en as bigge as a man in the waste, and many of
them are scant able to go. These people here be Malabars, and of the race
of the Naires of Calicut: and they differ much from the other Malabars.
These haue their heads very full of haire, and bound vp with a string: and
there doth appeare a bush without the band wherewith it is bound. The men
be tall and strong, and good archers with a long bow and a long arrow,
which is their best weapon: yet there be some caliuers among them, but they
handle them badly.

[Sidenote: How pepper groweth.] Heere groweth the pepper; and it springeth
vp by a tree or a pole, and is like our iuy berry, but something longer
like the wheat eare: and at the first the bunches are greene, and as they
waxe ripe they cut them off and dry them. The leafe is much lesser then the
iuy leafe and thinner. All the inhabitants here haue very little homes
couered with the leaues of the coco-trees. The men be of a reasonable
stature; the women little; all blacke, with a cloth bound about their
middle hanging downe to their hammes; all the rest of their bodies be
naked: they haue horrible great eares with many rings set with pearles and
stones in them. The king goeth incached, as they do all; he doth not
remaine in a place aboue fiue or sixe dayes: he hath many houses, but they
be but litle: his guard is but small: he remooueth from one house to
another according to their order. All the pepper of Calicut and course
cinamom groweth here in this countrey. The best cinamom doth come from
Ceylon, and is pilled from fine yoong trees. Here are very many palmer or
coco trees, which is their chiefe food: for it is their meat and drinke:
and yeeldeth many other necessary things, as I haue declared before.

[Sidenote: Or Calicut or Cananor.] The Naires which be vnder the king of
Samorin, which be Malabars, haue alwayes wars with the Portugals. The king
hath alwayes peace with them; but his people goe to the sea to robbe and
steale. Their chiefe captaine is called Cogi Alli; he hath three castles
vnder him. When the Portugals complaine to the king, he sayth he doth not
send them out: but he consenteth that they go. They range all the coast
from Ceylon to Goa, and go by foure or fiue parowes or boats together: and
haue in euery one of them fifty or threescore men, and boord presently.
They do much harme on that coast, and take euery yere many foists and boats
of the Portugals. Many of these people be Moores. This kings countr