Magellan's Men in Brunei

Brunei

10 leguas southwest of Palawan, we came to Borneo.

• 50 leguas from the tip is the port of Brunei.
• After entering Brunei, the holy body [i.e., St. Elmo’s fire] appeared to us through the pitchy darkness.

The next day, July 9, its Moro king Raja Siripada sent a very beautiful prau to us

• Its bow and stern were worked in gold.
• At the bow flew a white and blue banner surmounted with peacock feathers.
• Some men were playing on musical instruments [cinphonie] and drums.
• Two almadies came with that prau.
• Praus resemble fustas, while the almadies are their small fishing boats.

Their chiefs were 8 old men.

They entered our ships and presented us with:

• a painted wooden jar full of betel and areca (the fruit which they chew continually)
• jessamine and orange blossoms
• a covering of yellow silk cloth
• 2 cages full of fowls
• 2 goats
• 3 jarsful of distilled rice wine
• some bundles of sugarcane.

They did the same to the other ship, and embracing us took their leave.

The rice wine is as clear as water, but so strong that it intoxicated many of our men.

• It is called arach [i.e., arrack].

Six days later [July 15], Raja Siripada again sent 3 praus with great pomp, which encircled the ships with musical instruments [cinphonie] playing and drums and brass gongs beating.

• They saluted us with their peculiar cloth caps which cover only the top of their heads.
• We saluted them by firing our mortars without [loading with] stones.
• Then they gave us a present of various kinds of food, made only of rice.
  • Some were wrapped in leaves and were made in somewhat longish pieces
  • Some resembled sugar-loaves
  • Others were made in the manner of tarts with eggs and honey.

They told us that their king was willing to let us get water and wood, and to trade.

Seven of us entered their prau bearing a present to their king, which consisted of:

• a green velvet robe made in the Turkish manner
• a violet velvet chair
• 5 brazas of red cloth
• a cap
• a gilded drinking glass
• a covered glass vase
• 3 writing-books of paper
• a gilded writing-case

To the queen we gave:

• 3 brazas of yellow cloth
• a pair of silvered shoes
• a silvered needle-case full of needles.

To the governor, we gave:

• 3 brazas of red cloth
• a cap
• a gilded drinking-glass

To the herald who came in the prau we gave:

• a robe of red and green cloth, made in the Turkish fashion
• a cap
• a writing book of paper

To the other 7 chief men we gave:

• to one a bit of cloth
• to another a cap
• to all of them a writing book of paper.

Then we immediately departed for the land.

When we reached the city, we remained about 2 hours in the prau, until the arrival of:

• 2 elephants with silk trappings
• 12 men, each carrying a porcelain jar covered with silk in which to carry our presents.

We then mounted the elephants to the governor’s house while those 12 men preceded us afoot with the jars.

• We had supper there and slept on cotton mattresses, whose lining was of taffeta, and the sheets of Cambaia.

Next day [July 16], we went to the king’s palace on elephants, with our presents in front as on the preceding day.

• All the streets from the governor’s to the king’s house were full of men with swords, spears, and shields, for such were the king’s orders.
• We entered the courtyard of the palace mounted on the elephants.
• We went up a ladder accompanied by the governor and other chiefs, and entered a large hall full of many nobles, where we sat down upon a carpet with the presents in the jars near us.

At the end of that hall there is another hall higher but somewhat smaller.

• It was all adorned with silk hangings, and two windows, through which light entered the hall and hung with two brocade curtains, opened from it.

There were 300 footsoldiers with naked rapiers at their thighs in that hall to guard the king.

• At the end of the small hall was a large window from which a brocade curtain was drawn aside so that we could see within it the king seated at a table with one of his young sons chewing betel.
• No one but women were behind him.

Then a chief told us that we could not speak to the king.

• The chief would communicate it to a higher ranked person.
• That person would communicate it to a brother of the governor who was stationed in the smaller hall
• That brother would then communicate it through a speaking-tube through a hole in the wall to one who was inside with the king.

The chief taught us how to make 3 obeisances to Raja Siripada with our hands clasped above the head, raising first one foot and then the other and then kissing the hands toward him.

We did so as the method of the royal obeisance.

We told Raja Siripada that:

• we came from the king of Spagnia
• our king wanted to peace and permission to trade.

Raja Siripada agreed and said that we could take water and wood, and trade at our pleasure.

Then we gave him the presents, on receiving each of which he nodded slightly.

• To each one of us was given some brocaded and gold cloth and silk.
  • These were placed upon our left shoulders for a moment.
• They presented us with refreshments of cloves and cinnamon, after which the curtains were drawn to and the windows closed.

The men in the palace:

• were all attired in cloth of gold and silk which covered their privies
• carried daggers with gold hafts adorned with pearls and precious gems
• had many rings on their hands

We returned on the elephants to the governor’s house, 7 men carrying the king’s presents to us and always preceding us.

When we reached the house, they gave each one of us his present, placing them on our left shoulders.

We gave each of those men a couple of knives for his trouble.

Nine men came to the governor’s house with a like number of large wooden trays from the king.

• Each tray contained 12 porcelain dishes full of veal, capons, chickens, peacocks, and other animals, and fish.

We supped on the ground upon a palm mat from 32 different kinds of meat besides the fish and other things.

• At each mouthful of food we drank a small cupful of their distilled wine from a porcelain cup the size of an egg.

We ate rice and other sweet food with gold spoons like ours.

In our sleeping quarters there during those 2 nights, 2 torches of white wax were kept constantly alight in:

• 2 tall silver candlesticks
• 2 large lamps full of oil with four wicks apiece
  • 2 men snuffed them continually.

We went elephant-back to the seashore [July 17], where we found 2 praus which took us back to the ships.