ABSTRACT
When the King o f Calicut wishes to eat he uses the fol lowing customs: you must know that four of the principal Brahmins take the food which the king is to eat and carry it to the devil, and first they worship him in this manner: they raise their clasped hands over his head, and then draw their hands towards them, still clasped together, and the thumb raised upwards, and then they present to him the food which is to be given to the king, and stand in this manner as long as a person would require to eat it ; and then the said Brahmins carry that food to the king. You must know that this is done only for the purpose of paying honour to that idol, in order that it may appear that the king will not eat unless the food has been first presented to Deumo.2
