15 - The Book of Ser Marco Polo, Volume 2.

15 - The Book of Ser Marco Polo, Volume 2.  
15 - Book Third, Chapters 24 to 31. Concerning the kingdom of Eli. Concerning the kingdom of Melibar. Concerning the kingdom of Gozurat. Concerning the kingdom of Tana. Concerning the kingdom of Cumbaet. Concerning the kingdom of Semeat. Of the two islands called Male and Female.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Section number fifteen of the Book of Sir Marco Polo,
the Venetian concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East,
Volume two. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Benlivna Boulder, Colorado, USA.

(00:27):
The Book of Sir Marco Polo, the Venetian concerning the
Kingdoms and Marvels of the East, Volume two by Roostacello
de Pisa, translated by Harry Yule, Section fifteen, Book third,
Chapters twenty four to thirty one, concerning the Kingdom of Ely,

(00:48):
concerning the Kingdom of Melibar, concerning the Kingdom of Gozirat,
concerning the Kingdom of Tana, concerning the Kingdom of Kumbayet,
concerning the Kingdom of Semiat. Of the two islands called
Male and Female. Chapter twenty four concerning the Kingdom of Eli.

(01:11):
Eli is a kingdom towards the west, about three hundred
miles from Coomari. The people are idolaters and have a king,
and are tributary to nobody, and have a peculiar language.
We will tell you particulars about their manners and their products,
and you will better understand things now, because we are

(01:35):
drawing near to the places that are not so much
at landish. There is no proper harbor in the country,
but there are many great rivers with good estuaries, wide
and deep. Pepper and ginger grow there, and other spices
in quantities. The king is rich in treasure, but not

(01:57):
very strong in forces. The approach to his kingdom, however,
is so strong by nature that no one can attack him.
So he is afraid of nobody. And you must know
that if any ship enters their estuary and anchors there,
having been bound for some other port, they seize her

(02:18):
and plunder the cargo. For they say, you are bound
for somewhere else, and tis God has sent you hither
to us, so that we have a right to all
your goods. And they think it no sin to act thus.
And this naughty custom prevails all over these provinces of India.

(02:38):
To wit that if a ship be driven by stress
of weather into some other port than to which it
was bound, it is sure to be plundered. But if
a ship come bound originally to the place, they receive
it with all honor and give it due protection. The
ships of Mansi and other countries that come hither in

(03:02):
summer lay in their cargoes in six or eight days,
and depart as fast as possible, because there is no
harbor other than the river mouth, a mere roadstead and
sand banks, so that it is perilous to tarry there.
The ships of Manzi, indeed, are not so much afraid

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of these roadsteads as others are, because they have such
huge wooden anchors which hold in all weather. There are
many lions and other wild beasts here, and plenty of game,
both beast and bird. Chapter twenty five concerning the Kingdom

(03:43):
of Melibar. Melibar is a great kingdom lying towards the west.
The people are idolaters. They have a language of their
own and a king of their own, and pay tribute
to nobody in this country. You see more of the
North Star, for it shows two cubits above the water.

(04:04):
And you must know from this kingdom of Melibar, and
from another near it called Gozerat, there go forth every
year more than a hundred Corsair vessels on cruise. These
pirates take with them their wives and children, and stay
out the whole summer. Their method is to join in

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fleets of twenty or thirty of these pirate vessels together,
and then they form what they call a sea cordon.
That is, they drop off till there is an interval
of five or six miles between ship and ship, so
that they cover something like a hundred miles of sea,
and no merchant ship can escape them. For when any

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one corsair sets a vessel, a signal is made by
fire or smoke, and then the whole of them make
for this and seize the merchants and plunder them. After
they have plundered them, they let go, saying, go along
with you and get more gain, and that mayhap will

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fail to us also. But now the merchants are aware
of this and go so well manned and armed and
with such great ships that they don't fear the Corsairs.
Still mishaps do befall them. At times. There is in
this kingdom a great quantity of pepper and ginger, and
cinnamon and turbot and nuts of India. They also manufacture

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very delicate and beautiful buckrams. The ships that come from
the east bring copper in ballast. They also bring hither
cloths of silk, and gold, and sandals, and gold and
silver cloves, and spicanard, and other fine spices for which
there is a demand here, and exchange them for the

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products of these countries. Ships come hither from many quarters,
but as especially from the great province of Manzi, coarse
spices are exported, hence both to Manzi and to the west.
And that which is carried by the merchants to Aiden
goes on to Alexandria. But the ships that go in

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the latter direction are not one to ten of those
that go to the eastward, a very notable fact that
I have mentioned before. Now I have told you about
the Kingdom of Melibar, we shall now proceed and tell
you of the Kingdom of Gozarat. And you must understand

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that in speaking of these kingdoms we note only the capitals.
There are great numbers of other cities and towns, of
which we shall say nothing, because it would make too
long a story to speak of all. Chapter twenty six
concerning the Kingdom of Gozarat. Gozarat is a great kingdom.

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The people are idolaters and have a peculiar language, and
a king of their own, and a tributary to no one.
It lies towards the west, and the north star is
here still more conspicuous, showing itself at an altitude of
about six cubits. The people are the most desperate pirates
in existence, and one of their atrocious practices is this.

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When they have taken a merchant vessel, they force the
merchants to swallow a stuff called tamarindi mixed in sea water,
which produces a violent purging. This is done in case
the merchants, on seeing their danger, should have swallowed their
most valuable stones and pearls, and in this way the

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pirates secure the whole. In the province of Gozerat, there
grows much pepper and ginger and indigo. They have also
a great deal of cotton. Their cotton trees of very
great size, growing full six paces high and attaining to
an age of twenty years. It is to be observed, however,

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that when the trees are so old as that, the
cotton is not good to spin, but only to quilt
or stuff beds withal. Up to the age of twelve years,
indeed the trees grow giving good spinning cotton, but from
that age to twenty years the produce is inferior. They
dress in this country great numbers of skins of various kinds,

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goat skins, ox skins, buffalo and wild auk skins, as
well as those of unicorns and other animals. In fact,
so many are dressed every year as to load a
number of ships for Arabia and other quarters. They also
work here beautiful mats in red and blue leather, exquisitely

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inlaid with figures of birds and beasts, and skillfully embroidered
with gold and silver wire. These are marvelously beautiful things.
They are used by the Saracens to sleep upon, and
capital they are for that purpose. They also work cushions
embroidered with gold so fine that they are worth six

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marks of silver apiece, while some of those sleeping mats
are worth ten marks. Chapter twenty seven concerning the Kingdom
of Tauna. Tauna is a great kingdom lying towards the west,
a kingdom great both in size and worth. The people
are idolaters, with a language of their own and a

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king of their own, in tributary to nobody. No pepper
grows there, nor other spices, but plenty of incense, not
the white kind, however, but brown. There is much traffic here,
and many ships and merchants frequent the place, for there
is a great export of leather of various excellent kinds,

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and also of good buckram and cotton. The merchants in
their ships also import various articles such as gold, silver, copper,
and other things in demand. With the king's connivans, many
corsairs launch from this part to plunder merchants. These corsairs

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have a covenant with the King that he shall get
all the horses they capture, and all other plunder shall
remain with them. The king does this because he has
no horses of his own, whilst many of the ships
from abroad towards India, for no ships ever goes thither
without horses in addition to other cargo. The practice is

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not and unworthy of a king. Chapter twenty eight concerning
the Kingdom of Cambayet. Cambayete is a great kingdom lying
further west. The people are idolaters and have a language
of their own and a king of their own, and
are tributary to no one. The North Star is here

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still more clearly visible, and henceforward. The further you go west,
the higher you see it. There is a great deal
of trade in this country. It produces indigo in great abundance,
and they also make much fine buckram. There is also
a quantity of cotton which is exported hence to many quarters.

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And there is a great trade in hides, which are
very well dressed, with many other kinds of merchandise too
tedious to mention. Merchants come here with many ships and cargoes,
but what they chiefly bring is gold, silver and copper.
There are no pirates from this country. The inhabitants are

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good people and live by their trade and manufactures. Chapter
twenty nine concerning the Kingdom of Semenat. Semenot is a
great kingdom towards the west. The people are idolaters and
have a king in a language of their own, and
pay tribute to nobody. They are not corsairs, but live

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by trade and industry as honest people ought. It is
a place of very great trade. They are, to be
sure cruel idolators. Chapter thirty concerning the Kingdom of Kems Macoran.
Kems Macoran is a kingdom having a king of its
own and a peculiar language. Some of the people are idolators,

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but the most part are Saracens. They live by merchandise
and industry, for they are professed traders and carry on
much traffic by sea and land in all directions. Their
food is rice, flesh and milk, of which they have
great store. There is no more to be said about them.

(13:02):
And you must know that this kingdom of Kezma Koran
is the last in India. As you go towards the
west and northwest you see from Mahabar this province is
what is called the Greater India, and it is the
best of all the Indies. I have now detailed you

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all the kingdoms and provinces and chief cities of this India,
the greater that are upon the sea board. But of
those that lie in the interior, I have said nothing,
because that would make too long a story. And so
now let us proceed, and I will tell you of
some of the Indian islands. And I will begin by

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two islands which are called Male and Female. Chapter thirty
one discourseth of the two islands called Male and Female
and why they are so called. When you leave this
kingdom of Kezmo Koran, which is on the mainland, you
go by sea some five hundred miles towards the south,

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and then you find the two islands, male and female,
lying about thirty miles distant from one another. The people
are all baptized Christians, but maintain the ordinances of the
Old Testament. Thus, when their wives are with child, they
never go near them till their confinement, or for forty

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days thereafter. In the island, however, which is called male
dwell the men alone, without their wives or any other women.
Every year, when the month of March arrives, the men
all set out for the other island and tarry there
for three months to wit March April, and may, dwelling

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with their wives for that pace. At the end of
those three months they return to their own island and
pursue their husbandry and trade. For the other nine months.
They find on this island very fine ambergris. They live
on flesh and milk and rice. They are capital fishermen

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and catch a great quantity of the fine large sea fish,
and these they dry, so that all the year they
have plenty of food, and also enough to sell to
the traders who go thither. They have no chief except
a bishop, who is subject to the archbishop of another island,
of which we shall presently speak called Scotra. They have

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also a peculiar language. As for the children which their
wives bear to them. If they be girls, they abide
with their mothers, but if they be boys, the mothers
bring them up until they are fourteen, and then send
them to the fathers. Such is the custom of these
two islands. The wives do no noting, but nurse their

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children and gather such fruits as their island produces. For
their husbands do furnish them with all the necessaries. End
of section fifteen. Recording by Ben Livna Boulder, Colorado, us A.