Jntrassemo in que sto porto iL giorno de
sancta lucia et in qeL di hauessemo
eL solle p Zenit et patissemo piu caldo. qeL
giorno et li alti quādo haueuāo eL solle
þ zenit che Quando eramo soto la linea equinotialle.
Questa tera deL verzin e abondantissa
et piu grande ɋ spagnia fransa et Jtalia tute
insieme. e deL re de portugalo li populi
de questa tera nō sonno christiani et nō
adorano cosa alguna viueno secōdo Lo vzo de La natura
et viueno Cento vinticinque anny et cēto et quaranta. Vano nudi
cossi homini como femine habitano in certe case longue
che le chiamano boij et dormeno in rete de bā baso chiamate
amache ligade ne le medeme case da vno capo et da Lalto
a legni grossi fanno foco infra essi
in tera in ogni vno de questi boij stano cento
homini cō le sue moglie et figlioli facendo grā
romore anno barche duno solo arburo maschize
quiamate ca noe cauate cō menare de pietra
questi populi adoperāo le pietre Como nui el fero þ
nō hauere stanno trenta et quaranta homini in
vna de queste. vogano cō palle como da forno
et cussi negri nubi et tosi asimigliano quando vogano
aqelli de lastigie palude. Sono disposti
homini et femine como noi Mangiano carne humana de Li
sui nemici non þ bonna ma þ vna certa vzansa
Questa vzansa Lo vno con laltro. fu principio
vna vequia Laqalle haueua solamente vno figliolo
ɋ fu amazato dali suoi nemici þ iL ɋ
passati alguni giorni li sui pigliorono vno de la
Compagnia ɋ haueua morto Suo figliolo et Lo condusero
doue staua questa vequia ela vedendo et ricordandose deL
suo
figliolo como cagnia rabiata li corse adosso et Lo
mordete in vna spala costui deli a pocho fugi neli soi
et disse Como Lo volsero mangiare mostrandoli eL
segnialle de La spala. qñ questi
pigliarono poi de qelli li mangiorono et qelli de
questi siche þ questo he venuta tal vzansa.
Non se mangiano subito ma ogni vno taglia vno pezo et lo
porta in casa metendola al fumo poi ogni 8. Jorni taglia vno
pezeto mangiandolo bruto lado cō le altre cose p memoria degli
sui nemici Questo me disse Johane carnagio piloto
ɋ veniua cō nuy el qalle era stato in
questa tera quatro anny Questa gente se
depingeno marauigliosamēte tuto iL corpo et iL volto con
foco in diuersi a maniere ancho le done sono [sono:
doublet in original MS.] tosi et sensa barba
perche se la pelanno. Se vesteno de vestituȓ de
piume de papagalo cō rode grande aL cullo de Le penne magiore
cosa ridicula casi tuti li homini eccepto le femine et fanciuli
hano tre busi ne lauro desoto oue portano pietre rotonde et
Longue vno dito et piu et meno de fora pendente. nō sonno
del tuto negri ma oliuastri portano descoperte
le parte vergoniose iL Suo corpo e senza peli et
cossi homini qaL donne Sempre Vano nudi iL Suo re
e chiamato cacich anno infinitissimi papagali et
ne danno 8 ho 10 þ vno specho et gati maimoni
picoli fati como leoni ma Jalli cosa belissima fano
panne rotondo biancho de medola de arbore non molto bonno ɋ
nasce fra larbore et La scorsa et he como recotta.
hanno porci ɋ sopa La squena
teneno eL suo lombelico et vcceli grandi ɋ anno eL becho como vn
cuquiaro sensa linga ne dauano þ vno
acceta ho cortello grāde vna ho due dele sue figliole
giouane þ fchiaue ma sua mogliere nō darianno
þ cosa alguna Elle nō farebenno
vergonia a suoi mariti þ ogni grā cosa come ne
state referito de giorno nō consenteno a
li Loro mariti ma solamēte de nocte. Esse Lauorano et
portano tuto eL māgiaȓ suo da li monti in zerli ho vero
canestri suL capo ho atacati aL capo pero essendo
sempre seco sui mariti solamēte cō vno
archo de verzin o de palma negra et vno mazo de freze di canna et
questo fano per che sonno gelosi le femine
portano sui figlioli tacadi aL colo in vna rete de banbazo.
Lascio altre cose þ nō essere piu
longo. Se disse due volte messa in tera þ il
que questi stauano cō tanto contrictiōe in
genoquionj aLsando le mano giunte ɋ era grandisso
piacere vederli Edificareno vna casa per nui
pensando douessemo star seco algun tempo et
taglia rono molto versin per darnela a la nostra partida
era stato forse duy mesi nō haueua
piouesto in questa terra et Quando ajongesemo aL porto per caso piouete
þ questo deceuano noi vegnire daL cieLo et haueȓ
monato nosco la piogia questi populi facilmente
Se conuerterebenno a la fede de Jesu xpō.
Jmprima costoro pensauano li batelli
fossero figlioli de le naue et que elle li
purturisseno quando se butauano fora di naue in mare et
stando cosi aL costa do como he vzansa credeuano le
naue li nutrisseno Vna Jouene bella vene vn di
nela naue capitania, houe yo staua non þ alto
senon þ trouaȓ alguno recapito
stando cosi et aspectando buto lo ochio supa
la camera deL maisto et victe vno quiodo Longo piu de
vn dito il que pigliando cō grande gentilessa et
galantaria se lo fico aparte aparte de li labri della sua natura
et subito bassa bassa Se partite. Vedendo questo iL
capo. generale et yo.
Alguni Vocabuli de qƺsti populi deL
verzin.
AL miglio.
Alla farina.
AL hamo.
AL cortello
Al petine
Alla forfice
AL sonaglio
Buono piu ɋ bono
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Maiz
hui
pinda
tacse
chigap
pirame
itanmaraca
tum maragathum
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We entered that port on St. Lucy’s day [December 13], and on that day had the sun on the zenith; and we were subjected to greater heat on that day and on the other days when we had the sun on the zenith, than when we were under the equinoctial line.
That land of Verzin is wealthier and larger than Spagnia, Fransa, and Italia, put together, and belongs to the king of Portugalo. The people of that land are not Christians, and have no manner of worship. They live according to the dictates of nature, and reach an age of one hundred and twenty-five and one hundred and forty years. They go naked, both men and women. They live in certain long houses which they call boii and sleep in cotton hammocks called amache, which are fastened in those houses by each end to large beams. A fire is built on the ground under those hammocks. In each one of those boii, there are one hundred men with their wives and children, and they make a great racket. They have boats called canoes made of one single huge tree, hollowed out by the use of stone hatchets. Those people employ stones as we do iron, as they have no iron. Thirty or forty men occupy one of those boats. They paddle with blades like the shovels of a furnace, and thus, black, naked, and shaven, they resemble, when paddling, the inhabitants of the Stygian marsh. Men and women are as well proportioned as we. They eat the human flesh of their enemies, not because it is good, but because it is a certain established custom. That custom, which is mutual, was begun by an old woman, who had but one son who was killed by his enemies. In return some days later, that old woman’s friends captured one of the company who had killed her son, and brought him to the place of her abode. She seeing him, and remembering her son, ran upon him like an infuriated bitch, and bit him on one shoulder. Shortly afterward he escaped to his own people, whom he told that they had tried to eat him, showing them [in proof] the marks on his shoulder. Whomever the latter captured afterward at any time from the former they ate, and the former did the same to the latter, so that such a custom has sprung up in this way. They do not eat the bodies all at once, but every one cuts off a piece, and carries it to his house, where he smokes it. Then every week, he cuts off a small bit, which he eats thus smoked with his other food to remind him of his enemies. The above was told me by the pilot, Johane Carnagio, who came with us, and who had lived in that land for four years. Those people paint the whole body and the face in a wonderful manner with fire in various fashions, as do the women also. The men are [are: doublet in original manuscript] smooth shaven and have no beard, for they pull it out. They clothe themselves in a dress made of parrot feathers, with large round arrangements at their buttocks made from the largest feathers, and it is a ridiculous sight. Almost all the people, except the women and children, have three holes pierced in the lower lip, where they carry round stones, one finger or thereabouts in length and hanging down outside. Those people are not entirely black, but of a dark brown color. They keep the privies uncovered, and the body is without hair, while both men and women always go naked. Their king is called cacich [i.e., cacique]. They have an infinite number of parrots, and gave us 8 or 10 for one mirror: and little monkeys that look like lions, only [they are] yellow, and very beautiful. They make round white [loaves of] bread from the marrowy substance of trees, which is not very good, and is found between the wood and the bark and resembles buttermilk curds. They have swine which have their navels [lombelico] on their backs, and large birds with beaks like spoons and no tongues. The men gave us one or two of their young daughters as slaves for one hatchet or one large knife, but they would not give us their wives in exchange for anything at all. The women will not shame their husbands under any considerations whatever, and as was told us, refuse to consent to their husbands by day, but only by night. The women cultivate the fields, and carry all their food from the mountains in panniers or baskets on the head or fastened to the head. But they are always accompanied by their husbands, who are armed only with a bow of brazil-wood or of black palm-wood, and a bundle of cane arrows, doing this because they are jealous [of their wives]. The women carry their children hanging in a cotton net from their necks. I omit other particulars, in order not to be tedious. Mass was said twice on shore, during which those people remained on their knees with so great contrition and with clasped hands raised aloft, that it was an exceeding great pleasure to behold them. They built us a house as they thought that we were going to stay with them for some time, and at our departure they cut a great quantity of brazil-wood [verzin] to give us. It had been about two months since it had rained in that land, and when we reached that port, it happened to rain, whereupon they said that we came from the sky and that we had brought the rain with us. Those people could be converted easily to the faith of Jesus Christ.
At first those people thought that the small boats were the children of the ships, and that the latter gave birth to them when they were lowered into the sea from the ships, and when they were lying so alongside the ships (as is the custom), they believed that the ships were nursing them. One day a beautiful young woman came to the flagship, where I was, for no other purpose than to seek what chance might offer. While there and waiting, she cast her eyes upon the master’s room, and saw a nail longer than one’s finger. Picking it up very delightedly and neatly, she thrust it through the lips of her vagina [natura], and bending down low immediately departed, the captain-general and I having seen that action.
Some words of those people of Verzin:
For Millet
for Flour
for Fishhook
for Knife
for Comb
for Scissors
for Bell
Good, better
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maiz
hui
pinda
tacse
chigap
pirame
itanmaraca
tum maragathum
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