EARLY ARAB GEOGRAPHERS.
fire, or to drown him in the water; so firmly are the Indians persuaded that they shall return to (life upon) the earth. In India they burn the dead.
The island of Sarandíb contains the mountain of precious stones, the pearl fisheries, etc,◌◌◌◌Precious stones, red, green, and yellow, are obtained from the mountain which rises over the island of Sarandíb. The greater part of the stones that are found are brought up by the tide. The water carries them into caverns and grottoes, and into the places where torrents descend. There are men appointed to watch the gathering of these stones on behalf of the king. Sometimes precious stones are dug from the depths of the earth, as in mines; these stones are accompanied by earthy matter, which has to be separated from them.
The kingdom of Sarandíb has a law, and its doctors assemble from time to time like as among us the men assemble who collect the traditions of the Prophet. The Indians go to the doctors, and write from their dictation the lives of the prophets, and the precepts of the law. There is in the island a great idol of pure gold, the size of which has been exaggerated by travellers. There are also temples which must have cost considerable sums of money. There is a numerous colony of Jews in Sarandíb, and people of other religions, especially Manicheans. The king allows each sect to follow its own religion.[1] Great licentiousness prevails in this country among the women as well as the men. Sometimes a newly arrived merchant will make advances to the daughter of a king, and she, with the knowledge of her father, will go to meet him in some woody place. The more serious of the merchants of Síráf avoid sending their ships here, especially if there are young men on board.
Among the Indians there are men who are devoted to religion and men of science, whom they call Brahmans. They have also their poets who live at the courts of their kings, astronomers, philosophers, diviners, and those who draw omens from the flight of crows, etc. Among them are diviners and jugglers, who perform most astonishing feats. These observations are especially applicable to Kanauj, a large country forming the empire of Jurz.
- ↑ [See Jaubert's Idrísí, p. 71.]
