Fra Mauro Transcriptions Xcel
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Transscriptions of Notes & legends on Fra Mauro's Map of 1459 ID# Transcription Geographic Area Notes Reference Location The Maldives and, perhaps, Malé, the main city of the islands. Mentioned by Ibn Battuta, who writes "al Mahal (nom 1 Mahal Indian Ocean générique de toutes les îles)"; (Voyageurs arabes, p. 921), and again: "Ten days after embarking at Calecut we (03, n 25) arrived at the Islands called Dhibat-al-Mahal..." (Hobson-Jobson, p. 546). See 4. The inscription comes at the southernmost strip of Africa, opposite the indication of the Auster. It refers to the unknown expanse of the open ocean; cfr. Seneca, Suasoriarum liber, 1.1: "ovae ac terribilis figurae, magna etiam Oceano portenta, quae profunda ista vastitas nutrit; confusa lux alta caligine et interceptus tenebris dies; ipsum vero grave et defixum mare et aut nulla aut ignota sidera" (SENECA, Sententiae, p. 331); see also ADAMUS BREMENSIS, p. 497, where he speaks of "illam tenebrosam rigentis occeani caliginem, quae vix oculis penetrari valeret". The Arab term for the Atlantic Ocean was the "Sea of Obscurity" or the "Tenebrous Ocean" (Az-Zulmah); 2 Here begins the dark sea Indian Ocean see, for example, IDRISI, 4.1: "Personne ne sait ce qui existe au-delà de l'océan Ténébreux, ni n'a pu rien en (03, n 40) apprendre de certain, à cause des difficultés qu'opposent à la navigation la profondeur des ténèbres, la hauteur des vagues, la fréquence des tempêtes, la multiplicité des animaux et la violence des vents. Il y a cependant dans cet océan un grand nombre d'îles, soit habitées, soit désertes; mais aucun navigateur ne cherche à la traverser ni à y aller vers la haute mer; on y fait du cabotage, sans s'éloigner de la côte. Les vagues de cette mer déferlent tel un mur haut comme une montagne que rien ne peut fendre. Même s'il en était autrement, il serait impossible de les franchir". See also ABU SALIH, p. 159, n. 2. 3 Ocean Indian Ocean Indian Ocean. (03, O 15) Mahal, an island inhabited by Christians, where there is an archbishopric. On said island there is a lot of amber to be found, and 4 the pirates of these seas have their stronghold here, and here they Indian Ocean Generic reference to the islands of the Maldives; and perhaps, specifically, to Malé. See Mahal 1. (03, O 22) sell and store their loot. The place where the bishop lives is called Schorian Kilwa Kisiwani (Tanzania, 8° 55' S - 39° 30' E). In Fra Mauro's day Kilwa was one of the most important Arab-Persian 5 Chelue Tanzania trading colonies on the eastern coast of Africa; it was also the most southerly, and the hub for all trade from the (03, o 36) south; cfr. TIBBETTS (1971), pp. 208 e 394 The presence of islands such as those described by Fra Mauro is borne out by numerous (non-cartographical) Islamic sources. However, once again, Fra Mauro's own source here was Marco Polo: "Oltre il Chesmacoran a cinquecento miglia in alto mare verso mezodí vi sono due isole, l'una vicina all'altra trenta miglia: e in una dimorano gli uomini senza femine, e si chiama isola Mascolina; nell'altra stanno le femine senza gli uomini, e si chiama isola Feminina. Quelli che abitano in dette due isole sono una cosa medesima, e sono cristiani battezzati. Gli uomini vanno all'isola delle femine e dimorano con quelle tre mesi continui, cioè marzo, aprile e maggio, e ciascuno abita in casa con la sua moglie, e dopo ritorna all'isola Mascolina, dove dimorano tutt'il resto dell'anno facendo le loro arti These two islands are inhabited by Christians. In one of them, called senza femina alcuna. Le femine tengono seco i figliuoli fino a' dodici anni, e dopo li mandano alli loro padri; se ella è 6 Nebila, live the women; in the other, called Mangla, leave the men, Indian Ocean (03, P 10) femina la tengono fin ch'ella è da marito, e poi la maritano negli uomini dell'isola" (MPR, III, chap. 34; see Y, 2, p. who pass only three months a year with the women 404: "When you leave this kingdom of Kesmacoran, which is on the mainland, you go by sea some 500 miles towards the south; and then you find two Islands, Male and Female, lying about 30 miles distant from one another. The people are baptized Christians, but mantain the ordinances of the Old Testament; thus when their wives are with child they never go near them till their confinement, of for forty days thereafter. In the Island however which is called Male, dwell the men alone, without their wives or any other women. Every year when the month of March arrives the men all set out for the other Island, and tharry there for three months, to wit, March, April, May, dwelling with their wives for that space. At the end of those three months, they return to their own Island, and pursue their husbandry 7 Maabase Kenya? Mombasa (Kenya)? Mombasa (Zanzibar)? (03, P 33) 8 Island of Starna Indian Oc. See Queste do' isole etc. 6. (03, q 19) This is a third location for Mogadishu - see mogodisso 43 e mogadesur 379 - reflecting a general uncertainty about 9 Macdasui Somalia (03, q 25) the geography of this region. 10 Baraua Somalia Brava, Barawa (Somalia); cfr. IDRISI, 1.7. (03, Q 30) From the Arabic nabilah = "wonderful" (Y, 2, p. 405). The island appears with the same name in the world map drawn 11 Island of Nebila Indian Ocean up in 1321 by Pietro Vesconte and included in the Liber secretorum fidelium Crucis by Marin Sanudo the Elder (MCV, (03, R 10) v. 1, pp. 17 segg.). See also Queste do' isole etc. 6. The inscription is placed within the "island" of Diab. Perhaps it is to be seen in relation to the Kara, an ethnic (and 12 Kingdom of Chara Southern Africa (03, r 27) language) group now to be found in Tanzania. See the discussion in the introductory essay. The term "lach" (with its variants "lak", "lagh", "legh", etc.) indicates a seasonal watercourse, whilst the term "webi" 13 River Allech River of Africa refers to one that flows all year round. In the region between Kenya and Somalia there are numerous watercourses (03, r 30) (09, a 31) whose name derives from the term Allech - for example, Lak Dera, Lagh Bogal, Lak Bor, etc. The island of Madagascar; see the discussion in the introductory essay. See also Diab. Questo è el nome etc. 18, 14 Diab Southern Africa (03, R 35) Circa hi ani del signor 1420 etc. 19 and Nota che questo cavo de diab etc. 49. 15 Province called Lagiana Southern Africa This territory is placed at the centre of the "island" of Diab. (03, r 35) Within the "island" of Diab. In fact, the note refers to a loosely-defined region of Eastern Africa given over to the This area is called Sacara - that is, manna; and it abounds in all good production of sugar - for example, the island of Az Zuqar (Hanish Islands, Yemen). Sugar proper was often confused 16 Southern Africa (03, S 39) things, including gold in large quantities with so-called manna, a secretion of the manna tree (Fraxinus ornus) and of certain African species of tamarisks; cfr. MINTZ, p. 22. Just beyond these off-shore islands the shadows begin to appear, but 17 Atlantic Ocean. See Qui comenza el mar scuro 2. (04, m 6) within this cape they do not hinder navigators The island of Madagascar (see the discussion in the introductory essay). From Ramusio onwards, various theories have been put forward as to the origin and meaning of the term "diab"; Ramusio himself argued it referred to Madagascar (RAMUSIO, v. 3, p. 70) whilst LA RONCIÈRE, v. 2, p. 133 confused it with Philostorgius's island of Divus - see Isola diu 275 - and CERULLI (1935) identified it with some small islands in the Indian Ocean. Even when not obviously incorrect, such hypotheses appear rather unconvincing for various reasons. One should bear in mind what Fra Mauro himself has to say on the geopgraphy of Southern Africa: "Perché ad alguni par da nuovo che io parli de questa parte meridional, la qual quasi està incognita a li antichi, perhò io respondo che tuto questo desegno da sayto 18 Diab. This is the name of the island Southern Africa in suso io l'ò habuto da queli proprij che sono nasudi qui, che sono stà religiosi, i qual cum le suo man me hano (04, o 1) (03, o 40) desegnato tute queste provincie e citade e fiumi e monti cum li suo nomi etc." 98;. This observation makes it clear that his sources of information regarding this part of the continent were filtered through "Ethiopian" documents. Such being the linguistic and cultural framework from which he derived his information, one can argue for a relation between the term diab and djabarti, which derives from the Ethiopian agbert, "servant (of God)"; this word was in fact used to indicate the lands and inhabitants of southern Ethiopia under Islamic rule. The name may have been used generically by Fra Mauro to indicate all those areas of south-eastern Africa regarding which he had information - locations that were generally the site of Arab trading colonies (cfr. Encyclopaedia of Islam, v. 2, p. 355). To Around 1420 a ship, or junk, from India crossed the Sea of India towards the Island of Men and the Island of Women, off Cape Diab, The term çoncho (junk) appears to indicate that this is reference to a Chinese ship that has sailed well beyond between the Green Islands and the shadows.