The king

The king adorns himself like a woman wearing necklaces around his neck and bracelets on his forearms. When he sits before the people, he puts on a high cap decorated with gold and wrapped in a turban of fine cloth.

The court of appeal is held in a domed pavilion around which stand 10 horses covered with gold-embroidered materials. Behind the king stand 10 pages holding shields and swords decorated with gold. On his right are the sons of the vassal kings of his country wearing splendid garments and their hair plaited with gold. The governor of the city sits on the ground before the king and around are ministers seated likewise. At the door of the pavilion are dogs of excellent pedigree that hardly ever leave the place where the king is, guarding him. Round their necks, the dogs wear collars of gold and silver studded with a number of bells of the same metal.

The audience is announced by the beating of a drum which they call daba, made from a long hollow log. When the people who profess the same religion as the king approach him, they fall on their knees and sprinkle dust on their heads, for this is their way of showing respect for him. As for the Muslims, they greet him only by clapping their hands.