95 The ashes from these ceremonies are tossed into flowing rivers. They do this all quite unashamedly, as it a widespread custom, and those that do not do it are considered to be dishonourable and their families shave their heads and expel and disown them out of great shame. And if they want to show some favour to those that did not do this, they send them still young to temples, where they can earn some money for the household with their bodies. There are many such temples who have over a hundred of these women of noble birth and some unmarried ones who come here out of choice and are made to play and sing for the idols at certain times of day, and in the rest of their time they earn money for them. This despicable habit of burning themselves is so common and honourable among them, that when the king dies, four to five hundred women burn with him out of choice. So they dig a pit and make a pyre big enough for all those want to throw themselves on it, and they also prepare a lot of sandalwood, agarwood, brazilwood, aloes and plenty of sesame oil and butter to stir theflames. Some of these women suddenly throw themselves on to the pyre, when the king’s body is burning, others observe the ceremonies I have mentioned, and the rush to burn with him is quite astonishing; and many of the men closest to him also burn themselves. These people eat meat; fish and other victuals, except beef, which is forbidden by their perverse idolatry. They have another caste known as Brahmins, who are their priests and temple leaders. They do not eat any living creature, take only one wife, and should she die, they never re-marry; they wear three threads over their shoulders as a symbol of their standing; they have a great deal of freedom and privileges over others, and they cannot be killed regardless of what they might do. The kings, lords and respectable people give them generous alms, with which they keep themselves; many of them have property, others live in temples like monasteries, which have excellent revenue. Some of them have healthy appetites
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