مسالك الابصار في ممالك الامصار 2.135

2.135

قلت للشيخ مبارك: أهذا لقلة الغنم؟ قال: لا؛ ولكن عادة؛ وإلا فالأغنام لا تعد في كل قرية في الهند بالآلاف المؤلفة، والدجاج كل أربعة طيور فائقة بدرهم واحد بالمصري، وأما الحمام والعصافير وأنواع الطير فبأقل الأشياء ثمنا.

As to the price of provisions, wheat, which is the dearest article, sells for a dirham hashtkáni and a half the man. Barley costs one dirham the man. Rice, one dirham three-quarters the man; but some sorts of this grain are higher in price. Two mans of peas cost a dirham hashtkáni. Beef and goats' flesh are of the same price, and are sold at the rate of six sirs for a dirham sultáni, which is the quarter of a dirham hashtkáni. Mutton sells at four sirs the dirham sultáni. A goose costs two dirhams hashtkánis, and four fowls can be bought for one hashtkáni. Sugar sells at five sirs the hashtkáni, and sugar-candy at four sirs the dirham. A well-fatted sheep of the first quality sells for a tanka, which represents eight dirhams hashtkánis. A good ox sells for two tankas, and sometimes for less. Buffaloes at the same price. The general food of the Indians is beef and goats' flesh. I asked Shaikh Mubarak if this usage arose from the scarcity of sheep, and he replied that it was a mere matter of habit, for in all the villages of India there are sheep in thousands. For a dirham of the money of Egypt four fowls can be bought of the best quality. Pigeons, sparrows, and other birds are sold very cheap. All kinds of game, birds, and quadrupeds, are extremely plentiful. There are elephants and rhinoceroses, but the elephants of the country of the Zinjes are the most remarkable.