Asia -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800; Mongols -- History; Polo, Marco, 1254-1323?; Voyages and travels
[The Wo-nhi are also called Ngo-ni, Kan-ni, Ho-ni, Lou-mi, No-pi,
Ko-ni and Wa-heh; they descend from the southern barbarians called
Ho-nhi. At the time of the kingdom of Nan-Chao, the Ho-nhi, called
In-yuen, tribes were a dependence of the Kiang (Xieng) of Wei-yuen
(Prefecture of P’u-erh). They are now to be found in the Yunnanese
prefectures of Lin-ngan, King-tung, Chen-yuen, Yuen-kiang and
Yun-nan. (See _Devéria_, p. 135.)—H. C.]
We give one of M. Garnier’s woodcuts representing some of the races
in this vicinity. Their dress, as he notices, has, in some cases,
a curious resemblance to costumes of Switzerland, or of Brittany,
popular at fancy balls.[1] Coloured figures of some of these races
will be found in the Atlas to Garnier’s work; see especially Plate
35.
NOTE 2.—All the French MSS. and other texts except Ramusio’s read
15. We adopt Ramusio’s reading, 25, for reasons which will appear
below.
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[1] There is a little uncertainty in the adjustment of names and
figures of some of these tribes, between the illustrations and
the incidental notices in Lieutenant Garnier’s work. But all the
figures in the present cut certainly belong to the tract to which
we point as Anin; and the two middle figures answer best to what is
said of the _Ho-nhi_.
CHAPTER LVIII.
CONCERNING THE PROVINCE OF COLOMAN.
Coloman is a province towards the east, the people of which are
Idolaters and have a peculiar language, and are subject to the Great
Kaan. They are a [tall and] very handsome people, though in complexion
brown rather than white, and are good soldiers.{1} They have a good
many towns, and a vast number of villages, among great mountains, and
in strong positions.{2}
When any of them die, the bodies are burnt, and then they take the
bones and put them in little chests. These are carried high up the
mountains, and placed in great caverns, where they are hung up in such
wise that neither man nor beast can come at them.
A good deal of gold is found in the country, and for petty traffic
they use porcelain shells such as I have told you of before. All these
provinces that I have been speaking of, to wit Bangala and Caugigu
and Anin, employ for currency porcelain shells and gold. There are
merchants in this country who are very rich and dispose of large
quantities of goods. The people live on flesh and rice and milk, and
brew their wine from rice and excellent spices.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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