Marco Polo

by Robin Brown

  The whole region takes about twenty days to cross through mountains, villages and woods still interspersed with towns where the traveller may find convenient accommodation. Then you arrive at the white city of Ach-baluch Manji. This is set in level country, heavily populated by people who are mostly traders and manual labourers. Ginger is produced in large quantities, which is traded very profitably throughout Cathay. The country also produces great quantities of wheat, rice and other grain, all very reasonably priced.

  This plain, which can be crossed in two days, is densely inhabited, after which you again come to high mountains, valleys and forests.

  Another twenty days’ travel west through country where the inhabitants all worship idols, live off the land and the meat they can hunt (the country has great numbers of the ox from which musk is obtained), you leave the mountains and, descending into the plain, arrive at the province of Sin-din-fu on the confines of Manji.

  Here there is a large and noble city (of the same name), the capital of the province and once the seat of many rich and powerful kings. The city once covered some 20 miles but has subsequently been split into three; a division that occurred as a result of a decision made by the late, old king. He had three sons all of whom he was concerned should reign after his death and he had walls built which would partition the city into three, although the whole continued to be surrounded by one big wall. All these rich, extensive lands were later conquered by the Grand Khan, who took them into his Empire.

  The city is well watered by many powerful streams flowing from the mountains. Some are half a mile wide and very deep and have been spanned by several large, imposing stone bridges some 8 yards wide depending on the breadth of the river. These bridges have very handsome wooden roofs supported on marble pillars that are painted red and tiled. All manner of trade is conducted from neat apartments and shops along the length of these bridges. From a building larger than the rest officers collect duty on provisions and merchandise and a toll from persons using the bridge. I was told that the Grand Khan receives 100 besants of gold a day in this way. The rivers unite below the city to form the mighty River Kiang which discharges into the ocean, the equivalent of a hundred days’ journey away. More of that later.

  Numerous vessels loaded with merchandise ply these rivers past many towns and forts bringing goods to and from the city. The people here are all idolaters.

  I travelled on from here for four or five days through a plain and several valleys graced with many respectable mansions, castles and small towns to the province of Thebeth. The inhabitants work on the land and in the cities where very fine cloths and crêpes or gauzes are manufactured. The country around here is infested with tigers, bears and other wild beasts.

  Thebeth was laid waste by Mangu Khan and in a twenty-day radius of here numerous towns and castles lie in ruins. As a consequence wild beasts, especially tigers, have proliferated to such a degree it is dangerous for commercial travellers to tarry hereabouts at night.

  You have to carry with you all the provisions you need and employ draconian measures to ensure that your horses are not eaten. The canes called bamboo are found here (particularly close to rivers), some of them 30 feet high and 9 inches in circumference. In the evening the travellers tie several of these, in their green state, together in bunches and surround them with a hot fire. The action of the heat causes the canes to burst in a tremendous explosion. The noise can be heard up to 2 miles away and this drives the terrifying beasts away. The horses are tethered with iron shackles otherwise the noise would cause them to flee too. Even so, lots of people who have not taken these precautions have lost their livestock.

  So it is twenty days through desolate country without sight of an inn and no more than once every three or four days can you replenish your provisions. A few castles and fortified towns finally begin to appear on the rocky heights on the summits of mountains and the country gradually becomes more cultivated and inhabited and the danger from beasts of prey recedes.

  There is a frankly scandalous custom prevailing in these idolaters’ provinces where the men are disinclined to marry the women if they are virgins. It is their religious conviction that a girl who hasn’t been had by lots of men is worthless! Accordingly, when a caravan of travellers arrives and sets up their tents, come nightfall local mothers arrive with their marriageable daughters and entreat the new arrivals to have their way with them for as long as they stay there.

  The most beautiful girls, of course, get chosen and the rest return home very disappointed and angry. The women dally with the travellers until they have to move on.

  It is accepted that all these girls must be returned to their mothers and there is no attempt to carry them off. The young women take home trinkets, rings and other complimentary tokens of regard. Then, afterwards, when they prepare to be married they wear all these ornaments around their necks and other parts of the body. Those who exhibit the most exotic collection and the greatest numbers are rated with having attracted the greatest number of men and on this count are the most sought-after by young men seeking wives. A good quantity of these gifts is thus very acceptable to an aspiring husband and at her wedding the bride makes a display of them to all the guests. Her husband regards them as proof that their gods have rendered her lovely in the eyes of men and she is also thereafter free of the attention of other men!

  I have to say, however, that these idolatrous people are treacherous and cruel, regarding it as no crime to rob others, hence they are the greatest thieves in the world. They subsist on the fruits of the earth, hunting and fowling.

  The country is redolent with the smell of musk, the musk ox which produces it existing in such great numbers. The secretion of musk occurs once every month, forming itself into a sort of boil full of blood near the navel of the animal. It appears to me that this blood that is being constantly replenished becomes musk. The natives call the musk ox gudderi and they are hunted and killed with dogs.

  These people do not have coined money nor the paper money of the Grand Khan but use coral as their currency. Their dress is frankly homely, being of leather, undressed animal skins or rough canvas.

  They have a language distinctive to this province of Thebeth which borders on Manji and once upon a time this was a kingdom of such importance it had eight kingdoms and many cities and castles. It has numerous mountains, lakes and rivers and in the latter gold is to be found in large quantities. Coral is used not just as currency but as jewellery by the women. They wear it as necklaces and as ornamentation for their idols. They make camlet, gold cloths and medicines, many of which have never been seen in Europe.

  Necromancy is widely practised here, an infernal act by which they perform the most extraordinary deeds of enchantment and delusion. They call up tempests accompanied by lightning and thunderbolts and many other miraculous effects. I found them, nonetheless, altogether a primitive lot.

  Their dogs are the size of asses, strong enough to hunt all manner of wild beasts, particularly the wild ox called Beyamini which are extremely large and fierce. Some of the best lanner falcons are bred here. They are very swift in flight and the natives have good sport with them.

  This province of Thebeth is subject to the Grand Khan, as are all the other kingdoms and provinces I have mentioned.

  To the west is the province of Kain-du which formerly had its own princes but was brought under the dominance of the Grand Khan and is now ruled by his appointed governors. The inhabitants here are idolaters and there are many cities and castles. The capital, positioned as you enter the province, is also called Kain-du. Nearby is a large lake of salt water where can be found an abundance of pearls, white in colour, but not round. So great, indeed, is the quantity that should Kublai allow anyone to gather them, their value would be debased, so he limits the fishing by licence. Similarly he controls the production of turquoise from a nearby mountain.

  These people also allow, indeed encourage, travellers through the country to have their way with their wives, daughter
s and sisters. The visitor will be invited into their home and then all the women of the house are his, indeed the owner will depart, leaving the guest in every sense, as master. He in turn places a signal in the window (his hat or something similar), and while this is on display the owner of the premises stays away. This custom goes on throughout the province. It seems the locals believe their idols will bless them for their kindness and hospitality and endow them with all the fruits of the earth.

  These people also trade in interesting currencies, the first being rods of gold cut into different lengths which give different denominations according to weight. They also trade uniquely in salt. The product of salt springs is boiled down in small pans and after about an hour the salt is reduced to a paste and is formed into cakes worth about 2 pence each. Convex on top and flat underneath the tablets are impressed with the stamp of the Grand Khan and placed on hot tiles until they dry rock hard. No one but officers of the Crown may produce them. Eighty of these cakes trade for one Venetian saggio of gold (one sixth of an ounce) although the exchange rate goes down to sixty, fifty or even forty cakes to the saggio when the merchants are trading with the mountain population. These people, though less civilised, always have a market for their musk, other commodities and alluvial gold. Even at the lower rate it is still rather a good deal for them.

  This salt currency is traded by merchants throughout the province of Thebeth and their profits are considerable because salt is essential to the people’s diet, indeed indispensable. (It is interesting that in the cities the people consume only broken fragments of the cakes, keeping whole ones as a ‘hard’ currency in common circulation.)

  Musk is taken here in great quantities and the lake abounds with a wide variety of good fish. Wild game in the form of tigers, bears, deer, stag, antelope and numerous birds is prolific.

  They make an excellent wine here from wheat and rice flavoured with spices and this is a great place for cloves which grow on a small bush whose leaves resemble the laurel but are somewhat larger and narrower. The flowers are white and small as are the cloves themselves, but they darken as they ripen. Ginger, cassia in great abundance and many other medicinal herbs grow here, although none of them ever reaches Europe.

  A journey of fifteen days from Kain-du brings one to the opposite boundary of the province, passing respectable dwellings, many forts and places set aside for hunting and fowling. Here the mighty River Brius forms the frontier of the province and flows eventually into the ocean. The river produces great quantities of alluvial gold.

  I now want to move westwards to the province of Karaian which is so large it is ruled by seven governments. The Grand Khan’s rule prevails here and he has appointed his grandson, Timor Khan, to look after his interests. Timor is a rich, powerful and magnificent prince who is said to rule with consummate wisdom, virtue and great justice.

  Five days of travelling west from the river takes one through well-inhabited country and you see lots of castles. The people are all idolaters and live off the land. They have a language of their own which is difficult to learn. Here they breed the best horses in the country.

  At the end of the five days you come to the capital Yachi, a large, noble city. There are merchants and artisans of all faiths: idolaters, Nestorian Christians, Saracens and Mahometans, although the idol-worshippers predominate. The land is very fertile producing both wheat and rice. They do not like bread (considering it unwholesome) but from the wheat make a fortified wine flavoured with herbs which is clean and light coloured and a great drink.

  Seashells of a white porcelain colour are used both as currency and necklaces. They trade at eighty shells to two Venetian groats. The people also mine salt, paying a large tax to Prince Timor.

  And they really do not mind if you have your way with their women, providing the girl is ready and willing!

  There is a lake here almost 100 miles in circumference in which a large variety of fish, some of them very large, are caught.

  The people eat fowl, sheep, oxen and buffalo which has been cured. They cut the meat into very small pieces and pickle it in brine flavoured with several of their spices. Rich and poor alike eat it but after mincing the poor tend just to steep it in a sauce of garlic.

  West again from Yachi and a journey of ten days brings you to the province of Karasan with a capital city of the same name. The country, populated entirely by idolaters, is in the dominion of the Grand Khan and royal functions are in the hands of another of his sons, Kogatin.

  There is much gold to be found in the rivers hereabouts, both grains and ingots, and there are veins of it in the mountains. Because of the large quantity of gold it trades only for a saggio of gold to six saggio of silver. They also use the porcelain-like shells as currency (the shells are not actually found here but are brought from India). As I have said before, these people never take virgins as wives.

  But let me tell you about the huge serpents to be found here, ten paces in length and ten spans in girth. Near the head they have two short legs with three claws like those of a tiger and glaring eyes larger than a four-penny loaf. Their jaws are wide enough to swallow a man and their teeth are large and sharp. Their whole appearance is so formidable neither man nor beast can approach them without feeling terrified. You come across others of smaller size – four, eight, six or five paces long – and these are hunted. These creatures spend all day avoiding the great heat by lurking in caverns, emerging at night to seek food. Nothing is safe from them. Be it tiger, wolf or beast, all are devoured. Then they drag themselves off to some lake, spring or river to drink.

  Due to their great weight they leave a depression in the sands, as if a heavy beam has been dragged along, and this makes them easy for professional hunters to track. The hunter marks out one of these familiar routes and sets a trap of several pieces of wood tipped with sharp iron spikes, which they render invisible with a covering of sand. The serpents are wounded on the spikes and thus easily killed. Screaming crows lead the hunters to the dying animal and they are skinned, great care being taken to secure the gall which is highly prized as a medicine. A pennyweight of gall dissolved in wine is used to treat those bitten by mad dogs and it is also useful in pregnancy, accelerating parturition once the labour pains have started. A small quantity of it cures carbuncles, pustules or other eruptions on the body.

  The flesh of serpents fetches a very good price as it is thought to have a stronger flavour than other meats. Everyone regards it as a delicacy.

  Horses from around here are big and young are taken to India to be sold. It is a local practice to remove one joint of the tail to prevent them from lashing it from side to side. Whisking about its tail when being ridden is regarded by these people as a bad habit in a horse. They prefer that the tail remains pendant.

  Here they ride with long stirrups in the French fashion. The Tartars and most other people wear them short as this makes it easier to use a bow, rising in their stirrups above the horse to shoot their arrows which are always poisoned. They wear complete body armour of buffalo leather and carry lances, shields and crossbows.

  I was told as a fact that it is common practice, especially among those who are up to no good, to carry poison about their person. This they will swallow if caught in any delinquency. They would rather kill themselves than suffer the pain of torture. But the rulers are wise to the trick and they keep a supply of dog shit to hand which they oblige the miscreant to swallow causing them to vomit up the poison!

  Before Kublai Khan conquered here the people were also addicted to another brutal custom. Strangers, particularly the brave and beautiful, were murdered in their sleep, not for the sake of money but because it was believed that the victim’s spirit, endowed with his accomplishments and intelligence, would grace the household and cause it to prosper. You were accounted specially fortunate if you possessed the soul of a noble person and many such lost their lives as a consequence. However, severe punishments inflicted since Kublai took over the running of the country have caused this prac
tice to cease.

  We continue west. Five days’ journey in that direction brings one to Kardanan, another dominion of the Grand Khan and where the principal city is called Vochang. Again, the currency is gold and the porcelain-like shells. An ounce of gold trades here for 5 ounces of silver, there being no silver mines in the country. They have a lot of gold, however, and consequently merchants who import and take payment in silver make a lot of money.

  The men and women of the province cover their teeth with thin plates of gold. The plates are very finely fitted and remain on for life. The men also tattoo dark stripes or bands on their arms and legs. They use a bundle of five needles which is pressed into the flesh until blood is drawn. Dark pigment is then rubbed into the wounds leaving an indelible mark. The marks are considered to be marks of distinction and honour as well as being ornamental.

  But they really pay little attention to anything other than horsemanship, hunting and military pursuits. Household management is left entirely to the wives assisted by slaves who have either been bought or are prisoners of war.

  They have a peculiar custom when a child is born. As soon as a woman gives birth and has risen from her bed and washed and swaddled the infant, the husband immediately takes the place she has vacated. The wife lays the child beside him and family, friends and relatives visit to pass on their congratulations. The mother meanwhile takes care of the household, carries food and drink to her husband in bed and for forty days suckles the infant at his side.

  These people eat their meat raw or pickled as I have described, with rice. They make rice wine flavoured with herbs and it is very good.

  There are no temples and no idols worshipped here, instead the people worship their ancestors and their elders, believing they derive their whole existence from them and are indebted to them for all they possess.