pigafetta’s voyage round the world.

342

himfelf very well. We were all of us occular witneffes of this miracle. The Captainthen, with greater fervour than the reft of us, returned praife to God . He adminifter-ed a reftorative cordial to the fick man, and repeated the fame every day until he wasperfectly recovered. He at the fame time fent him a mattrefs, blankets, a coverlid ofyellow linen, and a pillow.

On the fifth day the fick man was perfectly recovered and quitted his couch. Hisfirft care was was to caufe an idol which was held in great veneration, and which wasfecreted with greateft care by fome old women in his houfe, to be burned in prefence ,of the King and all the people. He likewife caufed feveral temples to be demolifhedwhich were built on the margin of the fea, and where the people affembled to eat themeat offerings prefented to the idols. All the inhabitants approved of thefe doings, anddetermined on utterly deftroying every idol, thofe even which ornamented the King’siioufe, crying at the fame time, “ Viva la Caftilla,” in honour of the King of Spain .

The idols of thefe countries are of wood hollowed behind ; their arms and legs areextended and their feet turned up; they have a difproportionately large face with fourvery large teeth in front fimilar to thofe of the wild boar *. Generally fpeaking theyare painted.

Now I am fpeaking of their idols, I {hall relate to your lordfliip f fome of their fuper-ftitious ceremonies, one of which is bleffing the hog. The ceremony begins with beat-ing large gongs. Three large diflies are afterwards brought, two of which containbroiled fifh, and cakes of rice and millet folded in leaves; on the third are Cambayancloths and two fillets of cloth made from the palm tree. Two old women then advance,each of which holds in her hand a large trumpet J of bamboo. They place themfelve?upon the cloth, falute the fun, and clothe themfelves in the other cloths which were inthe difh. The firft of thefe old women covers her head with a handkerchief tied roundher forehead in fuch manner as to prefent two horns ; and taking another handkerchiefin her hand {he dances, and at the fame time founds the trumpet, invoking the fun at in-tervals. The other old woman takes one of the fillets of palm tree cloth, and in a likemanner dances and founds the trumpet, and turning towards the fun addreffes fomewords to that luminary. The firft then fnatches up the other fillet of palm tree cloth,throws away the handkerchief {he held in her hand, and both together the two foundtheir trumpets and dance round the hog, which is tied and lies on the ground. In themean time the firft old woman addreffes the fun in a low tone of voice, and is anfweredby the other. After this a cup of wine is prefented to the firft which {he takes, butwithout {topping her dancing or her addreffes to the fun, and brings the cup to hermouth four or five times pretending to drink, but the liquor {he pours over the heart ofthe hog. She then returns the cup and receives a lance which Ihe brandilhes, ftillcontinuing to dance and fpeak, and directs it repeatedly- to the heart of the hog, whichin the end Ihe pierces with a fudden and forcible blow. As foon as the lance is with-drawn from the wound it is clofed and dreffed with falutary herbs. During the wholeof this ceremony a flambeau is kept burning, which the old woman, who pierced thehog through the heart, feizes and extinguiflies by thrufting it into the mouth of theanimal. The other old woman dips the end of her trumpet in the blood of the hog,and with the blood on it ftains the forehead of all perfons prefent, beginning with hef

* Vlfhnou, in one of his incarnations, is reprefented with the vifage of a wild boar. Sonnerat, ton*. >•page 161.

f Pigafetta here addreffes himfelf to the grand mailer qf Rhodes. Eng. Tr.

J Among the mufical inlhumcnts of the Indians, Sonnerat faw and has given the reprefentation of alarge trumpet fimilar to the one here defcribcd. See plate xxvii. fig. 4.

8 hulband,