One is straight away struck by a paucity of words availed to expound this chanced-upon poiesis born in crevasses of cultural hybridity and nourished in the no man's lands of ascetic transmutation

Interiorising Southeast Asian Histories

Of the tropical agricultural and horticultural goods that stimulated 15th century Southeast Asian sea trade both among herself as well as with the world, the black peppercorn or Piper nigrum was far and away king. This was followed by cloves, then nutmeg seed together with its outer covering called mace, then raw palm sugar and benzoin resin widely used in incense production. Next came a catalogue of forest materials like deerskins, sandalwood, sappanwood, camphor, lac, a whole compendium of medicinal herbs.
Question. 
Might friars have been among those aromatic cargoes?

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