CHAPTER IV.
Journey from Puduceri to Covalan, Maïlapuri, and Madraspatnam.
IN the year 1776, a Portuguese ship, the Nossa Senhora de Luz, was lying at anchor in the road of Puduceri, the owner of which, John Gonzalvez, had made a voyage to Madraspatnam on his own account. As this vessel was now destined for the coast of Malabar, and as I was obliged to proceed thither in consequence of my mission, I thought it advisable not to neglect so favourable an opportunity, and to request M. Gonzalvez to give me a free passage: a request which I found myself the more obliged to make, as I had not money to defray the expences of a voyage in any other manner. Having some business, however, to settle at Madraspatnam, I set out from Puduceri on the 9th of September, in a Dooly or palanquin, the bottom of which is woven of Indian cane, after the manner of our chairs, and which is covered with cloth supported by pieces of wood, in order that the traveller may not be incommoded by the beams of the sun. This palanquin is suspended from a pole, and born by six men, whom the Indians call Coolies, or porters; and the English, Boys. These people go almost naked, having nothing on their bodies but a small piece of cotton cloth, which covers what nature bids them conceal, and which is fastened round the loins with a girdle. This cloth is called by the Indians Lingacutti, that is, the covering of the Lingam or privities, which the Europeans have converted into Langotti. In the Malabar language it is called Cila, a clout. These Coolies, almost perfectly naked, convey the traveller from one place to another with as much speed as a posthorse; but they must from time to time be relieved by other six of the same kind. The dexterity and expedition with which they carry the Dooly, or palanquin, is really astonishing. Puduceri is 100 miles from Madraspatnam; and yet some of the servants of the English East India Company commonly perform that journey in fifteen hours. These, however, are forced journeys, for which a great number of such palanquin-bearers are necessary. The road from Puduceri to Madraspatnam is exceedingly good, and in many places bordered by bushy trees, under the shade of which the traveller is protected from the scorching beams of the sun. Every two or three miles there are elegant Balam, Ambalam, or taverns, by the Europeans called Chauderies, and in which conveniences of all kinds are to be found. They are beautiful edifices, raised by the charitable contributions of the Indians, and not unfrequently by the benevolence of some wealthy individual, for the use of travellers; as hospitality, so rare among us Europeans, forms, among the Orientals, a point of religion, and is one of the chief virtues by which they are distinguished from all other nations. In general, the case is very different in India from what it is in Europe, where people, when travelling, must not only expend large sums of money, but are cheated, robbed and plundered by landlords, coachmen and postilions, and meet with every possible kind of bad usage[46]. In India a man can openly carry money with him on the public highway, without having occasion to be in any dread of robbers; for it is sufficient that the Coolies be persons of good character. This security prevails at least in the kingdom of Travancor, where I have travelled more than twenty times by day as well as by night from Cochin to Cape Comari[47].
The excellent establishments and police regulations formed in India, in regard to highways, are extolled by Strabo in the fifteenth book of his geography. The modern Indians consider it as one of the greatest crimes to destroy edifices or inns destined for the use of strangers. These inns consist of a building somewhat raised from the ground, and which contains three divisions or apartments. As the roof, which projects, is supported by pillars, the outer space forms a kind of hall or gallery, where the Doolies, or palanquins, are deposited, that they may not be injured by the rain or the heat of the sun. In the middle apartment stands a stone image, which is generally a representation of Gannesha; and in the two side apartments mats are spread out, which are wove either of palm leaves, or the leaves of the Caida[48], (a wild plant of the species of the Ananas,) and on which the travellers sleep. Some Brahman priest generally resides in the neighbourhood to wait upon them, and who for a few Panam will provide a meal according to the Brahman manner. It consists for the most part of rice boiled and afterwards dried, together with some dishes of small preserved oranges, and soup made of herbs, pepper, ginger, and mustard, and sometimes of boiled, toasted, or raw cheese. Instead of this soup, sour milk, or fresh cream-cheese, is frequently served up. Cagni, or boiled rice water, which the Europeans name Cangi, is given free of all expence, in order that the traveller may quench his thirst with a cooling and wholesome beverage. Statues, which supply the place of mile-stones, and serve to guide strangers, are found every where erected along the high roads. As the Greeks and Romans employed for this purpose the god Terminus, the Indians use their deity Gannesha, who by the common people, not well acquainted with the Samscred language, is called Poleyar. This god has the head and trunk of an elephant, four hands, the body and legs of a man; and is represented sitting cross-legged, according to the manner of the Chinese and Indians. On some monuments he is represented with a semicircle or half-moon around his head, holding in one hand an iron style, which the Indians use for writing on palm leaves, and in the other a palm leaf, or perhaps a bundle of such leaves, covered with writing. On other monuments he has in one hand a pomegranate, or a key in the form of a hook, like those used in the early ages, when doors had no iron-work, and were shut only by a wooden bar on the inside. Instead of the Vahana, or riding-animal, he has always under him a mouse, which is held in the utmost abhorrence by the elephant. This mouse, according to the Indians, represents the wicked demon, the enemy of wisdom, or, in other words, the devil. Indian women, who are married, wear an image of this deity, which they call Taly, suspended from their neck by a string. It supplies the place of a love-pledge, and serves as a token of their chastity and conjugal fidelity. The literati honour this deity as their protector; and salute him always at the beginning of their writings with the words Namà Guru, Adoration to the Lord; or Sal Gurve Namà, Adoration to the true Lord; or Gannabadàye Namà, Adoration to Gannabadi the Lord. They are accustomed also to paint the elephant’s trunk of Gannesha before the first line of their letters, as a symbol of wisdom and prudence.
From Puduceri I continued my journey by Calapada, Congimaram, and Carpuncolam, where I passed the night in one of the before-mentioned Balams. Towards evening I was visited by some female Indians, each of whom carried a basket filled with garlands of white flowers, which they hung around the neck of Gannesha. Next morning, at sun-rise, some Brahmans brought a copper vessel with coco-nut oil; poured it over the statue of Gannesha, and at the same time muttered a certain form of prayer in the Samscred language. As one of them spoke a little Portuguese, I entered into conversation with him. Near such a Balam, or inn, there is generally a pond, called in the Tamulic language Colam, and in corrupted Portuguese Tanque. To this Colam all the Indians who live in the neighbourhood hasten as soon as they get up in the morning, and men and women, boys and girls, placing themselves close to each other, wash the parts of nature with the utmost dexterity, and repeat certain prayers. This ablution, which is renewed every morning, has been introduced into India in the earliest periods, and is a general practice among the inhabitants of the country, as they are of opinion that purity of soul cannot exist without personal cleanliness[49]. The excessive heat of the sun, and the continual perspiration thereby occasioned, may have first given rise to this custom, as also to the worshipping of the Lingam, which, among the Indians, in the same manner as Priapus among the Romans, supplies the place of a god. That the parts of generation might remain in a sound state, the Indian philosophers commanded cleanliness by means of water; and that this practice might never fall into disuse, they ordered that divine honour even should be paid to these parts, which represent the creative power of the sun, moon, and elements. An Indian book, entitled Lingapurànam, a copy of which was preserved in the king’s library at Paris, is a treatise on the worship of this deity. The Indian philosophers, by whom it was first introduced, gave as the inventor of it one of their gods named Mahadeva, or Shiva, the symbol of the all-creating sun.
Next morning I continued my journey, and passing through Vepur, Tengacetti, and other places of little importance, arrived in the evening at Sadras. This beautiful town, at which there is a castle, belongs to the Dutch, who manufacture here cotton goods of a superior quality, which they send to Europe. Their so called Gingams are highly esteemed. This populous place is chiefly inhabited by people employed in carding, preparing and dyeing cotton. One part of it is occupied by Brahmans, whose sole business is commerce. Among the latter seldom can there be found a man who possesses knowledge, and who at the same time will be so candid as to communicate it to strangers. It is of no use, therefore, to enter into conversation with these people, or to request information from them respecting the religion of the Indians. The English, however, do so; for they always boast of having obtained their knowledge immediately from Brahmans appointed to the service of some temple, as if it were not well known that these priests seldom converse with Europeans. At Sadras there is a Christian congregation, which consists of two thousand souls. Most of the members are natural children of the Dutch and other Europeans. I baptised there some new-born infants; and as I was inserting their names in the church register, I everywhere found in the book Filho de fulano, Filho de fulano. As I could not conceive it possible that a father should have so many children, I asked the sexton the meaning of the word fulano: he replied that it signified a person whose name was unknown; and that when the father of a child could not be with certainty discovered, they generally put in the register Filho de fulano. I now knew who the supposed Mr. Fulano was. As the officiating clergyman, a priest from Goa, was at that time absent, I read mass in the church, and pursued my journey. On the third day after, having visited Canatur, Tirupatur, and Tirupalur, I arrived about noon at Covalam, which is inhabited by a few Christians, and for that reason by a much greater number of Mahometans. The Imperial East India Company at Ostend had here formerly a strong fortress, close to the sea-shore; but which, lying too near the English, was on that account dismantled. Charles VI. who established that company at Ostend, found himself obliged to abolish it, in order to avoid a war with the English and French, who were then contending for the possession of Carnada. Covalam produces nothing but millet and salt, the latter of which may be collected by the Christians as well as the Pagans. A great number of the most beautiful shells are cast on shore here by the sea. The ruins of the fortress, which formerly belonged to the Imperial East India Company, afford a retreat to a multitude of snakes. Here I saw, for the first time, the operations of an Indian snake-conjuror, who by music and various processes attracted one of these animals, a circumstance which I had before considered as a fiction, and impossible. I shall speak more at large of this art hereafter.
At the end of a few days I departed from this place, and proceeded to Maïlapuri and Madraspatnam. The former, by the Christians, is called the city of St. Thomas, and is situated close to the sea, which forms there a kind of bay or small haven. It stands on a beautiful plain, abounding with coco-nut trees, which retain their verdure throughout the whole year. The episcopal church, the church of St. Rita, and the Madre de Deos, the bishop’s palace, and that of the Portuguese governor, who at that time was Dom Caravalho, attracted my attention by the regularity of their architecture. This city, however, has lost a great deal of its former magnificence. The authority of the Portuguese seems to be transferred to the English and the nabob of Arrucate, who has his stables here. The inhabitants consist of Pagans, Mahometans, and Christians. The latter are a bastard race, descended from the Indians and the Portuguese. They are of a black complexion, but a little of the European whiteness still appears through it. They are distinguished by the name of Mestize, by which is understood people born of an European father and an Indian mother. They are called also Topazi, that is Duibhashi, or interpreters, because they speak two different languages, Indian and corrupted Portuguese. They form the smaller part of the inhabitants of Maïlapuri, where the Mahometans have the superiority. The last bishop of Maïlapuri was Dom Bernardo da San Gaetano, of the Augustin order, who in 1787 was succeeded by Dom Emanuel di Gesu, an Augustin also, born at Goa. The former, being an European by birth, conducted himself as a prudent, liberal-minded man; but the latter has all the violent, restless, and litigious character of a hot blooded Indian. He even proceeds so far as to expel from his diocese all missionaries who are not Portuguese, or who do not acknowledge his jurisdiction. At St. Rita I lodged in the house of the vicar-general, Father Luiz, an Augustin, who treated me with much hospitality, and from whom I received a great deal of information, both respecting the history of the country, and the state of Christianity in it. The bishop, Dom Bernardo, had at that time undertaken a journey to Bengal, to visit the churches of his diocese. In the evening I always wrote in my journal such observations as occurred in the course of the day; and when the inhabitants told me there was nothing farther to be seen, I proceeded to Madraspatnam.
This city is distant only three miles from Maïlapuri. The road which conducts to it is one of the most beautiful in all India. It is level and broad, well beat, and on both sides of it are seen a great number of houses, gardens, tents, taverns, horses, carriages, palanquins, and doolies of all kinds; also elephants and draught oxen, the last of which are yoked to carriages. About mid way lies a garden, in which the nabob of Arrucate, Mohamed Aly Khan, has his residence in a palace built after the European manner. The external avenues to it are guarded by Indian militia; but in the interior part that duty is performed by English soldiers, under the command of a captain, who must keep an accurate journal of every thing which takes place at the court of this prince. This is called a mark of honour, but in reality it is nothing else than magnificent imprisonment. The nabob enjoys personal security; but for this security he must do what the English bid him.
At Madraspatnam I paid a visit to the congregation of St. Andrew the apostle; and found, at the convent of Capuchins, Father Bonaventura from Fuligno, Father Medardus from Alsace, and Father Marcellus from Aleppo. I took a turn through the city which is of considerable extent, but the houses lie insulated and scattered. Near the noblest palaces are seen the most wretched hovels; broad streets and narrow crooked lanes occur in turns; and, instead of cleanliness, filth and dirt are every where seen. Fort St. George, in which none but English must reside, is called the white town; but the outer district, inhabited by Europeans, Armenians, Bengalians, Chinese, Peguans, Arabians, and black and white Indians of all classes, castes, and religious sects, is called the black town. Fort St. George, one of the strongest in India, lies close to the sea, which is there exceedingly boisterous. The gate towards the sea, as well as that of the black town, has a strong guard. The fort is furnished with bastions, a double ditch with two bridges; and the garrison consists of the finest European troops to be found in all India. This fortress was taken from the French in 1746, and besieged by Count Lally in 1758 for the second time. He was, however, forced to raise the siege; and the treasure which had been conveyed from the place was again brought back to it. This city lies under the latitude of 13° 15′, exactly at the place where formerly stood the small town of Cinnapatnam, which belonged to the king of Bisnagari or Narsinha, by whom it was given up to the English in 1645.