capar

Updated: May 19, 2025

They were not seen to cook their food, but ate meat raw, with a sweet root called capar, which name they applied to the ship's biscuit offered them. The only remedies they were seen to use when sick was bleeding and vomiting. The former was performed by giving a chop with an edge tool to the part afflicted, while the latter was produced by thrusting an arrow down the throat of the patient.

Henry Frith - Notable Voyagers: From Columbus to Nordenskiold

This country affords camphor, which is the gum of a tree called Capar; as also cinnamon, ginger, myrabolans, oranges, lemons, sugar, cucumbers, melons, and other fruits, with abundance of beasts and birds, and all other products of the equinoctial climate. The natives continually chew betel and areka, and drink arrack.

Robert Kerr - A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10 : Arranged in systematic order: Forming a complete history of the origin and progress of navigation, discovery, and commerce, by sea and land, from the earliest ages to the present time.

What flesh they are able to procure, they devour quite raw without any kind of cookery, besides which their chief article of food is a sweet root, which they name capar. The voyagers report that these savages were very jealous of their women; yet do not mention having seen any.

Robert Kerr - A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10 : Arranged in systematic order: Forming a complete history of the origin and progress of navigation, discovery, and commerce, by sea and land, from the earliest ages to the present time.

Besides capar, the name of a root already mentioned, and which likewise they applied to the bread or ship's biscuit given them by the Spaniards, the only words reported of their language are ali water, amel black, cheiche red, cherecai red cloth; and Setebos and Cheleule are the names of two beings to whom they pay religious respect, Setebos being the supreme, and Cheleule an inferior deity.

Robert Kerr - A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10 : Arranged in systematic order: Forming a complete history of the origin and progress of navigation, discovery, and commerce, by sea and land, from the earliest ages to the present time.