Pepper grows in this country; the trees which bear this fruit are planted in the fields, which surround the towns, and every one knows his plantation. The trees are small, and the pepper is originally white, but when they collect it they put it into basons and pour hot water upon it; it is then exposed to the heat of the sun, and dried, in order to make it hard and more substantial, in the course of which process it becomes of a black colour. Cinnamon, ginger, and many other kinds of spices also grow in this country. The inhabitants do not bury their dead, but embalm them with certain spices, put them upon stools, and cover them with cloths, every family keeping apart. The flesh dries upon the bones; and as these corpses resemble living beings, every body recognises his parents and all the members of his family for many years to come. These people worship the sun[256]. About half a mile from every town they have large places of worship, and every morning they run towards the rising sun; every place of worship contains a representation of that luminary, so constructed by enchantment that upon the rising of the sun it turns round with a great noise, at which moment both men and women take up their censors and burn incense in honour of this their deity. "This their way is their folly."[257] All the cities and countries inhabited by these people contain only about one hundred Jews, who are of black colour, as well as the other inhabitants. The Jews are good men, observers of the law, and possess the Pentateuch, the prophets, and some little knowledge of the Talmud and its decisions.