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The Dream of India

(..1492'l
For lndia was named bY Noah, and ruowledge.

ir

king is called the King of

For Pandise is in India, and in Paradise is the living fountain from which the four great rivas fow.
In India
a

year has

wormmem

and wo wintcn'

In lndiathe land is aluYs green

Shadows there fall south in summerand nonh in

*inter

In lndia therc rre weDe thousand seveo hundred ;slands, some made entirely of gold, and some ofsilver.'l hete is an island whuc pcarls rrc sr
plcntifutthc peoplewerr
rro ckxhes,

butcover themselves in perrls

is a

ln India wine

is made

from the milk of palmtrces There

ree whose

fruitnakindofbread.
In India therc
Snakes
is

aworm which c"nnot livcwnhour fire'

streets there'

cnwl about in the

tzs

125

E!ror
In tndia they
sleep on mattreses vessels,

WETNBERGER

TbcDnanofhdia

127

tables

with silver

of silk on bcds of gold. They eat at and everyone, no mrtter of whar rank, wear

There is a race o peoplc thcrc whosc rrppcr lip is so large rhevcover rheir freswith n whcn rhcy slccp io rhc sun' And I saw a k;ngwrtkingwith rwo mcn bcforc him sounding trumpetsi shade him rwo men behiid h;m holdingcolorcd para.'oh ov" his head to rival;ngrhe other from the sun; and on erch side of him.r pancgvrist, each in his invention of pnises ro rhc king.

pearls and rings wirh preciousstones.

There is a race of people there with eighr toes on each foor and eighr fingers on each hand. Their hair is white until they are thirty, and theo it
bgins to tdrn black.

They havr no poor people thcrc,

ud

allstrangcrs arc wclcornc.

In India rhere is a fruit, lound side, each with adiflerent rure.

as a calabash'

which hd three fruirs in-

ln lndiacrabs rurn to srone

rbe minure rheyarecxposed ro

air

There is a race of people there who live on the smeil of an apple. And
when rhey tmvelthey musr rake an apple*ith rhem. forwirhour the smell

ln lndia rhey womhip the sun in a large tmPl' ouside of town Everv morning rt sunrise the inhabitants rush out ro this Placc and burn inccnsc to a huige idol which, in a marner I cannot otplain, iurni rround ind
makes agrmr noise.

of it they will die.

It wr' 'o hor the pmpl< n<,e' l<fr thei'
Homcs thcrc arc

h"u".

ln India they rcllthc futurc frcm rhc flight ofbirdr'

In Indii ifa minwants to burn himsclfalivc, it iscrusc for grcat r'ioi'lb"r n' rhg ine. H^ iJm,ly Prepares t ferst thcn ledr hinr on horsc or on of ro rhe .r ,, a;"'t. ri*. r,. rhrows himsclf inro rhe flamcs 'ound

tiw rnd wrctched, tu drcy rrc fctl wnh boiled nrci(

ln India they ha"e a clx. of philosophere devoted ro asronomy and the prediction of tuture e"en$. And I saw one among them who was three hundrcd ycrmold, r longcviryso rniraculous rhrr whc.everhcwcnr hc wrs
followed by children.
Therc are no

"i'.. -i.i.and

celebration. Threedavs larer hecomes back to make hh knownr then he is gonc forever.-

lxrwil!

'I'hc numln lndia it is very crowded becruse thcv havc no pestilencc of a million men or nore' ber of people there oceeds belief. I saw armies
had to hor ment balls hungdown to then knees' and the mcn r;e them up and apply spechl oinrmen ts'

liar

rhere.

Itwxso

In lodia it is the cusrom for foreign nader to stry at inns. There the food is cooked for rhe guest by the landlady, who also makes the bed and sleepswkh the strunger
There isa rrceofpeople whose ean hangdown to theirknces.

In Indie therc is a bird called a 3oa[oo] that flies in rhe nighr crving .g<,okrrck." Firc flashes from ns beak And if ir lands on a rmt somcone in
thar house

*iltdie

rhar nigh

ln lndia there is a founm;n guarded by deadly snakcs. ft is the orly water in ihat pLace. and if anyone wishes ro drink, he must take off all his
clothes, for the snrkes fear nudiry more rhan lire.

In li'd;i rhey rrc ,nu.h

rddict.d

l'ur t|c u'trfun|

oimes ere unknown among thcm'

r28

EL,or WE,NBErcr. ln lndir tlrc rlcld *c rnorrncd lbr by wonrcn, who strnrl arourd thc 'lherqrrr
And I srw Thcrc isa rrcc of barking pcoptc wirh rhc hcads ofdogs.

129

n"
a

rrkoos rhcc'

body, nalcd to thcweirt, and bcat thcir brcastr, crying 'hhs! Alas!"

rcmplc hrgh

,f'..J.i"

r.,g.

runbcrnl$ Pluycd.$out it. In India thc ships arc scwn liked..sscs, wirhout a nail or a piccc of iron in thcm, for thcre thc rocks ar sea draw iron to them, snd any ship made

p'* -*.

rhe

'n

r hill rnJ rn ir th*c w* 'olor

rnglc amcrhvv
a

of tirc' fla'hing from

disun(e rs the

wnh nails will crxh against the rccks.

There is a ru.eof horned people who grunt like pigs.

called Albenigarrs which is tull of diaand serPen$i no man can monds, but h swarms wkh venomous animak

ln lndir thcte is a mounuin

In India there arc wclls wirh hot wata

ar

night and cold during rhe day.

Thy clean their teth with toorhpicks.

,"-..n,, Bv rhen cur ro "*'.".*wevet'nIhrghermouorain'ndrtcelDinrinre\ .iii. *",,n. *** a,*b it with oxen whrch rhevthe warm andPie'e'' blecding invented' thev throw -*..'.i,n""r'i*j .r,, r'avethe slopes of Albenigaras sri* to ?iaTolds r'",i" .*. ua"*, 1,.,o flving ,i.'-*,"i ii". ",r,*.' .ome and snrtch the meat for food' rr"t off to
,,i,-' *r..," ,t", "irr U" 'rii t.rrr rhc 'tr1'crrrr' llcn rhrt have hllen from rhc itcsh'
l"lle.t
Lhe

rht

'' 'rrJ

diamonds

ln Iodi.r rhc pcoplc

te

bhck. 'l
as

hc blackcr ihcy rrc, thc

nxrc beautitul ln India thc $se mcn citr

son thcy eat i$ sccrcr' pnrdLrcc

rhey are thoughr to be. So

evcry lck rhcy

rake thn babiq rnd rub them

lrd

quell grcu wirdr'

li'r

rhir r('r-

wnh oil till rhey bccome as black arc black and thcn doils whitc.)

devils. (Except rhrr, in India, then gods

ln India th womcn
In lndia cach woman has many husbandr, cach wnh a spccific dury The wife livcs in one houc and hcr husbands in another And rhey divide up rhc day so rhar ach hsband lives in his wifek housc ar cerrain hours,
during which time no othcr husband may enter

wcar wigs

S.rn.

".'.'

*", f'**

"ith

of bhck' thc color thcv fnvor morr' pririrc'l lcavcs' brrt non' of thcm ptrint rh'ir
can lcrp into recs'

There is r ra.r

ol tearhelcd:pcople thcre who

have no beatls' but thcir

On onc day of the year thcy' tight innummble lmps of oil.

In Indiarherear rcs with lcaves so big 6ve or six men cm stand in the

In lndia the men

hrir

is long and thev tie

it

*r.i"..J.r'iU*ar"'ltAowoverthenbacks
ln lndia thcre or:t of it.
They *ash then
ing wnh their wives.
is a fish whose

ln this wav thcv go to war'

skin hso hard thar men make rheirhouss

fet fist

and then rheir faces. They wash before rleepThere k notasingle trilor in

lndir' forvervone
are

soes
a

nakcd'

In India they worship thc cow, and if onc kilh rhr cow he is immediately put to death. Some, panicularly on holidays, even take thc dung of thc cow and rub ir on rhcir forcheads instcad of pcrtume.

crowde't for thc people counrY' lcavc rheir own

ln Indir it

is verv

of

sort who are loarhc to

I3O

EIIOT V8INBIRGER

'rh. Dt.ad af

Indiz
for troLrcrs

l3l

ln lndia rhey worship rn idol, hJt man, half ox. And tle ;dol speaks rhrough i$ mouth and dcmands thc blood of fony virgins. In one cirv I saw them carry thciridol on a grcat chariot' and such wx thc fenor of thc peoplc thar many c.tt thcmselves undcr the wheels of the chariot' th:t thcy
maybccnmhcd todcath,
as

Thcy

use turbans

'thcy

bcat cYmbah wnh

I stic['

thcirSod requi.cs.

uscthc flcsh for food' lhcy [ill thcir prrcna whtn thev'rrcold rnd In lndia thcrc isa trec."omc high' whichbcrrs no fruir' anJ man JPr,nguag'' rhc trcc of moderrv For if r at i'ls branches' expanding again a,-"-'
th rec cub its

In lndia ihere is ar animat czlled a thinocerotbetause he has a horn over his nostril. And when he walks his horn iogs about, but when he becomes enraged by what he is Iooking at, his horn erects' and it brcoms so rigid he can uproot a tiee wirh it. His skin when it is dried is four finges thick and some people use n instead of non 1or then plows. and they plow rhe eanh

l. *.1. *toi ',.lrrJ, ;;;;;".1;,';;"",.""..

ln lndia the girls

"'a"

"p

with ir.
nce of people rhere who are only one foot iall' and mu$ aI' ways be on guard lest the srorla carry them away. They are adult at age four and old men at tight. There is
a

r.,, ",,.i I,,"""1",i ., ** n.,""" ilii.i "**'i-i' "i. bur stand straight out in front
l'crcocls run in dtc forcsr rhcrc'

it "r have such hrm fle'h rhar vou onnor 'quecr rh<v ll ler a mrn pinch them a muh '.rllcoin nrr hrns down r'l 'rrr' s'"

r'

"'"t"

In India thcrc arc

the nrrrkcr, h

roscs .wcrywherc-growirrg cv<tyvhcrc' firr srlc in

*mtlx mund rhc nccks of nrcn rnrll'rrnlctlin

tlrc

hrrir"l'

thc women. It seems they ould hardly livewithout roscs.

^".r .,*;. ;,;:'i";.'..rc

seemed

I !.w x

,.n,nl(,r{ "t $li'l hn'n/' *irh 'n iJol of *nr't xokl th< rubics' so rkirltirrrv rorrc rlrcv
rnadc

oi two

rcbewtchingme'

In lndia women sleep with rheir husbands in thc day' but at night thev go rc foreign men and slep wnh them and *en pay them for ir, for thev iike whtu people. And when a woman conceives a chitd bv a srranger the husbend pays him. If the child io born whire the stmnger reeive eighteen

They sit crosslepged on thf ground

ln lndia the*omen go
"

tenkrscxrur
Therc k

il it;s 6hckhcgcrs rothing

a race

of people with backward fect

In India there ar lons serpetts catted, cocko&ilkswhich tive on land bv dry and io the water at night. In the winter they do not eat, but lie there dming. They kil! men rnddevour rhem weeping.

r,cr r*S""r g"ts on thc cruppcr "^i *" t*iavc rothing on cxapt a tall up m thcir heds i",,i.,,",. ""u plr'( whne flo"c;s AnJ rlllhe meiilen' ur tht ili. ".i,." ".",-i..-,,n of them till thcv rcach Lhe house' rnJ rhcre rhc r,'"r rhev "i1..,"" ^, -,i i" r"n rnd whcn thcv ger uP in th' mornins i"i*,*-,*

r,."".

shc;s srt on nake<l' andwhen a *oman maries I knifc pointed ar rnd holds

i,'i"

go as naked as beforc

'loac

ln India there h a river known as the Arotrni, where the fish arc so abundmr they on be caught by hand. But if anvone holds thosc Ash in his
hrnd for a short time he is imrnediately anacked 6v fever As soon puts rhe 6sh down his health returns to him
as

mav go who cut off their own hea&' that thev oi ro Hcaven. Thev usca srangc lon

In India thcrc

are somc

"""xt

hc

132

Lror WErNBRrc,r

'thcDftd

of

tndit
is a dragon called a /ar7zs*, whose

ll3
berh c.n Pulve'ik
a

ln lndia il a mrn wrlks out of his housc and hcarc mmconc sncczc hc immcdiatcly gocs brck insidcanLldoes not lcavc-tur thcy think it is a bad

ln lndia thcre

rxk. Its rail can l<ill any animal uccpt the elephant ll is said rhat when a min rnd r b.rsilisk me.r, ifrhccreaturc sees the mu 6ar' the mandiesr but if rhc man secs thebrsilisk Frst, then drc creature will die.
In India whcn thcy dive for peads rhey mke theirwhc mcn whh them' for the 6sh wherc thc pearls are found are treacherous !o man' but thc wise men chant in such awayso as rostupeS rhe fish.
is so cold that water turns to crysul. and on thosc crvstah real diamonds grow. And the diamonds and the ctystals mateand multiplv and are

There are pcople wirh cars likewinnowing fans. and ar nighr they lic on
one and cover rhemselves wnh rhe other

In India the men wear female dress; they use cosmetics, wear earritrgs, arm{ings, golden sed-rings on the ring 6nger as well as on the toes of the
feet.

It

They ear alone. one by one, on a tablecloth of dung. Afrer eadng they rhrow rhe ptaresauy.

nourished by the dcw of heavcn.

Thy cohabir like a smke enmined by a vine, or rather, while their wiv.s move back and forrh { if rhey were plowing, the husbands remain

One morning a man of great starute and with a snowv whitc beard' naked from themistupwith only a mandc thrown abnut him and aknorted cord, appearcd at my lodgings. Hc prosr.rrcd hinxclf fult lcngth upon 'l'hcn hc reistl rimcs agrinst thc groLrnd.
rhe s.rntl, beadng his head rhrcc

qu.nriryof dry wood in its nesr, and sirrin8 upon n, sings so vettywith all its pipes rhat it attracrs and soothes all listeners to r marvelous dcgree. Th.n, ;sn iriDg ihc wood l,y frpping its wn,gs, n rtk,ws irsctf el bc t unx ro

ln India therc is a bird called whose beak has sevemt distind ^ pip.s wkh ntxny op!'tinss. whdr'm.ndaxfprcx(h.s. rhis bid .oflccrs . dcrth

l,i,tscif, and sccing nry barc llcr, untecl t,,

he told

kiss rhcm,

brr I rcfu*rl. Anrl

ne thar he came from an islend actoss the sea, rhat hc had bccn rnveling lir two ycars, rntl thrt hc had comc in mr'h of mc' l|r'lr his nrtachment to his idols wx so pure anddevout that God hr,.l spokcn to hnrr, showcd him my face. and told him ri:6nd me tharhe mav hc insnrctcd in d,c truc prh.
'Iherc are war;or women wirh silvcr weapons' for thev have no iron'
There arevomen with beards growing from rhen brects.

asked thcm abour

rhdi religion and

rhey replied, .\7e betieve in

Adam."

sh

In India the wife throws herself on her husbands funeral pyre, and will nor do so, rh people rhrowher there. It wu
so hot

if

And I saw, deep in thc ilrcrntr, Vene(iun drrcats h circularbn rnd gokl coins oie thesize of our ltorirs

words melted in lhen

scabbards, and the pens

in their

handles rurned to coal. There are headles men with eycs in rhcirsromrchs.

In India, rhey do not cut any hair of rhe bodv, not even the han of the geniols, for they believc that cntting that hait inaexs ornal desne and

In Indir when they travcl thcy like to havc omeone riding behind
Thcrc arc peoplc who walk rkout on all

tour.

t34 In rll emergencies rhcy nkc thc advicc of worncn.

Lrrol

\vErNuBroEr

'Itc Dtdn of

lndid

135

from ours' cxIn lndia thc birdr end animals arc completclv diffcrcnt
ccpr for onc: thc quail.

In Indiaon one day of thc ycar thcy sct up polcs likc th. m.stsofships pieces of bcautitul cloth, intcnrvovcn with gold. On rhc top of each pole sits a man of pious aspcct who prap for all. Thcsc mcn r.rc rssailed by the people, who pclt thcm with spoilcd orangcr, lcmons, and othcr rad< fruit, *nd the holy men murt bear it all with equanimiry

md hug from rhem

In India whcn a child is born people show particular attntioo to the man, not to rlc woman. Of r.ao childrcn they givc preftrcnce to the youngcr, for thcy maintain that thc cldcr ower his birrh to prcdominant lust, whilc thc youngcr o*es his origin to maturc rcflcction and e calm
procccding.

of pcoplc thcrc who havc only onc cnormou! foot, rnd whcn thcy went to rest in thc noonday sun, thcy lic on thck b.ckr snd r.ii. thcir foot likc a parsol. Thay are grcar runncn. Thcrc
is a racc

In Indi: rhcy lct thcir nails grow long, and glory in idlenc*.

Thcrc arc litdc pcoplc who havc no mouth, but only a small holc in thcir 6cc, and thcl, murt suck their food through a straw.
In India thry writc thc dde of
a

book at the end.

And I saw onc of thcir holy nen, strnding nude, frcing thc sun, cloaked with a partho skin, and I continucd on my way. Six.cn ycars lat.r I happnd to rctum to the samc placc-and there he w:s, unmoved. tt

rm o hot

6sh ar the bonom of the river bumed likc silk touchcd 6y

And I
cloud, but

saw fzr

off thc coast of that land a thing in the skn hugc x a black end movingtutcrrhan thc clouds.l asLcd whet thrrthing

could bc, and tlrcy sdd k is ih grcet bird Rokh. But thc wind was blowing ofr drc cor*, .nd th. Rokh wcnt with it, and I ncver got a closcr look.

ilrffi;;d--""r.h.lansuascar'd'dvcdrmmmrkswitt'n h' corumbus thousht ;";il;; ;,;., ,rqz r"dia' oioue' is *hcc
'"

inthe