ey will put one in, and heale vp the place in seuen or eight dayes.

The Bramas which be of the kings countrey (for the king is a Brama) haue
their legs or bellies, or some part of their body, as they thinke good
themselues, made black with certaine things which they haue: they vse to
pricke the skinne, and to put on it a kinde of anile or blacking, which
doth continue alwayes. And this is counted an honour among them: but none
may haue it but the Bramas which are of the kings kinred.

[Sidenote: The people of Pegu weare no beards.] These people weare no
beards: they pull out the haire on their faces with little pinsons made for
that purpose. Some of them will let 16 or 20 haires grow together, some in
one place of his face and some in another, and pulleth out all the rest:
for he carieth his pinsons alwayes with him to pull the haires out assoone
as they appeare. If they see a man with a beard they wonder at him. They
haue their teeth blacked both men and women, for they say a dogge hath his
teeth white, therefore they will blacke theirs.

The Pegues if they haue a suite in the law which is so doubtfull that they
cannot well determine it, put two long canes into the water where it is
very deepe: and both the parties go into the water by the poles, and there
sit men to iudge, and they both do diue vnder the water, and he which
remaineth longest vnder the water doth winne the sute.

The 10 of January I went from Pegu to Malacca, passing by many of the ports
of Pegu, as Martauan, the Iland of Taui, from whence commeth great store of
tinne, which serueth all India, the Ilands of Tanaseri, Iunsalaon, and many
others; and so came to Malacca the 8 of February, where the Portugals haue
a castle which standeth nere the sea. And the countrey fast without the
towne belongeth to the Malayos, which is a kinde of proud people. They go
naked with a cloth about their middle, and a litle roll of cloth about
their heads; Hither come many ships from China and from the Malucos, Banda,
Timor, and from many other Ilands of the Iauas, which bring great store of
spices and drugs, and diamants and other iewels. The voyages into many of
these Ilands belong vnto the captaine of Malacca: so that none may goe
thither without his licence: which yeeld him great summes of money euery
yeere. The Portugals heere haue often times warres with the king of Achem
which standeth in the Iland of Sumatra: from whence commeth great store of
pepper and other sp