Marco Polo

by Robin Brown

  They cannot write but this is understandable given the primitive nature of the place. It is mostly a mountainous tract of land covered with the thickest of forests. In summer it is so gloomy and unwholesome the merchants leave, fearing for their health.

  When there is a business transaction involving debt or credit, their chief takes a square of wood and divides it into two. Notches are cut into it recording the sums in question and each party is given one. When the term of a loan expires or the debt is paid, the creditor delivers up his wooden counterpart and both parties are satisfied.

  There are no doctors here, instead the people rely on sorcerers. When a person falls ill he summons one of them, gives a full account of his complaint and then sacrifices are made to idols. Musicians with loud instruments are also hired to dance and sing in honour and praise of their idols. Eventually the evil spirit takes possession of one of them and the proceedings are brought to a close.

  He who has become possessed is then asked the cause of the patient’s indisposition and how a cure might be effected. The evil spirit answers, using the voice of the possessed, that the sickness has resulted from an offence to a deity. The sorcerers offer up prayers to that deity, beseeching him to pardon the sinner on condition that, when cured, he will offer up a sacrifice of his own blood. I have noticed, however, that if the demon perceives that there is no prospect of recovery the sorcerer makes it known that there is no sacrifice that can appease him. The sacrifice requires a number of sheep with black heads to be slaughtered by hand by a similar number of sorcerers and their wives.

  The relatives of the patient immediately go along with all this and the sheep are slain, their blood sprinkled towards the heavens, and the sorcerers (men and women) burn perfumed incense all over the house of the sick person and make a smoke of the wood of aloes. They cast it into the broth in which the sheep meat has been seethed, along with some of the wine brewed with spices, and everyone laughs and sings and dances about in honour of their idol or the Divinity. The possessed person is then asked whether the idol is satisfied and if the answer is yes, the sorcerers, male and female, sit down and feast on the sacrificial meat and the spiced liquor, all in the highest of spirits.

  The sorcerers are paid and return home. The idol gets the credit if the patient lives. If he or she dies, the sorcerers declare that their rites have been rendered ineffective by the people who had prepared the meat and tasted it before presenting it to the deity. I should add that these ceremonies, which happen a couple of times a month only, are reserved for nobles and the very rich. They occur, however, throughout the whole of Cathay and Manji, where the presence of a proper physician is very rare. As far as I am concerned this is all a case of demons sporting blindly with these deluded and wretched people.

  A very famous battle was fought here in the Kingdom of Vochang. In 1272 the Grand Khan sent an army into the countries of Vochang and Karazan to protect them from foreign invasion. At this time he had not yet appointed his sons to rule the provinces, as he would later do. (Cen-temur became the prince here.)

  King Mein and Bagala in India, who ruled a great number of subjects and was very rich, decided to oppose this incursion. He assembled a huge army spearheaded by a multitude of elephants (in which this country abounds) equipped like moving castles with battlemented wooden structures on their backs each accommodating twelve to sixteen soldiers. Led by these elephants and a vast host of horse and foot soldiers, King Mein took the road to Vochang where the Grand Khan’s army lay encamped close by.

  The Grand Khan’s troops were led by Nestardin, a brave and able soldier who was greatly alarmed by the size of the force from Mein, he himself having a mere 12,000 men under his command. (They were admittedly battle-hardened troops.) The Mein army he estimated at 60,000, not counting the elephants. But Nestardin did not show apprehension, descending into the plain of Vochang and positioning himself so that his flank was protected by a thick wood of large trees into which, in the event of a ferocious charge by the elephants which his troops could not withstand, he could hurriedly retire and from there counter the attack with arrows.

  He called his officers together, urged them to be brave and reminded them that victory depended not on the number of men but upon courage and discipline. He pointed out that the troops of Mein and Bangala were raw and inexperienced. ‘Feel confident in your own valour which has so often been put to the test,’ Nestardin urged them. ‘Let your name be the subject of terror not merely to the enemy before you but to the whole world.’ He concluded by promising to lead them to certain victory.

  The King of Mein set his own army into motion about a mile from the enemy and took up a position with his elephants in front and his horse and foot soldiers formed into two wings a considerable distance to the rear. He too encouraged his troops to fight valiantly, pointing out that they had a four to one advantage not counting the elephants, which the enemy would find overwhelming as they had never faced elephants before. Giving orders to sound a prodigious number of warlike instruments, he advanced the whole army towards the Tartars – who stood firm.

  In true Tartar fashion they then rushed out but found that their horses, totally unused to the size of huge animals like elephants with their castles, were terrified and wheeled about attempting to flee. Their riders could do nothing to control them and the main body of the King’s army was getting closer every moment. Nestardin observed the chaos of his cavalry and with great presence of mind, ordered his men to dismount and lead their horses into the wood where they were fastened to the trees.

  The cavalry returned as a regiment of archers firing a barrage of arrows at the elephants. This fire was hotly returned but the advantage was with the Tartars who were the stronger bowmen. The Tartar commanders ordered their men to concentrate their fire power on the elephants and soon these were stuck all over with arrows and began to fall back, causing great confusion to their troops in the rear. It soon became impossible for the mahouts to manage the frenzied elephants and they flailed about in the wood, breaking the castles from their backs and killing the men in them.

  Seeing the state of the elephants, the Tartars took courage, regrouped in perfect order into their original detachments, remounted their horses and, rejoining their divisions, began the last dreadful phase of the battle.

  The King’s troops were certainly not lacking in valour and he himself went among them urging them not to be alarmed by the beserk elephants and to stand firm. But the Tartars’ consummate archery was too strong for him and his men were depressed at not having the same body armour as their opponents. When all the arrows had been expended violent hand-to-hand fighting followed, with both sides employing swords and iron maces. Horrible wounds were inflicted, limbs dismembered and thousands fell to the ground maimed and dying. The sight of so much blood was terrible to behold and the cries and shrieks of the wounded, coupled with the clash of weapons, ascended to the heavens.

  The King of Mein, acting like the valiant chieftain he was, was present wherever the greatest danger manifested itself; inspiring his soldiers and urging them to hold their ground against every assault. Fresh squadrons from his reserve were sent to reinforce those exhausted in the front line. With the bulk of his troops either killed or wounded, the field covered with the carcasses of men and horses and surviving troops beginning to give way, it became evident that he could no longer stand against the Tartars and he fled the field taking the battered remnants of his army with him. A great number of them were slain in the retreat.

  Victory was later judged to have been largely the result of the troops of Mein and Bangala lacking body armour as strong as the Tartars’. Likewise the elephants had been unable to withstand the Tartar arrows and thus to break through their ranks and throw them into disorder. The King was also deemed to have been in error when he attacked the Tartar force whose flank was protected by the wood. He should instead have endeavoured to draw the Tartars out into open country where they could not have resisted the advance charge of armed elepha
nts. Also, had he extended his cavalry on the two wings he might have surrounded the Tartars.

  Returning to the wood, the Tartars found enemy soldiers chopping down trees to block their way, but these barricades were soon demolished and many of the defenders killed. The Tartars also captured the King’s mahouts and with their help caught two hundred elephants or more. Since then the Grand Khan has always employed elephants in his armies and has annexed all the lands of the King of Mein and Bangala into his domains.

  Leaving Kardanan you descend very steeply for about two and a half days through deserted country. This brings you to a great plain where, three days a week, a great trading fair assembles to which people bring gold to exchange for silver from the neighbouring mountains. One saggio of gold fetches five of silver. The gold comes from high and very strong mountain reaches that are very difficult to approach and to which only the natives have access. But the inhabitants must trade their gold, hence the existence of this market in the plain.

  If you continue south towards India, you reach the city of Mein after a journey of fifteen days through largely depopulated country which abounds with elephants, rhinoceros and other wild animals. I did not see a sign of people anywhere.

  Mein itself is the large and magnificent capital of the kingdom. The people hereabouts are all idolaters with their own unique language. A former rich and powerful monarch whose death was drawing near ordered the building of a sepulchre flanked by two marble pyramids, thirty feet high and capped with a ball. One of these pyramids was plated with gold an inch thick so that you saw nothing but the gold. The other was similarly plated but with silver. The balls supported small bells of silver and gold that sounded in the wind. The tomb was also of silver and gold. It was all very splendid! The whole thing was designed as a memorial for the king and an honourable place for his soul.

  Kublai had his eye on the place, however, and pretty soon despatched an army led by a valiant officer, who took with him from the Grand Khan’s court a number of the sorcerers. You could always find great numbers of them there. When they entered Mein they saw the great gold and silver tomb but were nervous of meddling with it until Kublai’s pleasure was known. On learning that it had been erected in pious memory of a once great king, Kublai insisted it should not be violated, not to the smallest degree. (The Tartars generally regarded the removal of anything to do with the dead as a heinous sin.)

  In the vicinity of Mein we saw many elephants, large and handsome wild oxen, fallow deer and other game.

  A note about the province of Bangala [Bengal] which is in the southern confines of India which, when I was living at Kublai’s court, had not yet fallen under the thrall of the Grand Khan, although his armies had been engaged there for a long time. The province has its own peculiar language. The people worship idols and they have schools for instruction in the principles of the idolatrous religion and of necromancy. The religion prevails through all ranks of society, including the nobles and chiefs of the country.

  Oxen are to be found here almost as tall but not as bulky as elephants. The people live on meat, milk and rice, of which there are no shortages.

  Herbal medicines like spikenard, galangal, ginger and sugar are grown here and merchants come from other parts of India to buy them. They also buy eunuchs as slaves. These prisoners, taken in war, are emasculated and there is not a prince or person of rank hereabouts who does not want one to look after their women. Merchants make large profits from this trade.

  It takes thirty days to cross Bangala where, in the extreme east, you find a country named Kangigu that has its own king but has voluntarily submitted to the Grand Khan and pays him an annual tribute.

  The king is so devoted to sensual pleasures he has some four hundred wives and is reputed, when he hears of a beautiful woman, to send for her and add her to his collection.

  Gold is found here in great abundance and valuable herbal medicines, but because the country is so far from the sea these are hard to bring to market. Elephants and other beasts abound and the diet consists of meat, rice and milk. They make a good wine, fortified with herbs, from rice.

  Both males and females have their bodies tattooed all over with figures of birds and beasts. It is the sole employment of many people to tattoo hands, legs and breasts using a needle, a black pigment then being rubbed into the punctured skin. It is utterly impossible to get the marks out. Among the women, those with the most tattoos are regarded as the most beautiful.

  You also find the province of Amu over towards the east but here the inhabitants are subjects of the Grand Khan. They are all idolaters and live off the land and their cattle.

  Itinerant merchants come here to buy horses and oxen for the rest of India. Because of the rich pasture there are also numerous buffalos. The men and women wear lots of gold and silver rings on their wrists, arms and legs, with those adorning the women being much the most costly.

  It is a twenty-five day journey to Kangigu and another twenty days to Bangala. Eight days further on to the east is the province of Tholoman. Here again they have their own language, are idolaters and are subjects of the Grand Khan. The people are tall with dusky complexions and very good looking. They are reported to be just in war and peace. They have a fair number of cities and a multitude of villages situated in the high mountains. To these mountains are carried, in little wooden caskets, the bones of the dead after they have been burned and then they are concealed in vast caves in the rocks where no wild animals can get to them.

  An abundance of gold is to be found here, but for ordinary currency, as they do also in Kangigu and Amu, they use the porcelain-like cowrie shells from India.

  Let us head back into China by continuing for twelve days to the east via a river on each side of which lie many towns and castles. You come eventually to the large and handsome city of Chintigui where the inhabitants are idolaters and all subjects of the Grand Khan. This is a city of traders and artisans who make a good-looking cloth, which is worn by all the ordinary people in the summer, from the bark of certain trees. They have a reputation for being brave warriors. We are also back to the use of Kublai’s stamped paper as the standard currency.

  The tigers are so numerous in these parts the people do not dare sleep outside their towns at night and it is not even safe to moor close to the bank of the river as these monsters have been known to plunge into the water, swim to the boat and drag their victims out. Everyone anchors well out in the stream where they feel safe.

  The largest and fiercest dogs I have ever encountered are also from here; so courageous and powerful that a man with a couple of them may overcome a tiger. A hunter will set a pair of these dogs upon a tiger the moment the beast is encountered. The tiger immediately seeks a tree to protect his rear, making for it slowly, showing no signs of fear. The dogs attack at this time and the hunter looses his arrows. The tiger tries to bite the dogs but they are too nimble for him and stand at bay. His retreat is slow and deliberate but in time he is bitten so often and has received so many arrows that he collapses from weakness and loss of blood and is eventually taken.

  Silks for sale to other parts are extensively manufactured in Chintigui and exported by the river which continues for a long way through towns and castles. The people live entirely by trade.

  I travelled from this area to Sin-din-fu mentioned earlier, twenty days to Gin-gui, and a further four days to Pazan-fu which is to the south and belongs to Cathay. Here there are some Christians and they have their own church. All are still subjects of the Grand Khan and his paper money is in circulation here. Trade and manufacturing again provide the population with their living, in particular silk, of which there is an abundance, tissues of silk mixed with gold and also very fine scarves.

  Pazan-fu has many towns and castles under its jurisdiction and the great river to Kanbula, by which the merchants ship large quantities of merchandise, flows past it.

  Going on into Cathay (North China), a journey of three days brings one to the large city of Chan-glu. The inh
abitants worship idols, burn their dead and use the Grand Khan’s paper money. Great quantities of salt are made here. In the surrounding countryside salty earth is picked up in large heaps and water is poured through it. The water is collected into channels and from there into huge salt pans where the salt crystallises in the sun. It is very white and of good quality and is widely exported. The Grand Khan derives considerable revenue from the rich profits of the manufacturers of salt. Fantastic peaches, weighing as much as 2lb, are also a speciality of the region.

  Head further south into Cathay and after five days you come to the city of Chan-gli. The currency remains Kublai’s paper and everyone worships idols, and this is another important centre of commerce from which the Grand Khan receives considerable customs revenue. Likewise the towns and cities, many of great importance, encountered on a further journey six days south to the city of Tudin-fu. This was formerly a magnificent capital but the Grand Khan sacked it. It remains a delightful place to live thanks to beautiful gardens with handsome shrubs and superb fruit trees. Silk is produced here in extraordinarily large quantities.

  Eleven cities and several towns are administered from here and it was ruled by its own king until Kublai conquered it. As is his wont, Kublai, in 1272, appointed an officer of the highest rank, named Lucansor, to the governorship and garrisoned an army of seventy thousands horse to hold the place. But Lucansor, finding himself master of so rich and highly productive an area and in command of so large an army, became drunk with power and plotted rebellion against his sovereign. Leaders of the community were roped into these evil schemes and persuaded to stage a revolt which encompassed the whole province.

  Kublai reacted instantly, sending an army of one hundred thousand men under two of his nobles, Angul and Mongatai. Lucansor reinforced his forces to match them and went straight into the fight. There was great slaughter on both sides and Lucansor was killed, which caused his troops to take flight. Many were killed or made prisoners. The principal conspirators were put to death but Kublai pardoned the rest and took them into his service and they have remained faithful to him ever since.