from Chapter XXI: Of the uyll customs vsed in the Ile of Lamary, & how the erthe and the see ben of rownd schapp, be pref of the sterre that is clept Antartyk, þat is fix in the south

Fro þat contree go men be the see Occean & be many dyuerse yles & be many contrees þat were to longe for to tell of. And a .lij. jorneyes fro this lond þat I haue spoke of þere is another land þat is full gret þat men clepen Lamary. In þat lond is full grete hete & the custom þere is such þat men & wommen gon all naked. And þei scornen whan thei seen ony strange folk goynge clothed And þei seyn þat god made Adam & Eue all naked And þat noman scholde schame him to schewen him such as god made him, For no thing is foul þat is of kyndely nature . . . & þei wedden þere no wyfes, for all the wommen þere ben comoun & þei forsake noman And þei seyn þei synnen 3if þei refusen ony man . . . [I]n þat contree þere is a cursed custom, for þei eten more gladly mannes flesch þan ony oþer flesch And 3it is þat contree habundant of flesch, of fissch, of cornes, of gold & syluer & of all oþer godes. Þider gon marchauntes & bryngen with hem children to selle to hem of the contree & þei by3en hem And 3if þei ben fatte þei eten hem anon, And 3if þei ben lene þei feden hem till þei ben fatte & þanne þei eten hem. And þei seyn þat it is the best flesch & the swettest of all the world.

From that country go men through the ocean sea and through so many diverse islands and many countries that it would take to long too tell. And a 52-day journey from this land that I have already spoken of there is another land that is very large that men call Lamary [Sumatra]. In that land it is extremely hot and the custom there is such that men and women go all naked. And they scoff when they see any strange [i., e., other] folk going clothed, and they say that God made Adam and Eve all naked, and that no man should be ashamed to show himself as God made him, for nothing is foul that is natural . . . and they marry no wives there, for all the women there are held in common and they deny no man, and they say to refuse any man is a sin . . . But in that country there is a cursed custom, for they eat more happily man's flesh than any other flesh--and in that country there is an abundance of flesh, of fish, of grain, and of god and silver and of other goods. Merchants go there and bring with them children to sell to those who live there, and they buy them and if they are plump, then they eat them. And if they are scrawny, they feed them until they are fat, and then they eat them. And they say that it is the best flesh and the sweetest in all the world.