They have certain abbeys in which are gods and goddesses to whom many young girls are consecrated; their fathers and mothers presenting them to that idol for which they entertain the greatest devotion. And when the monks of a convent desire to make a feast to their god, they send for all those consecrated damsels and make them sing and dance before the idol with great festivity. They also bring meats to feed their idol withal; that is to say, the damsels prepare dishes of meat and other good things and put the food before the idol, and leave it there a good while, and then the damsels all go to their singing and dancing and festivity for about as long as a great Baron might require to eat his dinner. By that time, they say the spirit of the idol has consumed the substance of the food, so they remove the viands to be eaten by themselves with great jollity. This is performed by these damsels several times a year, until they are married.

The reason assigned for summoning these damsels to these feasts is, as the monks say, that the god is vexed and angry with the goddess, and will hold no communion with her; and they say that if peace be not established between them things will go from bad to worse, and they never will bestow their grace and benediction. So they make those girls come in the way described, to dance and sing, all but naked, before the god and goddess. And those people believe that the god often solaces himself with the society of the goddess …

In Bizenegalia also, at a certain time of the year, their idol is carried through the city, placed between two chariots, in which are young women richly adorned, who sing hymns to the god, and accompanied by a great concourse of people. Many, carried away by the fervour of their faith, cast themselves on the ground before the wheels, in order that they may be crushed to death—a mode of death which they say is very acceptable to their god …

Thrice in the year they keep festivals of especial solemnity. On one of these occasions the males and females of all ages, having bathed in the rivers or the sea, clad themselves in new garments, and spend three entire days in singing, dancing, and feasting …

Their weddings are celebrated with singing, feasting, and the sound of trumpets and flutes, for, with the exception of organs, all the other instruments in use among them for singing and playing are similar to our own. They make sumptuous feasts both day and night, at which there is both singing and instrumental music. Some sing, dancing in a circle, after our manner; while others sing forming a line in single file, one after the other, and exchanging little painted rods, of which each person carries two, with those whom they meet on turning; the effect of which he describes as being extremely pretty …

… When it is morning, the king comes to this House of Victory (i.e. the temple), and betakes himself to that room where the idol is with its Brahmans, and he performs his prayers and ceremonies. Outside the house are some of his favourites, and on the square are many dancing girls dancing … And the king withdraws to the interior of his palace… (and) the courtesans and bayadères remain dancing in front of the temple and idol for a long time … Every Saturday the dancing girls are obliged to go to the palace to dance and posture before the king's idol, which is in the interior of his palace …

… (the women attached to the temples) are of loose character and live in the best streets in the city. It is the same in all their cities; their streets have the best rows of houses. They are very much esteemed, and are classed among those honoured ones who are the mistresses of the captains. Any respectable man may go to their houses without any blame attaching thereto. These women are allowed even to enter the presence of the wives of the king, and they stay with them, and eat betel with them, a thing which no other person may do, no matter what his rank may be.

In this city one sees a chariot having eight wheels, built up very high and gilded all over. At the top sits a huge, gilded copper idol, called Pagodo by the inhabitants. This chariot is provided with different sets of steps on which their Gioghi, or their priests and high priests, are seated, who serve the deity, and earn a living by this service. At the same time, certain unchaste women, who trade in their unchastity, sit on this chariot, and everything above their keep which is earned by their unchastity is given over to the idol, for which reason they are known as harlots of the pagoda …

… there is a certain secluded area where more than four-hundred harlots dwell, who, in order to have their share in the paradise after death, as they conceive it, share the proceeds of their whoredom with the idol. The origin of these many harlots comes about through their parents’ offering them to the temple, and training them up from their childhood to bring honour to the idol through this practise.

… And when the evening drew on, this chariot with its idols and all the aforesaid pomp was dragged to its usual place opposite the temple doors. And when they approached with it, all the harlots came out of the church, pàgoda sìrke or temple harlots, to dance before the gods, and with them their master, who is called baldor. He hires them out every day for money, both to the soldiers and the bachelors in the town, and this money is put into the treasure-house of the temple and is used for its upkeep; but the harlots get their keep out of the revenues of the temple, paid to them by its wardens.

The priest, who usually sits by the church door, and is called brameni, also goes out to greet the gods with great humility and obeisances, and then they are carried in, in great honour, by three picked men among them, the sons of the priest, with much beating of drums and loud blasts on the trumpets, and other music, and also with the dancing of the temple harlots in their finery, which between whiles, when they are not serving the gods, is hung up in the church. Their costume is as follows. They have, like others, drawers of gold brocade studded with precious stones and pearls and with much money, and a splendid kerchief’ costing a very great sum over their breast, with other rings and precious stones of surpassing value, placed about their body and taken off as is convenient. At last, their toil being over, every man returns to his own house.

These aforesaid temple maidens dance always before the gods every night from nine o’clock till midnight, and about the twelfth hour of the night, that is midnight, each of the twelve gods is carried up one street and down another, in a chariot, with torches, fireworks, trumpet-blowing and dancing, also the beating of drums and other such marks of honour. We who were standing on guard on the walls of the fortress used to hear this every night.

… messengers were sent before him, so that he might not come unawares. At once there was a great commotion in the town. All the temple harlots set to adorn and deck themselves in their usual finery, and all the fighting men of the town to make ready, also all the temple servants and priests. All this host with many drums and trumpeters went a little way down from the town along fair sands, which are as smooth as could be, and so beautiful when one is walking in the eye of the sun, that one grain looks like the most beautiful gold, and the next like silver. And when this chief priest, with a great company, crossed the river on an elephant, he reclining in a palanquin made of ivory, gilded and adorned with the most costly work, in the which he was carried, all this host began to display their usual pomp with drums, trumpets, dancing of harlots and sleights of hand exhibited by the soldiers, and this noise and rejoicing lasted all the way back to the town, until he reached the temple. Then all the drums were beaten, trumpets pealed and the women flung themselves about in strange dances, according to their manner, and as their baldor taught them. He has all authority over them daily, and has a resounding copper disc, with a clear note, in his left hand, which he struck with a very beautifully wrought steel hammer, and every stroke on it was a sign to them, what figure of the dance they should begin. Soon afterwards he [the bishop] entered the temple and was there a long while worshipping the gods …

… The next following day all the Indian merchants who lived in the city went out to the ship to welcome the General. And when he came on shore they had ordered all the church hussies and their baldor, and all the soldiers of Trangobarich to meet him as soon as he landed, dancing in their accustomed manner.

Every temple according to its size entertains a set of them, to the number eight, twelve, or more. They perform their religious duties at the temple to which they belong, twice a day, morning and evening; they are also obliged to assist at all public religious ceremonies; at private entertainments they come for payment [nautch]. They are reared to this life from their infancy; they are taken from any caste, and are not unfrequently of respectable birth; the life to which the daughter is destined brings no disgrace on the family; until recently in the native population these women were the only females who were allowed to learn to read …

In some places there exists two kinds of dancing girls, the dancing women differing from the pagoda dancers; these are distinguished as dausy and devadausy. Dancing girls when performing are accompanied by two men singers, who while singing also play the cymbals [jaulry]; one or more old women join in the song, and clap their hands during the performance; these are generally dancing girls who have given up the profession from age or other causes … Nautches are given at marriage ceremonies, at feasts, and on other public occasions; among zemindars are of almost daily occurrence; dancing girls frequently receive valuable presents in money, shawls, gold bangles, or rings, which are bestowed on them during performance. Devadausis are without exception prostitutes; they receive a fixed allowance out of the temple endowment [devadauyam]; some are the concubines of one of the priests or of some native of consideration, while others are common women, as are all who do not serve in the temple; they are not allowed to marry. Their male children usually call themselves moodellies … and pillays …, if in good circumstances; and have no difficulty in acquiring a proper position in society; the female children are generally brought up to the trade of the mothers; it is customary with a few castes to present their superfluous daughters to the pagodas with a view to their being brought up as dausies [bhogam jauty] …