face to face, either among themselves or with other nations, always seeking their revenge after a cowardly manner, although stout men of good stature.  The punishment for murder among them is to pay a fine to the king:  but evermore the relations of the murdered person seek for revenge upon the murderer or his kindred; so that the more they kill one another the more fines come to the king.  The ordinary weapon, which they all wear, is a dagger, called a criss, about two feet long, with a waved blade, crooked to and fro indenture ways, like what is called a flaming sword, and exceedingly sharp, most of them being poisoned, so that not one among five hundred wounded in the body escapes with life.  The handles of these weapons are of horn or wood, curiously carved in the likeness of a devil, which many of these people worship.  In their wars they use pikes, darts, and targets; and of late some of them have learnt to use fire-arms, but very awkwardly.

The better sort wear a tuke or turban on their heads, and a fine piece of painted calico round their loins, all the rest of their bodies being naked.  They sometimes wear a close coat like a mandilion,[122] made of cloth, camblet, velvet, or some other silk; but this is seldom, and only on extraordinary occasions.  The common people have a flat cap of velvet, taffeta, or calico, on their heads, cut out in many pieces, and neatly sewed together, so as to fit close.  About their loins they wrap a piece of calico made at Clyn, put on like a girdle, but at least a yard broad, being mostly of two colours.  There come also from the same place many sorts of white cloth, which they dye, paint, and gild, according to their own fashions.  They can also weave a kind of striped stuff, either of cotton or the rinds of trees; but, owing to their indolence, very little of that is made or worn.  The men for the most part wear their hair, which is very thick and curly, and in which they take great pride, and often go bare-headed to show their hair.  The women go all bare-headed, many of them having their hair tucked up like a cart-horse, but the better sort tuck it up like our riding geldings.  About their loins they wear the same stuffs like the men; and always have a piece of fine painted calico, of their country fashion, thrown over their shoulders, with the ends hanging down loose behind.

[Footnote 122:  The editor of Astley’s Collection substitutes the word cassock at this place.—­E.]

The principal people are very religious, yet go seldom to church.  They acknowledge Jesus to have been a great prophet, calling him Nabu Isa, or the prophet Jesus, and some of them entertain Mahometan priests in their houses:  but the common people have very little knowledge of any religion, only saying that there is a God who made heaven and earth and all things.  They say that God is good, and will not hurt them, but that the devil is bad, and will do them harm; wherefore many of them are so ignorant