143 andflatter them. And had the Portuguese not discovered India, this city would have a Mouros king by now and have converted the whole of the Malabar to the Mohammedan idolatry. Four leagues upstream from this city, there is another one belonging to native Mouros called Kottayam; its inhabitants have a strong trade with those from Vijayanagara. Here and throughout the kingdom of Cannanore fine silver (sic) [pepper] grows, but it not abundant. There is a lot of ginger; cardamom; cherry plums; cassia fistula; turmeric, and shampoo ginger. In some large rivers in this kingdom, there are huge man-eating lizards, whose breath, when they are alive, smells like civet; in the scrub and bushes, there are snakes that the Indians call Nurcas and we call them hooded cobras, because they make a hood with their heads; they are venomous and if someone is bitten by one, they will not last more than two hours. Many charmers carry them alive in pans; bewitching them. Then they do not bite and they earn a lot of money with them, by putting them around their necks and showing them. The other kind of snake is much more venomous and is known to the Indians as a Mandali. It is so venomous, that when it bites someone, that person dies before he or she can say anything, dropping dead on the spot. The Kingdom of Calicut Leaving the kingdom of Cannanore and heading South, on the other side of the Dharmadam river, one comes to a town belonging to native Mouros called Tirãovamgate, where there are many vessels and shipping is busy. Beyond this town, there is a river in which a large Mouros town called Mayyazhi lies. It also has busy shipping, with lots of vessels and trade. Beyond this place, there is another one, also belonging to Mouros called Chombala, which also has a lot of shipping. The country lying inland from these three places is heavily populated by nairs, who are very good men and who do not obey a king and
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