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Updated: May 8, 2025
"They be all naked and of a goodly stature, mightie, and as well shapen and proportioned of body as any people in ye world; and the fore part of their body and armes be painted with pretie deuised workes, of Azure, red, and blacke, so well and so properly as the best Painter of Europe could not amende it."
The elephants be not so great as those of Pegu, which be monstrous huge: but they say all other elephants do feare them, and none dare fight with them, though they be very small. Their women haue a cloth bound about them from their middle to their knee: and all the rest is bare. All of them be blacke and but little, both men and women.
At my first arriuall I was presented from their Prior with two great rie loaues, fish both salt and fresh of diuers sorts, both sea fish and fresh water, one sheepe aliue, blacke, with a white face, to be the more gratefull vnto me, and so with many solemne words inuiting me to see their house, they tooke their leaue.
For person and complexion they haue broade and flatte visages, of a tanned colour into yellowe and blacke, fierce and cruell lookes, thinne haired vpon the upper lippe, and pitte of the chinne, light and nimble bodied, with short legges, as if they were made naturally for horsemen: whereto they practise themselues from their childhood, seldome going afoot about anie businesse.
Some will haue a horsemans staff like to a bore speare, besides their other weapons. The common souldier hath no other armour than his ordinary apparell, viz. a blacke sheeps skin with the wool side outward in the day time, and inwarde in the night time, with a cap of the same. But their Morseys or noblemen imitate the Turk both in apparel and armour.
In short, tis a custome lothsome to the eye, hateful to the Nose, harmefull to the braine, dangerous to the Lungs, & in the blacke stinking fume thereof neerest resembling the horrible Stigian smoke of the pit that is bottomeless.
In another court not farre from this stand foure other Pagodes or idoles, maruellous great, of copper, made in the same place where they do stand; for they be so great that they be not to be remoued: they stand in foure houses gilded very faire, and are themselues gilded all ouer saue their heads, and they shew like a blacke Morian. Their expenses in gilding of their images are wonderfull.
These dwell in the toppe of an high mountaine, blacke in the face: for the continuall heate of the sunne, for the cold windes, and raines they doe continually endure. They marry but in their owne tribe and line: the report goeth that they be horned beasts.
"Some are so carnallie minded," says Scot, "that a spirit is no sooner spoken of, but they thinke of a blacke man with cloven feet, a paire of hornes, a taile, and eies as big as a bason." Scot, however, was one of a very small minority in his opinion as to the carnal-mindedness of such a belief.
A single example will show this. Let the reader compare the account of the peacock with the following stanza from Chester's "Love's Martyr": "The proud sun-braving peacocke with his feathers, Walkes all along, thinking himself a king, And with his voice prognosticates all weathers, Although, God knows, but badly he doth sing; But when he looks downe to his base blacke feete, He droopes and is asham'd of things unmeet."
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