Kálíkot is a perfectly safe harbour, and like that of Hormúz
brings together merchants of every city and every country.
Here also one finds in abundance rarities brought from maritime
countries, especially from Abyssinia, Zírbád, and Zangebár.
From time to time ships arrive from the direction of the House
of God (Mecca), and other parts of Hijjáz, and remain at will
for some time in this port. It is a city inhabited by infidels,
and therefore a legitimate object of conquest to us. Several
Musulmáns reside in it, and they have built two cathedral
mosques there, where they assemble on Fridays to pray. They
have a kází, a religious man, and for the most part they belong
to the sect of Sháfi'í. Such security and justice reign in that city
that rich merchants bring to it from maritime countries large
cargoes of merchandize, which they disembark and deposit in the
streets and market-places, and for a length of time leave it without
consigning it to any one's charge, or placing it under a guard.
The officers of the custom-house have it under their protection,
and night and day keep guard round it.*
If it is sold, they take
a custom duty of two and a half per cent., otherwise they offer no
kind of interference. It is a practice at other ports, that if any
vessel be consigned to any particular mart, and unfortunately by
the decree of the Almighty it be driven to any other than that
to which it is destined, under the plea that it is sent by the
winds, the people plunder it; but at Kálíkot every vessel, where-
His Majesty, the Khákán-i Sa'íd, had sent to the ruler of Kálíkot horses and pelisses, robes of golden tissue, and caps, such as are presented at the festival of the new year. The reason of this was that the ambassadors of that emperor, on their return from Bengal, had been forced to put in at Kálíkot, and the report which they made of the greatness and power of His Majesty reached the ear of the ruler of that place. He learnt from trustworthy authorities that the Sultáns of the fourth inhabited quarter of the globe, both of the east and of the west, of the land and of the sea, despatched embassies to that monarch, and regarded his Court as the kibla of their necessities, and the ka'ba of their thoughts.
Shortly after this, the King of Bengal having complained of the hostilities he was suffering from Sultán Ibráhím of Jaunpúr, sought protection from the Court, which is the asylum of Sultáns; upon which His Majesty despatched to Jaunpúr Shaikhu-l islám Khwája Karímu-d dín Abú-al makárim Jámí, as the bearer of an imperial rescript, directing the ruler of Jaunpúr to abstain from attacking the King of Bengal, or to take the consequences upon himself. To which intimation the ruler of Jaunpúr was obedient, and desisted from his attacks upon Bengal. When the ruler of Kálíkot heard this intelligence, he collected all kinds of presents and rarities, and sent them by the hand of an envoy, representing that in his port prayers and the Muhammadan khutba were read on Fridays and on festivals; and that if His Majesty sanctioned the measure, they should be embellished and honoured by his august name and titles.
His messenger, in the company of the ambassadors who were coming from Bengal, arrived at the august Court, and the nobles made known his representation and displayed his presents. The envoy was a Musulmán, endowed with eloquence, who represented in his address that if His Majesty would enter into relations with his master, and send special ambassadors to him, who, following the sacred ordinance,—“by your wisdom and excellent advice persuade them to enter into the ways of your Lord,”—should invite him to embrace the Muhammadan religion, should open the bolt of darkness and infidelity from his unenlightened mind, and should kindle in the window of his heart the flame of the beam of faith, and the splendour of the light of knowledge, it would certainly be a holy and meritorious act. His Majesty, acceding to this request, ordered his ministers to despatch an ambassador, and the lot fell upon this humble individual. Some laboured to persuade me that I should not return from this voyage; but, dangerous as it was, I did return from it in good health after three years, when my opponents were themselves no longer alive.
In short, when I disembarked at Kálíkot, I saw a tribe of people, the like of which had never even entered my dreams.
“A strange kind of tribe, neither man nor demon,
“At the sight of which one's senses were startled;
“If I had seen anything like them in my dreams,
“My heart would have been disturbed for years.
“I have loved a moon-faced beauty,
“But I cannot fall in love with every black woman.”
The blacks of this country go about with nearly naked bodies, wearing only pieces of cloth called langots, extending from their navels to above their knees.* In one hand they bear a Hindí dagger (bright) as a drop of water, and in the other a shield made of cow's hide, large as a portion of cloud. The king and the beggar both go about in this way, but the Musulmáns clothe themselves in costly garments, like the Arabs, and display various kinds of luxuries.
I had interviews with several Musulmáns and a crowd of infidels, and a convenient lodging was assigned me, and after three days they took me to see the king. I saw a man with his body naked, like the other Hindus.* They call the king of that place Sámurí, and when he dies, they place on the throne his sister's son, and do not bestow it upon his son, his brother, or his other relatives. No one becomes king by force of arms. The infidels are of various tribes, Brahmans, yogís, and others, who all alike participate in plural-worship and idol-worship. Every tribe has its peculiar customs.
Among them is a tribe in which one woman has several husbands, of which each one engages in a separate occupation. They divide the hours of the night and day amongst themselves, and as long as any one of them remains in the house during his appointed time, no other one can enter. The Sámurí is of that tribe.
When I had my audience with the Sámurí, the assembly consisted of 2,000 or 3,000 Hindus, clad in the manner above mentioned, and the chief Musulmáns were also there. After they had made me sit down, they read the letter of credentials sent by His Majesty, the Khákán-i Sa'íd, and the presents which I had brought were displayed. The Sámurí paid but little respect to my embassy, so leaving the Court I returned home. The party of men whom the King of Hormúz had despatched on a separate ship, with several horses and other goods collected from various quarters, were taken on their voyage by hardhearted corsairs, robbed of all their goods, and with difficulty escaped with their lives. On their arrival at Kálíkot, I was rejoiced at the sight of my old friend.
From the close of Jumáda-l ákhir to the beginning of Zí-hijja, I remained in that wretched place, a comrade of trouble and a companion of sorrow. In the middle of it, during one night of profound darkness and weary length, in which sleep, as an imperious tyrant, captivated my senses and closed the door of my eyelids, after all kinds of troubles, I was sleeping on my bed of repose, when I saw in a dream His Majesty the Khákán, who advanced towards me, with all the pomp of sovereignty, and arriving near me, said, “cease to trouble yourself.”
In the morning, after saying my prayers, the dream recurred to my mind and made me happy. Although ordinarily dreams are purely reveries of the imagination, which are rarely realized in a waking state, nevertheless, sometimes they turn out exactly true, and are considered revelations of God. No one is ignorant of the dream of Joseph, God's peace on him! or of that of the monarch of Egypt.
I reflected within myself that probably a morning of good fortune would arise, from the day-spring of the mercy of God, and that the night of vexation and sorrow would come to an end. Having communicated my dream to some clever men, I was demanding from them the interpretation of it, when suddenly some one arrived, and brought intelligence that the King of Bíjánagar, who possessed a large kingdom and an important sovereignty, had sent a herald with a letter addressed to the Sámurí, desiring that the ambassador of His Majesty the Khákán-i Sa'íd should be instantly sent to him. Although the Sámurí is not under his authority, nevertheless, he is in great alarm and apprehension from him, for it is said, that the King of Bíjánagar has 300 seaports, every one of which is equal to Kálíkot, and that inland his cities and provinces extend over a journey of three months.