_ 55 _ caverns. They eat ashes and if you ask them why they do so, they reply it is because that is what they are made of. They have a Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost(A). All of these hermits are ready and waiting for their leader to appear. It is said that when he comes, all of them will become Christians. When they need to eat, they approach the town with a horn and announce that they wish to eat. They must not enter, so they sound the horn until they are brought food. They do not keep what is left over for another day. On Master Gaspar’s arrival, the island suffered tremors on some 30 occasions four times a day. Because of this and because of the sins of the land, people became pious in a big way. It caused men to abandon their mistresses, plead for forgiveness on their knees in the churches full of people, and scourge themselves. When the sincere man, among others, was told to flog himself as penance, he did so. He entered the church, which was full of Sunday worshippers, and he wanted to reveal his sins, if they were not evident. He cried out, asking for mercy and scourged himself, drawing a great deal of blood. The vicar(B) ran to his aid. (A) Obviously, this is a reference to the Trimurti, made up of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. (B) His name was Antonio de Moura.
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