The nauigations, peregrinations and voyages, made into Turkie by Nicholas Nicholay Daulphinois, Lord of Arfeuile, chamberlaine and geographer ordinarie to the King of Fraunce conteining sundry singularities which the author hath there seene and obserued: deuided into foure bookes, with threescore figures, naturally set forth as well of men as women, according to the diuersitie of nations, their port, intreatie, apparrell, lawes, religion and maner of liuing, aswel in time of warre as peace: with diuers faire and memorable histories, happened in our time. Translated out of the French by T. Washington the younger.

Of the wrestlers of the great Turke called Gurelsis or Pleuianders.

Chap. 10.

OF all the games anciently exercised in Asia and Grecia, the Turke hath obserued the Palester of the Athletes, which is too say, the wrestling, being very neare like vnto the old custom of the Greekes, Asians, & Romans, for the great Turks for one of his accustomed recreations, entertaineth in wages o. men, strong, big set, and full of flesh, and sinewes, which are of diuers nations, but the most part Moores, Indians, or Tartares, by the Turks called Peluianders or Guressis,* 1.1 which signifieth wrest∣lers, who at all times and as often as it shall please him to take therein his pleasure, do wrastle before his person two and two with force of armes, beeing bare on all their members, sauing that they weare breaches of leather, gathered & made fast vn∣der the knee, annointed with oyle, as al the rest of their bodies likewise is, according to the auncient custome of the Romans to the intent to giue or to take the lesse hold the one of the o∣ther,* 1.2 by reason of the slipperous glyding of the oyle dropping vpon the dead leather or quick skinne, whereby it commeth to passe, that when they are wel chafed, oftētimes for lack of good hold with the hands, they with their teeth do fasten vppon the flesh of the one & other, like vnto the fighting of the mastiffes with the Beares & wild Buls, & in that order they doe bite and with their teeth nip one another, in y^e nose, eares, or any other part of the bodie sticking out, or wher any hold is to be fastned on, so as oftētimes they do carry away a peece of the flesh with their teeth. The wrestling being thē ended either through vic∣torie or a signe of abstinence giuen, and to wipe of the sweate, they cast about their shoulders a cloath of blew cottē, checked according to their fashiō. And such is their forme, order, appar∣rel and maner of their combat in wrestling, but when they are wythout the barres, and at common rest, they are clothed with a long gowne, which they do cal Dolyman, girded with a large girdle of silke, according to their maner, their head being co∣uered with a bonnet of blacke veluet, or with the fur of a yong lamb, which they cal Taquia, hāging vpō on of their shoulders

after the fashion of the Georgians or the gentlemen of Polonia but that it is more euen & straight, they do say themselues too be impolluted of body & obseruāts of virginitie, which in their opinion (being not vnreasonable) doeth the longer preserue & maintaine their bodies in strength: and what forces with their bodies abandoned soeuer they doe, yet are they not therefore seruants or slaues, but of free condition & for their necessarie prouision haue of the great Lord ten or twelue Aspres a daye. Of these like wrastlers strong & big set men I haue seen a great many in Alger in Barbary,* 1.3 which dayly about vhe going down of the Sun, doe present themselues in the place neare vnto the hauen before the great Mosquee making place for al commers and there do wrastle after a fine & strong maner for to make a shew & pastime vnto the assembly & beholders, which therfore do giue vnto them a peece of money beeing fouresquare in the moorish speech called Giudith, being worth about 4. deniers of our money. The Prester ••an king of Ethyopia hath also of these wrastlers, as lately hath written Francisco Aluarez in hys voyage of Ethyopia, whereby is to be knowne that the people beyond the South & East seas do as yet obserue the Palestres, & exercise of wrastling after the antiquitie of the Olmipicke games,* 1.4 instituted by the valiant Hercules, whiche in the same countrie of Mauritania and Afrike challenged and ouercame with wrastling the mighty Giant Antheus: & neuertheles Lac∣tance firmian in his first booke, doth attribute the first inuen∣tion of the Palestre vnto Mercurie as likewise he doth the play∣ing on the fiddle.

In these figures following I haue liuely painted out vnto you these Peluianders (as I haue seene them in Constantinople) in the forme as they wrastle, and in the other figure aswell of their making redie to the wrastlyng, as after the game, and finally of their ordinarie appparrell, whiche they weare without the exercise Athletique: and likewise haue represented vntoo you the draught of three drunkardes, who after they haue well tippled themselues wyth their drinke, which they call Sorbet, or after they haue eaten of theyr pouder Opium, goe howlyng about the stre••tes like vnto Dogges, and then it is euill for the Christians too bee neare them, because of the perill they shoulde be in of being well beaten.

[illustration]

Pleuianders wrestling.

[illustration]

Pleuianders wrestlers.

[illustration]

The Drunkardes.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Pleuianders are Moores, Indians, or tartares.
• * 1.2

  VVhy wrest∣lers do anoint themselues.
• * 1.3

  many wrest∣lers in Alger
• * 1.4

  Inuention of wrestling.