This province has 5 kings, who are own brothers. This Province is the finest and noblest in the world.

At this end of the Province reigns one of those five Royal Brothers, who is a crowned King, and his name is Sonder Bandi Davar. In his kingdom they find very fine and great pearls; and I will tell you how they are got.{1}

The sea here forms a gulf between the Island of Seilan and the mainland. And all round this gulf the water has a depth of no more than 10 or 12 fathoms, and in some places no more than two fathoms.

The pearl-fishers take their vessels, great and small, and proceed into this gulf, where they stop from the beginning of April till the middle of May.

They go first to a place called Bettelar, and (then) go 60 miles into the gulf. Here they cast anchor and shift from their large vessels into small boats. You must know that the many merchants who go divide into various companies, and each of these must engage a number of men on wages, hiring them for April and half of May.

Of all the produce they have first to pay the King, as his royalty, the tenth part. And they must also pay those men who charm the great fishes, to prevent them from injuring332 the divers whilst engaged in seeking pearls under water, one twentieth part of all that they take.

These fish-charmers are termed Abraiaman; and their charm holds good for that day only, for at night they dissolve the charm so that the fishes can work mischief at their will.

These Abraiaman know also how to charm beasts and birds and every living thing. When the men have got into the small boats they jump into the water and dive to the bottom, which may be at a depth of from 4 to 12 fathoms, and there they remain as long as they are able. And there they find the shells that contain the pearls [and these they put into a net bag tied round the waist, and mount up to the surface with them, and then dive anew.

When they can’t hold their breath any longer they come up again, and after a little down they go once more, and so they go on all day].{2} The shells are in fashion like oysters or sea-hoods. And in these shells are found pearls, great and small, of every kind, sticking in the flesh of the shell-fish.

In this manner pearls are fished in great quantities, for thence in fact come the pearls which are spread all over the world. And I can tell you the King of that State hath a very great receipt and treasure from his dues upon those pearls.

As soon as the middle of May is past, no more of those pearl-shells are found there. It is true, however, that a long way from that spot, some 300 miles distant, they are also found; but that is in September and the first half of October.

CHAPTER 17: The Province of Maabar

In Maabar, there is never a Tailor to cut a coat or stitch it, seeing that everybody goes naked! For decency only do they wear a scrap of cloth; and so ’tis with men and women, with rich and poor, aye, and with the King himself, except what I am going to mention.{1}

The King goes as bare as the rest, only round his loins he has a piece of fine cloth, and round his neck he has a necklace entirely of precious stones,—rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and the like, insomuch that this collar is of great value.{2} He wears also hanging in front of his chest from the neck downwards, a fine silk thread strung with 104 large pearls and rubies of great price.

The reason why he wears this cord with the 104 great pearls and rubies, is (according to what they tell) that every day, morning and evening, he has to say 104 prayers to his idols.

Such is their religion and their custom. And thus did all the Kings his ancestors before him, and they bequeathed the string of pearls to him that he should do the like. [The prayer that they say daily consists of these words, Pacauta! Pacauta! Pacauta! And this they repeat 104 times.{3}]

The King also wears on his arms three golden bracelets thickly set with pearls of great value, and anklets also of like kind he wears on his legs, and rings on his toes likewise. So let me tell you what this King wears, between gold and gems and pearls, is worth more than a city’s ransom.

He hath great store of such gear; and besides they are339 found in his kingdom.

Nobody is permitted to take out of the kingdom a pearl weighing more than half a saggio, unless he manages to do it secretly.{4} This order has been given because the King desires to reserve all such to himself; and so in fact the quantity he has is something almost incredible.

Several times every year he sends his proclamation through the realm that if any one who possesses a pearl or stone of great value will bring it to him, he will pay for it twice as much as it cost. Everybody is glad to do this, and thus the King gets all into his own hands, giving every man his price.

This King hath some 500 wives, for whenever he hears of a beautiful damsel he takes her to wife.

His brother had a beautiful wife. He took her by force and kept her for himself.

His brother, being a discreet man, took the thing quietly and made no noise about it. The King hath many children.

A number of Barons are around the King attending to him.

These ride with him, and keep always near him, and have great authority in the kingdom

They are called the King’s Trusty Lieges.

When the King dies, and they put him on the fire to burn him, these Lieges cast themselves into the fire round about his body, and suffer themselves to be burnt along with him.

For they say they have been his comrades in this world, and that they ought also to keep him company in the other world.{5}

When the King dies none of his children dares to touch his treasure.

They say:

“as our father did gather together all this treasure, so we ought to accumulate as much in our turn.”

In this way it340 comes to pass that there is an immensity of treasure accumulated in this kingdom.{6}

There are no horses bred here.

Thus a great part of the country’s wealth is wasted in purchasing horses.

The merchants of Kis and Hormes, Dofar and Soer and Aden collect many destriers and other horses.

• They bring these to the territories of this King and of his 4 brothers, who are also kings.

A horse will fetch among them 500 saggi of gold, worth more than 100 marks of silver.

Vast numbers are sold there every year.

This King wants to buy more than 2,000 horses every year, and so do his four brothers who are kings likewise.

They buy so many horses every year because by the end of the year only less than 100 of them remaining, as most die off.

This arises from mismanagement because those people do not know how to treat a horse.

Besides, they have no farriers.

The horse-merchants not only never bring any farriers with them, but also prevent any farrier from going there, lest that should in any degree baulk the sale of horses, which brings them in every year such vast gains.

They bring these horses by sea aboard ship.{7}