115 and a gold one on the right. Four canopies on masts are taken ahead of him, two of fine white muslin, and two of finely embroidered and tasseled silk; a parasol on a very tall cane is also carried next to him to shade him from the sun. All his nephews and governors, and officials walk with him, with bare swords in their hands and carrying shields. They all walk slowly and orderly, watching many games, jesters; acrobats, and musketeers who go along celebrating. If the king goes out at night, the same pattern is followed, but he takes four large iron lamps on poles, like our cressets; they are as wide as an arm; a water-basin, filled with oil, with thick wicks, two in front and two behind. The King of Calicut has appointed a governor in the city itself. He is called Talixe. He is a nair withfive thousand nairs under his command, whose salaries he pays from his own very large income; he holds judicial power, but not so much as to not inform the king of everything. There are many castes of people, and many differences in justice, and those that are brabars or below, all of whom I will discuss later, are said to be slaves of the king, nairs and lords. If a lowly person commits a crime of theft, or if the victim complains to the governor, the latter has him arrested; and if he is a gentile and confesses or is caught red-handed, they take him to a place to carry out justice, where there are some very long sharp sticks and a small board that they push them through. They cut off his head with a sword there and then and they impale him through his back on that stick, which pokes over two feet through his stomach, and they put his head on another stick; if the criminal is a Mouros, then they take him to a large open space and they cut him down there. And the stolen goods are kept by the local governor, with the rightful owner not gaining any benefit, and because the law has served justice on the miscreant, the owner loses the stolen goods; if they find the stolen goods and the thief runs away,
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