97 relatives; friends; men and women, who play much music and sing, with dancers and jesters leading the way. She is naked above the waist and is tightly wrapped in cotton cloths below the waist. And when they reach her door, with the ox cart standing ready, they lower the stake and push those hooks into her loins piercing her skin and flesh. They push a small dagger into her left hand and those on the other side raise the stake with a lot of shouting and wailing from the people, as she is left dangling from the stake; her blood trickles down her legs.She does not show any pain from this, instead she seems joyful, brandishing the dagger, throwing lemons to her husband. They take her like this to the temple where the idol to whom she made the sacrifice is, and upon reaching the door, they take her down and tend to her wounds. They hand her over to her husband, and according to her wealth, she gives great gifts and alms to the Brahmins and idols, and a great feast to all who have accompanied her. There is another idolatry practised in this kingdom, in which out of their beliefs, many women offer their daughters’ virginity to an idol. When they reach the age of twelve, they are taken with deep respect to the temple or monastery where the idol is, accompanied by their entire family, and they celebrate as if their daughters were getting married. Outside the temple or monastery door, there is a square pillar of a very hard black stone, which stands as high as a man. It is closed in by a wooden fence. The women light many oil lamps which burn through the night and they cover the wooden palisade with silk cloths, to keep them out of everyone’s sight. They place another stone of some two feet in height on top of the pillar. It has a hole in the middle, in which they place a very sharp stick. The mother and her daughter go inside the fence with some female relatives. After a grand ceremony, which I know little about because it takes place inside the enclosure, the girl loses her virginity with that stick, spilling it over those stones, and that brings an end to their idolatry.
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