Celeimão, he murdered him with a creese, and in like manner he murdered seventeen of the principal men, all of them his relatives, without any cause, and even killed his own son and heir, because he had asked him for some money to spend. The Moors, indeed, used to say that it was in retribution for these crimes that Afonso Dalboquerque deprived him of his kingdom. a Prince whose son was reigning, and visited the Court of China in 1411. And the real chronology will be about midway between the estimate of De Couto and of the Commentaries; that is, the commencement of the fifteenth century. PEDIGREE OF THE KINGS OF MALACA, And when these men were dead, he seized all their property, amounting to about fifty quintals of gold, and took all their wives and daughters to be his concubinesabout fifty women of great price. Thus there were in Malaca, from the first king who founded the city to the time of Sultan Mahamet, in whose time Afonso Dalboquerque took it, six kings, that is to say, Parimiçura, Xaquendarxá, Sultan Modafaixa, Sultan Marsusa, Sultan Alaoadim, Sultan Mahamet. And Malaca became so noble that they used to say, when Afonso Dalboquerque took it, that the city and the suburbs contained about a hundred thousand inhabitants, and extended a good league's length along the sea. CHAPTER XVIII. Of the customs and government of the city of Malaca. This port of Malaca is very safe; there are no storms to injure it, and never was a ship lost there. It forms a point where some monsoons commence and others end, so that the inhabitants of Malaca call those of India people of the West, and the Javanese, Chinese, and Gores, and all other of those Islanders, people of the East; and Malaca is the middle of all this, a sure and speedy navigation, such as Singapura never had, for in the shoals of Capacia many a ship has been lost. And those which come from the east to the west find here western merchandize, and carry it away with them, leaving that which they bring of theirs here instead, and in like manner do they who come from the west. By these means Malaca gradually increased to so great an extent, that whereas the place used once to be a village of Pacé, Pacé became at length a village of These are described further on in this chapter. Malaca, for most of the Moors of Pacé came thither to settle. Every year there used to come to Malaca ships of Cambaya, Chaul, Dabul, Calicut, Adem, Méca, Xaer,1 Judá, Choramendal, and Bengala, of the Chinese, Gores, and Javanese, of Pegú, and all those parts. But those of Sião did not come to Malaca with their merchandize, because they were continually at war with the Malays. And I verily believe, according to information which I have obtained concerning the affairs of Malaca, that if there were another world, and another navigable route, yet all would resort to the city, for in her they would find every different sort of drugs and spices which can be mentioned in the world, by reason of the port of Malaca being more commodious for all the monsoons from Cape Comorim to the East, than any other ports that exist in those parts. But I do not describe particularly the other advantages that are possessed by this port of Malaca on account of the monsoons, which enable a navigable intercourse to be maintained in those parts independently of the shallows of Capacia, in order that I may not make too long a digression. The Malays are proud men by nature, and esteem themselves highly for killing men adroitly with stabs of the creese.2 1 Xaer, or Shehr, a port on the coast of Arabia, between Adem and Dofar, 14 deg. 44 min. N., 49 deg. 40 min, E. 2 Bluteau describes the Cris, or Creese, the national arm of the Malays, as a kind of dagger, with a flat blade, sometimes undulating at the sides, and poisoned. The poison is applied in two ways, either by steeping the weapon in the juice of herbs, and so applying the poison whenever it is required to use it; or, by incorporating the poison into the temper of the blade, in order that the metal may be thoroughly imbued with it. Of this latter kind, there are some specimens which cost as much as a thousand patacas (piastres), for the makers spend much time in their manufacture, using many superstitions and observing certain periods for the tempering. They strike a certain number of blows on certain days of the month for the forging, and sometimes the ceremony of this work lasts, with mysterious interruptions, for more than a year. They are malicious, generally of little truth, yet the Gores always used to be truthful because they held it to be a high honour that men should trade with them, for they are a noble race, and one of good customs. The Malays are gallant men, they wear good clothing, they will not allow anyone to put his hands on their heads, nor on their shoulders. All their delight is in conversing about military matters, and they are very courteous. No one is allowed to wear yellow colours under pain of death, except only the king of the land, unless he be a person to whom the king gives permission to do so in order to show him honour. The Fidalgos, when they speak to the king, have to stand off from him at a distance of five or six paces. In the hot season the poison which is communicated by the crîs is so subtle, that, from a light prick or a mere scratch, it reaches the heart and kills. The only remedy is for the wounded person immediatelycomer do seu proprio esterco. Mr. H. Syer Cuming, F.S.A.Scot., whose collection of ethnographical objects is very extensive, has kindly given me the following notes concerning this weapon :-"The Kris may be regarded as the typical or national weapon of the Malays of Java and Sumatra. It is a dagger with a waved or serpentine double-edged blade, varying from less than eleven to full fourteen inches in length, and gradually widening from the point to the grip, where it has a rather sudden expansion, which is always more or less richly decorated on one side with a perforated device. This device occasionally takes the form of the head of a serpent, the body of the reptile constituting a sort of mid-rib, running nearly the whole length of the blade; which, it is well to state, is of fine watered or damasked steel, and it is a common practice to dip this blade in poison before going into action. "The hilt, or grip, of the kris has a singular curve or bend on one side, and is generally wrought of a beautiful rich brown wood which takes a high polish; but ivory is sometimes employed. The grip is almost constantly carved; the decorations, however, vary from a few slight cuttings to elaborate designs. "The wooden sheath of the kris is also of peculiar fashion, having a broad wing on one side to receive the sharp projecting portion of the blade, and it further serves as a support to the weapon when worn in the waist-girdle." The lords who are adjudged to suffer penalty of death have the honourable privilege of dying by the creese, and the nearest relation of the sufferer is the one who kills him. If any man of the people die without heirs, his property goes to the king; and no one can marry without permission from the king or the Bendará. If anyone take his wife in adultery, he may kill within his house both of the parties, but not outside the house, neither can he kill the one without the other, but he must accuse them before the judge. In the case of a fine for injuries, when it has been imposed, the kings used to take half of the money, and the injured person the other half. In Malaca there were divers manners of administering legal punishment, according to the nature of the crime: some were thrust upon spits, others struck forcibly on the breast; some hanged, others boiled in water; others roasted and given as food to certain men who are like wild men, from a land which is called Daru, whom the king brought to Malaca to eat those condemned to this death. And of every man who dies at the hands of the law, the king takes the half of the property when there are heirs, and the whole of it when there are none. There used to be in Malaca five principal dignities. The first is Pudricaraja, which signifies Viceroy, and after the king this one is the greatest. The second is Bendará, who is the Controller of the Treasury, and governs the kingdom. Sometimes the Bendará holds both of these offices of Pudricaraja and Bendará, for two separate persons in these two offices never agree well together. The third is Lassamane; this is Admiral of the Sea. The fourth is Tamungo, who is charged with the administration of justice upon foreigners. The fifth is Xabandar; and of these there were four, one of each nation-one of China, another of Java, another of Cambaya, another of Bengala. And all the lands were 1 Acotovelados nos peitos; lit., elbowed, or struck with the elbow. |
