111 rings, with silk cloths below the waist and naked from the waist up, as usual, anointed with sandalwood and other perfumes. They put many flowers in their hair. Their heads are bare, except for their deep black hair which they tie up into a pretty bun. They wear a lot of gold in their pierced ears and are barefoot as usual. All the instruments and king’s players join them, and there are all sorts of muskets andfireworks. Many nairs also gather and walk with these women, who they are in love with. They wear theirfinest clothes and look most elegant. There are seven or eight elephants covered with silk cloths, from which many bells hang and large iron chains are thrown over them. They take an idol who they believe protects them and one of their priests takes it in his arms and sits with it on the largest elephant. And thus they go off in a procession, with a lot of playing, many games, andfiring of many muskets, with many jesters ahead of them. They continue until they reach a temple and then they take the idol down and put it with others that are already inside, where they hold many ceremonies. An inordinate number of people gather here to worship these idols and make sure they are seen by all. Every woman has her brass bowl there. It is flat and wide and full of rice, with many oil lamps above it, surrounded by a number of wicks andflowers; they carry on with their ceremonies until nightfall, before leaving for the king’s palace, which is where they will put the idol. The thousand women all walk in orderly fashion ahead of the idol, eight abreast, in perfect step with their bowls and burning oil-lamps. They keep such perfect time that not one takes a step before the other. Men accompany them, walking on the outside of them, putting betel in their mouths as they are always chewing it, and they carry their oil-lamps when needed, and the nairs too, who are in love with some of them, talk to them of their love and wipe the sweat from their faces; breasts and neck, and they fan them, as the women have their hands full. Many rockets and fire-bombs are fired during this procession, and they also
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