Of the Kingedome of Ryboth.

FROM this yle men go another kyngdome that is called Riboth, and that is also under y^e great Caan. This is a good countrey and plentious of corne, wine & other things, men of this lande haue no houses but they dwell in tentes made of tree. And the principall citie of the countrey is all blacke made of black stones and white and all the streetes are paved with such stones and in the citie is no man so hardy to spil blood of man ne beast, for worship of a mawment¹ that is worshiped there. In that citie dwelleth the Pope of their lawe, that they call Lopasse, and he giveth all dignities & benefices that fall to y^e mawmet. And men of religion and men that haue churches in that countrey are obedient to him as men here to the pope. In this yle they haue a custome through all the countrey that when a mans father is dead they wil do him great worship, they send after all his friends, religious priests and many other, and they beare the body to an hill with great Joy and myrth, and whan it is there, the greatest prelate smiteth of his head, & laieth it upon a great plate of gold, or silver, and giveth it to his sonne and his son taketh it to his other friends, singing and sayinge many orysons,² and then the prestes and the religious men cut the flesh of³ the body in peces and say orysons, and the byrds of the countrey come thether, for they know well the custome, and they flye about them as they were egles and other birds that eate flesh, and the priestes cast the pieces unto them, and they beare it away a little from thence and then they eate it, and as priestes in our countrey sing for soules subvenite sancti dei and so forth, so those prestes ther syng with high voyce in their language in this maner wyse. Se and beholde how good and gracious a man this was, that ye aungels of God come for to fetch him & beare him into Paradise. And then thinketh y^e son of the same man that he is greatly worshipped when birds haue eaten his father, and where are most plenty of byrds, there is most worship. And then cometh the sonne home with all his friendes, and maketh them a great feast, the sonne maketh cleane his fathers head and giveth them drynke thereof, & the fleshe of the head he cutteth of, and giveth it to his moste speciall fryends, some a lyttle, & some a lyttle, for deynty. And in remembrance of this holy man that the birds haue eaten, the sonne doth make a cuppe of the scalpe⁴ & thereof drinketh he all his life, in remembrance of his father.

1: A puppet or doll, or mammet—an idol—probably so called as a contraction for Mahomet.

2: Prayers.

3: Off.

4: Skull.