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Title: Travels in southern Abyssinia, Vol. II (of 2) : through the country of Adal to the kingdom of Shoa
Author: Johnston, Charles
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Travels in southern Abyssinia, Vol. II (of 2) : through the country of Adal to the kingdom of Shoa" ***
[Illustration: Frontispiece
C. Johnston, del. T & E Gilks, Lithʳˢ
VIEW OF ABHIBHAD LAKE, FROM SANKARL.
J. Madden & Co. Leadenhall Sᵗ.]
TRAVELS
IN
SOUTHERN ABYSSINIA,
THROUGH
THE COUNTRY OF ADAL
TO
THE KINGDOM OF SHOA.
BY
CHARLES JOHNSTON, M.R.C.S.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
J. MADDEN AND CO., LEADENHALL STREET.
M DCCC XLIV.
MACINTOSH, PRINTER,
GREAT NEW STREET, LONDON.
CONTENTS TO VOL. II.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Staying at Farree.--Alarm of Galla attack.--Return to
Kokki.--Women of Kafilah carried into slavery.--Five
Gallas killed.--Triumph of Hy Soumaulee
victors.--Return to Dinnomalee.--The Wallasmah
Mahomed.--Seizure of the letters.--Return to Farree. 1
CHAPTER II.
Detained at Farree.--No news from Ankobar.--Fear all
is not right.--Escape from my confinement.--Reach
Garcia Mulloo.--Followed by officers of
Wallasmah.--Compromise matters.--Return to
Farree.--Brutality of Wallasmah.--Planning escape to
the coast with Hy Soumaulee.--Arrival of Mr. Scott
from Ankobar.--Chief cause of my detention. 12
CHAPTER III.
Staying at Farree with Mr. Scott.--Both placed under
parole.--Description of the houses of Farree.--Of
the flour mill.--Some remarks upon the origin of
the Amhara.--Dr. Prichard upon identity of the
Amhara with the Automali of Herodotus.--Physical
characters of the people.--Interview with the
Wallasmah.--Saltpetre rock.--Province of Efat.--Take
leave of Escort.--Tyrannical conduct of the Wallasmah. 24
CHAPTER IV.
Leave Farree for Ankobar.--Description of the
road.--Aliu Amba.--Road to Ankobar.--Incidents of the
journey.--Vale of the Dinkee river.--Valley of the
Airahra.--Effect of denudation.--Ankobar.--British
Residency.--Start for Angolahlah.--Ascent of
the Tchakkah.--Road to Angolahlah.--The town of
Angolahlah.--Meet superior officers of Mission. 48
CHAPTER V.
Staying at Angolahlah.--Waterfall into the Tcherkos
river.--Difficulty in obtaining the stores.--Journey
to Ankobar. Female slaves of the Negoos.--Belief
of the Shoan Church.--Father Tellez.--Vegetables
introduced into Shoa. 67
CHAPTER VI.
Return to Aliu Amba.--Visited by Hy Soumaulee.--Complain
of being cheated by Ohmed Mahomed.--Christians
of Abyssinia and of the Greek Church generally
forbidden the use of tobacco.--Miriam’s house and
furniture.--Islam contempt for Christianity.--Evening
walk.--Begging monks. 85
CHAPTER VII.
Residence in Aliu Amba.--Settlement with the
Hy Soumaulee.--Proceed to Ankobar.--Obtain
the requisite sum.--Relapse of intermittent
fever.--Occupation.--Geographical information.--Course
of the Gibbee.--Character of table land of Abyssinia. 99
CHAPTER VIII.
Water cure.--Nearly killed by it.--Ordered to leave
Shoa.--Proceed to Angolahlah.--Courteous treatment of
the officers of the Negoos.--Entertainment.--Remarks
upon the character of Sahale Selassee.--The Mahomedan
religion. 126
CHAPTER IX.
Court dress.--Palace of Angolahlah.--Interview
with Negoos.--Memolagee.--Invited to house of
Tinta.--Supplies from palace.--Return to Ankobar. 148
CHAPTER X.
Stay with Tinta.--Proceed to Ankobar.--Remain for the
day at Musculo’s house.--Fever.--Abyssinian supper
party.--Honey wine.--Importance of salt as an article
of food. 162
CHAPTER XI.
Leave Ankobar.--Arrive in Aliu Amba.--Musical
party.--Durgo.--Arrangements with Tinta.--Remarks upon
internal Government of Shoa.--The authority of Sahale
Selassee.--His virtues. 178
CHAPTER XII.
Study of Amharic.--Remarks upon wet season in
Abyssinia.--Sad prospect of recovery.--Accident to
Walderheros.--Books in the Amharic language.--Messages
from the Negoos.--Inconvenience of living with
Miriam.--Require a house.--Expenditure.--Choosing a
residence. 192
CHAPTER XIII.
Custom of giving Memolagee.--Sugar
boiling.--Success.--Gratify the Negoos.--Receive
house.--Claims of kindred.--Remarks upon intestate
property.--The two brothers of late owner.--Removal to
new residence. 203
CHAPTER XIV.
Division of time.--My new servant, Goodaloo.--Thatching
house.--Islam assistants.--Kindness of Tinta.--Finish
roof.--Feast upon the occasion.--Remarks upon practice
of eating raw meat. 215
CHAPTER XV.
Market day in Aliu Amba.--Toll of wares.--Court of
Piepoudre.--Appearance of the market.--The salt
money.--Character of the different vendors.--The
prices of several articles.--No Jews in Abyssinia. 227
CHAPTER XVI.
Visit from Sheik Tigh.--Strange news.--Arrival of
Abdoanarch.--Situation of my house.--Wallata
Gabriel.--Baking bread.--Vapour bath.--Cure for
hernia. 247
CHAPTER XVII.
Determine to be cupped.--Mode of operating.--Medical
knowledge of the Shoans.--Surgery.--Remarks
upon their diseases and their remedies.--The
cosso tree.--Mode of using the cosso.--Other
curative processes.--Manufacture of gunpowder.--
Success.--Health improving. 262
CHAPTER XVIII.
Start for Myolones.--Account of the road.--Effect of the
earthquake.--Dangerous passage.--Ford the Gindebal
wans.--Dubdubhee.--Reach Myolones.--Remarks upon
taking possession of the land. 278
CHAPTER XIX.
Examination of the gunpowder.--Tinta in disgrace.--The
remedy.--The scribes, or dupteraoitsh.--Their
mode of writing.--Audience with the Negoos.--
Memolagee.--College of priests.--My new residence.--
Night of storm.--Uncomfortable situation.--Weather
clears up. 289
CHAPTER XX.
Abyssinian dress.--Visit to the Negoos.--Inspection of
firearms.--Congratulated on my reception.--Return
to Aliu Amba.--A troublesome companion.--Pleasant
beverage.--Market day.--Numerous visitors.--Home
manufacture of cloth. 303
CHAPTER XXI.
Spinning cotton.--Of police force of Shoa.--Mode of
administering justice.--Priest lawyers.--Politics
of Shoa.--French intrigues.--Different kinds of
cotton.--Process of cleaning it.--Instruments
used.--Return from market. 314
CHAPTER XXII.
Carpentering.--Fit up a study.--Worshippers of
demons.--Saroitsh.--English superstition.--Priestly
benediction.--Tabeeb monasteries.--Of their
character and discipline.--Turning-lathe.--Drinking
hours.--Female ornaments.--Sumptuary edict. 325
CHAPTER XXIII.
Wallata Gabriel dismissed.--Reinstated.--Comparison
of different races of men.--Of human varieties.--
Of the process of brewing.--Abyssinian ale.--
Ingredients.--The horn of plenty. 338
CHAPTER XXIV.
Visited by Ibrahim.--Map of the Hawash.--Its effect
upon table land of Abyssinia.--Future juncture
with the Abi.--Its early tributaries.--Effects of
denudation.--Zui lake.--Popular tradition.--Abyssinian
geographical work.--Galla tribes. 351
CHAPTER XXV.
No prospect of recovery.--Slaughter of the goat.--
Manufacture of skin-bags.--The process.--Farming.--
The bark employed.--Morocco leather.--Carcase
butchers.--Process of cutting up meat. 364
CHAPTER XXVI.
Invitation to visit the Negoos.--Karissa and his
firelock.--Some account of the countries to the
south of Shoa.--Distances.--A reputed cannibal
people.--Other absurd rumours.--Probable truth.--Of
the Doko: not dwarfs but monkeys. 375
CHAPTER XXVII.
Conversation with Karissa.--Of the origin of the
Galla.--Of the word Adam.--Of Eve.--Phœnician
history.--Sanchoniathon and Moses.--Of the religion of
the Galla.--Of Waak.--Connexion with Bacchus.--Reward
of enterprise.--African ethnology.--Of the armoury
of the Negoos.--Different kinds of guns.--Of the
ammunition. 391
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Message from the Negoos.--Visit Ankobar.--The Monk
Bethlehem.--Conversation.--Bad weather.--A tattooing
operation.--Interview with Negoos. 403
CHAPTER XXIX.
Conversation on medical matters with the Negoos.--Of
Guancho.--The State prison.--The construction of
its defences.--Good medicine for captives.--Its
probable effect.--Of the Gallas, their invasion of the
Gongas.--Abyssinian slaves.--Conclusion. 419
ERRATUM.
Page 106, 14 lines from bottom, _transpose_ the words _Apis_ and
_Serapis_, with _Abi_ and _Assabi_ of the next line.
TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN ABYSSINIA,
ETC.
CHAPTER I.
Staying at Farree.--Alarm of Galla attack.--Return to
Kokki.--Women of Kafilah carried into slavery.--Five
Gallas killed.--Triumph of Hy Soumaulee victors.--Return
to Dinnomalee.--The Wallasmah Mahomed.--Seizure of the
letters.--Return to Farree.
_May 23._--I had scarcely opened my eyes, after the first night’s rest
in Abyssinia, when a heavy knocking at the door, and repeated calls
for me, made me get up in a great hurry to know the reason of such
a disturbance. I found the escort all in an uproar, and they pushed
past me into the house for their weapons, where they had been safely
deposited under my care, and which, as soon as they were seized, away
my friends ran, one after another, in the direction of Dinnomalee.
Ohmed Medina, who had suddenly sprung up from somewhere, sat upon his
mule in the market-place, and was shouting for me to come, whilst
one of his slaves was hastily saddling my mule also. I could not make
out what was the matter, but as the word “Galla” was in the mouth of
every one, I suspected that an attack had been made upon the stores
during the night by those marauders, and began to be afraid that I had
calculated too surely upon their being safe when at Dinnomalee.
Getting myself ready as quickly as possible, I was soon galloping along
the road, following Ohmed Medina. We stayed not a moment at Dinnomalee,
but a look satisfied my greatest anxiety; for the stores were all safe,
and I cared for nothing else, so with a mind much easier, I called
out to Ohmed Medina, for the first time, to ask what, and where the
disturbance was. He only turned his face towards me, as he called
out “Dophan,” and “Galla,” urging his mule on as he spoke, as if he
wished he had wings to fly at once to the little town of half-civilized
Wahamas, we had passed yesterday on this side of Kokki. We overtook,
and gradually left behind us, all the Hy Soumaulee, who, in a
far-apart, straggling line, were hastening to the rescue. As we came up
to each of these, a vain attempt was made to keep alongside of us, but
our pace was too good, and we entered alone the small densely-wooded
valley, then along the deep ravine, and at length pulled up on the
camping ground we had left yesterday morning, when the leading camels
of the Hy Soumaulee Kafilah came in sight, and where they had halted
for the night; the greater part of the Tajourah camels alone coming on
after us to Dinnomalee the same day.
On our arrival, preparations were being hastily made by the Kafilah
to proceed on the march to Dinnomalee; all seemed conscious they had
stayed in this place a night too long, and anxious to get away before
any other mishap should happen. Some busy talkers surrounded Ohmed
Mahomed and Ebin Izaak, who had come in a few minutes before us, and
were listening to details of the deeds of blood, the evidences of which
were five still bleeding bodies, that lay naked in different places
upon the little green sloping bank that rose from the stream, and upon
which the encampment stood.
Carmel Ibrahim and another of my escort were busy paring the skin of
a goat, just killed, into the little twisted “symbil,” or ornaments,
with which it is usual to adorn the head, wrists, ankles, and also the
weapons of warriors who have slain a foe. Whilst thus employed, they
sung in a sharp falsetto voice some song of triumph, their voices being
elevated considerably, as every fresh comer from Dinnomalee arrived.
Above us, to the left, the inhabitants of the little town were making
sad lamentations, and loud sobbing cries over the dead body of one of
their people who had been killed in the engagement.
From what we were now told, it appeared that a little before sunrise,
several women of the Kafilah had gone down to a place at some distance
from the camp, where the little stream spread out into a pool, to fill
their affaleetahs and gourd-shells with water for the march. Here they
were seized by a large body of Hittoo Gallas, who, during the night,
had approached the Kafilah, and were lying concealed in this situation,
awaiting for the camels to be loaded, so that after an attack they
might drive them with their loads quickly away. On being discovered,
the greater part seized the women and carried them away at once, whilst
another body rushed over the little stream hoping still to be able to
surprise the Kafilah before the men had assembled for its protection.
One Dophanter man, who had followed the women, attempted to escape by
running towards the camp, but a pursuing Galla launched his spear, and
transfixed him through the back, so that a wound was visible under the
breast, corresponding to the much larger one in the back. His cries,
however, called the Hy Soumaulee to arms, of whom more than four times
the number of the Galla collected immediately, and before the latter
were aware of the strength of the party they were about to attack, they
were too near to escape some retributive punishment. Immediately the
Hy Soumaulee saw them commencing to retire, they were on their feet,
following them fast down the little slope to the brook, and succeeded
in killing five of the daring robbers, before they could ascend the
opposite bank. The rest made good their retreat to the main body, who
had now got some distance with the women, and together formed a force
far too great for the Hy Soumaulee people to hope to attack it with
advantage. They were obliged, therefore to halt, form a semicircular
squatting line, and be passive spectators of their women, seven of whom
belonged to the Kafilah, and three to the town of Dophan, being carried
away into captivity.
Three Gallas were killed by spears, the others had been stabbed in the
throat and chest, and probably died fighting fairly enough. Carmel
Ibrahim was one happy man-slayer, and also the brother of Moosa,
and they kept up their song of triumph all the time we stayed here,
except when they took me to see the bodies of those they had killed.
I observed that the Dankalli do not practise the brutal custom of
disfiguring the slain, so common among the Amhara at the present time,
and which was also a characteristic of Jewish warfare. The arms and
shields, not only of the Gallas who had been killed, but also numerous
others that the fugitives had thrown away, fell to the lot of those who
picked them up in the latter case, and to the victors in the former.
Two of the other successful Hy Soumaulee were so busy fixing in their
own belts the newly-obtained knives, which were much better than their
own, that they did not attempt to raise the song, like Carmel and his
friend, who, perhaps, only did it to attract my attention. Ohmed Medina
informed me that I must give them a present, and upon my asking why,
he said it was the custom for masters so to reward brave servants.
He assured me that the chief of the town of Dophan had already given
them a goat, and that the Wallasmah would also do the same. Seeing
that it was the general custom, and as they had only been doing their
duty, not as aggressors, but as men defending their wives and property,
I promised them a bullock. On my doing this they would insist upon
decorating my head with a symbil, or wreath of twisted goatskin, like
themselves, but I managed to induce them at last to place it on my
hat instead. Before we left the ground, I asked Ohmed Medina, if the
dead Gallas would be buried. He looked at me, rather astonished at the
question, but thinking, I suppose, that I knew no better, he said, very
shortly, “Koran yahklur” (the ravens will eat them).
Our curiosity being satisfied, we now followed the camels, already
some distance on their way to Dinnomalee, conversing as we rode along
upon the events of the morning. The Hy Soumaulee men were too excited
to think of the captive girls taken from amongst them never to return,
but several of the women of the Kafilah I noticed with tear-shot eye
mourning the loss of some friend or relation. No usual occupation, such
as plaiting the palm leaf into a broad ribbon, to be sewed afterwards
into mats, filled their hands, no familiar salutations as I passed
by enlivened the way with smiles, but each with a long rope fastened
around the under jaw of a camel led strings of five or six of these
animals, that followed in their peculiarly quiet manner, the path their
sorrowing conductress pursued.
Myself and others of the party who were mounted soon went a-head, and
had it not been for repeated stoppages on the road to relate to those
still coming, all we had learned of the deed of blood, we should have
returned to Dinnomalee by ten o’clock; as it was, the sun had passed
the meridian when we arrived, and we found there an equally busy scene,
but of a very different character, to the one we had been partial
witnesses of at Dophan.
During our absence the Wallasmah Mahomed, attended by his brother,
two sons, his scribe, and a whole host of armed followers, had come
into Farree, and just at the moment we passed the first trees on our
side that inclosed the open space where stood the stores, salt, and
merchandise of our Kafilah, that officer and his party emerged from
the jungly wood opposite; the Wallasmah riding upon a mule, the rest
walking, and among these the bearers of the silver mounted shield, and
the silver sword of office were most conspicuous.
The Wallasmah Mahomed, the hereditary Prince or Governor of Efat,
imbodied my idea of a dull, sensual, yet cunning man. There was nothing
in his countenance to recommend him; bloated, with a heavy stupid
expression, a little relieved certainly by small restless eyes that
glanced at me whenever he thought I was not looking at him. Perhaps
his fleshy turned up nose might be termed by some physiognomists an
aspiring feature, and his chubby mouth, from having lost all his teeth,
or nearly so, was continually mumbling something or other, or else
munching a little branch of wormwood. I will not charge him with being
actually sober, nor would he, I think, have sworn upon the Koran that
he was so himself; but a bad headache was pleaded for the narrow rag
of blue cotton that bound a large fresh green leaf upon his forehead.
This application, I was told, was to produce a sense of coolness in the
part affected, and to aid its effects it was frequently wetted by an
attendant with water from a gourd shell, carried for this purpose.
On my going up to speak to the old gentleman, who had already seated
himself upon a mat in the round shade of one of the trees, he very
politely drew up his legs more under him, and invited me with a wave
of his hand to be seated by his side. An inspection of my carabine
immediately followed this; putting it up to his shoulder he glanced
his eye along the barrels, and then turned round, with a nod and a sly
wink, as if he wished me to believe that he knew all about it. He now
asked, through Ohmed Medina, if I had any letters, and never supposing
that they would be taken from me, I told him there were two packets
which I must deliver to the British Embassy at Ankobar that day if
possible. Saying this, I got up, and pointing to the sun intimated that
it would be too late unless I started; but immediately catching hold of
the skirt of my blouse he pulled me down again, saying, “I must stay
with him, for the King had ordered that I was to remain at Farree, and
not go any farther into the country.” This was fully explained by Ohmed
Medina, who also told me that Ebin Izaak had been obliged to give up
the letters and despatches whilst I had been talking to the old man.
I had been misled, though most unintentionally on the part of Mr.
Cruttenden, by his information of the great honour and reverence with
which the King of Shoa, Sahale Selassee, treated the members of our
political mission, and I had supposed it was merely necessary for me
to be the bearer of despatches from the coast, to be received with all
cordiality and freedom from suspicion as to the motives of my visit
on my arrival in Shoa. How disappointed I was may be imagined when,
instead of being permitted to proceed at once to the residency in
Ankobar, I found myself a prisoner; and on my telling the Wallasmah
that my queen would be very angry when she came to hear of the letters
being taken from me, he very coolly threatened to have me chained,
confirming the interpretation of Ohmed Medina, by placing his two
wrists together as if bound. As I saw he was in earnest, and that if
I said any more it might, perhaps, place our ambassador in a worse
position than what he seemed to be in, I restrained my feelings, and
retired to think over my situation and what I conceived to be that of
the mission in Shoa. Having sent a short note by a messenger the day
before to Captain Harris, announcing my arrival, I postponed taking
any decided steps until I received his answer, for I now contemplated
making my escape back again, to take the news to Aden of the condition
of our embassy, the members of which were stated to be prisoners like
myself.
I had not sat alone long, when some of the Wallasmah’s people came to
tell me I must go to Farree with them. I asked for my mule, but found
it had been taken away to have the benefit, as they significantly
told me, of the King’s own pasturage. There was nothing to be done
but to accompany them; so telling some of the Hy Soumaulee to come
to Farree the next morning to see me, and if I were not there to go
on to Ankobar, I proceeded with my guides, or guards, to the same
house I slept in the last night; and the ready smiling welcome,
the little bustle to receive me cordially, I met with from the
good-natured inmates, was some set-off to the brutal indifference of
the state-gaoler; for such office also I found was filled by the head
of the customs of Shoa, the Abigass, or frontier governor of Efat, the
obsequious spiteful pluralist the Wallasmah Mahomed.
I passed the night, having received no answer to my note from Ankobar,
wishing for the day, still hoping that I might be mistaken in my fears,
and that some of the members of the embassy would come to congratulate
me on my safe arrival, and free me from the anxiety, restraint, and
espionage I was now annoyed with; for two sentinels were constantly on
duty in the little enclosure, and always present in the house, when I
received visits even from my Hy Soumaulee friends.
The next day came, but no news from Ankobar. I amused myself as well
as I could, writing up my notes and settling small accounts with my
escort and those of the Kafilah people, from whose importunities on
the road I had relieved myself by promises of presents in Shoa, and
who now came for paper, needles, buttons, scissors, and razors. Almost
all that I possessed was divided among them as some little return for
their continued kindness and fidelity to me on the road; for I had
little to complain of except the continual falsehoods and petty deceits
practised invariably by the Tajourah people. Even Ohmed Medina was
not altogether exempt from this failing; but it was from a motive of
well-meant kindness, so that I should not be able to detect the number
of instances that little attempts were made to impose upon me, and
which he thought might lead to expostulation and angry discussions.
CHAPTER II.
Detained at Farree.--No news from Ankobar.--Fear all is
not right.--Escape from my confinement.--Reach Garcia
Mulloo.--Followed by officers of Wallasmah.--Compromise
matters.--Return to Farree.--Brutality of Wallasmah.--
Planning escape to the coast with Hy Soumaulee.--Arrival
of Mr. Scott from Ankobar.--Chief cause of my detention.
I stayed in Farree anxiously awaiting some news from the embassy, until
the 25th; but neither note nor messenger came to relieve the suspense
I was in. The night before, Ohmed Medina, however, had called upon me,
and told me that all was right as regarded their personal safety, but
informed me that my note from the Dinnomalee had been intercepted by
the Wallasmah, and that none of the English in Shoa knew that I was in
the country. I made up my mind, on hearing this, to attempt getting
to Ankobar the next morning, if it were possible; and accordingly,
before it was light, opened the little wicket that served for the door,
passed unobserved the two sentinels who lay wrapped up in their body
cloths fast asleep, and was soon some distance on the wrong road; that
is to say, the most circuitous one to Ankobar. I thought that I was
not exactly right, and meeting some labourers going into the fields
to work, I asked the way, by repeating the word, Ankobar. They were
too much surprised to speak, but pointed in the direction of the road,
and I left them staring after me with a wondering look, as if to ask
what would come next. Having reached a village about five miles to the
north-west of Farree, I found it impossible to go on, it having been
one continual ascent along the roughest and most winding path that can
well be imagined. Oppressed with difficulty of breathing, fatigued, and
foot-sore, I turned toward the door of the first house, and sitting
down on a stone, made signs that I wanted some water. Hereupon such a
screaming was set up by the only inmates, two naked children, that it
could not have been exceeded if I had intimated that they were about
to be devoured. Their cries brought two other little girls, who came
running round the house, but seeing me, promptly turned back, tumbling
over each other to get out of the way, contributing as they lay not a
little to the frantic roaring of the children inside.
The noise soon brought all the disposable people, men and women of all
ages, who had not left the village for their labours in the fields, who
soon recognised in their visitor a Gypt or Egyptian, as the Abyssinians
call all white men. I was glad to find that the character seemed to
be a very respected one, although the first evidence I had of it,
was the numerous beggars for articles, the names of which I did not
understand. They invited me into the house out of the sun, and a large
wooden mortar was laid on its side for me to sit upon, whilst several
women employed themselves scorching some coffee beans, in a coarse
earthenware saucer over a little wood fire in the centre of a circular
hearth, that occupied the middle of the room. The whole house consisted
of this one apartment, the surrounding wall being composed of sticks
placed close together, and about four feet high, upon which rested a
straw thatched roof frame of light bamboo, well blackened with the
smoke.
I had not long arrived at Garcia Mulloo, the name of the village,
before I was followed by a large body of men armed with spears and
staves, and dragging along with them, most unwillingly, my old grey
mule. The misselannee of Farree, whom I knew, was at the head of the
party, and appeared very well pleased to see me, addressing me with
great politeness, though I could not understand a word that he said.
I took care, however, in Arabic, to charge him and the Wallasmah with
incivility, and want of hospitality, for detaining me so long in Farree
against my will, and also with having, like a thief, stolen the note I
had sent to Ankobar. As we had been now joined by a man named Brekka,
who understood what I said, he interpreted for us, and afforded the
misselannee an opportunity in reply, of throwing the whole blame upon
the Wallasmah, whose servant he was, at the same time begging me to
return with him, for which purpose, and for my accommodation, he had
brought my mule along with him. I positively refused, on the plea, that
their King had promised mine, that Englishmen were to travel unmolested
through the country, alluding to the treaty, and that, accordingly,
if they now used force to take me back to Farree, it would bring the
matter to an issue, and my people would then see the real value of
the word of Sahale Selassee. Seeing I was determined not to return
with them they agreed to compromise the matter, upon my promising to
remain at Garcia Mulloo, and not attempt to proceed farther towards
Ankobar, until the King’s pleasure respecting me should be known. This
I was induced to do by the misselannee’s pacific appeal that I would
not do anything which would occasion him to be imprisoned, and all his
property confiscated.
Our interpreter, Brekka, was a scamp of a renegado, who had been a
Christian, but was converted to the Islam faith, by the promise of a
situation under the Wallasmah, whose district, the province of Efat, is
inhabited chiefly by Mahomedans. The contiguity of the two faiths among
a people of one origin, affords an interesting opportunity of examining
the first effect of differences in religious belief, and which leads,
in the course of time, to the division of one family of man into two
distinct nations, differing in customs, pursuits, and even, after a
lapse of time, in physical features.
The same dispersing operation of opinion, but more advanced, is to be
observed in the separation, at the present day, of the Dankalli and
Soumaulee tribes, and to any zealous student of the science of all
sciences, humanity, or the natural history of man, it is indispensably
necessary that he should visit the countries of Abyssinia, of Sennaar,
and Adal, where he will find collected, as at a centre, the originals
of all the different varieties into which physiologists have divided
the human race; and where, at this moment, the principal causes of
the great moral change in the condition of man, consequent upon the
flood, may be observed in full operation, and producing the same
effects of dispersion. Christian civilization, which points to a future
union, is the antagonizing principle to the opinion disturbing one,
which, I believe, alone separates and divides mankind; and I could
wish to see, here, in intertropical Africa, a Mission of enlightened
ministers of the Gospel, whose object should be simply to spread the
easily understood doctrine of one God, and that love and truth are the
redeeming principles in the character of man, to restore him to that
state of excellence from which he has fallen.
It being arranged I should stay at Garcia Mulloo, a supply of bread and
beer was ordered by the misselanee, who had been sent for to see after
this duty; the same officer of the town of Farree, returning there
with his party, taking my mule along with them, and leaving Brekka and
another man to keep me company, as was said, but in fact, to keep guard
over me. A disjointed conversation with the former served to amuse me
during the rest of the day. He gave me some information respecting
the Embassy, and of the dislike entertained by Sahale Selassee to the
English; which surprised me considerably, nor would I at first believe
it, but ascribed the statement to the ill feeling and jealousy with
which the visit of our Political Mission to the Court of Shoa, was
viewed by the Mahomedans of Efat.
In the afternoon, Brekka walked down to Farree, and when he returned,
told me he had seen a letter for me, and a messenger from Ankobar, and
that if I wished to see them I must go to that town. I did not hesitate
a moment, but was now as anxious to be off, as I was before obstinately
bent upon remaining. The news of Brekka being confirmed by the arrival
of a messenger from the Wallasmah, with the same information, I started
immediately. I conceived that the not sending the letter to Garcia
Mulloo, was perhaps intended as a kind of punishment for my breaking
prison in the morning.
In about an hour and a-half, we were again crossing the little stream
which flows at the base of the hill on which Farree stands; and I was
soon seated in my old quarters, whilst Brekka went to obtain for me
the expected note. When he returned, he brought me an order to go
to the Wallasmah myself, as he wanted to see me; and who occupied a
house upon one of the little eminences opposite to mine. I was not
long in presenting myself in obedience to this summons, and found that
gentleman sitting upon a large oxskin spread upon the ground, paring
his toe nails with an old pocket knife. As I came round the low stone
fence against which he leaned, he cast his eyes upon me, and growled
a very sinister kind of salutation, asking me in broken Arabic how I
did. I now requested him to give me the letter from Ankobar, but he
only shook his head. I asked to see the messenger, and with a chuckle
of triumphant cunning, he pointed with the open knife to the fastened
door of an outhouse, an action which I readily interpreted to mean,
“He is there, in prison.” I did not say a word more, but walked away
in high dudgeon, overturning a rude Abyssinian who, with spear and
shield pushed against me, as if to prevent my exit when I made my way
out through a little wicket in the stick enclosure that surrounded the
house.
The worst of my situation was, that I had no friends near, all the Hy
Soumaulee and Tajourah people being according to custom, obliged to
locate themselves during their stay in Shoa, in a little town called
Channo, situated about two miles to the north-east of Farree, where
they are compelled to leave their shields and spears when they go
farther into the interior of the country. I had to send for any of
these to come to me, but either it was too late in the day, being after
sunset, or orders had been issued to the contrary, for I could induce
no one to take a message from me either to Ohmed Medina or Carmel
Ibrahim. I was obliged, therefore, to remain quiet for the night, being
determined, however, on the morrow to escape into the Adal country, and
carry the news back, which otherwise might be a long time in reaching
Aden, of the actual condition of things in Shoa; where, instead of the
English being courted and caressed, as was believed to be the case when
I was in Tajourah, they were, in fact, the objects of the most jealous
suspicion, and subjected to the most tyrannical surveillance, if not
actually in prison.
The early part of the morning of the 26th of May was occupied in
projecting the plan of my escape with Carmel Ibrahim and Adam Burrah,
the latter of whom having assisted Lieut. Barker in getting through the
Adal country after that gentleman had left the Hurrah Kafilah, I could
the more confidently rely upon, although I had not the least doubt of
the fidelity or trustworthiness of the former. These two had come with
Allee the First to laugh with me at my attempt of getting to Ankobar
the day before, and endeavoured to soothe and interest me, as they
thought, by showing how they would disembowel the old fat Wallasmah
if they had him in their country. My proposal to go back was met with
their decided approbation. It was accordingly arranged that Carmel and
Adam should accompany me in the evening, whilst the rest of the escort
were to remain, and during the night manage to steal my mule, and as
many more as they could, and join us at the little Wahama town Dophan,
beyond which they knew very well no attempt would be made to pursue us.
I was in the act of making a few cartridges for my anticipated return
journey, when I heard a loud cry of “Commander, Commander,” an English
word, by which the Abyssinians had been taught to designate the head
of the Mission. Two or three of the inhabitants of Farree came also in
a great hurry to call me out of the house, and tell me that some Gypt
or other was approaching. I was equally eager, and even ran in a most
undignified manner to meet this messenger of light, who, mounted on
a mule, now appeared upon the summit or crest of the road before it
descends into the little hollow where stands the market-place. There
was a great air of civilization about him. He wore a broad-brimmed hat,
somewhat like my own, covered with white cotton cloth, a sailor’s large
pea-jacket belted round his waist, an old pair of grey check trowsers,
and came with a sober steady pace along the narrow path.
I met him as he dismounted beneath the few mimosa-trees, and after
a hearty shake of the hand, invited him to my _hotel_. He then
introduced himself as Mr. R. Scott, the surveying draughtsman attached
to the Mission.
His first explanation was the cause of his non-arrival sooner, which
was owing to the utter ignorance of my arrival on the part of Captain
Harris, the chief of the Embassy, until the night but one before, when
the King had forwarded by one of his pages two notes, which I had
endeavoured to send to him, the last one dated from Dinnomalee. The
other was the one which had been sent by Esau Ibrahim, who, it will be
remembered, was despatched from Mullu, on the other side of the Hawash,
with a note to Ankobar, informing Captain Harris of my being on the
road with stores. Both these letters had been intercepted and detained,
until public rumour spreading, the King could not have kept the Embassy
much longer ignorant of my being in the country; and he therefore made
a virtue of necessity, and sent the letters before they were demanded.
An answer had been sent to me by Capt. Harris the day before by the
messenger now in prison, confined by the Wallasmah for having brought a
letter for me, after the King had issued orders that all correspondence
between the English already in the country and those arriving should
be prevented. Mr. Scott was not at all surprised when I informed him
of the circumstance, though I certainly considered such a proceeding
to be very much at variance with the conditions and stipulations I
was given to understand were contained in the commercial treaty. I
could not help remarking this, and Mr. Scott then candidly admitted
the King did not know the character or purport of the paper he had
signed; and had only been made aware of the new responsibilities he
had incurred, by a sharply worded expostulatory letter, written by
Mr. Krapf, in accordance to the dictation of Captain Harris, on an
occasion subsequently to the signing of the treaty, when despatches and
letters coming up from the coast were intercepted and detained for some
time by the orders of the King. Singularly enough, this information
was corroborated by Ohmed Medina, who told me that my letter from
Dinnomalee had not been carried to Captain Harris, but to the King, who
wanted to find out whether the English were his friends or not, and
was trying my disposition and that of the Commander (Captain Harris)
by this harsh treatment of me; a kind of experiment, in fact, to see
what would be borne by us, and how far he had limited his authority
by attaching his signature to the treaty. Any idea of granting public
benefit, at the expense of his prerogative was never entertained for a
moment, the intentions of the King being limited to shewing personal
favour alone, which he is ever ready to concede even now to English
travellers, much as he complains of the conduct of the Mission in Shoa
as regards their political misdoings; more especially of the great
insult offered to him by the unfortunate letter before alluded to, and
which was worded so unguardedly, that the King, on receiving it, might
well, considering his great regard for Mr. Krapf previously, turn to
him and say, in a tone that implied more of sorrow than of anger, “Did
you write that, my father?”
CHAPTER III.
Staying at Farree with Mr. Scott.--Both placed under parole.--
Description of the houses of Farree.--Of the flour mill.--
Some remarks upon the origin of the Amhara.--Dr. Prichard
upon identity of the Amhara with the Antomali of Herodotus.--
Physical characters of the people.--Interview with the
Wallasmah.--Saltpetre rock.--Province of Efat.--Take leave
of Escort.--Tyrannical conduct of the Wallasmah.
_May 26, 1842._--After Mr. Scott joined me at Farree, I considered
that all my troubles were at an end, although I had still to go above
fifty miles before I could meet the members of the British Political
Mission who had accompanied the King to his residence at Angolahlah,
the most western town of his dominions. An establishment was still kept
up at Ankobar, situated about one third of the way between Farree and
Angolahlah, at the head of which was the naturalist attached to the
Mission, Dr. Roth, with whom was Mr. Bernatz, the artist, and there
also Mr. Scott was stationed. Captain Harris the Ambassador, Captain
Graham, the second in command, and Mr. Assistant-Surgeon Kirk, lived
at Angolahlah, where I now expected to be permitted to go by my gaoler
the Wallasmah. I found, however, I was reckoning without my host, for
a new difficulty had arisen, from the circumstance of Mr. Scott having
come down to Farree without the permission of Walda-anna, the Governor
of Ankobar. He was accordingly given to understand that he must
consider himself a prisoner with me until the pleasure of the negoos
should be known as to our disposal. It was in vain we expostulated
with our surly gaoler; we were to be opposed by force if we attempted
to leave Farree, and other sentinels were charged with the care of us.
Something we did effect, and that was the liberation of the messenger
who was detected bringing me a letter the day before, for as soon as
this request was made to the Wallasmah it was at once acceded to, and
the man was ordered to be set at liberty. Taking this as an evidence of
some relaxation of the harsh treatment with which we had been treated,
we sat sometime chatting with the old gentleman, and I hinted my
intention of making him some present if he would honour me so far as to
accept of my poor gifts. When we got up from the ground where we had
been sitting, the Wallasmah directed his son, a fine young man about
three or four and twenty years old, to accompany us to our residence;
a sufficient intimation of his being graciously disposed, without the
broad hint given by one of his followers, who whispered into the ears
of Mr. Scott, “Give your _memolagee_ to that man.” Our imprisoned
servant not making his appearance before we left the Wallasmah, we
asked where he was, and were surprised to hear that he had left Farree
for Angolahlah without seeing us, but which we supposed he had been
obliged to do, so that there should be no chance of our slipping a note
into his hands for our friends in that town.
We returned to our house, and for the rest of the day amused ourselves
with hearing and telling whatever most interested us, whether of home
or foreign news. I must observe that a present of three pieces of
calico and a pound of gunpowder was made to the Wallasmah, who sent
us back his compliments, and that he was highly delighted with the
present, but would be obliged for a little more gunpowder.
Mr. Scott and I were entertained and taken care of for four days
in Farree, much to our discomfort and vexation. Fortunately this
gentleman had brought with him two native servants, who made themselves
useful by marketing and cooking during the term of our confinement,
so we suffered nothing from want of food. We could also walk about
the straggling town on pledging our word that we would not attempt
to escape, although our parole was not deemed sufficient, for, like
Buonaparte at St. Helena, two sentinels, on such excursions, always
followed at a certain distance in our rear.
Many of the houses in Farree, instead of being the usual circle of
closely placed sticks, some five feet high and surmounted by a high
conical straw roof, are partial excavations in the soft trachytic
stone, so as to leave a back and sides of natural rock. Over this is
laid a flat roof, consisting of untrimmed rafters covered by a thick
layer of brushwood, upon which is placed a layer of earth some inches
in thickness, well stamped down with the feet. A front of wattled
sticks, in which the entrance is made, completes the house, and in one
such as this was I lodged during my stay in this town.
The internal arrangements were equally simple. A raised platform of
stones and clay, about two feet high, occupied one half of the single
apartment, and upon one end of this, reaching to the roof, stood a huge
butt-like basket, smoothly plastered over inside and out with clay.
This was the family granary, in which was preserved the teff seed, or
wheat, from the depredations of the numerous mice that are a thorough
pest in Abyssinia. In a corner below, stood side by side two of the
peculiar handmills used in this country, each consisting of a large
flat stone of cellular lava, two feet long and one foot broad, raised
upon a rude pedestal of stones and mud, about one foot and a half from
the ground. The rough surface of this stone sloped gradually down from
behind forwards into a basin-like cavity, into which the flour falls
as it is ground. A second stone, grasped in the hand of the woman who
grinds, weighs about three pounds, beneath which, as it is moved up and
down the inclined plane of the under millstone, the grain is crushed,
and gradually converted into a coarse flour.
This is the same kind of mill that was used by the ancient Egyptians,
and is represented in the excellent work upon those people, recently
written by Sir G. Wilkinson, although he describes it as being used for
fulling clothes, having mistaken, I suppose, the flour represented as
falling into the cup-like recipient for a stream of water. I observe,
also, in another plate in the same work, a representation of this
mill, but without any allusion to its real purposes. Moses, in the
fifth verse of the eleventh chapter of Exodus, describes exactly the
character of the occupation, and the instrument, where he speaks “of
the maid-servant that is behind the mill,” for women are only employed
on this duty, and they always stand in the rear, leaning forward over
their work. Very few houses, those only of the poorest people, have but
one mill; generally two or more stand side by side in a row, and the
number is always mentioned when the idea is wished to be conveyed of
the large dependent retinue that the master of the house feeds.
A few large jars containing water, or ale, ranged along one side of the
house, and a shield hung from the projecting end of one of the sticks
that formed the front, were the only articles that occupied prominent
positions as furniture in my residence. Three or four “maceroitsh,” or
earthenware pots for cooking, generally lay upset in the white wood
ashes contained in the large circular hearth that occupied a portion of
the floor opposite to the mills; and some of the necessary but small
instruments for clearing or spinning cotton were placed when not being
used upon a skin bag, in which a quantity of that useful material was
contained.
I was very much struck with the extreme contrasts that could be drawn
between the inhabitants of Farree and the Dankalli Bedouins. The large
and portly forms of the former, their apparent love of quiet, the
affection they evinced for their children, and that of the children
for their parents, were all points characteristic of these great
differences. The physiognomy of the two people exhibited equally
varying features, and as the men of Farree are a good type of the
real Amhara population, I shall endeavour to give an idea of the form
of the countenance and the head peculiar to this family of man, by a
description drawn from my first observations in that town, where the
people have less admixture of Galla blood, than the inhabitants of the
table land of Shoa above and beyond them.
This will be preceded, however, by some necessary, and, I believe,
novel information respecting the origin of the Amhara, which I became
acquainted with during my residence in Shoa, and which has been
singularly confirmed by a comparison of the reports and prejudices I
noted down while in that country, with recorded circumstances of the
earlier history of Egypt, and of other powerful empires that once
existed along the course of the Nile.
Amhara, which word is at present only used to designate the Christian
population of Abyssinia, was, previous to the introduction of the
Mahomedan religion, the descriptive appellation of an extensive red
people, who principally occupied the eastern border of the Abyssinian
table land, from the latitude of Massoah in the north to that of lake
Zui in the south. To the west of these, and occupying the portion of
the table land in that direction, lived a people decidedly different
in their complexion, their features, their language, their religion,
and their customs. These were the Gongas, or Agows, who I believe
to have been the original possessors of the whole plateau, until a
period remarkable in history, when the Emperor of Meroë or Ethiopia
located upon a portion of their country, those disaffected soldiers
of Psammeticus who had sought an asylum in his kingdom. Were I not
convinced that the Amhara population of Abyssinia, at the present day,
can be physically demonstrated to be the descendants of these fugitives
from Egypt, I would not venture to advance such an innovation upon
the generally received opinion, that the Amhara are aborigines of the
country they now inhabit.
Under the term Abyssins, Dr. Prichard, in his invaluable work upon
the natural history of man, includes all the different nations that
now inhabit the lofty plain of Abisha or Abyssinia. Of one of these
nations, the Amhara, he remarks, “So striking is the resemblance
between the modern Abyssinians and the Hebrews of old, that we can
hardly look upon them but as branches of one nation, and if we had not
convincing evidence to the contrary, and knew not for certain that
the Abramidæ originated in Chaldæa, and to the northward and eastward
of Palestine, we might frame a very probable hypothesis, which would
bring them down as a band of wandering shepherds from the mountains
of Habesh, and identify them with the pastor kings, who, according to
Manetho, multiplied their bands in the land of the Pharaohs, and being,
after some centuries, expelled thence by the will of the gods, sought
refuge in Judea, and built the walls of Jerusalem. Such an hypothesis
would explain the existence of an almost Israelitish people, and the
preservation of a language so nearly approaching to the Hebrew in
intertropical Africa.” The learned ethnologist goes on to observe--“It
is certainly untrue; and we find no other easy explanation of the facts
which the history of Abyssinia presents, and particularly of the early
extension of the Jewish religion and customs through that country, for
the legend which makes the royal house of Menilek descend from Solomon
and the Queen of Sheba, is as idle a story as ever monks invented to
abuse the reverent ignorance of their lay brethren.”
Herodotus, and other ancient historians and geographers, have recorded
the migration of a vast body of discontented native soldiers from
Egypt, in the time of Psammeticus. These, we are told, to the number
of 240,000, retired to the country of Ethiopia, where they were
kindly received by the Emperor. They assisted him in his wars, and in
return were apportioned, as a residence, some country on the confines
of Ethiopia, from which they were to drive a rebellious people to
make room for themselves. Herodotus places this country “upon the
Nile, at about the same distance beyond Meroë as this last is from
Elephantine, or fifty days’ journey;” and he also adds, that “the
Antomali (deserters) are known by the name of Asmach, which, being
translated, signifies ‘standing on the left hand’ of the King.” It is
a most remarkable circumstance that the reason or origin of the name
of the country of Gurague, literally “on the left side,” has long been
a question of interest with every Abyssinian traveller, but none have
given any satisfactory explanation for what reason this particular, and
evidently significant, name was first applied. The situation of the
Amhara with respect to the Abi or Bruce’s Nile at once accounts for
the designation, as they live upon the left hand of the stream as it
flows south from lake Dembea, whilst that portion of this people still
retaining their ancient name and purity of descent, the present Gurague
occupy a country similarly situated with respect to the river Zebee,
or Azzabi, or Assabinus, the Ethiopian Jupiter. Abi and Abiah, other
names for branches of the Nile in Abyssinia, are expressive of _father_
or _king_, evidently from having been, at a former period, the chief
objects of worship by the people inhabiting their banks. “Asmach,” and
“Gurague,” bear, therefore, the same interpretation, “to the left of
the king,” and none other can explain the circumstance of the latter
name being given to the Amhara. It appears, however to have been
bestowed in contra-distinction to the “Gongas,” or “Kongue,” a people
who originally occupied the right banks solely of the Abi and Abiah.
This singular correspondence between “Asmach” of the Grecian historian,
and “Gurague” of modern travellers, would be alone, perhaps,
inconclusive evidence that these terms apply to the same people or
country, but some additional evidence may be drawn from the account
which Pliny gives of these Egyptian fugitives. On the authority of
Aristocreon, he states, that “Seventeen days from Meroë is Esar, a city
of those Egyptians who fled from Psammeticus, and entered the service
of the monarch of that country, and in return received a considerable
tract of territory upon the confines, from which the Ethiopian prince
ordered them to expel a tribe of people, at that time in rebellion
against him, and this migration of the Egyptian troops, introducing the
arts and manners of a refined nation, had a very sensible effect in
civilizing the Ethiopians.” The most interesting particulars we gather
from this information, is the name of the city, or, as I presume, the
chief seat of these fugitives, Esar.
By a singular coincidence in the Old Testament, we are told that Esau
is Edom, and although I am not going to infer from this alone, any
connexion between that patriarch and the Ethiopian city, Esar, yet the
philological analogy between the scriptural proper names, curiously
enough, also exists between those of profane history; for the Esar and
Amhara of our subject, express the very same idea as Esau and Edom,
which by all Biblical commentators, is allowed to be the colour red.
“And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they
called his name Esau.” (Genesis xxv. 25.)
In the present Dankalli language, and I think also, in that of ancient
Meroë, Assar signifies red. In the Persian, I am given to understand
that the planet Mars is called Azer, from its characteristic colour,
a circumstance of significant import when it is considered that the
word Calla, from which is derived Galla, “Ab” the root of Abi, and
“Nil,” from which comes Nile, with others I have yet to speak of, as
designations of places in Abyssinia, are all referable to the same
language. To return, however, to Esar, and its connexion with the
colour red, for it is the same with Esau, and that it is the same as
Edom in Hebrew, I advance the testimony of Dr. Stukeley, who, speaking
of the Red Sea, remarks, “That sea had its name from Erythras, as
the Greeks and the same Pliny write; who is Edom, or Esau, brother
of Jacob. The words are synonymous, signifying red.”[1] Amhara, also
bears the same interpretation in Amharic, and although it has another
meaning, that of beautiful, this is only because of the national taste
directing the name of the favourite complexion among them, to be
employed as the term for beauty itself. The Dankalli slave-merchant
well understands this, for a light-red Abyssinian girl is the
Circassian of oriental harems. In Arabia, where the original word still
conveys the more common idea, we find “hamah” employed to express the
colour red.
In this manner, I connect the “Asmach” of Herodotus, with Gurague
of modern travellers, and the Esar of Pliny, with the Amhara
of the present day, and from these two mutually corroborating
correspondencies, the identity of the modern Abyssinians of Dr.
Prichard with the Automali of Herodotus may perhaps be deduced, and
the difficulty of accounting for a Hebrew people, situated on the
Abyssinian plateau only requires proof to be advanced that the
revolted soldiers of Psammeticus were of the same family of man as
the fugitive Israelites who sought a refuge, under nearly similar
circumstances, in Syria, and built the walls of Jerusalem; and as
their languages are nearly the same, as also their manners, customs,
and ancient religion, previous to the introduction of Christianity,
it will not, perhaps, be difficult to adduce such evidence. For my
part, I am inclined to believe in this national relationship, because
it is partly confirmed by the received account of the brothers, Esau
and Jacob, contained in the book of Genesis, and the connexion between
the two patriarchs, and the country of Egypt, will perhaps receive
some illustration from the opinion I have ventured to advance upon
the subject. In the elder brother, Esau, I perceive the father of the
royal shepherds, and among the list of the dukes, his descendants may
be found, perhaps the pastor kings who held for some time the sovereign
power in Egypt.
The connexion also of the name Esau, or Esar, with the profession of
soldiers, is evident, for in oriental mythology it is identified with
the god Mars; whilst on the other hand, the word _Israel_, in Hebrew, I
believe, as in Amharic has an immediate reference to _labour_, as the
name Jacob has also to the _heel_, which coincides very singularly with
the idea prevalent in India, that the labouring class have all sprung
from the foot of Brahmah. It would be very interesting, if future
discoveries in hieroglyphics, or other cotemporary histories, which, I
believe, do exist in central Africa, should prove that the appearance
of the Jews as a family of man, under the patriarch Abraham, marks the
disruption of an African community of castes, where the Priest class,
excited by the ambition of a Psammeticus, should determine upon the
expulsion of the soldiers, who thereupon fled to Ethiopia; and, also,
that after a tyrannical and cruel oppression should ultimately occasion
the flight of the workmen, or Israelites, into Palestine. I leave
the question, however, now, to more profound ethnologists, and shall
conclude this, I am afraid, very uninteresting subject, with a short
but necessary description of the features and physical characteristics
of the present Amhara population of Abyssinia.
In the British Museum are many Egyptian statues that possess exactly
the features of the genuine Amhara race. One more, especially of a
woman in the lower saloon marked 16, I will particularize, to enable
those who have the opportunity of examining these relics of an extinct
nation to form a proper idea of the physiognomy of the people I am
speaking of.
Their general complexion cannot be better described by reference
to a familiar object than comparing it with that of red unpolished
copper. Their skin is soft and delicate; the general stature is below
the middle height of Europeans. Their forms are not fully developed
until they have arrived at the same years of puberty as ourselves; and
it is very uncommon for women under seventeen to bear children. The
features of the women conform to a general characteristic type, and
less variations from this are observed among them than in the men.
This observation extends to other races besides the Amhara, for I have
invariably found more consistency of countenance, more nationality
preserved in the features of females than in the males of the many
different people I have met with in my travels in Abyssinia.
The Amhara face is ovate, having a considerably greater expression
of breadth in the upper than in the lower part. The scalp in front
encroaches upon the forehead, making its length disproportionate to its
height, and, in consequence, it appears exceedingly low. The eyes are
long, but rather full, and the separation of the eyelids longitudinal,
as in Europeans. Their cheeks are high, yet finely rounded, and
sometimes, with the long forehead, giving to the countenance a nearly
triangular form. The nose straight and well-formed, with a small
and beautiful mouth, a finely-curved edge gradually rising from the
commissure to the fulness of a most inviting pair of lips. A voluptuous
fulness, in fact, pervades the whole countenance; a something more
than muscular fibre, yet not exactly fat, giving a healthy fleshiness,
that reminds you of the chubbiness of children; and I expect the
fascinating expression so generally ascribed to Abyssinian beauties by
all orientals is owing to the idea of innocence and simplicity, that
inseparably connects itself with this infantile character of face. The
hair is soft and long; it is neither woolly, like the negro, nor is it
the strong, coarse, straight hair of the Gongas, or yellow inhabitants
of the right bank of the Abi and Abiah branches of the Azzabi, or red
Nile.
I saw few or no cases of distortion among the families I met with in
Efat, and my impression is that they but rarely occur, the natural and
simple lives of the people conducing to easy parturition and a healthy
offspring. The Amhara, however, in their most unchanged condition in
Gurague, and the neighbouring Christian states, have yet to be visited.
The inhabitants of these countries may exhibit characteristic traits
that I have had no opportunities of observing, for those I met with
were the most favourable specimens of the imported slaves, or their
immediate descendants, who were married to Mahomedans of Efat.
Individuals possessing what I believe to have been the characteristic
features of the genuine Amharic countenance are but seldom seen on the
high land of Shoa, although it might naturally be expected that their
situation would favour a lighter complexion than the dark-brown Shoans
exhibit. This is to be attributed to the very recent period that their
Galla ancestorial relations intruded themselves into this former Amhara
district, as Abyssinian history records that the first appearance of
these invaders from the low plains of Adal occurred no later than the
year 1537.
From the 27th to the 31st of May, Mr. Scott and I remained in easy
durance at Farree. We were frequently summoned to the presence of the
Wallasmah, whom we would amuse by firing off my gun, or teaching his
son, a boy about fourteen years old, to let off percussion caps without
shutting his eyes. The dreadful experiment would never be attempted
by papa, but he wonderfully enjoyed the bright promise of his hopeful
progeny, the child of his old age, who, on the other hand, annoyed us
not a little by the unsatisfied pertness with which he demanded to be
so indulged.
Day after day were we most solemnly promised that we should start
upon the morrow, but without any intention of being permitted to do
so, beyond the accident occurring of our being sent for by the King.
Perhaps our importunity excited a desire to gratify us, and what they
wished for our sake the kind-hearted people of Farree asserted would
be, because of the great probability that the messenger who had been
sent to the King to receive his commands, would return sooner than he
did.
I am not going to acquit the Wallasmah on this plea, for his want of
courtesy towards us; for from some incomprehensible antipathy, he
would, had he dared, have placed us in irons, and even on occasions
of our visiting him, when we endeavoured to do everything we could
to please him, a surly smile was our only return for some little
gratification we might afford to his boy. His people frequently made
excuses for the conduct of their chief, by stating that he either had
been drinking, or else that he had not; so, drunk or sober, it seemed
quite natural to them that the old fellow should be in a continual
ill-humour from some undefined connexion with strong drink.
I took care to promise him another present on the occasion of our
leaving Farree, as I conceived that it might be some expectation of the
sort that was operating to cause our tiresome detention. I was wrong
in this, for it was not his pleasure, but the King’s, his master, that
we should be kept at Farree, although he tried to make us believe it
was his own, and assuming an authority that did not belong to him, made
our confinement more irksome than it needed to have been, on purpose
to evince his power. With our sentinels behind us, however, we could
wander all over the hill of Farree, and we accordingly amused ourselves
by endeavouring to extend our information upon the various subjects of
novel interest with which we were surrounded.
One observation I cannot do better than to insert here, respecting the
rocks and soil of Farree, which abound with the nitrate of potass,
the bald face of the former, in many places, being hollowed into deep
grooves by the constant attrition of the tongues of the numerous flocks
and herds, which seem to be as fond of this salt as the same animals
are of common table salt in other countries; a circumstance that is
well shown in those saline resorts of deer and buffaloes, called the
“licks” of North America. The geological structure of the hills in this
neighbourhood is a finely-grained trachytic rock; grey, save where
the intrusion of narrow dykes of some blacker rocks, a few feet in
thickness, and evidently heated on their first appearance, has changed
the general colour to a deep red, which gradually recovers its natural
hue at the distance of some yards on either side the dyke. This rock
contains a considerable quantity of decomposing felt-spar, supplying
the potass, and, I presume, deriving from the atmosphere, and the
moisture it contains, the other necessary elements to form the thick
efflorescence of saltpetre that covers in some places the surface of
the rock.
The religion of Farree is exclusively Mahomedan, as is also that of
more than three-fourths of the towns and villages of the province of
Efat, all of which are under the hereditary viceregal Wallasmah, who
boasts a descent from the famous Mahomed Grahnè, the Adal conqueror
of many portions of the ancient Abyssinian empire, in the sixteenth
century. Efat forms a portion of the valley country, or Argobbah, which
extends from the edge of the table land of Shoa to the Hawash, that
flows along the base of this slope, from the south towards the north.
The northern boundary of Efat is the river Robee, the southern one
being the Kabani; both of them flow into the Hawash.
Late in the afternoon of the 30th of May, the messenger returned
from Angolahlah, with orders from the King that I should be allowed
to proceed thither, and that the stores should be conveyed to his
presence. Considerable bustle and confusion seemed thereupon to take
possession of the previously quiet town. Vociferous proclamations
were from time to time issued by the misselannee in person, standing
upon the stone enclosure in the centre of the market-place. Numerous
informants, willing to be the first bearers of good news, hurried to
acquaint us with the cause of all the stir, and to assure us that
we were to start in the morning; for that the requisite permission
had arrived from the King, and the Wallasmah had directed our mules
to be brought in from the grazing ground. The proclamations of the
misselannee were to the effect that all persons owing suit and service
to the Wallasmah, on account of land held of him, must present
themselves; and either personally, or by their slaves, convey the boxes
and other packages as far as Aliu Amba, on the road to Angolahlah, from
which town a relief party would then take the duty of carrying them the
remaining distance.
From the character of the road, badly constructed and in wretched
condition, all the packages had to be conveyed up the long ascent
to Shoa upon the shoulders of men. Besides, the only beasts of
burden, except an occasional worn-out mule or horse, employed by the
Abyssinians, are asses, and these were found to be unequal to the
carriage of large angular-formed boxes, which, in fact, could not have
been properly secured upon the backs of these little animals.
In the evening the Hy Soumaulee came to bid me good-bye, objecting to
the cold of Angolahlah, when I asked them if they did not intend to
visit me there. They shuddered at the thought of it, and all business
transactions, as regarded payment for their services, were referred
to the agency of the two heads of the Kafilah, Ohmed Mahomed and Ebin
Izaak, who were obliged, of course, to present themselves to the Negoos
Sahale Selassee, and to the British ambassador.
I saw them depart with feelings of regret that I had no means in
my power to reward the services of these faithful, and I will add,
attached Bedouins; beyond bearing testimony to the great capabilities
of their people, who are possessed certainly of the greatest virtues
and of the noblest attributes of our nature, if judged by the standard
of human excellence contained in the Iliad or Æneid, the heroes of
which I would undertake to match with many Dankalli warriors of the
present day. During my stay in this town, it was customary for them to
come from Channo, where they were quartered, to sit with me an hour or
so in the cool of the morning or the evening. On these occasions their
appearance always gave me pleasure, bursting into sight all at once as
they chased each other over the crest of the hill, their dark forms for
a moment boldly relieved upon the bright sky behind them; down they
would come full speed along the tortuous, but easy sloping descent
across the market-place and up the low bank to my residence, shouting
as they came, “Ahkeem, ahkeem,” to give me notice of their approach.
On entering, four or five of them, with their usual impetuosity, would
extend their hands for the sliding contact with the palm of mine,
at the same time calling out together the oft-repeated expression,
“Negarsee,” or “Myhisee,” which respectively characterizes the evening
or morning salutation.
It was after sunset of the last day we were at Farree, before the
Wallasmah sent for us to communicate the pleasure of the King, or
Negoos, as I shall call him for the future. We were ordered to proceed
to Angolahlah; and whilst we were talking, our mules were brought up
and delivered over to Mr. Scott’s servants, that we might start as
early as we pleased the next morning. The Wallasmah also was ordered
to attend at Angolahlah, which was one reason of his having withheld
the information of our departure from us until the last moment. The
summons which he was obliged to obey did not exactly accord with his
wishes, and a two days’ journey for an old man of sixty years of age,
we admitted was a sufficient reason for the increased ill-temper with
which he received the causers of so much trouble when we visited him on
the last occasion. I took with me another pound of gunpowder and some
more coloured cotton cloth; and these had the good effect of restoring
him to perfect good humour: indeed, to show his regard for us, much
to our surprise, he directed some of his attendants to liberate the
unfortunate messenger who had been detected bringing me a letter the
day before Mr. Scott’s arrival, and who, we conceived, had returned to
Ankobar, according as had been stated on one of our first visits by
the Wallasmah himself. Instead of this being the fact, we now found
that the poor fellow had been the whole time confined in his thatched
lock-up, and supplied with a scanty fare of the worst kind of bread
and water. I felt very sorry for him when he came staggering out of
prison, with blood-shot eyes and squalid look; and it was with feelings
of pity rather than of contempt, that I witnessed the broken spirited
man, with shoulders bare, and with the most abject submission, stoop
and kiss the earth at the feet of his unjust and tyrannical oppressor.
The Wallasmah, with the penetrating glance of suspicious cunning,
read in my countenance the detestation I felt at such unwarrantable
conduct on his part, and muttered in excuse, something about the man
having been “one of Krapf’s servants,” as if he considered that quite a
sufficient pretext for the harshest treatment. The Mahomedans of Efat
fully believe, that the exhortations of that zealous missionary alone
prevented the Negoos from changing his religion; as, shortly before his
arrival in Shoa, a Koran and a mollum to expound it to the Christian
monarch, had been sent for to the palace.
Mr. Scott and I were so astonished at seeing the man whom we thought
to be far distant, that we could not say anything. It would have been
a great relief to my indignation if I could have told my thoughts to
the old scoundrel, but this being out of the question, I walked away as
quickly as possible from his presence, followed by Mr. Scott and our
servants; and I do hope that our abrupt and unceremonious departure
annoyed him a little, and thus retaliated in some measure for his
contempt of, and disrespect towards us.
The politic Sahale Selassee, Negoos of Shoa, is well aware of the
character of the Wallasmah, and the value of having such an imbecile
ruling over the restless Mahomedan population of his kingdom. A
governor, indeed, of whom he may truly say, as our Charles the Second
did of himself and of his brother the Duke of York, “That his subjects
would never kill him to make the other King.”
The inhabitants of Efat, much as they dislike the opprobrious position
of living under a Christian monarch, never entertain an idea of
revolting from the Negoos to place themselves under the power of
that vindictive drunkard the Wallasmah Mahomed; whose only claim to
their respect is his religion and his descent from the hero of modern
Abyssinian history, Mahomed Grahnè, of whose extensive kingdom of Adal
this little province of Efat, not so large as Middlesex, is all that
has remained to his family, and even that is now a portion of the
Christian state of Shoa.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Dr. Stukeley. “Stonehenge, a British Temple,” page 53.
CHAPTER IV.
Leave Farree for Ankobar.--Description of the road.--Aliu
Amba.--Road to Ankobar.--Incidents of the journey.--Vale
of the Dinkee river.--Valley of the Airahra.--Effect of
denudation.--Ankobar.--British Residency.--Start for
Angolahlah.--Ascent of the Tchakkah.--Road to Angolahlah.--
The town of Angolahlah.--Meet superior officers of Mission.
_May 31st._--Long before the sun had appeared upon the horizon our
mules were saddled and bridled; the hotel bill for Mr. Scott and myself
duly discharged, by a present of two dollars to the owner of the house
where we had been entertained and imprisoned; farewells were exchanged
for the last time with some of my Kafilah friends, and of my escort;
and we were off on our journey to Angolahlah, just as the distant
elevated hills near Ankobar, and the ridge or line of the table land
of Shoa beyond these, were brightly gilded by the first rays of the
rising luminary. Steadily we descended the loose stony declivity of
the hill of Farree, then clattered more briskly along a winding road
that, taking us round the base of a much higher eminence, shut us out
entirely from the sight of the white tobed townspeople, who sat along
the edges of their own cliffs to watch our progress so far on our
journey.
We now descended a bank of about four feet high into the bed of the
stream, by whose denuding agency the rocky flanks of the adjoining
hills had been laid bare. Trees of irregular height, and of very
various foliage, bordered the broad pebbly channel, along which a
gently rippling brook meandered, its course opposed to ours as it
flowed to join the Hawash. Sometimes it scoured a little ledge of
gravel, or fell over and among high boulders, the evidences of its
power in the time of its fullest might, during the heavy rains of July
and August; when its swollen volume, yellow with suspended mud, rushes
along its then pent-up bounds, bearing before it rocks, uprooted trees,
and the rotting debris of jowarhee, beans, or teff, from the upland
fields which it has devastated in its course.
We rode for some time along the bed of the stream, following its
serpentine channel, until we turned upon its right bank, and began to
ascend a long gradual slope, which having overcome, only led us to a
descent equally irksome, both to riders and mules, from its continued
inclination downwards. At its base we crossed another stream, and then
began to climb another height, and then came again the equally tiresome
descent on the opposite side. And thus we proceeded for at least four
hours, alternate hill and stream in regular succession, until we
arrived at Aliu Amba; a village perched upon a flat-topped isolated
rock that, nearly at right angles with the road, juts across the upper
end of a pretty little valley, along which we had been coming for the
last half hour.
When we had managed to scramble over a series of irregular and quite
naturally disposed stone steps, and had gained the level summit of
this ridge, I turned to look in the direction from whence we had come,
and contemplated it with great satisfaction; congratulating myself at
having got two-thirds of the heavy business over of ascending the long
flight of hill steps which, gradually increasing in elevation, form a
kind of giant staircase from our starting place at Farree to the table
land of Shoa.
At Aliu Amba we met numbers of Christian Abyssinians, and were
taken to the house of the Governor, also a Christian, but who was
absent in attendance upon the King. Every civility was paid to us,
and numerous were the inquiries made after Lieut. Barker, who, it
appears, had taken up his residence in this town some months previous
to his return journey. I was glad to be able to say that I had had a
personal interview with him, for I could see, that to be the “Woodage
Kapitan,” friend of the Captain, as he was called in Shoa, was a
great recommendation; and although a lengthened levee, with a crowd
of people whose language you cannot understand, is a terrible bore,
still smiling faces, and a friendly welcome, in a strange country, from
whatever cause, does the traveller’s heart good, and encourages him to
proceed on his undertaking.
We halted for nearly two hours at Aliu Amba, not being able to get away
before, as a sheep had been killed, and our servants were determined
to take advantage of the hospitality of the townspeople. When their
hunger was satisfied, they brought us our mules, for which we had
been asking some time in vain, as Mr. Scott and I were anxious to
breakfast, if we could, at Ankobar with Dr. Roth, and Mr. Bernatz the
artist to the Embassy, A large concourse of the principal people of
the town accompanied us across the market-place to the edge of their
little table hill, from whence they watched us until shut out from view
by the sinuosity of the narrow road, which occupied the summit of a
ledge separating the slopes of two small rivulets, running in opposite
directions around the hill of Aliu Amba, to join each other in the
valley in front.
We now rode between two delightful natural hedge rows of a low thorny
bush with dark green leaves, and-bearing clusters of a black sweet
berry; over which trailed in most luxuriant profusion a very sweet
scented jasmine; and pushing its way through this mass of vegetation,
high above all, flowered the common hedge rose of England. Its
well-remembered delicately blushing hue, so unexpectedly greeting
me here, elicited a feeling that, with but a little more ardent
sensitiveness in my nature, would have thrown me on my knees before
it, as Linnæus is said to have knelt to the flowering furze, on first
witnessing its brilliant blossoms in England.
The road now became most shockingly stony, strewed with detached
fragments of the cliffs around, as we approached the bluff termination
of the table land above us. A recent earthquake had brought down
considerable quantities, and no attempt had been made to remove the
blocks, travellers very patiently seeking out a new path around
them. In two or three places, where the _detour_ was too great, some
desperate spirits had forced their mules or donkeys to breast up the
miniature precipices a few feet in height. At one of these situations I
dismounted, preferring to walk through the delightfully hanging gardens
on either side of me, and along an embowered lane, where a dense shade,
and numberless little streams that traversed sometimes considerable
distances, contributed to the agreeable coolness of an elevation
between 6,000 and 7,000 feet above the level of the sea. Here, as
everywhere else, where trees abounded, birds of all characters and
colours gave liveliness to the scene. One similar in size and plumage
to our sparrow, constructed pensile nests, dropping as it were from
the extreme boughs that nodded with these novel appendages. The dove,
slattern as she is, here also built her nest, a ragged stage of sticks;
whilst in the thick bush beneath, the prying traveller could detect
the round black speaking eye of some other little expectant mother of
the feathered race, as, with head thrown aside, she confidingly and
instinctively expects that the goodness of man’s nature will not allow
him to disturb her sacred functions; a pleasing testimony it is to me,
nature’s own evidence of the primitive excellence of man, when he and
all around were pronounced by the Creator to be good.
Very soon tiring, however, in my weak state and on such a road, I got
on to my mule again, which, if she could have spoken, would certainly
have echoed the sentiment of the Portuguese traveller, Bermudez, who,
in the 16th century, describing the very same road, represents it as
giving him an idea of those in hell, from its steepness and roughness.
Our poor animals, in fact, were frequently obliged to come to a
stand-still to recover their breath; but they soon set their faces to
the steep rocks, and managed, in some way or other, to surmount many
very queer-looking places, without shedding us into some uncomfortably
deep water-cut precipices that, as we got nearer to the end of our
journey, began to be exchanged for the verdant hedges of the previous
portion. The whole way we were constantly encountering herds of
donkeys, heavily laden with grain, which was being brought down from
the high land to be exchanged in Efat for cotton and salt. The men who
accompanied them were, to my surprise, much darker coloured than the
people of the lower country, tall, well made, and armed with spear and
shield. With loud cries they encouraged the patient animals before
them, to quicken their slow and cautious pace down the stony descent.
The friendly salutation as we passed was never forgotten, nor did the
laughing fast-talking girls who accompanied them spare their smiles,
which was quite a merciful dispensation, that made our difficult and
fatiguing ascent, much pleasanter than would have been a macadamized
road through a desert.
We at length reached a narrow tortuous ridge of at least a mile in
length, across which, a walk of but a few yards presented to the view
on either side, a deep and extensive valley. That on the left hand
is by far the narrower and more precipitous, being bounded by the
steep, almost perpendicular face of the opposite ridge of Tchakkah,
at the distance of about four miles; whilst that on the right, is of
a character exactly the reverse, a widely extending amphitheatrical
formed valley spreading from below the feet, far towards the east.
From the summit of an inclined plane, eight thousand feet above the
level of the sea, the eye travels for sixty miles over hundreds of
little hills, embosomed in the widely diverging arc that defines the
bay-like valley, in which is contained the whole of the numberless
streams that, joining the small river Dinkee near to Farree, flow into
Lee Adu. This lake formed a bright feature of the scene, embosomed in
the dark green belt of forest that marks the course of the Hawash;
beyond which the sandy plains of Adal, blending with a colourless sky,
constituted an horizon in which sight was lost.
Between the two strongly contrasted yet equally beautiful scenes I
could have oscillated the whole day, had not I been reminded by Mr.
Scott that breakfast would be waiting for us at Ankobar. At this
touching appeal I urged on my mule, who now rested herself by a
gallop along the very level summit of the ridge that, like a natural
suspension bridge, is extended from the hill of Ankobar in the west
to that of Lomee on the south, and forms the boundary between these
bearings of the upper portion of the Dinkee valley.
In two or three places I noticed that the otherwise narrow ridge spread
out into little flats of about fifty yards across. As we passed the
first of these, a small heap of stones, surmounted by a rude wooden
cross, indicated to the passer-by that a church was hidden in the grove
of kolqual and wild fig-trees that occupied the limited expansion.
Each of Mr. Scott’s servants most reverentially dismounted to kiss the
topmost stone, on which the cross stood. A little beyond, the road
again contracted, and from the back of my mule, by merely turning my
face, I could look into either valley on my right or left hand. Along
this path we proceeded cautiously in Indian file, passing in one place
the site of a devastated grove and ruined church; the scarping effects
of constant land-slips on either side the ridge having in this position
defeated all efforts of man to prevent the destruction of the sacred
edifice, its site having been gradually removed during the process of
denudation which is so rapidly altering the physical features of this
country. The eastern face of the hill of Ankobar was now before us, the
head of a subordinate valley scooped out of that side of the ridge only
intervening. Having doubled this by continuing along our level road,
we scrambled over a rough precipitous ascent, fortunately only of a
few yards in extent, and entered a narrow lane or street between high
banks, on which stood a number of straggling thatched round houses,
each in its own enclosure. The road appeared to have been worn into a
hollow way by the constant passage of man and beast during the many
reigns since this hill became a royal residence.
Tradition asserts, and I believe Abyssinian recorded history affirms,
that the first occupier of this commanding height was a Galla Queen
called Anko, and by the addition of “bar”(door) to her name, native
philologists (and they are very curious in these matters) have
determined the designation of this town to be, significant of its
having been the gate or door of Anko. This is rather an unfinished
interpretation, as it omits to tell us what it secured; and were it not
that we had the circumstantial evidence that the town stands upon the
height commanding the only road leading from the low countries to the
table land of Shoa, we should be at a loss for the real reason of its
very apt name, which it must be allowed to be when that circumstance of
situation is known.
After threading our way for at least a quarter of an hour through a
labyrinth of high over-hanging banks, topped by ragged hedges, or
grey moss-covered palings of splintered fir, we at length reached a
large oblong or rather oval building, for one continuous circuit of a
wattled wall offered no angles to determine sides. This was covered by
an ample straw roof, with far-projected eaves, and having two bright
red earthenware pots at the extremities of the crest of the roof, as
a finish to the whole. This was the British Residency, and gladly
we dismounted to meet our expected friends. Turning aside the green
Chinese blind, which, suspended from the top of the entrance, was
sufficient to exclude the beggars, and yet admitted some light into
the interior, we gained admittance; and having passed through a large
central apartment, where mules, horses, and sheep were stabled, I was
conducted into a clay-plastered apartment, about six feet by nine,
between the inner and outer walls of the building, where I found two
gentlemen belonging to the Mission, Dr. Roth, the naturalist, and Mr.
Bernatz, the artist, just about to commence their breakfast.
Greetings and congratulations were exchanged, and numberless inquiries
made about the cause of my detention at Farree. A host of idle
Abyssinian servants gathered around, questioning in like manner the
native servants of Mr. Scott, and it was sometime before we settled
down to partake of the good things which Constantine, the Portuguese
cook, during the bustle of our arrival, had taken the opportunity to
prepare.
Mr. Scott and I having determined to hurry on the same day to
Angolahlah, fresh mules were ordered to be ready by the time I had
sufficiently indulged in the luxury of something like English fare,
which, for the first time for nearly three months, was now placed
before me.
When we started, Mr. Scott volunteered to be guide, and so excused his
servants from being dragged on such an unnecessary journey. Having got
through the town of Ankobar, we began to descend, progressing more
rapidly after passing some distance along the side of a high stockade
surrounding the royal residence, which occupied the whole summit of
the partially detached western extremity of the ridge on which Ankobar
stands. The descent continued for nearly half an hour, the road being
exceedingly rough and stony, until we came to the edge of the little
river Airahra, flowing into the Hawash, the stream of which by its
denudation has cut from the table-land of Tchakkah, the long narrow
ridge which we passed along during the ride to Aliu Amba.
Formerly the Airahra flowed into the Barissa, and was a tributary
therefore of the mighty Nile; but a singular natural operation has
effected an alteration in its course, and it now flows in an opposite
direction. Physical geography, I think, does not describe a similar
character of country as the surface of the table land of Abyssinia
presents, or the relative position it occupies in consequence with
surrounding countries. These must both be treated of before I can give
the reader the manner in which nature is gradually effecting what
former Abyssinian monarchs threatened to do, the turning of the waters
of the Nile from the direction of Egypt and the north, to the Indian
Ocean and the East. A mighty operation which is most certainly going
on, and which can be demonstrated, will in the end drain the northern
portion of Abyssinia, by a communication being opened between the
river Hawash and the Abi, or Bruce’s Nile. In this place, however, any
description would fail in the effect of conveying a clear idea to the
mind of the reader; but in a future page, when more familiar with the
country he is now travelling over with me, I will endeavour fully to
explain the manner in which this curious process of natural engineering
is being carried out.
We forded the Airahra a little beyond a square stone building with a
thatched roof, which was pointed out to me as the water mill, that was
erected by the two Armenians whom I met in Tajourah, Demetrius and
Joannes. Whatever ability was displayed in the construction, but little
judgment had been exercised in its situation, for it stood at the
bottom of a deep valley, at the distance of two miles at least, by the
circuitous and rugged road, from the town of Ankobar: whilst, on the
other side, to look up the ascent of the Tchakkah would have certainly
occasioned the fall behind of the cap from off the head.
I do not believe the architects built it for any direct purposes of
utility, but to give the Negoos an idea of their mechanical skill.
It is now unemployed, if we believe some travellers, by reason of
the Jinn or demons, by whose power they say the Shoans believe the
mill was put in motion. This assertion is of the same character with
that which represents Sahale Selassee putting reverentially a pair
of vaccine glasses into an amulet, mistaking the instructions given
for their proper use, when it is notorious that for a great number of
years the analogous operation of inoculation has been practised in
Shoa. I can only say, that when windmills were described as being much
better adapted for the purposes of a people who principally inhabit
the summits of hills, Sahale Selassee so admired the idea that I was
almost afraid I should be obliged to construct one. So far from the
monarch supposing mills to be worked by demons, he never troubled
himself so much, in a conversation with me, as he did to shew how
closely he had observed every part of the mill that had been put up, to
learn its economy, and the manner in which its effects were produced.
The most laborious employment of the women of Abyssinia is grinding
flour. Windmills to perform this duty would diminish considerably the
demand for female slaves in that country, and less encouragement would
be, therefore, given to the internal slave-trade of Africa, whilst the
prohibition of the export of slaves by Mahomedans from the eastern
coast, would extinguish the greater part of the infernal traffic at
once.
Immediately after crossing the Airahra we commenced a most villanous
ascent. I believe that, to be in daily use, and traversed by hundreds
of individuals, the Tchakkah road is unequalled in the world for
steepness, roughness, and everything else that can contribute to make a
road difficult and unsafe. Now a brawling stream, rushing down into the
Airahra, covers with a slippery slime the bald face of the rock; here
loose crumbling stones treacherously detach themselves from beneath the
struggling hoofs of the mule; and there an actual cataract, of at least
eight feet high, has to be scrambled over, splashing through spray and
the flying gravel dislodged by the ascent. Zigzag parallels, as they
are termed in fortifications, are the exact description of the route we
took up the almost perpendicular cliffs; and our faces were alternately
turned nearly due north and south, as we succeeded in accomplishing
some ten or twelve yards in the traverse, at every turn we made,
peeping over into a deep abyss that yawned before us, and prevented
our ride from being extended longer in that direction. Often does the
merciful man here dismount from his tired mule, and sitting upon some
detached portion of rock, congratulate himself, as he gazes downward,
on having effected so much of his painful task; and as he looks upward
receives some encouragement to proceed, when he sees the reward
of perseverance, in the distant image of some preceding traveller
gradually rising in relief against the sky, then suddenly disappearing
over the lofty ridge where terminates his labour.
It took us one hour to surmount this awful steep, which, had it been
some thousand feet higher, might not, perhaps, have been unjustly
compared with similar passes among the Alps; but even then the
comparison would hold no longer than the ascent, for, arrived upon
the summit, the stranger finds no descent but an extensive table land
spread before him, and he cannot divest himself of an idea, that he has
reached some new continent. A Scotch climate, and Scotch vegetation,
wheat, barley, and linseed, and yet still in inter-tropical Africa;
he feels as if there must be some mistake, an idea of incongruity,
not unlike what I experienced upon seeing in a “united family of
animals,” several rats seeking a warm retreat beneath the fur of a cat.
Everything, in fact, was different to what I had expected, and the
nearly black skins of the natives that we met seemed to be unnatural in
a country where a chill breeze was blowing.
Koom Dingi, the resting-stone, is a solitary remaining hexagonal prism
of grey columnar porphyry, some few feet in height, and stands amidst
the fragments of others, very conspicuously on the extreme edge of the
Tchakkah. Here it is usual for the weary wayfarer after his ascent,
to stop and refresh himself with the bread no Abyssinian on a long
journey fails to provide himself with, and carries wrapt up in the long
mekanet, or girdle, that surrounds his loins.
Mr. Scott and myself, however, pushed on our mules, glad at having got
over the worst part of the road to Angolahlah, and willing to make the
best of our way before sunset, for it began to be a question with my
companion, if we should arrive before night at our destination.
The country seemed highly cultivated, wheat and barley on all sides
growing close to our path; but no trees or hedge rows enlivened with
their verdure or fragrance, the bleak, moor-like scene around. The
farm-houses were few and far between, neither were they so high nor so
comfortable-looking as those of the clustered villages, that crowned
every little hill in the vale of the Dinkee, on the other side of
Ankobar. The walls were generally a circle of rough, unhewn stones,
about three feet high, supporting the usual conical roof of straw. The
smoke escaped in white wreaths from beneath the eaves, or issued in a
volume from the entrance, and had it not been for some substantial and
really English-looking stacks of grain standing near, which prevented
the idea of poverty being connected with the apparent discomforts of
these dwellings, the name of hovels would have been far too superior a
designation for them.
We met very few people on the road, but these had all of them a great
number of questions to put, if we would have stayed to listen. We were
also several times called upon to stop for the night at the houses
of people who ran after us to say, that they knew Mr. Krapf, and
that, consequently, we must be their friends, and partake of their
hospitality. Although shivering with cold, and nearly tired out, we
resisted all such temptations, proceeding at a gentle amble, for which
the mules of Shoa are famous, and after a long ride of seven hours,
just as the sun was setting, its last rays falling upon our faces, the
straggling but extensive town of Angolahlah suddenly opened upon us,
as we rounded the low shoulder of a ridge which had been in sight for
nearly the last hour.
Three extensive, but low hills of nearly equal height, and covered with
houses, enclose a triangular space, which forms the centre of the town.
Across this, Mr. Scott and I quickly galloped our mules, pulling up
opposite a white square tent, at the door of which had already appeared
Capt. Harris and Capt. Graham, the news of our approach having been
conveyed by a forerunner, who had observed us in the distance.
A very pleasant evening followed; conversation upon home and Indian
news occupied the few hours before we retired to rest; and amidst the
luxuries and conveniences, so abundantly supplied to the Embassy by the
indulgent care of a liberal Government, I almost fancied that I had
returned to the pleasures and comforts of civilized life. As my cloak,
coats, and carpet, which constituted my bed, were left at Farree, my
courteous entertainer, Capt. Harris, supplied me with an abundance of
warm clothing for the night, and I slept well in an adjoining tent, of
black worsted-cloth, manufactured by the Abyssinians.
Unfortunately, amidst all his kindness, Capt. Harris considered it to
be his duty to take notes of my conversation, without my being aware in
the slightest degree of such a step, or being conscious of the least
necessity for his doing so. On my becoming aware of this circumstance,
a few weeks after, by the distortion of a most innocent remark of
mine, which was imputed to me in a sense that I never dreamt of
employing it, I retorted in a manner that led to further proceedings;
and from that time all intercourse between the members of the Embassy
and myself ceased for some months.
CHAPTER V.
Staying at Angolahlah.--Waterfall into the Tcherkos river.--
Difficulty in obtaining the stores.--Journey to Ankobar.--
Female slaves of the Negoos.--Belief of the Shoan Church.--
Father Tellez.--Vegetables introduced into Shoa.
_June 1st._--This morning Capt. Harris and Mr. Scott were busily
engaged writing a strong remonstrance to the King upon the subject
of the detention of the latter in Farree, and the seizure by the
Wallasmah, of the despatches and stores. I had waived all consideration
of the indignities offered to myself, as I saw that from some
inexplicable reason Capt. Harris wished to restrict the letter to
a notice of the imprisonment of Mr. Scott; although I was rather
surprised that the letter which was written in English should be taken
by that gentleman himself, with a Persian interpreter, who spoke
Amharic very imperfectly, to explain it. However, they did not see the
Negoos, and beyond the letter being duly entered in the record-book of
the Embassy, no other steps were taken on account of the infraction
of the commercial treaty which had been entered into between Sahale
Selassee, Negoos of Shoa, and Capt. Harris, the representative of Her
Majesty at that court.
During the three succeeding days, numerous bearers brought to
Angolahlah the stores from Farree, and by orders of the Negoos all
were deposited in the palace-yard, nor was one allowed to be touched
or seen by our Ambassador. All this time I amused myself as well as I
could, reading some volumes upon African discoveries; sometimes taking
a short walk along a narrow flat through which a little meandering
stream flowed directly to the Lomee Wans, or Lemon river, which has cut
a deep and wide ravine in front of the village of Tcherkos, celebrated
as being the scene of a dreadful massacre of Christians by a rebel
governor of Shoa, named Matoka, some few years before. This ravine
extends from the south, in a direction towards the north-east, and
joins, or is continuous with that to the west of the town of Debra
Berhan, where the Barissa, in its course to the Jumma, forms, in the
rainy season, some magnificent waterfalls.
Some idea of the depth to which even these early tributaries of the
Abi (Bruce’s Nile) have denuded their channels may be derived from
the fact, that the little stream, along the banks of which I used to
direct my steps, after a course of scarcely two miles, leaps down, in
one unbroken fall, seven hundred feet to join the rivulet below, for
the Lomee Wans deserves no higher title. I can easily comprehend,
therefore, the astonishing fact that after flowing the short distance
of two hundred and fifty miles, the river Abi should be found by Dr.
Beke not more than three thousand feet above the level of the sea,
although flowing through a table land, the general elevation of which
exceeds nine thousand feet.
On the fourth morning of my stay at Angolahlah, a page came from the
King to desire Capt. Harris to attend at the palace. Shortly after this
was complied with, another summons arrived for one of the soldiers, who
was employed as a carpenter, to follow also. In about half an hour, the
whole party returned, the interpreter, Ibrahim, carrying in his cloak
the torn-up, tarpaulin-covered packages of letters. I now learnt that
the Negoos had commanded that the boxes and other things should be
burst open in his presence. This arbitrary command being immediately
complied with, after the first few were examined, he graciously gave
permission for the whole to be removed to the tents of the Embassy,
being satisfied with the willingness shown to gratify him in his most
unreasonable demands. This humiliating concession, I am convinced,
would not have been required had not the monarch felt some jealous
misgivings as to the amount of prerogative he had curtailed himself of
by attaching his signature to the treaty of commerce; the first fruits
of which had been the impolitical letter of remonstrance on a previous
occasion; the innocent writer of which, Mr. Krapf, had already been
made to feel the kingly resentment by the ill-usage that gentleman
received from the chief, Adara Billee, when he endeavoured to return to
Shoa, after an unsuccessful attempt to reach the city of Gondah.
For the future, I shall endeavour to relate the incidents of my
residence in Shoa, with as little allusion to politics as possible, but
the reader must excuse the few remarks I have already made, convinced
as I am, that the physical failure of the expedition on the western
coast of Africa, under Capt. Trotter, is much less to be regretted,
than the great moral injury the cause of African civilization and
English influence in that continent have sustained by the incapability
of one man, and the ill-judged proceedings which characterized his
ambassadorial career. I am not the proper person, however, to sit
in judgment upon any one; but I know from personal experience, that
as regards Southern Abyssinia, the merchant and the missionary must
now seek other situations for carrying out their interesting and
philanthropic projects for the regeneration of Africa.[2]
I found the weather so exceedingly cold, and the time at Angolahlah
pass so uselessly and heavily along, that I was very glad, after a
week’s stay, to be again on the road back to Ankobar. The day previous
to my leaving Angolahlah, I engaged a servant, named Walderheros,
tall, athletic, but of most ill-favoured countenance, so much so,
that “Gool,” to which eastern vampire he was compared by the members
of the Mission, became his cognomen afterwards amongst them. My mule
being saddled, we started early in the morning, as I was desirous of
getting as far on the road as possible before the sun had ascended
so high as to render the ride unpleasantly warm. Walderheros trudged
along on foot by the side of my mule, carrying my carabine behind his
neck, with his two hands resting upon the projecting portions on either
side. He talked incessantly, and it did not seem to matter the least,
that I could not understand a word he said. To check him, I repeated,
with a very grave face, the whole of “My name is Norval.” He listened
patiently to the end, and it then seemed to strike him that we should
amuse ourselves much better, if he were to teach me in his own language
the names of surrounding objects, rather than listen to such another
long rigmarole I was also about to treat him with. Thereupon commenced
my first Amharic lesson, and as I was a willing pupil, and Walderheros
an untiring teacher, I made great progress during the ride.
In this manner we travelled at a slow pace along the undulating broad
highroad that, nearly in a direct line, conducts us from Angolahlah to
the edge of Tchakkah. We met some few travellers, who, as we passed,
exchanged loud and long-continued salutations with Walderheros, kept up
until they were out of all convenient speaking distance of each other.
A moor, or extensive downs, would convey the best idea of the country
around; but though no trees or bushes intercept the sight, the whole
surface was well cultivated with wheat and barley, or preserved as
grazing meadows for the feeding of cattle. Excepting one considerably
excavated valley, two or three miles from Tchakkah, the original level
of the table land is only altered in the places where it is traversed
by shallow water-denuded channels, along which very frequently the road
runs, and the traveller proceeds in a broad hollow way, the flat ridges
on each side of him rising some ten or twenty feet above his head.
I was not sorry at seeing again the already familiar land-mark, Koom
Dingi, although it reminded me of the steep descent beyond. On arriving
at the edge of the table land, I followed the advice of Walderheros,
and dismounted; for however sure-footed in such perilous descents mules
may be, they sometimes slip, as was evidenced by the dead body of one
that lay burst among the rocks below, from a slip over one of the
precipices. I sat down a few minutes whilst my servant ran to a house
in sight, and procured for me the loan of a long slender staff, of some
tough wood, like a spearshaft, which the Shoans generally carry with
them when travelling on foot. By the aid of this, I was enabled to get
along pretty well, dropping carefully from one huge stone to another,
and in this manner, by rough unequal steps, succeeded at length in
reaching the stream of the Airahra. I now mounted again, and forded the
stony bed of the stream, surmounting with some difficulty the miry
bank on the farther side, where the deeply-sunken hoofs of my mule were
pulled with successive snatches out of the soughing tenacious mud.
Half an hour’s ride brought me to the foot of the royal hill of
Ankobar. As we ascend, the road passes midway along its steep side,
which above and below the traveller slopes several hundred feet. Here
we encountered a noisy crowd of chatting romping girls, with large jars
slung between their shoulders by a leathern belt, or rope, which passes
across the breast. They were proceeding to a meadow below, to fill
their jars with water at a little clear stream that fell over a little
ledge of stones as it proceeded to join the Airahra. As I passed them,
I overheard some of them whispering to the other, “Missela Zingero,” a
most complimentary speech certainly, meaning nothing less than that I
was “like a baboon.” These girls were slaves of the Negoos, and their
chief employment consisted of this daily duty of carrying water from
the stream to the palace on the summit of the hill. No less than two
hundred are so employed, and these supply all the water required for
the use of the courtiers and guests, besides a body-guard of three
hundred gunmen, all of whom are daily fed at the royal table.
On my arrival at the Residency, I was again entertained by Dr. Roth
and Mr. Bernatz, who, during the four days I spent with them were as
kind and as attentive as possible. At the end of that time I became
much alarmed at feeling the approach of symptoms threatening a return
of the intermittent fever, from which I had suffered so much during the
previous eight months. I was not long in determining what course to
pursue, but resolved upon leaving Ankobar immediately, and exchange its
damp cold atmosphere for the more genial climate of Aliu Amba.
In Ankobar my time was principally occupied in receiving information
respecting the character and customs of the inhabitants of Shoa, but
these I had more opportunity subsequently of observing for myself.
Respecting the slaves of the Negoos, in addition to the water-bearers
just spoken of, I learned that he possessed several hundreds of others.
All the gunmen who constitute the body-guard are bondsmen, and of these
there are at least one thousand. These are divided into three bodies,
relieving each other in rotation after one week’s attendance at the
palace; so that these men have entirely to themselves two weeks out
of three, a period always spent with their families. As individuals
distinguish themselves for bravery and loyalty, they obtain grants of
houses and gardens, generally in the immediate neighbourhood of the
royal residences. When they advance in years, or have sons old enough
to attend in their places, larger quantities of land, apportioned
according to merit, are given to them and they become tenants of the
King, only called up for suite and service on the occasions of the
“zemitcharoitsh,” or expeditions. The grown up sons who fill their
places as guardsmen generally reside with their fathers, and in that
case their guns are allowed to be taken home with them; but the general
rule is, that they should deposit them, after the term of duty has
expired, in the armouries attached to the palaces, where they remain
under the charge of the Atta Habta, the chief blacksmith. The gunmen
have but one superior officer, who is termed “Ullica,” or “Shoom.”
The name of the present colonel, if he may be so termed, is Kattimah.
By courtesy he is styled “Atta Kattimah,” Atta being a title of
distinction applied generally to all courtiers of high rank.
The gunmen, whilst on duty at the palace, receive daily two double
handsful of some kind of grain or other; a kind of admeasurement that
reminded me strongly of a similar custom of giving rations to slaves
among the ancient Romans. Beside this, however, they get one good meal
a-day at the King’s own table; at least, in an apartment where he
superintends this diurnal feast of his attendants, who are plentifully
regaled with large teff crumpets and a quantity of ale. With the bread
is always provided some cayenne paste, called “dillock,” composed of
equal parts of the red pods of the pepper and common salt, mixed with
a little “shrow,” or the meal of peas. This is placed in a number of
saucers of red earthenware, which stand in the middle of oblong tables
of wicker work, about one foot and a-half high. A number of these are
placed in the form of a horse-shoe in the banquetting-room, and around,
on both sides, sitting upon the ground, the gunmen range themselves,
sometimes in double ranks. The King presides over all, reclining upon a
yellow satin-covered couch, in a kind of recess, or alcove in one side
of the apartment. The greatest order and decorum is preserved, but no
restraint appears to be laid either upon appetite or quiet conversation.
Upon occasions of festivals, which are exceedingly numerous, an
unlimited amount of raw meat is added to their usual fare. Slave boys
carry about a large lump of flesh, held fast over one shoulder by a
strong grip of both hands, whilst each of the dining party cuts with
his knife such portion he may desire, and then dismisses the boy
with his blessing to the next who requires a like uncooked steak. In
addition to their entertainment by the King when on duty at the palace,
the gunmen receive a monthly pay of from three to seven ahmulahs, or
salt-pieces, according to their length of service. Besides the numerous
gunmen who are generally slaves born in the service of the Negoos,
there is an inferior class who have been purchased from dealers, or
have come to the King as the import duty when Kafilahs of these unhappy
creatures arrive in his dominions. The usual “assair,” or tithe, being
taken as of every other kind of merchandize that is brought into Shoa.
These slaves are employed generally as cutters of wood; and a most
toilsome and ill-requited labour is that which they have to perform,
for the country around Angolahlah and Debra Berhan is so bare of wood
that the inhabitants have no other resource for fuel but the dung of
cattle mixed with mire, which are formed into large flat cakes and
heaped up in storehouses for protection from the weather. I believe
that the quantity of potass in the soil in this part of the country,
contributes considerably to the value of this strange kind of fuel,
as its combination with sundry other elements contained in the dung
saturates the mass with saltpetre.
The Negoos, however, does not employ this kind of fuel in his palaces,
but is supplied by the wood-cutting slaves with the cedar-smelling
pine-tree, called “ted,” or the more adapted for a bright warm fire,
the oil-containing wood of the wild olive-tree; both of which grow
abundantly in the forests of Kundee and Afrabinah, that occupy the
head of some of the numerous valleys sloping towards the Hawash, on
the east of the ridge in front of Ankobar. From these forests, the
stalwart frames of the Shankalli slaves bear long and heavy burdens
of the rended fire-wood up the steep rugged ascent, to the right of
the Hill of Grace; and then, for twenty-five miles, to the palaces of
Debra Berhan and Angolahlah. Upon this painful and laborious duty, not
less than three hundred slaves are employed, who receive daily the
most wretched fare, either a few handsful of parched wheat, or else,
the sour and coarse refuse from the gunmen’s table. Still, these, I
found, were far from being over-worked; for three days are allowed
to each for the conveyance of the load, and the return back from the
distant palaces to their homes, which even these are provided with for
themselves and their families.
The female slaves are still more numerous; independent of the two
hundred employed in supplying the King’s household with water, there
are, at least, one hundred more, who assist in grinding flour, brewing,
and making the “dillock,” or pepper-paste.
There are, however, belonging to this class, a more interesting party
of female slaves, who are kept in the strictest seclusion; for Sahale
Selassee, a descendant of Solomon, continues, as regards his wives
and concubines, the customs of his ancestor’s court. Two hundred of
these young ladies are placed in charge of several eunuchs, and the
establishment, in fact, corresponds in every respect with the hareem
of an oriental monarch. It is not very easy to obtain information
respecting the habits or occupations of these immured beauties; but
the more elaborately-spun cotton thread, that is used for the finer
descriptions of cloths, which are presented by the Negoos to his
greatest favourites and governors, is all made by the members of this
portion of the royal household.[3] The large and fine cloth, valued
in Shoa at thirty dollars, sent by Sahale Selassee, as a present to
our Queen, is woven of thread spun in the palace of Debra Berhan; and
the monarch, sole visitor to the apartments occupied by these royal
cotton-spinners, has no doubt frequently stimulated his favourite
slaves to more careful efforts, as they produced the finely long-drawn
thread, by dwelling upon the munificence and wealth of his Egyptian
sister, our own well-beloved Sovereign.
Besides learning some little of the condition of the slaves belonging
to the Negoos of Shoa, whilst in Ankobar, I also read a considerable
portion of “Ludolph’s Ethiopic History,” a work left in charge of Dr.
Roth, the naturalist of the British Embassy, by Mr. Krapf, when he
returned to Egypt. I had the opportunity of making use of the whole
book upon the doctrine of the Church, contained in Ludolph; and,
also, the interesting almanac which is appended to it; but the former
is such an evident compilation of what ought to be the faith of the
Abyssinian Church, rather than what it ever was, or is at the present
day, that I considered any abstract, or account of the Christians of
Shoa, founded upon it, would be one of the grossest impositions that
could be palmed upon the reading public. I dare not, in fact, attempt
any elucidation of the faith professed by the Negoos and monks of
Shoa. They, certainly, have no universal creed, nor any Articles to
define what is orthodox belief, and what is not. The chief principle of
religion with the heads of the Church in that country seems to be, to
think upon this subject exactly as the Negoos does; for if they do not,
they are very soon considered in the light of heretics; and how far
the principles of the Negoos accord with those of the Abune, or Bishop
of Gondah, may be judged from the fact, that he has often been judged
to be in contempt, by that holy father, and threatened with all the
terrors of excommunication. I confess myself, therefore, unequal to the
task of giving any account of the Christian religion in Shoa. To give
a correct one, would require a man educated entirely for the purpose
by a long study of the subject in all its relations, as connected with
the Greek Church, and the Archbishopric of Alexandria, to enable him
to collect, compare, and arrange that chaos of religious opinions that
seem to characterize the modern Abyssinian faith; and, more especially,
that which is professed in Shoa.
Tellez, in his Travels of the Jesuits in Ethiopia, in the seventeenth
century, sums up all that was known in his time; and I do not think
that any more enlightenment has been vouchsafed since to this
benighted Church. Speaking of the proclamation of the Emperor Socinios
restoring to the Abyssinians their ancient faith, after an unsuccessful
attempt to establish the Roman Catholic religion among them, this
author remarks, “This liberty threw them into many errors; for being
uncertain what to believe, some of their monks affirmed, that Christ
was the Son of God, only by grace; others, that the divinity died with
him on the cross, but that he had two divinities, one of which died,
and the other survived; others said, one person was composed of the
two others, confounded the Divine nature with the human; and others,
being quite puzzled, cried, ‘Christ is true God, and true man, and it
is enough to know that.’ Nor was there less division about consecrating
the cup, some contending it could not be done with any liquor but wine;
others, that it should be water discoloured with six or seven raisins.
At length, they agreed it should be done as was used at Alexandria;
and finding no abler person to inquire of, they put the question to an
Egyptian carpenter, who told them, it was done there in wine; yet they
resolved it should be with water and raisins.”
This quotation appeared so apt and so true a picture of the present
state of Christian belief in Shoa, that I have not hesitated to
introduce it here. I should be happy, indeed, to see demonstrated that
anything consistent or universal upon that subject is entertained;
and in that case I should not mind being told, that I had erred in my
conclusions from a want of proper knowledge upon the subject.
It must be observed, however, that in matters of Church ceremony the
Shoans affect the formula of the Alexandrian Church. But even on
this subject we find that a great schism exists, by the contemptuous
disregard of tabots, robes, and all outward show whatever, with which
the Tabeeban sect celebrate the rites of their worship. To term
these people a sect, is not so correct, perhaps, as to call them a
caste, for all artisans in Shoa, and I believe in other parts of
Abyssinia, are so designated. Blacksmiths, potters, carpenters, in
fact, all manufacturing artisans, are called “Tabeeb,” and, from this
circumstance, when first I heard of their mysterious religious rites,
I considered that they would be found to be a community of Freemasons.
Even now I give them the credit of practising the primitive customs
of the early Church of Christ, as it approaches very much to that
simple worship of God which, from the internal evidence contained
in some of the Church letters of St. Paul, we may suppose to have
distinguished the meetings of Christians in the apostolic age. It is
from this circumstance, I connect them in origin, singularly enough,
with our institution of Freemasonry; although the primitive purity of
their parent assemblies has been much better preserved in the simple
ceremonies practised by the Abyssinian Tabeebs, than in the festive
orgies of the mysterious brotherhood of Europe. I quit this subject for
a time, and return to Ankobar.
Whilst staying with Dr. Roth, I frequently accompanied him to a small
garden attached to the old house, where Dr. Beke resided during his
visit to Shoa. On one occasion our attendant dug up a considerable
quantity of potatoes, which had been planted by Mr. Krapf. The
seedlings had been sent from Tigre, in northern Abyssinia, by Mr.
Isenberg, and the return crop seemed very favourable. At present no
advantage has resulted to the natives by their introduction, for the
hatred which seemed to exist against everything English extended even
to the real benefits that were offered to the Shoans.
Who can help regretting the great mistake of the missionary, in
calling political aid to his assistance, but he erred solely by
his zeal to extend his opportunities of conferring good upon his
fellow-creatures. He grieves now for influence, founded upon respect,
that is gone for ever; and from my heart I sympathize with him, for the
utter prostration of hope that Abyssinia should become the centre of
enlightenment for the rest of the unhappy continent of Africa.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] I had fancied that the political tactics of the
Shoan Embassy were unparalleled in history. The
“Heimskringha,” or “Chronicles of the Kings of
Norway,” record, however, a somewhat similar display
of resplendent genius:--“At this time a king called
Athelstan had taken the kingdom of England. He sent
men to Norway to King Harold with the errand that
the messengers should present him with a sword, with
the hilt and handle gilt, and also the whole sheath
adorned with gold and silver and set with precious
jewels. The Ambassadors presented the sword-hilt
to the King, saying, ‘Here is a sword, which King
Athelstan sends thee, with the request that thou wilt
accept it.’ The King took the sword by the handle,
whereupon the Ambassadors said, ‘Now thou hast taken
the sword, according to our King’s desire, and
therefore art thou his subject, as thou hast taken
his sword.’ King Harold saw now that this was a jest,
for he would be subject to no man. But he remembered
it was his rule whenever anything raised his anger to
collect himself and let his passion run off, and then
take the matter into consideration coolly. Now he did
so, and consulted his friends, who all gave him the
advice to let the Ambassadors, in the first place, go
home in safety.”--_Mr. Laing’s Translation._
This is in every particular so curiously analogous to
our late political doings in Shoa, that I could not
induce myself to abstain from inserting it here as
a note. Even the hint of personal violence in the
last sentence exactly corresponded with the treatment
of the Embassy whilst in Shoa, after the ill-judged
letter of remonstrance had been sent; for had it not
been for the moderation of the offended monarch, it
would indeed have been “Shanta fo, Shanta fo,” for the
whole party. It was too late to find out that Sahale
Selassee was “a novice in European diplomacy,” only
when the total failure of the Mission attested the
want of tact and of all knowledge of human nature by
the parties employed by a liberal and too indulgent
Government.
[3] The Abyssinian word for thread, “fatalah,” has
something in its sound that recalls the idea of the
three spinners, typical of man’s destiny. If, as is
probable, the mythological representation of the
Greeks be of Egyptian origin, then the word “fatalah,”
may have some connexion with our word fate.
CHAPTER VI.
Return to Aliu Amba.--Visited by Hy Soumaulee--Complain of
being cheated by Ohmed Mahomed.--Christians of Abyssinia
and of the Greek Church generally forbidden the use of
tobacco.--Miriam’s house and furniture.--Islam contempt for
Christianity.--Evening walk.--Begging monks.
This morning, Walderheros having hired a mule for two salt-pieces,
we proceeded to Aliu Amba. I was not sorry, on reaching the summit
of the ridge in front of Ankobar, to see again the Dinkee vale,
stretching away before me, studded with eminences and little hill
villages. As nearly as possible in the centre of them all, was the flat
circumscribed summit of the rock of Aliu Amba, which we did not lose
sight of during the whole hour occupied in descending to its foot. The
ride was most tiresome, but my mule had more reason to be dissatisfied
than myself, and glad she was to be at length ascending the irregular
sized steps of displaced stones, which leads on to the little plain
before we reach the first houses in the town. Here she broke into a
gallop, and carried me unresistingly across the market-place, and along
a narrow winding lane, with thatched houses, each in its own snug
enclosure, on either side. At the wicket of one of these the animal
stopped, and my sudden appearance rather astonished two women who were
sitting in the door porch busily spinning cotton. “Woi Gypt, Woi Gypt,”
they repeatedly exclaimed, as they got up from the ground, just in time
to meet Walderheros, who now came running up. He soon explained the
mistake of the mule, and taking hold of the bridle, led her about one
hundred yards farther along the lane, to a house the most miserable
looking of any I had yet seen in the town.
Here, however, I was informed Lieut. Barker had resided for nearly
four months, previously to his return to Aden, and I had been advised,
in Ankobar, to live in the same house, at least until a better one
could be obtained from the Governor. The landlady was a poor Mahomedan
woman, named Miriam, a widow with two children, one a grown up youth of
seventeen, named Ibrahim, and the other a daughter, not more than three
years old.
Arrangements were immediately made for my accommodation, and the news
of my arrival soon spread about the town. Numerous visitors, Christian
and Islam, thronged the entrance of the house all day, the floor being
occupied by the more influential ones. I lay in a little recess, just
long and deep enough to receive my bedstead, a low wooden frame, with a
bottom of interlaced strips of hide, over which an ox skin was thrown
for a mattress.
With such of my new friends who could speak Arabic, I managed to
keep up something like a conversation, and also with some Indians
and Persians, who came, among others, to pay their respects, whom
I gratified with the relation of all the latest news from their
respective countries.
The Governor of Aliu Amba, whose name was Tinta, had not returned from
Angolahlah, but his misselannee, or deputy, dragged into my presence,
by the horns, a fine goat, which he requested me to accept. Walderheros
readily consented in my name, and relieved him at once of his charge,
which was taken forthwith and slaughtered; the Deputy-Governor being
chief butcher on the occasion, getting for his trouble the head and
bowels, which, however, were first brought into me very dutifully, to
obtain my permission for such a disposal.
Seeing preparations made for eating, the crowd gradually withdrew, and
with considerable natural politeness left me alone to partake of my
evening’s meal, without interruption. Fortunately I had brought with
me, from the coast, a tea-kettle, frying-pan, and two other vessels of
tinned copper. These now became very useful, and Walderheros was not
long in placing before me a nicely cooked dinner of boiled meat.
A report of my arrival at Aliu Amba having been carried the same
evening to Channo, the next morning I was astonished at seeing the
house beset by a number of my Hy Soumaulee friends, who, although they
were glad to see me, appeared to be not at all satisfied with something
or other.
As none of the Tajourah people had come with them, I sent for an
Islam sheik, Hadjji Abdullah, who lived in the next house, to come
and interpret between us. This man, by-the-by, came from Berberah, on
the banks of the Nile, in Upper Egypt, yet he made himself perfectly
understood in the Affah language; and I expect, therefore, that some
ethnological connexion will be found to exist between the people of
Dongola and the Dankalli tribes, although I understand that this has
been denied by some modern travellers, on the ground, singularly
enough, of the total distinctness between their two languages.
I was not much surprised to learn that the cause of complaint among the
Hy Soumaulee was, that Ohmed Mahomed, who had received from the British
Embassy one hundred and twenty dollars, to pay them their wages, at the
rate of four dollars each man, had thought proper to give them no more
than one each, and a small coarse cotton cloth not the value of half a
dollar. Of course the Hy Soumaulee knew nothing of the British Embassy;
it was to me they looked for the payment of their stipulated wages, and
which, for the latter part of our journey, I had always stated would
be five dollars to each man. I recollected perfectly that when they
were first engaged I refused to sanction more than four dollars being
given, on the plea that, perhaps, the expense I was incurring would
be objected to as unnecessary, considering that Mr. Cruttenden had
paid in Tajourah all the expenses that we were told would be necessary
upon the road. Ohmed Mahomed, however, replied, that in case the extra
dollar should be refused, Ebin Izaak and himself would each give half
a dollar, and so make up the five dollars per man, and I had therefore
always told the Hy Soumaulee they would receive five dollars each.
When I discovered how they had been cheated by Ohmed Mahomed, who had
actually told them that he had not received a dollar from the Embassy,
but that the dollar he had given to each was that one promised by
himself and Ebin Izaak, I was only surprised they did not sacrifice me
at once to their resentment. I soon disabused them of the deceit that
had been practised upon them, and promised that, as the British Mission
would be in Ankobar in the course of two days, I would go up and see
the Ambassador on purpose that the matter should be examined into.
My old escort then went away very peaceably; but so strict are the
orders of the Negoos to prevent any strangers, more especially those
coming from Adal, to enter the kingdom without special permission, that
the arrival of the Hy Soumaulee in Aliu Amba created quite an alarm,
lest, on the one hand, they should commit violence, although they were
unarmed, except with their heavy knives; or, on the other, that the
displeasure of the Negoos should be excited against the townspeople for
having permitted them to come into Aliu Amba at all.
It was sometime before I became accustomed to the new circumstances
by which I was surrounded. My house was merely a round shed, having a
diameter of about twelve feet, the wall of dry sticks, five feet high,
being surmounted by the usual conical roof of thatch. Opposite to the
entrance was a slight deviation from the exact periphery of a circle,
occasioned by the recess before mentioned, in which was contained
my wide couch. Here the wall bulged out something like a bow window
in form, and was covered by a little elongation of the roof in that
situation. Nearly in the centre of the apartment was a dilapidated
raised ring of clay and pebbles, some five or six inches high, and
about three feet in diameter. This formed the hearth, within which two
large stones, and the broken-off neck of an old jar, formed a kind
of tripod, that occasionally supported a smoke-blacked earthenware
“macero,” or cooking pot, in which was being boiled either some sort
of grain or other for the family, or else the meat for mine and
Walderheros’ supper.
On one side, ranged along the wall, stood several large jars, two
of which, covered by gourd shell drinking cups, contained water,
whilst others, superannuated by sundry cracks, were partly filled with
teff, or wheat. The former is the minute seed of a kind of grass,
of which is made the bread of the temperate countries of Abyssinia,
as it flourishes best in situations between the wheat and barley
fields cultivated upon the high table land of Shoa, and the jowarree
plantations in the very low countries on a level with the Hawash.
The only piece of furniture, strictly speaking, in the house, except my
bed, was a chair of the most primitive construction, its thong-woven
bottom being scarcely six inches from the ground. It would have been
altogether a good model for some rustic seat builder about to fit up
the interior of a garden alcove. My two boxes assisted, however, in
producing a showy effect, one of them being a Chinese trunk, covered
with bright red leather, the other a shiny tin medicine chest, and to
make them useful as well as ornamental, they were generally converted
into seats on the occasion of any visitors of rank calling upon me.
Besides these things, old red gowns of my landlady, and some tattered
grass-made baskets and sieves used in dressing and cleaning grain, were
suspended from the projecting ends of the stick wall, and made the
interior of the house look rather untidy.
Walderheros was one of the few Abyssinians I have met who appeared to
delight in cleanliness, and a pretty dust he was continually raising,
by sweeping with a large handful of well-leaved boughs the clay floor
of our residence. He delighted also in the unholy pleasures of the
pipe, a severe rheumatism always affecting him when he was about to
indulge; and I often smile when I think of the canting tone and long
visage with which he used to apostrophise the inanimate object of his
affections, a gourd shell pipe, as he drew it towards him, and excused
such a dereliction of duty as a Greek Christian, upon the plea that
nothing but the smoke of tobacco could drive out the “saroitsh,” or
demons, who, according to Abyssinian belief, affect the frame when
suffering from any disease.
According to a tradition of the Greek Church, it appears that the devil
paid repeated visits to Noah when he commenced building the ark, for
the purpose of ascertaining by what means and of what materials he
constructed it. The patriarch, however, kept his own counsel, until
the devil called to his aid the herb tobacco, with which, it seems, he
made poor Noah drunk, and whilst in that state the enemy of mankind
wormed his secret from him. Thus assisted (for it is said Noah became
an inveterate smoker), the devil availed himself of the darkness of
night to undo all that Noah had put together during the day, and this
was the principal cause that the building of the ark extended over so
long a period. “Ever since that time,” saith the tradition, “God has
laid a heavy curse upon tobacco.”[4] If some of the precepts of the
Gospel were observed with equal veneration as is this ridiculous story
by Abyssinian Christians, we should not have to regret the low ebb to
which our religion has been reduced in this priest-ridden, but I must
not say consequently, benighted land.
Walderheros, however, was a business man, and before he sat down to
smoke, he was careful to shut out observers of the fact, by fixing
in its place the old rotten door of three or four untrimmed trunks
of small trees, tied into a kind of flat surface by the tough bark
of a species of mimosa tree. This hung by two hinges of thongs to a
crooked door-post, and shut against the wall on the opposite side,
where its own weight kept the entrance securely closed. When all had
been arranged satisfactorily, he would drag the clumsy chair into a
position opposite to my couch, and sitting down with his back to the
door, place the rude pipe between his feet. Then applying his mouth
to the end of its long stem, between each puff he would look up, to
tell me in Amharic the name of some object for me to write down,
whilst he in return would endeavour to learn their Arabic names,
which language for some reason or other, he seemed very anxious to
learn. I found afterwards that he thought it was English, and wished
to learn something of it, on purpose to understand me when speaking
my own language, and thus become the admiration of a circle of his
acquaintance burning with curiosity to know what I might be saying.
Walderheros was, in fact, the best caricature I ever met of that spirit
which prompts empirics to employ unintelligible language to increase
the presumption of their extensive learning. If any of his friends were
present, I could never get a syllable from him but one or other of
about a dozen Arabic words he had picked up. Everything was “_ewah_”
(yes) or “_la la_” (no), and how happy he was when circumstances
admitted of his saying “_tahle_” (come), or “_rah_” (go), and the grave
satisfaction with which he turned round to interpret to his simple
gaping companions the meaning of the conversation they had just been
treated with, was most ridiculously absurd. When he met a real Arab
it was still better; all impatience to display his vast knowledge of
their language, every word he knew of it would be pressed into service,
whilst the wondering auditor, who would have understood him well enough
in Amharic, with a vacant look would probably turn to me, and say,
“_Arder rigal muginoon fee!_” (That man is a fool!)
His temper, however, was provokingly good, for besides its being a
great contrast to my own, I half suspected under such a bland exterior
some deceit must lurk, but he was a lesson in human nature, and patient
ugliness will for the future be a recommendation to me. When illness
and pain had contrived to make me the most fretful and irritable
of mortals, how often have I been reproved, for my unreasonable
upbraidings and continually finding fault, by his constantly mild
reply, “_Anter gaitah_,” “_Anter gaitah_” (“You are my master,” “You
are my master”.)
I was not unfrequently visited by venerable sheiks and learned mollums,
who, with the usual Mahomedan assumption of superiority, squatted down
upon the boxes uninvited, and considered themselves at liberty to beg,
borrow, or steal, as opportunities afforded, without any remonstrance
from the Feringhee they affected to patronize.
Although at this time the town of Aliu Amba had a Christian governor,
more than three-fourths of its inhabitants were Mahomedans. These were
exceedingly cautious in the expression of any dislike towards the
religion of their rulers, but their prejudice against the Christian
faith only rankled the more in their bosoms. It showed itself chiefly
in petty acts of contempt or slight that could not well be complained
of without betraying some littleness of spirit. Many of my visitors,
for example, when they saw the body of a slaughtered sheep hanging
upon the wall, would, with the coolest impudence imaginable, hold their
noses when they came into the house, as if it had become tainted by
being killed by Walderheros.
Again, they always expected to have the first cup of coffee handed to
them, and, in fact, this was the only refreshment they ever deigned
to partake with me. When my servant complained to me that my visitors
represented this, which my politeness in the first place had induced
me to practise, to be an acknowledgment of their superiority as Islam
believers, I soon put a stop to the mistaken idea, and if they did
not choose to take the only cup I had, after me, they went without.
It was some time before they became reconciled to the precedence of a
Christian, even in such a trivial matter as this. In doing as I did,
there was, perhaps, but little credit on my side, for I opposed their
prejudice from a zealous weakness that differed not the least from the
principle which had actuated them; but the heart of man is everywhere
the same. “Thus I trample,” said Diogenes, “upon the pride of Plato.”
“With equal pride,” retorted the insulted sage.
Towards evening it was usual whilst I lived at Miriam’s, for me,
attended by Walderheros, to walk to the edge of the precipitous face,
looking towards the east, of the rock upon which Aliu Amba is built.
Here, upon a large stone, high above the narrow winding footpath, that
leads from one end of the ridge to the other, I would sit looking
upon the narrow but fertile valley in front, formed by the junction
of the two flanking streams that nearly encircled the hill. Numerous
little tributaries on each side had formed small pyramidal knolls,
carefully cultivated to the very tops. One in particular, higher than
the rest, was crowned with a snug-looking village, the conical roof of
the largest house in which, pointed into an exact cone the figure of
the hill. The name of this village was Sar-amba; the road to Ankobar
skirts along its base, leaving on the right hand the town and hill of
Aliu Amba. To the left of my position, the peak of the stateprison hill
of Gauncho, and the seat of the Wallasmah Mahomed, was just visible
over a continuous range of hills, that diminished in elevation as they
approached nearer to the town of Farree, and which marked very well the
original level of the once sloping talus, or scarp, which connected the
high table land of Abyssinia with the low plains around the Hawash.
Whilst sitting one evening upon my usual stone, the loud whining appeal
of two turbaned dirty figures announced the presence of begging monks,
an order very numerous in Shoa. Their long prayer to the Almighty was
still going on, and I in utter ignorance for what purpose two robust
and healthy men could be addressing me in such a monotonous duet.
Walderheros pretended to know nothing about them, and had it not been
for some women who stood by amusing themselves with the appearance of
the new come Gypt, or Egyptian, the monks would have had as much chance
of obtaining alms from the rocks around me, as of opening my heart or
understanding to their appeal. “Ahmulah, ahmulah!” cried two or three
of the women, and I then found out that I must bestow in charity a salt
piece, the name of which had already become familiar to me.
Walderheros soon came back from the errand I had sent him upon, to
procure the bulky coin, which was, however, refused by the surly
monks, with a look and grimace that said quite enough, as they duly
measured the ahmulah with a span, and found that it was too short
for their taste. Again Walderheros was sent to the skin bag in which
was deposited the remainder of my last change for a dollar. The
cunning fellow, however, instead of procuring another, as he told me
afterwards, brought back the same ahmulah again, and as the monks did
not think it decent to return it a second time, they growled out the
usual blessing of peace and good fortune for me, with an imprecating
curse for the benefit of Walderheros, and then walked away.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] This is an old tradition of the Greek Church. Where it
is to be found I cannot say, although it is said to be
recorded in some of the works of the early Fathers.
It is, I think, a proof that tobacco was known in
Africa previously to the discovery of America. It is
a curious fact, also, that Ignez Pallmee, the German
traveller in Kordofan, found in that country potatoes
used largely as food.
CHAPTER VII.
Residence in Aliu Amba.--Settlement with the Hy Soumaulee.--
Proceed to Ankobar.--Obtain the requisite sum.--Relapse of
intermittent fever.--Occupation.--Geographical information.--
Course of the Gibbee.--Character of table land of Abyssinia.
_June 18th._--I had now been three days in Aliu Amba, and had begun
to be familiar with the circumstances around me, when the presence of
several of my Hy Soumaulee friends recalled the promise I had made to
them, and rendered it again necessary to undertake the toilsome ascent
to Ankobar. My Dongola acquaintance, Hadjji Abdullah, lent me his mule,
and off I started, leaving the Hy Soumaulee, who accompanied me across
the market-place, to amuse themselves how they could during my absence.
Walderheros walked by my side, and by nine o’clock we arrived at the
Residency where a little flag, displayed, telegraphed the presence of
the Ambassador, Captain Harris, who had come into town the night before
from Angolahlah. I was compelled to solicit, as a personal favour, that
which was denied as an act of justice; on the strong representation
that “these thirty dollars would be the price of my blood,” our
singularly constituted Ambassador reluctantly consented to advance
me that sum from the treasury. Let it be observed, that not one word
of approbation was bestowed upon the endeavours I had made to obtain
the restoration of the boxes, &c., left by Messrs. Bernatz and Scott
at Hiero Murroo; and when I alluded to that circumstance, the reply I
received was, “that any other party coming up would have brought them
on.” The irritation and excitement consequent upon this interview aided
the predisposition to a relapse, and to that I principally attribute
the long illness which, from this date, afflicted me for many months.
My request, however, in the end being acceded to, after breakfast I
prepared to return immediately to Aliu Amba. Mr. Assistant-Surgeon Kirk
brought me a polite invitation from Captain Harris to remain at least
for the day. Being the anniversary of Waterloo, some _appropriate_
entertainment was proposed, but as I received the message in no very
friendly spirit it was not repeated.
Of the thirty Hy Soumaulee engaged at Herhowlee, only seventeen came to
receive their additional dollars, the remainder having left Channo with
a Kafilah that started before my first return to Aliu Amba. The Ras had
engaged them to accompany him across the disturbed country between the
Hawash and Hiero Murroo, and after this party had received the dollar
and tobe from Ohmed Mahomed, believing they should obtain no more, they
had taken the opportunity of returning home. The remainder came in
parties for the two or three succeeding days, and went away satisfied
with me, but with some feeling of resentment against my worthy Ras ul
Kafilah, Ohmed Mahomed.
The first decided recurrence of a fit of the intermittent fever, the
paroxysms returning every other day, from which I had suffered so
much in Bombay and Aden, came on during the afternoon of the day I
returned from Ankobar. My illness, however, did not completely lay
me up; for although on the day when the ague fits occurred it was
with the greatest difficulty I could leave my bed, still, during
the intermediate ones I could always occupy myself in obtaining
information, either in the Amharic language, or respecting the
interesting circumstances of novel character which surrounded me.
Many instructive conversations have I had with the numerous retired
slave merchants who reside in Aliu Amba. The knowledge these men
possessed of the country to the south of Shoa, the kingdoms of
Gurague, of Enarea, of Zingero and of Limmoo, with others still more
remote, was extensive and valuable, and was the result of actual
visits to these places for the purpose of procuring slaves. Successful
slave merchants have this character in common with horse dealers,
that they are generally intelligent and shrewd men, and when they
have no object to serve by concealing the truth, they may be relied
upon to a considerable extent; for none know better the value of a
straightforward tale to secure confidence and good opinion. Profound
judges of human nature from their habits and occupation, no one
speaks truth like a clever cheating slave-dealer when it will suit
his purpose. One of them in particular, however, I chose to be my
geographical instructor,--an old man named Ibrahim, a native of
the city of Hurrah, who possessed every mental requisite to have
been recognised as a first rate traveller, had he only possessed
opportunities to record the observations he had made upon men and
countries that he had visited.[5]
Ibrahim had evidently amused himself during his journeys into slave
districts by examining the characters of the very different people
with whom he came in contact, and the striking contrasts he observed
had led his attentive mind to the consideration of the probable causes
for the anomalies he witnessed of the black Shankalli, the red Amhara,
and the yellow Gonga, all inhabiting a plateau of limited extent. In
the course of his long life having traversed in different directions
the whole of the table land from Enarea to Gondah, he had been enabled
by comparison and re-observation to check and correct himself upon
many points which would otherwise have been very obscure. It was not
unusual for him to repeat to me instances of such errors that he had at
first fallen into, but which he was subsequently enabled to correct by
other opportunities of observation. His ideas upon ethnology were also
exceedingly interesting and curious, and I am convinced myself that
many conclusions he had arrived at on this subject are correct, for by
comparing my book-acquired information with the remarkable knowledge he
had collected from facts, I could confirm many of the singular truths
that seemed to have enlightened his mind, and which contributed greatly
to my own progress in that science.
My aged instructor would frequently draw upon the earth floor of my
residence a rude diagram of the elevated plateau of Abyssinia, which
was supposed for our purposes to extend to the parallel of Massoah in
the north, and to that of Zanzibar in the south. East and west its
extent was represented to be about half this distance. In a large
depression in the eastern border, the sources of the river Hawash
were represented to be, and opposite, upon the west, was a similar
indentation, where the waters of the various rivers that drain this
table land fall from above to join the Nile below. Abyssinia, in
fact, stands prominently upon the low land around it, like an island
in a dried-up sea, and it is this which has given occasion for the
Abyssinians to compare their country with the orange red flower of the
Soof, (_Carthamus tinctorius_,)[6] the compound corolla surrounded
by sharp thorns, which are supposed aptly enough to represent the
barbarous Galla tribes that beset Abyssinia on every side.
In this delineation of Abyssinia by Ibrahim I first observed the
discrepancy between the present received opinions of our geographers,
that that country is connected on the south with a supposed extensive
table land in the interior of Africa, and that which is entertained
by the natives themselves, of the well defined and distinctly marked
isolated plateau they inhabit.
Upon the represented surface of Abyssinia two principal streams were
now delineated, one called the Abiah, flowing from the east and the
south; and the other from the north, the Abi, or Bruce’s Nile, which
falls into the Abiah immediately after leaving the table land in the
vicinity of Fazuglo. From the rivers Abi and Abiah is derived the name
Abisha, the original of our word Abyssinia, signifying the country
of the Abi; “cha” or “sha,” country, being a frequent compound of
the names of large localities, as Dembeacha, the country of Dembea;
Angotcha, the country of Angot; Damotcha, and many others.
We now came to the more interesting examination of the sources and
course of the river Gibbee, the great geographical problem connected
with this country as yet undecided by any competent authority. There
is no doubt, however, that the Gibbee of the present day is the Zibbee
of the Portuguese travellers of the seventeenth century, and the
Kibbee of Bruce. Recent visitors to these countries, Krapf, Beke, and
Harris, all bear testimony to the correctness of the account given
by their predecessors, that this river runs to the south and empties
itself into the Indian Ocean. I have ventured to differ altogether
from these travellers; and, as will be perceived in my diagram map at
the commencement of this volume, I direct the stream of the Zibbee or
Gibbee to the north and west, contributing to form the much larger
river Abiah, which is the main branch of Assa-abi, or red river, most
erroneously written in all European maps Bahr ul Assareek, or the Blue
Nile. It is impossible to say with whom this error originated, but
probably with some speculative geographer; for by distorting the words
“assa arogue” in Amharic, the old red river, a word, similar in sound
to a Turkish one, signifying blue, has been manufactured; and Assareek,
or Blue Nile, is now the generally received name of the time-honoured
Assa-abinus, the Jupiter of the ancient Ethiopians, and the original,
I believe, of the Egyptian god Serapis. The true blue river is, in
fact, the Nile itself, “nil” being the name of indigo at the present
day all along the valley of that river; and in the same language, let
it be borne in mind, as every other important designation of this
interesting part of the world, the word “nil” is still the word for
blue, and with such a signification we find it in many names of places
both in India and Persia, of which a familiar example is the celebrated
Sanatarium station, near Madras, of Neilgherry, from _Nila gira_, the
blue hills. The sacred colour, also, that which distinguished the
priests of ancient Egypt, was blue, and no doubt bore some reference
to the name of the river, which was originally the object of their
worship, for in the names of two of its principal branches, Apis
and Serapis, we have the elements of the words Abi and Assaabi, the
terminal sigma being the usual Grecian affix to foreign names.
In this manner I bring in the authority of Herodotus, and of the
Egyptian priest who informed him of the origin of the Nile, in support
of my views respecting the rivers of Abyssinia.[7] It is generally
admitted that the Bahr ul Abiad was scarcely known to the ancients;
at all events it held but a very inferior rank in any account of
the rivers of Africa that has been transmitted to our times. I am,
therefore, led to believe that the scribe of the sacred treasury of
Minerva, who willingly informed Herodotus of what he knew respecting
the sources of the Nile, alluded to the two streams of the table land
of Abyssinia, the Abi flowing from the north, and the Abiah flowing
from the south; which rivers uniting formed the Assa-abi of ancient
days, the Assa-arogue of modern times, and which most certainly was the
object of religious worship among the ancient Ethiopians.
I would not dare to advance an opinion so directly opposed to the
apparently well-considered conclusions arrived at by previous
travellers, but that I am convinced that those which they now advocate
have been the result of biassed consultations in the closet, where
ingenious, but not travelled, geographers have successfully combated
the actual results of information derived upon the spot. Krapf, Beke,
and Harris, all sent home maps and information, in which the river
Gibbee is made to join the Nile, and each have successively given
way to subsequent influences. The fact of the Assa-abi, or Assareek,
flooding in May, according to the observation of Mr. Inglish, who
accompanied the expedition of Mahomed Allee to Sennaar, could not
be accounted for by Abyssinian travellers without, in fact, leading
the Gibbee, or some other large river, to join the Abi, or Bruce’s
Nile, for this latter does not commence to swell before the latter
end of June, and could not therefore contribute to the rise of the
waters of the Assa-abi in May. This was another reason that should
have influenced these travellers to adhere to their Abyssinian
information, for no argument that could be brought to bear against
it could stand for a moment. But, it has been observed, there is the
positive testimony of the Father Antonio Fernandez, who, in 1615,
passed over the Kibbee twice in his journey to Enarea and Zingero. To
this I answer, that the historiographer of “The Travels of Jesuits
in Abyssinia,” F. Balthazer Tellez, so represents it, but not, I
think, upon the authority of Fernandez, but merely as an opinion
of his own; but asserted with so much positiveness, that it might
readily be supposed part of the information which he derived from
Fernandez. Compare what Tellez says in his summary of the rivers of
Ethiopia--“There is another celebrated river called Zebee, _said to be
greater than the Nile itself_, rising in a territory called Bora, in
the kingdom of Narea, which is the most southerly, and whereof we shall
speak hereafter. It begins its course westward, a few leagues farther
turns to the northward, and runs about the kingdom of Zingero, of which
we shall also give an account, making it a sort of peninsula, as the
Nile does the kingdom of Gojam. After leaving this kingdom, it takes
its course to the southward; and some say, it is the same that falls
into the sea at Mombaza.” Tellez alludes to the course of the Zebee
again, when recounting the visit of Fernandez to the Court of Zingero;
but merely observes, that it encompasses the kingdom of Zingero, making
it a sort of peninsula, and then runs to empty itself towards the coast
of Melinda; thus embodying, as it were, in an account of the southern
parts of Abyssinia, professed to be given by Fernandez, that view of
the course of the river he had previously advocated and represented in
the small map placed at the commencement of his volume.
Tellez, whilst he is minute enough upon the manners and customs of the
people of Abyssinia, and dilates upon the history of the labours of
his order in that country, contrives to mystify us considerably in the
geography and politics. I cannot help thinking he was directed by some
Government to write as he did for a particular purpose, or was jealous
of other nations reaping the benefits of the ill-judged policy of the
Jesuits, which had terminated in their exclusion from the country;
and, which, he was fully conscious, was a very available and a wide
field for religious zeal or commercial enterprise to reap rich rewards
for the trouble of exploring.
It is a matter of the greatest notoriety, that even in the present
enlightened times, it does not follow, because the emissaries of any
Government visit and observe unknown countries, that they give correct
geographical or political information for the benefit of other nations.
Least of any, can such disingenuousness be expected from the Portuguese
Court of the seventeenth century; and I cannot therefore, but believe,
confirmed as the opinion is by the internal evidence of the book
itself, that the imperfect, incorrect, and distorted account of the
travels of the Jesuits in Ethiopia, was written for the political
purpose of misleading the enterprising spirits of other nations. Most
effectually did it accomplish this object, and for two more centuries
was this important country consigned to that obscurity, in which,
for so many ages previous to its re-discovery by the Portuguese, its
history had been involved. This, however, was not the only injury done
to the progress of human civilization; for whilst the natives were thus
allowed to fall still lower in barbarism, the Jesuitical statements
interfered with European enlightenment; and geographers and men of
letters have been misled in many particulars respecting the character
of the country, and of the disposition of the various people who
inhabit Abyssinia. I can ill afford the space, but to illustrate the
manner in which Tellez endeavours to mislead, as regards geographical
matters, I will here introduce a most glaring instance, which, I trust,
may be received as my apology and excuse for presuming, as I have done,
to question the integrity of the great authority of recent Abyssinian
travellers; for, without Tellez, they have no authenticated evidence to
oppose against that, which I can bring forward to prove that the Gibbee
flows, not to the south, and to the Indian ocean, but to the north,
and into the Nile. Even Bruce, much as I respect him, as the prince of
travellers, evidently follows Tellez in his account of the Gibbee; and
it is curious to remark, that not only as regards this river, but upon
other subjects where he has exaggerated so much as to be supposed to
be drawing upon his imagination, he is actually using almost the very
words of the Jesuit historian.
Speaking of the Embassy dispatched to Portugal in the year 1613, by the
Emperor Segued, which consisted of some natives of rank, accompanied
by the father Antonio Fernandez, and ten other Portuguese, Tellez
informs us, “These men were directed to take a route through Narea
to Melinda, upon the coast, the Emperor believing (and he, it may be
supposed, would be very likely to have the best information) that the
road was shorter and easier than the one to Massoah.” This opinion we
find still farther confirmed when the Embassy arrived at Narea, for
there the Bonero, or Governor, determined the party should not proceed
“by the way they designed, which was the best, lest the Portuguese
should become acquainted with it.” These native authorities, however,
are deemed of no value by Tellez, who thus decides the matter at once,
“Now, to deal plainly, the way the father (Fernandez) proposed through
Cafah was no better than this (the road back again to the north and
east); because, proceeding south from Narea, there is no coming to the
sea without travelling many hundred leagues to the Cape of Good Hope,
as may appear by all modern maps, so that the whole project had nothing
of likelihood.”
Father Antonio Fernandez himself does not appear, in Tellez, to have
kept any regular account of the journey; and yet there is internal
evidence in what is given to the reader in the “Travels of the
Jesuits,” that in reality the greatest attention was paid to every
subject of interest; and as we must conceive that the first object
of the Government, who supported and encouraged the Jesuits in
Abyssinia, was to obtain correct geographical knowledge of that part
of Africa, I cannot but believe that this was particularly attended to
by their agents; but that when afterwards the travels were published
to satisfy public curiosity, it was found convenient to suppress the
most important information. This reason is sufficient also to account
for the mysterious disappearance of the greater part of the documents
which assisted Tellez in drawing up his compilation, a suspicious
circumstance of itself, that the object of this book was anything
but to give a correct description of the physical character and
capabilities of the country of Abyssinia.
I have dwelt too long, perhaps, upon an unimportant subject, but it
is necessary, because modern geographers invariably advance Tellez
as an unquestionable authority upon the subject of the water-shed of
the Gibbee; and with his assistance they have already obliged more
than one Abyssinian traveller to throw aside information received in
the country, and instead of adhering to opinions advocated whilst
there, to repudiate the whole, and follow in supporting errors they
thus confessed themselves unable to refute. This is not the only
evil of their inconsistency, for their present opinions are so many
important authorities which have an equal claim to the attention of the
scientific world as my own, and render it impossible for my testimony,
even were it demonstrated to be correct, to be received against the
conjoined evidence of two or three others who have visited Abyssinia
as well as myself. This I admit to be fair, but not so the attempts
which have been made to convince me of my geographical errors, not by
argument, but by threats of all kinds of critical pains and penalties,
for my presumption in advancing views so contrary to generally received
accounts. Be it so, I feel quite assured there is some portion of the
reviewing press, who will scorn to be made the instruments of unfair
attacks upon any one, contending only for what he believes to be true,
and for no other motive, but the instruction of himself and others.
Around his rude outline of Abyssinia, my native informant Ibrahim
placed representatives of the Shankalli, who surrounded that country,
except upon its eastern side, where another black race, the Dankalli,
testify by their skins, to a similar low elevation of the country
they inhabit. Ibrahim thus undesignedly proved the correctness of
his information, for it struck me, that no physical feature is so
conclusive as to the character of a country, whether high or low
land, than the complexion of its inhabitants. An exception, however,
to thus entirely surrounding the high land of Abyssinia with the two
nations of blacks was made to the north and south of the country of
Adal, where two oppositely situated water-sheds are drained by the
two rivers, the Tacazza and the Whabbee, the former flowing into the
Nile, the latter into the Indian Ocean at Jubah. The character of both
the countries through which these rivers flow are, in one respect,
similar; their elevation being intermediate between the low plains of
Adal, and the table land of Abyssinia, or about six thousand feet high
above the level of the sea. The inhabitants of either water-shed also
resemble each other in their colour, being a dark brown, modified by
parentage and descent, for the complexion of the inhabitants of Tigre
and Angotcha, approaches to the red colour of the real Abyssinian,
whilst the skins of the Gallas around the sources of the Whabbee have a
duskier inclination towards the original colour of their Dankalli and
Shankalli parents.
To the north of Dembeacha, around the lower course of the Tacazza,
European travellers attest the existence of Shankalli, whilst the
officers attached to the exploring armies of Mahomed Allee, found them
also all along the course of Bahr ul Assareek to Fazuglo, and report
them as extending an indefinite distance to the south. On the other
hand, I have seen and spoken with Shankalli or negroes who had been
brought into Shoa from beyond Kuffah, Enarea, and Limmoo; and Ibrahim
also was most particular in stating that all around those places to
the south was the black country, _Tokruah_, the Amharic name for that
colour, and which is the origin of the general native designation of
interior Africa, and is synonymous with _Sudan_, derived from the
Arabic _Asward_, black.
The inference that is to be derived from this fact, of the Shankalli
being found in the immediate neighbourhood of a very light complexioned
people, is, that the high table land of Abyssinia suddenly slopes, on
its south and west sides, from the elevation of ten or twelve thousand
feet, to a low country of less than three thousand feet high, a
scarp of perhaps thirty miles only intervening between the two very
differently situated countries.
I take it for granted the reader is aware that the light
yellow-coloured people of Enarea and Zingero attest, by their skin,
the elevation I have assumed for these southern Abyssinian kingdoms.
It is, I think, undeniable that the table-land increases in elevation
to the south, for all travellers agree that the complexion of the
inhabitants becomes fairer as they increase in distance from Shoa in
that direction; and I need not observe the contrary would naturally
be expected as we approach nearer to the equator. Several people I
have seen, however, who came from within five degrees of the line,
and were much lighter coloured than the generality of Spaniards. This
would not be the case with a people living only upon a mountain ridge,
even if the delicate frames of the yellow Zingero people attested, by
a different character, the hardy life of a mountaineer. There must
be, therefore, I should suppose, a considerable continuity of surface
to seclude a large family of man from the otherwise unavoidable
intercourse with the darker skinned inhabitants of the low land, and
to have enabled a very ancient people to continue unchanged their fair
complexion nearly in the centre of a continent of blacks.
These are the principal reasons which have led me to contend for the
tabular character of Abyssinia to the south, instead of, as modern
travellers invariably represent it, as being divided through its
extent by an anticlinal axis, which divides the waters that flow to
the north-west and to the Nile, from those which, on the contrary,
proceed to the south-east and to the Indian Ocean. This impression,
and Tellez’s apparently positive statement that the Zibbee flows to
the southward, I am afraid, however will still be proof against my
arguments, and until some enterprizing traveller visits the countries
of Enarea and Zingero, and decides by actual observation, my readers
may still amuse themselves by forming opinions upon this debatable
subject. For their assistance I have, therefore, recorded the results
of my observations, and the information I received in a country
scarcely one hundred miles from these interesting and remote localities.
The Gibbee, or Zibbee, by Ibrahim’s account, rose in Enarea, where its
sources were called _Somma_, which, in the Gonga language signifies,
“head.” At this place, annually, many superstitious practices are
observed, the last remains, I expect, of the ancient river worship
that was once general throughout the whole of Abyssinia. The Agows of
Northern Abyssinia, who are of Gonga origin, still profess to worship
the Abi, although no traveller has yet given us any account of their
ceremonies; the more to be regretted, as it would throw considerable
light upon the ancient customs of an early state of society, when
Abyssinia was the centre of all civilization in the world.
After flowing some distance to the south and east, the Gibbee was
represented to me as taking a course similar to that of the Abi around
Gojam, nearly encircling the kingdom of Zingero, which is separated
from Gurague by this very stream, then a large river, and still flowing
to the south. After passing westward between Zingero and Kuffah, the
Gibbee then takes the name of Ankor from the principal province of
Zingero which borders upon it, and in which the King resides; it then
bends towards the north and west, passing to the south of Enarea, where
it is called Durr, and receives a large river, the Omo, coming from
Kuffah. From several reasons I believe the Omo to be the main branch,
and the Durr merely another name for it; however, as some large stream
does join the Gibbee from the south, I have so designated in my map one
which I have laid down as coming from that direction. After the Gibbee
has passed Enarea, it flows to the west of Limmoo, where it is best
known as the Abiah, the common Galla name of the large river which, in
that situation, breaks from the table-land, and then proceeds towards
the north some distance through the country of the Shankalli before
it receives, in the neighbourhood of Fazuglo, the waters of the Abi,
which drains northern Abyssinia. After the junction of these two, the
name Gibbee then re-assumes in part its most ancient name Assa-arogue,
the original of Assareek, meaning in Amharic the old Assa, or red
river, so called from flowing through the country of the red people,
in contradistinction to that portion of the Nile supposed to flow from
a country of the whites: hence, the name of Ab-Addo, the principal
western branch of the Bahr ul Abiad, which, as in Arabic, signifies
“the river of the whites.”
Gibbee, the modern form of Zibbee, lends its name to assist in
unravelling the mystery of its course, for I derive it from the word
Azzabe, or Assabi; the origin of the Assabinus, whom Latin authors
represent to have been the Jupiter of the Ethiopians, by which is
meant, I presume, the principal god of the people. If it be admitted
that its name and that of the Zibbee are the same, there can be but
little doubt of their streams being one, and that the latter is
the early course of the former. Strange rumours reach the ears of
travellers in Abyssinia, of human sacrifices being still practised
by the Pagan inhabitants of Zingero, whilst even in the Christian
kingdom of Enarea it is not unusual for slave Kafilahs, on crossing
the Gibbee, to propitiate the god of that river by immolating the most
beautiful of the virgin slaves in its waters. A similar custom was
formerly practised in Egypt; for an Arab geographer, quoted by Mr.
Cooley, either in his Notes to “Larcher’s Herodotus,” or “The Negroland
of the Arabs,” records this circumstance. This coincidence of an
inhuman practice seems also to point to a connexion between the sacred
character of the Gibbee and that of the Nile. Another ceremony also, in
which, on the election of a king, the inhabitants of Zingero collect
upon the banks of the Gibbee, until upon some one’s head a bee should
rest, who is immediately proclaimed to be the sovereign, I have some
idea was the reason of that little insect being made the hieroglyphical
representative of king or chief among the ancient Egyptians, and
perhaps at one period of their history a similar custom prevailed among
them.
The Gibbee is at the present time a holy river, as was the Assabi among
the Ethiopians, and which was also the original of the Egyptian god,
Serapis. This latter supposition is confirmed by the fact that, in
some parts of its course, the Abi of Northern Abyssinia at the present
day is similarly worshipped, and that its sources, in the time of the
Portuguese missionaries, were actually the scene of Pagan sacrifices.
The ancient Apis I consider to have been no other; for the Grecian
terminal being rejected, the identity of the two names Abi and Api is
manifest, whilst that of Assabi and Serapi is equally evident.
That the river Gibbee cannot be the earlier tributary of the Gochob of
Dr. Beke, is proved by what we are told by Major Harris, of a river so
called, entering the sea at Jubah. If this be the case there can no
longer be any doubt of the identity of the Gochob with the Whabbee, and
which I feel more assured of, from the information I have received,
compared with the accounts sent to the Geographical Society of Paris,
by M. d’Abbadie, from Berberah, on the Soumaulee coast, respecting the
entrance of the Whabbee into the sea at Jubah.
Nor is this idea at all affected by the discoveries of Lieut.
Christopher on the coast near Brava, respecting a river said to be
the Whabbee, which runs parallel to the sea-coast in that situation
for more than one hundred miles, and then terminates in a fresh-water
lake, some short distance inland; for this may be the northern arm of
a delta-formed termination of the river, which has been prevented from
reaching the sea in that situation, by the strong marine current known
to exist along that coast, to the south-west. This has occasioned the
silting up of this entrance of the river, so that it is only in very
high seasons indeed of flood, that the fluvatile water bursts through,
or overflows the barrier, and escapes to the sea. The mouths of
several other African rivers present similar phenomena. The discovery
of the Haines branch of the delta of the Whabbee proves, in fact, the
correctness of all native accounts, who represent a large branch as
leaving the main trunk of the Whabbee at Ganana, and terminating in a
lake of fresh water, not far distant from Brava, and which intercepted
river is supposed to resemble “_a tail_,” and hence the name, “Ganana.”
All informants agree, however, that the principal stream, still called
the Whabbee, proceeds to Jubah, so that unless the Gochob is admitted
to be that river, some other _embouchure_ must be procured for the
latter.
Denying, in this manner, the connexion of the Gibbee with the Gochob
of Dr. Beke, for every Abyssinian informant states positively that the
Gibbee does not go to the Whabbee, and which, as far as I can judge,
appears to be the original of the Gochob, there is but one other river
flowing to the south, which the Gibbee can be supposed to join. This is
the Kalli, which empties itself into the Indian Ocean by many mouths,
about three degrees south of the equator, the principal of which
appears to be that of Lamoo. No traveller gives any account of this
river, though certainly it is a most important one in connexion with
our future intercourse with the high land of Abyssinia. It is, as its
name, Kalli, implies, a river of the black people, as the Assabi, or
Zebee, of the table land above belongs exclusively to the country of a
red race. The Portuguese name, Killimancy, is merely the addition of a
word, signifying river in the Shankalli language, to the original Arian
term, Kalli. The sources of this river are upon the southern scarp of
the Abyssinian table land, in the same manner as the tributaries of
the Hawash arise upon the eastern border. The two principal branches
of the Kalli, I was told, enclose or receive in the bifurcation, the
termination of the table land to the south.
A considerable degree of interest attaches itself to this river, and
I could wish to see the attention of our geographers and politicians
directed to its examination. All the red Abyssinian slaves, after a
month’s journey through the country about the upper part of its course,
are then embarked and conveyed down this river to Lamoo, to be carried
away and disposed of in the Asiatic markets. It is by this channel
also the Abashee colonies on the Malabar coast, of which Major Jervis
has written some notices in a late volume of the “Bombay Geographical
Society’s Journal,” are recruited. Those of the native Christians on
the same coast I have seen myself are decidedly of Abyssinian origin,
and perhaps that religion may have been introduced into India by
missionaries from that country. It was singular that when an important
and expensive Political Mission was about being sent into Abyssinia,
some inquiries were not made respecting this southern route, along
which a considerable intercourse at the present day exists between
India and Abyssinia.
Independently of the table land to the south of the Gibbee increasing
considerably in elevation, every other circumstance connected with
its name and situation tends to show that the direction of its stream
cannot be towards the south to join the Kalli. The stream of the
Gibbee, in fact, is a large and navigable river, crossed immediately
by slave Kafilahs from Enarea and Zingero during their journey to
Lamoo, and they have then to proceed an entire month before they come
to another river, the Kalli, to convey them to their destination. The
Whabbee and the Kalli, therefore, can neither of them be supposed to
be the lower stream of the Gibbee; but there is a large river of which
every Galla speaks who comes from Limmoo, Jimma, and other districts
in that neighbourhood; and which flows south, say Mr. M’Queen and
Major Harris, whilst Dr. Beke denied its existence altogether, until
my views were laid before the Geographical Society. He admitted
certainly having heard, the small stream of the Dedassa, flowing into
the Abi, in one instance called the Abiah. This gentleman appears to
have confounded the names Abi and Abiah, believing that the latter was
the Galla pronunciation of the former, and his Geography of Southern
Abyssinia being founded upon this supposition, he fell into the
opposite error to Major Harris; and crowded into a position too close
upon the south of the Abi, countries which, upon the authority of the
latter, have been carried to a situation not far from the equator;
and the Abiah, contrary to any sound information that could possibly
have been received, is taken away, to flow through unknown lands to
the south and west, where it is made to join the _Bahr ul Abiad_. Such
are travellers’ reports, and I profess to give no better, only that I
cannot afford to sacrifice the information I have obtained upon this
subject, to the speculative ideas of geographers, however learned, and
therefore obstinately persist in what they consider to be error, when
it has more the appearance of truth, than have the theories which they
can only advance in opposition.
The Abiah, which is almost denied to exist by one traveller, and taken
into remote countries by another, I believe to be the main branch of
the Gibbee, and have accordingly so laid it down in the sketch map of
the different water-sheds of Abyssinia I have projected to assist me in
explaining my ideas upon the subject.
I will not, as I am almost tempted, recapitulate the evidences that the
Gibbee, the Abiah, and the ancient Assabi, are one and the same river,
and the principal branch of the Abyssinian Nile; for if that which I
have said is not sufficient to convince; to continue would only be to
fatigue the reader with suppositions, probabilities, and beliefs, that
would still, in the end, leave the subject in quite as unsatisfactory a
state as it remains at present.
FOOTNOTES:
[5] This individual figures in Major Harris’s “Highland of
Ethiopia” as Hadjji Mahomed; and the whole occurrence
there related happened during the journey to the coast
in 1843. It is difficult, therefore, to understand how
it could be recorded as an incident of a journey in
1841, and in an account stated to have been written
in the heart of Abyssinia. Numerous other instances
of this kind of interpolation of adventure could
be pointed out which would be immaterial, only, as
I shall probably allude to the same circumstances
myself, of course I am anxious not to be supposed to
borrow them from the work of a cotemporary.
[6] By the old Portuguese writers denominated “the flower
Denguelet.”
[7] None of the _Egyptians_, or _Africans_, or _Grecians_,
with whom I had any discourse, would own to me their
knowledge of the fountains of the Nile, except only a
scribe of the sacred treasury of Minerva, in the city
_Sais_ in Egypt. He, indeed, cheerfully told me that
he certainly was acquainted with them. But this was
the account he gave, that there were two mountains,
with peaked tops, situated between Syene, a city of
Thebais, and Elephantina; the name of one of which was
_Krophi_, of the other _Mophi_; that from the midst
of these two mountains arose the bottomless fountains
of the Nile; one part of its stream ran towards Egypt
and the north, the other part towards Ethiopia and
the south. But that the fountains were bottomless, he
said that Psammeticus, a King of Egypt, had made the
experiment; after having tied ropes of great length
and let them down into the fountains, he could not
reach the bottom.--_Herodotus_, book ii.
CHAPTER VIII.
Water cure.--Nearly killed by it.--Ordered to leave Shoa.--
Proceed to Angolahlah.--Courteous treatment of the officers
of the Negoos.--Entertainment.--Remarks upon the character
of Sahale Selassee.--The Mahomedan religion.
My illness increasing, each succeeding paroxysm of fever leaving me in
a more weakened condition, my servant proposed a remedy, boasted never
to fail in effecting a cure. I had but a scanty stock of medicines,
that I had brought with me from Aden, and these seemed to have little
or no effect upon my disease; so I determined to give Walderheros a
chance of distinguishing himself by conferring health upon his “gaitah”
(master).
To do this properly, it was deemed necessary that some water should
be fetched from a spring by a man, and as this is a species of labour
always performed by women, Walderheros, not to be seen at such
employment, undertook to take the water-jar for that purpose the next
morning before daylight. I also learnt that the cure was to be effected
by a kind of shower-bath, to which I was to submit, sitting down whilst
the water was poured from a height upon my head, during the attack of
the rigors which preceded the hot stage of the ague fit.
The next day, accordingly, the water having been properly procured, on
the first symptoms of the fit coming on, I sat down in the shade of a
large ankor tree, a variety of the myrrh, that grows at an elevation
of seven thousand feet above the sea, but yields no gum. Here, wrapt
up in an Abyssinian tobe, which upon the first fall of the water I was
to drop from my shoulders, I awaited the coming shower from above,
for Walderheros had climbed into the tree, whilst some assistants
lifted up to him the large jar which contained the water. The remedy,
however, when it did come down, immediately laid me full length upon
the earth, for what with the collapse of the system attendant upon
the cold stage and the cold falling water, it certainly cut short the
fever, but nearly at the expense of my life, for even when I recovered
from the first shock, and was taken back to my bed, I was delirious for
several hours after,--a circumstance that I have often had reason to be
thankful for, had not been a very usual symptom of my disease.
After this experience, that white men required a very different medical
treatment to the red Abyssinians (for in this manner Walderheros
endeavoured to account for the failure of his hydropathic remedy), I
was not asked again to submit to any more native means of cure for some
time; as my recovery, however, was of the greatest importance to me,
I commenced a regular course of quinine and James’s Powder, and had it
not been for a most disagreeable interruption in the quiet and retired
life I was leading in Aliu Amba, I might, perhaps, have been soon
restored to health.
On the tenth day after my last visit to Ankobar, the Negoos and the
members of the Embassy having, in the meantime, left that city for
Angolahlah, a message was brought to Miriam’s house for me to go
immediately to the Governor of the town, who had just arrived from the
Court on purpose to have me brought before him.
Feeling a little better than I had been for some time, and being
curious to know what business the Governor could have with me,
I followed his messenger, taking with me, as a present on being
introduced, an old pocket telescope. It was fortunate that I
recollected to do this, for on my giving it to him he was so highly
pleased, that he told me, through an Islam Hadjji named Abdullah, that
he was willing to serve me in any way he could in the very awkward
position I now learned I was placed in, by the order he had received
from the Negoos. For some reason or other, my presence in the kingdom
had raised a jealous feeling somewhere, and, in consequence, a most
arbitrary mandate, considering the then relations between Shoa and
England, was issued, and I was directed to leave the country the very
next day. Whilst we were speaking, two men were sent with Walderheros
for my boxes, to be brought at once to the Governor’s house, previous
to their being forwarded to Farree, where the Kafilah with which
I had come up, and which was now on the eve of starting, afforded
the opportunity of my proceeding to the sea-coast. Here was another
practical proof of the value of the commercial treaty, and bitterly I
commented, as may be supposed, upon the worthless parchment. I felt
quite assured that it would be of no use applying to our Ambassador for
redress, so considered it would be best to submit in peace, and made no
objections, therefore, to my boxes being taken to the Governor’s house.
Not having made up my mind though, for all that, to leave the country,
I determined, after I had left Tinta (the name of the Governor) to go
and consult with a sincere friend of mine, an Edjow Galla named Sheik
Tigh, who had shown himself possessed of the kindest disposition by
his disinterested and patient attendance upon my sick bed during the
short period I had resided in Aliu Amba. He was a Mahomedan mollum, or
scribe, for his occupation was writing copies of the Koran, which he
used to sell to the slave merchants who came from the more barbarous
countries around Shoa. Either on account of the trifling sum that these
manuscript Korans can be purchased for in Abyssinia, or the excessive
neatness with which Amhara Mahomedans write Arabic compared with even
Arabs themselves, these Abyssinian copies are highly prized even along
the sacred or eastern coast of the Red Sea, and in Jeddah will command
an increased value of two hundred per cent. upon their original cost.
Sheik Tigh concurred immediately in my proposed plan, either of
endeavouring to remain in Shoa by a personal request to be made to the
Negoos; or of going away to Giddem, and from there to the court of
Beroo Lobo, the Mahomedan chief of that portion of the Argobbah, or
valley country that extends to the north of Efat, as far as the river
Tahlahlac, one of the most northern tributaries of the Hawash. The
state of my finances, however, I found would not admit of this latter
alternative; for, excepting the thirteen dollars remaining of the Hy
Soumaulee money, I had only seven dollars in the world.
It was at length determined amongst us, for Hadjji Abdullah had joined
in our consultation, that I should take another present to Tinta, as a
kind of bribe, and the real object of which Sheik Tigh was to explain
to him. I accordingly packed up a damask table-cloth, and provided
myself with three of the most favoured dollars I was possessed of, and
thus armed, went again in the dusk of the evening to the house of the
Governor. My offering was very quietly received and concealed, by which
I perceived the business had been properly managed by Sheik Tigh, and
that it was understood I was to have unmolested, three hours’ start of
him the next morning, to get over the most difficult portion of the
road to Angolahlah before he followed in pursuit; a little manœuvre
necessary to keep up appearances with the Negoos; for although it would
have been no very heinous offence to have permitted me the opportunity
of appealing to the justice of Sahale Selassee, Tinta might have
suffered for his generosity in permitting me to come to Angolahlah,
when he had received orders to accompany me to Farree. Tinta, like
most Abyssinians, was a really kind-hearted man, but his education as
a courtier, and that in a despotic court, had taught him dissimulation
and caution.
Walderheros, it may be supposed, was violently affected at the prospect
of losing his father, mother, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and
cousins, all being, according to his account, rolled up in me. He often
used to observe, he was my child; though he was (beautiful boy) at
least ten years older than myself. He now protested he should never
survive our cruel separation. If it had not been for that “kaffu”
(wicked) Hawash, those “kaffu Adaloitsh,” (wicked Dankalli,) and that
“kaffu bahr,” (wicked sea,) he swore that he would have followed me
over the rest of the world. In this manner he went on talking during
the whole of the evening, with many imprecatory bursts of “woi Negoos,”
and “min Abat,” at the same time busying himself making preparations
for our sanctioned escape next morning to Angolahlah, and what with
cooking and expostulating with some imaginary evil destiny that pursued
him, he kept me awake nearly the whole night.
As Hadjji Abdullah, after it was dark, had brought me his own mule, it
was stabled for the night in my house, and long before cock-crow the
next morning we were carefully descending in the dark the step-like
road of rough stones which leads from the top of Aliu Amba into the
direct road to Ankobar. We were obliged to be very cautious in our
progress along the steep slippery bank, and the edges of deep muddy
pools produced by the first showers of the rainy season, which had
fallen the few days previously, and had not at all improved the
condition of the road.
The sun had risen before we reached Ankobar. On this occasion it was
unnecessary to go through that town; so having surmounted the long
ridge in front, instead of continuing along it, we crossed directly
over, leaving the little wooden cross and church of Goodis Gorgis (St.
George) in its encircling grove of quolqual and wild fig-trees, on
our left hand. The road we followed was exceedingly narrow, and fell
very gradually in a prolonged sweep down the steep descent into the
valley of the Airahra. Half way down is a broad terrace of considerable
extent covered with immense boulders from the destruction of the ridge
above, and which appears to be more rapidly denuded upon this face than
upon the opposite one looking towards Aliu Amba. On a mound of the
detached rocks and soil in this situation is built a church, dedicated
to “Abbo,” the father, the only one I have ever seen so situated except
the meeting-houses of the Tabibe sect, who do not pay that respect to
ancient superstitions that still influences the other Christians of
Abyssinia. A sufficient reason, however, accounts for its low elevation.
At the commencement of the reign of the present Negoos, a great
portion of the ancient grove of Abbo and its church still occupied
the highest point of the ridge over which we had just come. The
denuding operations of the conjointed actions of earthquakes and
rainy seasons overcame every endeavour that was made to protect the
sacred spot from being encroached upon, it having been one of the most
ancient and most revered of the sacred edifices in Shoa. Annually
large portions were precipitated into the valley of the Airahra; and
ultimately the last portion of the walls of the church disappeared,
after a violent convulsion of the earth, and a single line of trees,
the remains of a once extensive grove, now marks its former site. The
spot is still considered sacred, and so attached were the monks upon
the establishment, to the ancient edifice, that, observing that the
greater portion of the debris had fallen upon the terrace beneath,
they determined to erect upon it a representative of the old church,
although on so low an elevation compared with the numerous heights
around.
This is, however, the only instance I know of a church of the
Abyssinian Christians being so situated, for it is a particular feature
of the worship in this country that all religious buildings should
surmount “some earth o’ertopping mountain;” and to such an extent is
this feeling carried, that sacred hills which have become lowered in
consequence of the greater denudation of their summits, is a reason
sometimes for changing the site of the church to some neighbouring
hill that, from more favourable causes, has preserved its height
undiminished. A striking instance of this change, and its assigned
cause, is found in the circumstances connected with the erection of
the new church of St. Michael, which stands upon a hill to the east
of the Negoos’s residence, in the valley of the “Michael wans.” Here
two groves are observed standing on hills near to each other, the
more modern one being of much greater elevation than the other. Both
are dedicated to the same saint, and on asking Walderheros why there
should be two, he pointed out the difference in the height of the hills
upon which they stood as a reason why the lower should be deserted,
and preference given to the higher hill for the site of the “bate y
Christian,” and the residence of the monks.
Looking upon these groves surrounding temples of religion, and serving
as retreats for officiating priests, each of whom has his little
cottage among the trees, it is impossible to help reflecting upon the
changes in man’s history, recalled by observing such existing monuments
of former feelings and religious prejudices. The question naturally
suggested itself, what could have been the popular belief when the
more ancient of the St. Michael’s groves was first planted; for a long
period must have elapsed to have occasioned, by the disintegrating
action of its vegetation, so much denudation of the hill it crowns, as
to make it more than one hundred feet lower than the present frequented
one; and originally it must have been the highest in the neighbourhood.
I have observed other customs existing in Abyssinia that strongly
reminded me of Druidism and of similar characteristic observances
among the ancient Persians; and I certainly looked with some degree
of interest upon a grove, that might once have been the scene of the
celebration of religious ceremonies, of a very different character to
those which distinguish the modern faith.
Although it was so early when we reached the church of Abbo,
Walderheros proposed breakfasting. I accordingly dismounted, and after
a gaze upwards at the largest tree I had seen since I left England,
took my seat beneath its widely-extended branches, upon one of a number
of small boulders which had rolled from the rocks above. A quantity of
long strips of grilled mutton, was produced, and some teff bread, a
large manuscript-like roll of which Walderheros carried tied up in his
mekanet or girdle. This useful part of an Abyssinian dress is only worn
by the men when engaged out of doors. It is one long piece of cotton
cloth, about one cubit, or from the point of the elbow to the ends
of the fingers, broad, and fifteen, twenty, or sometimes even thirty
cubits long. A girdle similar to this was worn by the Jews. Sometimes
in Abyssinia it is taken from the loins of a prisoner to secure his
hands, exactly as it is said to have been done in Judea.
After breakfast we proceeded along the base of the large hill upon
which Ankobar stands, the road winding around its south and west
aspects. We then fell into the usual high road on the west of the town,
which proceeds along the steep face of the valley, midway between
its crest and the level of the stream below. We crossed, by gentle
undulations of the road, several short projecting spurs, all of which
seemed to be the productive farms of industrious individuals. Thatched
residences of mud and sticks, with yellow stacks of grain, were perched
upon their extremities, overlooking the sudden cliff-like termination
of these subordinate ridges, cut by the action of the constantly
running water of the Airahra.
Fording this river, we commenced the fatiguing ascent of the Tchakkah,
and after little less than an hour’s trot were breathing ourselves at
the “resting stone,” Koom Dingi. After a short halt, we continued our
journey over the moor-like solitary fields that, unbroken by hedge,
stone fence, or ditch, appeared in endless succession before us. But
the reader must understand that, although the general appearance of
the country is so flat, he is only reminded of it by the long level
lines that bound the view on each side, for, generally speaking, the
road lies in broad shallow water-worn channels, which, like hollow ways
with banks ten or twelve feet high, have intersected in all directions
this formerly undeviating level country. I always fancied that at one
time it must have been the bottom of a deeply rolling sea, and what
adds considerably to this impression is, the almost total absence of
trees, and the bald, gray, stony, appearance of the stratum of light
coloured porphyritic trachyte which overlies the whole country, and
which looks as if it had only been raised from the waters a short time
before. This super stratum of rock is very easily decomposed, and forms
a fertile soil for the cultivation of wheat and barley, but its general
appearance, unless covered with the crops, is quite the reverse.
About half way to Angolalah we crossed two or three of the earlier
tributaries of the Barissa, which is a small river that collects the
waters falling to the west of Tchakkah, and conducts them to the
Abi or Nile of Bruce. All streams to the east of Tchakkah descend
precipitously to join the Hawash. The Barissa derives its name from
having been, previous to the reign of the present Negoos, the
“boundary” between the Gallas and the Christian inhabitants of Shoa.
It passes to the west of Debra Berhan, flowing towards the north, and
joins the Jumma in the district of Marabetee. The Jumma also receives
the Tcherkos river, or Lomee wans, which is now the western boundary
of the kingdom of Shoa, the district intervening between it and the
Barissa, a distance of about sixteen miles, having been annexed to his
dominions within the last few years by Sahale Selassee. The Jumma,
after receiving the Barissa, and other streams, of the kingdoms of
Amhara and of Shoa, joins the Abi near where that river, after flowing
to the south from Lake Dembea, turns suddenly to the west, and forms
the southern border of the province of Gojam.
We arrived at Angolahlah before noon, and Walderheros took me to the
house of a friend of his, named Karissa. The weather, although only the
latter end of June, was dreadfully cold, and being very tired and ill,
I preferred rolling myself immediately up in my bed-clothes, consisting
of two Abyssinian tobes, which my servant had carried with him in a
skin-bag, rather than sit up to eat of some hard parched corn which was
set before me by one of the women of the house.
In the mean time, Walderheros went to the palace to announce my
arrival, and to request an interview with the Negoos. It was a long
time before he returned, and I began to think, that like Mr. Krapf’s
servant at Farree, he might have been imprisoned for aiding me in
coming to Angolalah without permission. In about two hours, however,
he made his appearance, bearing on his head a large conical covered
straw basket, which contained a flat loaf of excellent wheaten bread.
With one hand he steadied this load in its elevated position, whilst
in the other, he carried by a strong loop handle of rope, a round
earthenware pot, the contents of which were as yet a secret to me.
Across one shoulder was also slung an enormous bullock’s horn, the
diameter of the base of which was not less than seven inches, full of
an agreeable sweet wine, called “tedge,” made of honey, and not at
all a bad beverage. I was astonished at the ease with which he seemed
to have procured these provisions; and the visions of my Dankalli
servant in Adal and the representation I had seen of the Egyptian
god, Harpocrates, similarly burdened, recurred to my mind, as the
abundance of the land I was in, was illustrated by the appearance of
Walderheros on his return from the palace. Besides the refreshments
that he bore himself, he was followed by a stream of people, two of
them carrying a tressel for my bed, another an oxskin to throw over
it, then came others with fire-wood, also two women with large jars of
water, and the procession closed by four men bearing a small black tent
of coarse woollen cloth, which was set up in a very short time, for my
accommodation.
When I had taken possession of my new quarters, the tent was thronged
for the rest of the day by curious or busy people, some bearing
messages for Walderheros from the palace; others, making anxious
inquiries as to my reasons for coming to Angolalah; and not a few were
begging of me to intercede for them with the Negoos, to reinstate them
into his good graces, which, for some dereliction of duty it seemed,
they had lost; and now hoped that by my mediation their sins would be
forgiven. Two superior officers of the household of the Negoos, also
sat with me nearly the whole day, Waarkie, an Armenian, long resident
in Shoa, and Sartwold the chief of the “affaroitsh,” or distributors
of the rations to stranger guests. The former understood a little
Arabic, and we managed to converse together very well. He told me, that
instead of my being sent out of the kingdom, he was quite certain I
should become a great favourite with the Negoos. The order sent for my
removal from Aliu Amba, was occasioned by the ill-natured un-English
representations of the officers of the Embassy who had told Waarkie
himself, that I did not belong to their party, that they did not know
who I was, and adding, to assist me still more, that I was very poor,
and could give no presents to the Negoos. I felt very much hurt, and
annoyed, at these unfair representations, and produced a letter which
I had received from the Indian Government in Calcutta, addressed to
the princes in Africa, who were friendly disposed to England. This
I had previously kept back from a feeling of delicacy towards our
representative at the Court of Shoa, but now determined to forward it
to the Negoos by Sartwold, who readily consented to carry it up to
the palace, Walderheros accompanying him to bring me back the answer.
Waarkie, who could not read the Persian character, in which the letter
was written, went in search of some Islam visitor at Court, who would
be able to translate it for the Negoos.
As evening now closed in, I retired to rest; sometime after which my
servant returned with the letter, and a couple of lemons sent by the
Negoos, with a message that I should be called on the morrow to an
interview with him.
Long before it was light, I was awakened by loud shouts of “abiad,”
“abiad,” raised at short intervals, and apparently at some distance.
On applying to Walderheros for an explanation of this uproar, he made
me understand with some difficulty, that it arose from the petitioners
for justice, calling upon the Negoos to hear them. It appears that
after a case has been heard in the lower courts, if they may be so
called, held before the governors of the town in which the conflicting
parties reside, if either complain of his decision, an appeal may be
made to the king himself. A company of the friends of the dissatisfied
assemble, in as great a number as the influence of the party or the
justice of the case can collect. These sometimes, so early as midnight,
take up a position on a height overlooking the town, and opposite to
that on which the palace stands. Half-a-mile, at least, intervenes
between the two places. Here they keep up a continual shouting “abiad,”
“abiad,” (justice,) until a messenger from the Negoos comes to know the
nature of their complaint, and to introduce them into his presence.
On this occasion, I did not understand sufficient of the language to
learn the particulars of the case, but as the Negoos is the most easily
accessible, the most patient listener, and the most upright judge
that I ever heard praised by word of mouth, or read of among the most
laudatory history of kings, I have no doubt that the cry of his people
that awoke me this morning was duly attended to, the case investigated,
and the strictest justice awarded.
The Dankalli may well style Sahale Selassee, “a fine balance of gold,”
for even now, when thinking of his character, the most lively pictures
recur to my mind of instances of his kindness and feeling for the
happiness of his subjects, which I have witnessed myself. Excepting the
cruelty, and dissimulation, practised towards the unfortunate tribes
of Gallas who surround his dominions, and which he has been taught to
consider from his childhood, to be praiseworthy acts, which will secure
the approbation of God; excepting this, nothing in his character can, I
think, be justly assailed. The fears of his Christian, and the hopes
of his Islam subjects, that he would renounce the faith in which he
has been brought up, and profess Islamism, redounds considerably to
his character as a reflecting man, and a proof of the really capacious
mind he possesses; for none who are aware of the gross superstition
and confusion most confused, of the tenets of the Greek Church as
professed in Abyssinia, can feel surprised that a naturally sagacious
mind, should refuse the trammels of absurdity and error, to embrace the
reasonable simplicity of the profession of one true and only God, which
is the real basis and great recommendation of the Mahomedan belief.
It is the false consolation of an easily-satisfied Christianity to
believe, that the licentiousness, which an abuse of the Mahomedan
religion most certainly encourages, is the chief inducement which
converts so rapidly, whole states to the profession of the Islam faith.
A little observation soon proves, that although the sensual indulgences
it sanctions, and the promises contained in the Koran, enlist the worst
passions of man in favour of its continuance, when once that religion
has obtained a firm hold upon the opinion of a people; still, that
these causes have but little influence in effecting a change from a
previous belief.
Wherever a patriarchal, or even a feudal government exists, there
the mass of the people are directed in their conduct, and in their
ideas of right and wrong, entirely by the leading minds that
circumstances have made their superiors. The doctrine that “the
king can do no wrong,” appears to be a traditional continuance of
this blind confidence in the ruling powers which characterized the
state of society in Europe, at an early date; and which is still,
to this day, the universal principle of government in all native
African states. In that Continent, sagacious and intelligent princes,
concentrate the energies of extensive empires, but at their decease,
revolutions occur to re-adjust the limits of power again, according
to the capabilities of the various ambitious claimants that may
spring up. The greatest minds obtain the largest dominion, and when
these appear among the professors of superstitious religions, soon
feel a contempt for the absurd pretensions and the moral falsehoods
their superior mental powers instinctively detect. Too frequently,
having no idea of a rational system of theology, but aware of the
value of religion as an engine of state policy, they wisely profess
and encourage the ancient faith. Let, however, a doctrine be preached
that is more adapted to reason and common sense, and which promises
equal security to the continuance of social order and of kingly rule:
its professors in that case are always found to be received into the
highest favour by wise and sagacious princes, who perceive in the new
opinions upon an important subject, that satisfaction of the reason
which the absurd representations of superstitious religion have only
disgusted or amused. Such princes converted to a rational belief, have
but to promulgate their adhesion to be followed by the whole of their
courtiers, who again impose it upon their dependants, from whom the
process passes on to their slaves, and one universal obsequiousness
characterizes the conversion of people so situated.
This was the principle that led whole states of Europe, in the earlier
feudal ages, to be baptized together, and which, at the present time,
is the chief cause of the fast progress of Mahomedanism in Africa.
Princes of extraordinary powers of intellect are first converted, who,
in the simple unembodied unity of the Deity perceive no absurdity, nor
yet dare to deny. Atheism is a sin peculiarly of civilization, for
the nearer man approaches barbarism the more predisposed he becomes
to a belief in a Providence; and this, in fact, distinguishes him, in
his most abject state, from the beasts of the field who defile the
inanimate idols he in his ignorance bows down to and worships. The
Christianity of Abyssinia is a religion spoiled by human intervention;
it appears to be a faith too pure for the nature of the inhabitants,
and they have accordingly disfigured it to reduce it to their
condition. Abyssinians have, by their abuse of the revered name of the
Redeemer of mankind, brought his religion into contempt; whilst the
professors of Islamism respect Jesus as a prophet, and profess to
worship the Deity he adored. Is it, therefore, to be wondered at, that
princes of superior intellects should reject the former and adopt the
latter faith, as we know to have been the case with the previously
Christian King of Enarea, who, within the last few years, has professed
the Mahomedan belief. Sahale Selassee, the monarch of Shoa, universally
acknowledged to be the greatest of Abyssinian potentates, was on the
verge of a similar repudiation of the religion of his predecessors,
when the worthy and exemplary missionaries, Messrs. Isenberg and Krapf
appeared in his country. I am too apt to feel the zealot, but every
one must admit with me, that that important visit was not a human
ordination, for Sahale Selassee’s conversion would have been the
downfall of the Christian religion in Abyssinia. Even the political
mission to Shoa, which has failed in its proposed objects, yet affords
some consolation by supposing that the evidences of our wealth and
power, demonstrated by the presents which were laid at his feet by
our representative, will confirm him in his renewed attachment to our
religion, which only requires his countenance, to contend successfully
in Abyssinia against the encroachments of the Islam faith, until fresh
efforts shall be made by the friends of the Gospel in this country,
more firmly to establish the pure faith of Christ in that _benighted_
land.
Among more savage tribes, again, Islamism has other recommendations,
for the missionaries of that religion, the merchants from the
sea-coast who journey in to the interior of Africa, are immeasurably
more affluent than the chiefs whose territories they visit. Besides,
the imposing effect of publicly praying, the apparent devotion of their
many genuflections and prostrations, the splendid finery of their large
rosaries, added to which, their great ostentation of wealth where
personal security is assured, soon influence the poor, ignorant, and
wondering natives. The Islam factor is confessedly the greatest man
among them; and his manners are copied, and his creed adopted, by the
operation of the same human feelings, which in England or France make a
_lion_ or constitute a fashion, with this recommendation on the part of
the savages, that their admiration is by far the most permanent.
CHAPTER IX.
Court dress.--Palace of Angolahlah.--Interview with Negoos.--
Memolagee.--Invited to house of Tinta.--Supplies from
palace.--Return to Ankobar.
_June 30th._--This morning, after a breakfast of bread and cayenne
pottage, which proved to be the contents of the little earthenware
jar carried back from the palace the day before, I was sent for, to
present myself immediately before the Negoos. Understanding that it was
etiquette to appear before royalty either with the upper part of the
body, above the waist, quite naked, or else, on the contrary, closely
clothed up, I chose the latter alternative, and put over my blowse
dress my black Arab cloak, and following the messenger, walked up the
side of the low hill upon which the Palace of Angolahlah stands. This
ridge, scarcely one hundred feet high, is a red ferruginous basaltic
dyke, which has here protruded through the general surface rock of grey
columnar porphyry. The rock of which it consists contains so much iron
as to render the compass completely useless in taking bearings, and
the oxidization, where it is exposed to the action of the atmosphere,
occasions the bright red colour of the hill. The circumscribed, but
nearly level summit, is occupied by the several courts of the royal
residence, the palace buildings, long thatched houses, standing in the
centre of all.
An irregular stockade of splintered _ted_ (a juniper pine), twelve or
fourteen feet high, is carried around the edge of the ridge, and the
enclosed area, in its longest direction, exceeds three hundred yards.
This is subdivided into courts, the first of which is entered from the
town by a low gateway that scarcely affords passage to a person mounted
upon a mule, although it is a privilege of the principal courtiers to
ride so far before they dismount, when they visit the Negoos.
Through this court we passed, for about twenty yards, between two rows
of noisy beggars, male and female, old, middle-aged, and young; who,
leprous, scrofulous, and maimed, exhibited the most disgusting sores,
and implored charity for the sake of Christ and the Virgin Mary. I was
glad to escape from their piteous importunity, and I passed quickly
through another row of palings by a narrow wicket into a second court,
something more extensive than the other, where I found a crowd of
people listening to an orator, who, with shoulders and body bare to his
middle, was addressing three or four turbaned monks who sat in an open
alcove, beneath the long projecting eaves of a thatched roof. This
I was given to understand by Walderheros, who followed close behind
me, was a court of justice, from whose decision, if the parties did
not feel satisfied, they appealed to the King. As we passed through a
third wicket, a small enclosure on one side attracted my attention,
from the circumstance of several prisoners, shackled by the wrists and
ancles with bright and apparently much-worn fetters, endeavouring to
get a peep at me through the interstices of their wooden prison. In the
next court was collected a great heap of stones, upon which a number
of people were sitting; and here also I was desired to be seated, as I
found out, among the noblemen of the country; for at first I objected
to such a lowly couch, until I saw the Wallasmah, whom I knew to be the
most powerful of any of the subjects of Sahale Selassee, sitting very
contented, wrapt up in his white tobe, his black bald head, little eyes
and snub nose, alone appearing from above its ample folds. There were
many others of nearly equal rank, who were waiting to see the Negoos;
so choosing the sunniest spot unoccupied, did in Shoa as I saw the
Shoans do, and sat down with the rest upon the hard stones.
I had scarcely comported myself so unassumingly when its due reward
followed, by being summoned immediately afterwards into the presence
of the Negoos. I found his majesty in the next court, which was
nearly circular, and surrounded by a low stone wall instead of the
high, ragged palisades, that three times before fence his retreat
about. Several long low houses stood around, serving as stores and
offices, and conspicuous among them was the little round cottage, about
twenty-two feet in diameter, that was then being erected by Capt.
Graham. One of the thatched houses was raised to a second story, open
in front, each side of which was ornamented with trellicework of very
rude carpentry. In this elevated alcove, upon a couch, covered with
red velvet, and reposing upon large cushions of yellow-coloured satin
lay the Negoos of Shoa, Sahale Selassee, whilst many-coloured Persian
carpets covered the floor, and hung over outside into the court.
I uncovered my head after the most approved court fashion, at least
as far as I knew anything of the matter, but a slight movement of the
considerate monarch instructed me that he desired I should keep my cap
on whilst standing in the sun, addressing me at the same time by an
Arabic expression, signifying “How do you do.”
This mode of commencing the conversation rather puzzled me, for simple
as was the salutation, I had forgotten the meaning of “_kiphanter_”
and fancying it to be some Amharic word, turned for assistance to
Walderheros, who, however, dropped his nether jaw, and looked a vacant
“I don’t know; don’t ask me.” Waarkie, who stood with numerous other
courtiers around the royal couch, came to the edge of the stage, and
repeated the word, upon which, recollecting myself, I bowed in return,
and taking out my letter I had received in Calcutta, held it up for
Waarkie to take it, and hand to the Negoos, as I hoped from his being
so conversant with Arabic, he might be able to decipher it without the
aid of an interpreter. This, however, I soon saw he could not do, for
upon looking at it, not being able to make anything of it the right
way, he turned it upside down, to see if it would read any easier in
that position. Two mollums, or learned Mahomedan scribes, attendants
of the Wallasmah Mahomed, were now summoned, but they soon confessed
themselves at fault with the Persian character. Very fortunately for
my reputation, a large round Government seal occupied one-third of
the paper, and some of the characters upon it being recognised as
Arabic, the document at length was reported to be genuine, or I should
have been set down as an impostor as well as an adventurer. The seal
having thus impressed them with the official character of the letter,
the mollums satisfied the King that they could make out that I was
represented in it to be a good man, and after one of them had been
instructed to ask me what presents I had brought for the Negoos, they
were ordered to depart.
Having understood from the members of the Mission, on my first arrival,
that it was an invariable custom, on introduction to the monarch, to
make him some present, I had accordingly provided myself with a few
yards of rich Chinese silk velvet, and a curiously-worked bead purse,
which contained a stone ring, cut out of a piece of green-coloured
jaspar. Each was handed up in succession to the Negoos for his
inspection; after having been duly described and registered upon a
strip of parchment by a scribe who stood at my elbow for that purpose.
As each was presented, the Negoos slightly bowed, and said, in his own
language, “_Egzeer ista_” (God return it to you).
A short conversation with his courtiers, who stood with the upper
parts of the body completely uncovered, was followed by a request on
the part of the Negoos, that I should ask from him whatever I desired.
I begged to be allowed to remain in Shoa until after the rains, and
then to have permission and his assistance to proceed to Enarea. A
slight inclination of assent, with an abrupt recommendation of me to
the care of heaven by his majesty, terminated the interview, and I
retired, followed by Walderheros, who appeared highly delighted with
the graciousness of my reception, and was evidently speculating upon
the bright prospects before him from the opportunities I might have of
pushing his fortunes at court, for the precincts of which he seemed to
have a great predilection.
Immediately after returning to my tent, a large goat was sent to me by
the Negoos, and an inconvenient command that I should remain for the
day at Angolahlah. There was nothing that I desired less, for the cold
weather, the thin shelter of the tent, and my expected attack of the
fever paroxysm on this day, made me anxious to proceed at once, after
my visit to the palace, to my comparatively comfortable quarters in
Aliu Amba, where the climate was so much more temperate and agreeable.
I sent Walderheros to report the circumstance of my being very ill, and
he fortunately met Tinta, who was coming down to see me, having been
appointed to act as my “balderabah.” This is an officer who attends to
the wants of a stranger guest, and is responsible to the Negoos for
any neglect of the duties of hospitality. He also is the channel of
communication between the monarch and his visitors, nor can any other
person of the royal household undertake the duties of, or become the
deputy of another in this office, so that it not unfrequently happens
that an inconvenient detention in one of the courts of the palace takes
place, if the balderabah happens not to be present to announce to the
Negoos the presence or the business of his client. As the balderabah is
always chosen from among the principal men about the court, the office
is somewhat analogous to that of the patrons which characterized the
state of society among the ancient Romans. The signification of the
name “balderabah,” in the Amharic language is, the master or opener of
the door.
Tinta came down, and after announcing to me that I had permission to
remain in his town, and that he was appointed my “friend at court,”
gave into my hand a little piece of parchment, about an inch and a half
square upon which was written in the Geez language, “Give to this Gypt,
eating and drinking,” nothing more, but which constituted me a “_balla
durgo_,” that is, master or receiver of rations. “Gypt,” the Amharic
for Egyptian, is the cognomen generally applied to all white men who
visit Abyssinia, they being supposed to come from Egypt.[8]
The durgo, or rations, supplied to strangers whilst resident in their
country, is a general custom among Abyssinian princes, and is of very
great antiquity. It is considered that all persons visiting the kingdom
come only as friends of the monarch, who, in the exercise of his
hospitality, takes upon himself the whole expense of their sustenance,
so that no excuse may be made for intriguing or interfering in the
ordered state of things, as regards the rule or security of the kingly
power. A deviation from the policy of non-interference on the part of
the guest would then be justly considered an act of great ingratitude;
nor when such a conservative principle is involved in the observance of
hospitality towards strangers, can we be surprised at the indignation
which marks several tirades in the productions of the ancient poets,
when this custom was more general than in modern times, against
individuals who have thus erred in their duties to the hosts who have
entertained them.
Moreover, when departing from an Abyssinian country, the audience of
leave-taking is supposed to terminate with a blessing bestowed upon
the king by the guest, who acknowledges in this manner the kindness
with which he has been received. The blessing being withheld implies
the reverse, and no little uneasiness and superstitious alarm would
be occasioned in the mind of a monarch, by the idea that the stranger
would revenge himself by a curse, for any neglect he may suppose
himself to have been treated with.
These customs being borne in mind, to apply our knowledge of them
usefully, we must compare them with similar observances which did, and
still do, characterize some oriental courts; and readers perhaps will
recall to mind some in the histories of ancient and modern Asiatic
monarchies, that may have originated from some former connexion in
one extensive empire, of the now very different and widely separated
countries in which such customs are still retained. I shall content
myself, however, with pointing out their strict accordance with similar
usages at the court of Pharaoh, as recorded in Genesis, and which is
well illustrated in the reception of the patriarch Jacob, at the court
of that monarch. In the forty-seventh chapter of that book, Joseph
from his connexion with the monarch, introduces his five brethren, but
he first reports their arrival and obtains leave; and in nearly the
same manner he acts as balderabah of Jacob, and the remainder of the
family whom we find on their arrival were constituted _balla-durgoitsh_
“receivers of rations,” for we read in the same chapter that Joseph
“nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household
with bread according to their families.” We are also told when Jacob
retired from the presence of the monarch, “that Jacob blessed Pharaoh,
and went out from before Pharaoh.”
At the hazard of being considered tedious, I shall here allude to two
other instances of customs existing at the present day in Abyssinia,
and which are intimately connected with the subject we are upon. The
only public oath used by the inhabitants of Shoa, is of a remarkable
character. “Sahale Selassee e moot.” ‘May Sahale Selassee die,’ if
such a thing be not true! is the constant ejaculation of a protesting
witness, or a positive informant; and if upon a serious business, the
immediate confiscation of property, and incarceration in prison,
would be consequent upon a perjured imprecation made against the life
of the Negoos. Joseph, accusing his brethren, in the fifteenth verse
of the forty-second chapter of Genesis, says, “Hereby shall ye be
proved: _By the life of Pharaoh_ ye shall not go forth hence, except
your youngest brother come hither;” and again, in the next verse, “or
else _by the life of Pharaoh_ surely ye are spies.” The very language
substituting the name Sahale Selassee for that of Pharaoh, under
similar circumstances, which would be used in the court of Shoa at the
present day.
In the years 1830 and 1831, when cholera made its circuit of the
whole earth, it visited the kingdom of Shoa. It was preceded for two
successive years by a great failure of crops, both of grain and cotton,
and the people in consequence, were reduced to the greatest extremity
for food and clothing. Numbers fell victims from hunger alone, and
to relieve their necessities, numerous acts of violence and robbery
disturbed the usually peaceful state of society in Shoa. The Negoos,
at this time, secured to himself the love of his subjects by the
liberality of his frequent distributions of grain; but another calamity
made its appearance, the cholera commenced its ravages, and he began
to fear that his bounty must end by the exhaustion of his means. The
famine increasing from want of the cattle which had died, to cultivate
the land, the difficulty of obtaining food began also to be felt by
those who had the means of purchasing it, and these intruding with
their applications were supplied at a price, whilst the wretched poor
were left to die. In this position, having nothing to dispose of but
their labour, a starving multitude of some thousands appealed to the
Negoos to grant them food, and in return to receive their freedom,
or at least their services for life. This was granted, and even
after the cholera had swept off nearly two-thirds of their number,
above a thousand such individuals were found to be in bondage to the
Negoos, and duly registered as slaves. This condition was certainly
little more than nominal, for, except upon extraordinary occasions,
such as constructing the bridge dams over the streams on the roads
to Angolahlah, and to Debra Berhan, or when employed building stone
enclosures for the Negoos, a service scarcely ever exceeding three
days in three months, this class of slaves were never called upon for
regular or long-continued labour.
In the course of the ten succeeding years, however, children were
born to these people, and the question then arose, as to whether they
shared the bondage of their parents, or were free. This was brought to
issue by the Negoos bestowing certain lands, upon which were domiciled
several of these bondsmen, upon a courtier, who made a demand of
service from the children, which the parents refused to admit as his
right, and an appeal was made to the Negoos in consequence. The court
of “_Wombaroitsh_,” or judges of an inferior kind, who relieve the
king of all first hearings of cases, except in most important ones,
and who sit in judgment in one of the courts of the palace, decided
in favour of the children; but this decision, on an appeal by the
courtier, was negatived by the Negoos himself, without any hearing
of those unfortunates who were most interested. The “_Wombaroitsh_”
put in a plea, however, founded upon the canons of their Church, and
the numerous solicitations of the free relations of the bondpeople,
induced the Negoos to acknowledge himself to have been in error, and to
proclaim that the people alone, whom he had fed and clothed in the time
of the famine, were his slaves for life, and that their children for
the future must be considered free.
These circumstances I became acquainted with in consequence of having
the daughter of one of these very bondsmen in my service, and who was
old enough, at the time of the famine, to recollect the sad miseries
that fell upon her own family during its continuance, until her father
and two brothers sold themselves for their food, in the manner I have
above related, to the future service of the Negoos.
Among others who addressed the Negoos in favour of the children, whose
numbers amounted to scarcely more than five hundred, were the officers
of the British Mission, a fact, however, of which I never heard until
my arrival in this country, nor is it, I am afraid, very generally
known to have been the case by the inhabitants of Shoa, who have no
other idea but that it was the effect of religious feeling, and of the
great sense of justice, for which their sovereign, Sahale Selassee,
is celebrated all over the eastern horn of Africa, and far into the
interior towards the west.
I was never given to understand that the proclamation that announced
the freedom of the children at all affected the condition of their
parents, who, I believe, still are and will continue until death the
bond servants of the Negoos.
When these circumstances were first related to me, I could not help
being struck by the exact correspondence they exhibit, with the
proceedings of Joseph acting as the steward of Pharaoh towards the
starving Egyptians, during the infliction of the seven years’ famine
upon that country; and which is another instance of the similarity of
custom and of situation between that ancient people and the modern
Abyssinians. The appeal, indeed, of the former to Joseph, expresses
exactly the request made to the Negoos of Shoa by his subjects;
“Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy
us and the land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto
Pharaoh, and give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the
land be not desolate.”
FOOTNOTES:
[8] It is rather a singular circumstance that in England
we apply the term Gipsey to the descendants of an
outcast people, and that a name of similar origin
should designate ourselves among the only remnant of
an Egyptian people that have preserved a national
independency in the country whither they had fled.
It reminded me of another ethnological fact I
had observed in Aden, where the flaxen-haired,
light-coloured Jews, so different in appearance from
the darker complexioned Arabs among whom they lived,
were oppositely contrasted with those dark-eyed,
dark-haired descendants of Israel, who have retained
these characteristics of an eastern origin, although
long resident among the fair-skinned inhabitants of
northern Europe.
CHAPTER X.
Stay with Tinta.--Proceed to Ankobar.--Remain for the day at
Musculo’s house.--Fever.--Abyssinian supper party.--Honey
wine.--Importance of salt as an article of food.
When my “balderabah” Tinta, gave to Walderheros the parchment order for
durgo, he also told him, as the tent was insufficient shelter for an
invalid, to take me to his house, which was not many yards distant from
where I was previously lodged.
Here we found his mother and sister sitting upon the ground busy
spinning cotton. The right thighs of each were completely bare to the
hips, for the purpose of rolling swiftly with the palm of the hand,
along the smooth surface, the small light reel, which hung revolving,
whilst the hand bearing aloft the light white cloud of cotton, slowly
diverged to arms’ length, and the other as gradually drew out in the
opposite direction the slender thread that was formed during the
operation.
Within the hearth circle, that occupied the centre of the apartment,
a huge wood fire was blazing away, the most comfortable looking thing
I had seen since leaving Aliu Amba. On the farther side from the door
was a raised couch, built of stones and mud, and upon this a layer
of fresh cut grass was laid, and an ox skin was soon found to throw
over this dampish looking bed. All being arranged, I was invited to
sit down, my shoes and socks being then taken off, the older lady, in
accordance with a very usual custom, washed my feet in warm water, and
I had already become so used to their manners, that I did not now draw
back the foot, as at first I could not help doing, from the salute that
is always given when the process is concluded.
Besides the goat which the Negoos had sent to me, another supply of
bread (like our own), butter, cayenne pottage, and tedge, arrived
towards the evening, and although I was not able to enjoy the good
things myself, the family and Walderheros fared sumptuously upon the
viands thus abundantly provided.
After sunset our party was joined by Tinta himself, who had been
detained during the day on duty at the palace. He brought with him
the “ullica” of the “affaroitsh,” or superior of the distributors of
the rations, named Sartawold, “The gift of the Son.” He was a regular
smooth-faced courtier, sleek and well fed, very quiet, and very
cunning. A conversation, not an extremely interesting one, was kept
up by means of an Islam inhabitant of Aliu Amba, who had arrived in
Angolahlah during the day, and upon the strength of having seen me in
the market of the former town, had now called to make inquiries after
the health of his old friend and intimate acquaintance, the “Aliu Amba
ahkeem.”
Among the things Sartawold wanted, was some medicine for the Negoos,
whom he did not hesitate to assert, had a most disreputable complaint;
but as I did not think proper to understand him until I knew something
more of the particulars of the case, he soon ceased making the request.
Our halting conversation terminated at length by his getting up from
the floor, where he had been sitting upon an ox hide, and telling me
that the King desired me to remain at Aliu Amba till I was quite well,
and, in the meantime, I must learn to speak Amharic. After recommending
each other a dozen times to the care of heaven, Sartawold retired, but
it was some time before I could get the talkative Islam to leave me to
my much-required repose.
After an early breakfast next morning, Walderheros prepared for our
departure, rolling up my plaid, Arab cloak, and two large Abyssinian
tobes that formed my bed clothes, and putting them all into a large
goat skin bag, in which they were usually carried on occasions of
leaving home for a time.
I presented my female friends with a few small strings of blue and gold
coloured beads, which are the kind most preferred by the Christian
inhabitants of Shoa. Of these beads they construct the more superior
kind of “martab,” the particular symbol of their faith; which, of some
material or other, they invariably wear. It sometimes consists merely
of a white or blue thread, tied around the throat, but those in most
general use are made of dark blue silk, imported by the merchants
of Giddem and of Hurrah. This colour, once universally worn, is not
insisted upon at the present day, for although it still continues to
be considered the most orthodox, the white and yellow coloured threads
of beads have become very fashionable of late. The custom of wearing
coloured “martabs” bears some reference, I believe, to a personal
distinction between the Christian and Islam faiths, established by
some former Negoos; for red head dresses of cotton cloth, and long red
gowns, are invariably the “outward and visible” sign of the profession
of Islamism, among the women of Efat, and other Mahomedan provinces, as
the blue martab is of the Christian population.
It was nine o’clock before we were fairly started, but we soon lost
sight of the palace hill, with its crest of thatched roofs appearing
above the bristling stockade; and of its red flanks dotted with
squatting noblemen and courtiers, who in clean white tobes sat enjoying
the fresh air and the genial influence of a morning sun. Walderheros
ran by the side of my mule, poising upon his head the skin bag which
contained my bed. When, however, the view of Angolahlah was shut out
by the projecting shoulder of a low ridge, along the base of which our
road lay, his burden was transferred to the crupper of my saddle, and
relieving me of my carabine, the respectful bearing of a servant was
changed for the familiarity of a tutor, and one long lesson in Amharic
again occupied the way.
We reached Ankobar late in the afternoon, and as I was completely
worn out, and the mule was tired also, I agreed to the proposal of
Walderheros that we should stay for the night at the house of a married
sister of his, the husband of whom was the “ullica,” or the superior of
those slaves of the Negoos, whose duty it is to cut and carry wood for
the use of the royal residences.
The house was very conveniently situated at the junction of the lower
road, around the base of the ridge of Ankobar, with the steep ascending
one that leads to the town on its summit.
Walderheros found his sister at home, with a fat slave-girl, Mahriam,
as her attendant and companion. Musculo, the husband, was absent upon
some duty, but he appeared in the course of the afternoon, and all
endeavoured to make me as comfortable as they could.
Their house was of the better sort, built of splinted ted, and
consisted of a central apartment, with recesses formed by the division
of the space between two circular walls, which were placed at about
four feet distant from each other. In one of these recesses was placed
a bed-stead, covered with an ox skin tanned with the bark of the
kantuffa, which gives to this kind of leather a red colour. A skin so
prepared is called “_net_.” The kantuffa is a pleasing looking tree,
and might be cultivated as a lawn shrub in England. It is a species
of acacia, and the bright red seed vessels formed like those of the
English ash, remaining after the foliage disappears, would diminish
considerably, I think, the dreary aspect of a shrubbery in that season.
In the other two recesses were numerous jars containing ale, grain, and
water, and side by side stood four pedestal hand mills, in the rear of
which a hole, knocked through the mud and stick wall, served the double
purpose of a window and chimney. The large circular hearth occupied
the usual situation, nearly in the centre of the apartment, which was
itself not more than twelve feet in diameter. Two solid planks of the
“_sigbar_” tree, each of which had been cut with no little labour from
a single tree, formed a pair of folding-doors. The hinges on which they
revolved consisted of strong projecting extremities on one side of the
top and bottom of each, which were received into corresponding holes on
the wooden lintel and threshold. At night the two flaps were secured
by an iron hasp shutting upon a staple, that admitted a kind of wooden
linch-pin to be thrust through.
The _sigbar_ tree, of which these doors were made, is the principal
forest-tree of Shoa, it sometimes attains the height of one hundred
feet, with a diameter of not less than five feet. In flocks along its
crushing branches, the flying “_gurazo_,” a species of monkey, makes
the circuit of the forest, and to watch them, as they take the most
fearful leaps from tree to tree, is most interesting. I have seen the
dam, with a young one held tightly to her breast with one arm, exactly
like a human being would do, fearlessly dart from the greatest height
to the lower branch of a neighbouring tree, and quickly gaining its
summit, keep well up with the rest, in their leaping progress.
Musculo being the “ullica,” or superior of the wood-cutting slaves, I
requested him to bring some of the people of all the country to the
south of Shoa, that I might have the opportunity of examining them.
Whilst he was away, however, my fever fit recurred, and I was under
the agreeable influence of a warm water emetic when he returned with
a large company of his charge. There were Shankalli negroes from the
extreme south and west, and Gallas from the intermediate countries, red
Gurague people, and the bilious-coloured, from Zingero and Enarea--all
stood or sat around the door-way, and I could have wished to have
transferred the whole lot to some ethnological museum, to relieve me
just at that moment from taking notes. In fact it was impossible, and
so ordering Walderheros to give them two ahmulahs to purchase some ale
for their evening’s entertainment, I dismissed the chattering crowd
until another day, when more favourable circumstances would admit of my
making particular inquiries respecting their families, their nations,
and their tongues, sharpened as my appetite for such information was by
the clear idea of the character of the country I had already received
from the dealer Ibrahim, and which I wished to confirm by actual
conversations with the natives of the various countries, he had spoken
of in his geography of Southern Abyssinia.
Warm water, as an emetic in the first stage of an ague, materially
diminishes its violence, and although I do not recommend it altogether
as a cure, I am bound to speak well of it as a palliative. At night I
recommend also to a patient, situated as I was, to take doses of from
twelve to fourteen grains of Dover’s powders. It is better, however,
to compound this excellent febrifuge with sulphate of magnesia, rather
than the usual salt, sulphate of potass, and that for reasons which are
obvious.
One effect of the opium which is not sufficiently insisted upon by
practisers of medicine is its specific effect upon the brain as a
tonic. In small doses at bed-time I found it invaluable, as decreasing
that congestion in the blood-vessels of the head which attends the
paroxysms of ague, and which adds considerably to the severity of the
attack. In a severe sun-stroke from which I also suffered, I found
abstinence from food and small doses of opium at night relieved me of
all bad symptoms in the course of three or four days. Experience has
taught me these important facts, but as future travellers cannot be
supposed to have my note books with them, I have recorded these hints
for their benefit.
After the reaction following the hot stage of the fever, I felt quite
certain a horn or two of “tedge” honey wine would not do me any injury,
so sent Walderheros just before sunset to endeavour to procure me
some. I also gave Musculo a salt piece to purchase fowls and ale, as
my contribution towards the entertainment, Walderheros and myself were
receiving in the house.
My servant soon breasted the high hill, and fortunately was just in
time to find a person in authority, who, immediately he was shown my
durgo order, procured a large bullock’s horn full of the sweet wine.
The manufacture of tedge or honey wine is a royal monopoly, and is
not publicly sold; of course there is a kind of conventional license,
not exactly smuggling, by which, for double or treble its value, this
beverage may be obtained. Even then the purchased article is probably
the rations that have been preserved by some carefully disposed guest
of the monarch, who, pouring his daily allowance of a bullock’s
hornfull into a large jar, collects a stock for a day of rejoicing
or for private sale. The process of brewing tedge is simple enough;
cold water being poured over a few small drinking hornsfull of honey
placed in a jar, is well stirred up; to this is then added a handful
of sprouted barley, “biccalo,” scorched over the fire, and ground into
a coarse meal, with the same quantity of the leaves of the “gaisho,”
a species of Rhamneæ, not unlike the common tea plant, and an intense
but transient bitter like gentian or hops. The mixture being allowed
to stand for three or four days, ferments, and is generally drunk in
that state, but is then rather a queer kind of muddy beverage, full of
little flocculent pieces of wax. It is more agreeable, but not unlike,
in appearance or character, very strong sweet-wort. To a superior kind,
made for the King’s own table, besides the “biccalo” and “gaisho,” is
also added a kind of berry called “kuloh,” which grows not unlike the
fruit of our elderberry, and may possibly be the production of some
tree belonging to that species. The jars containing this are sealed
with a large cake of clay mixed with the lees of the decanted liquor.
This kind of tedge is allowed to stand for several months before it is
used, and is called “barilla,” from always being handed to guests in
small Venetian bottles of green glass, the fracture of one of which
is a grievous offence with his Shoan Majesty, and he always makes the
careless party pay for it.
Two hours after sunset I was well enough to sit up and partake of my
tedge, which was handed to me by Walderheros, to amuse myself with
whilst he proceeded to lay out our supper. A large round table of
wicker-work, the diameter of which was about three feet, and about
one foot in height, was reached down from a peg, where it had been
suspended against the wall, and laid upon the floor before me. In
the centre of this, Eichess, the lady of the house, placed a round
saucer-like dish of red earthenware, full of the cayenne pottage, which
had been long preparing upon the fire, and in which were boiled to a
hot fricassee the disjointed limbs of a fowl. A separate heap of three
or four of the thin teff crumpets, folded four-fold, was then put for
each person.
Walderheros, for a few beads, had purchased at the palace about a yard
of yellow wax taper, which was merely a long rag dipped into the melted
material. Having cut off and lighted a portion of this, he carried
it flaring about in his left hand, as he assisted most busily in the
arrangement of the supper things. Musculo, not to be idle, had seated
himself upon one corner of the bed I occupied, and with the bullock’s
horn upon his knee occasionally replenished my drinking horn, and as
frequently assisted me in finishing its contents.
Everything at length being pronounced ready, I was requested to take my
seat at the table, a boss of straw being placed for my accommodation.
I, however, preferred remaining on the bed, watching their whole
proceedings for want of other amusement. The company, who soon seated
themselves, consisted of Eichess, Mahriam, Walderheros, Musculo, and a
younger brother of the latter, named Abta Mahriam, one of the King’s
gunmen, who had come in during the preparation of the meal. Musculo
took the straw seat, the rest squatted around the table upon their
heels, and formed altogether a good picture of an Abyssinian family.
Eichess commenced by dipping several folds of the thin bread into
the cayenne pottage until well saturated with the condiment. With a
quantity of this she supplied each individual, taking for that purpose
the topmost layer of the heap of bread assigned to them, which,
after sopping, was returned to its previous situation. The party now
proceeded on their own account, tearing off portions of the under
bread, and wiping it upon the moistened morsel above, by the contact
giving to it the required hot relish, in a manner somewhat analogous to
our putting mustard upon meat.
The “wort,” or cayenne pottage, may be termed the national dish of
the Abyssinians, as that or its basis, “dillock,” is invariably eaten
with their ordinary diet, the thin crumpet-like bread of teff or
wheat flour. Equal parts of salt and of the red cayenne pods are well
powdered and mixed together with a little pea or bean meal to make a
paste. This is called “dillock,” and is made in quantities at a time,
being preserved in a large gourd-shell, generally suspended from the
roof. The “wort” is merely a little water added to this paste, which
is then boiled over the fire, with the addition of a little fat meat
and more meal, to make a kind of porridge, to which sometimes is also
added several warm seeds, such as the common cress or black mustard,
both of which are indigenous in Abyssinia. When unable to make the
“wort,” a little of the “dillock” is placed _en masse_ upon the bread,
which the eater endeavours to make go as far as possible by slight
touches of each portion of the food he puts into his mouth.
Whilst speaking of this article of food, it may be as well to observe,
that its use appears to have been dictated by the situation of the
Abyssinians. As an easy illustration by analogy, it may be safely
supposed that salt is a more indispensable necessary of life, and far
more expensive in that country, than the purest white sugar is in
Europe. Children stand around the mother whilst engaged in any manner
in which salt is employed, as in England, little silent gazers are
attracted around mamma when making sweetened dishes. Good housekeeping
with the Abyssinians consists chiefly in the economical management of
their stock of salt; and among other notable modes of making a little
do duty for a considerable quantity, besides affording an additional
stimulant to the palate, is this system of combining it with pepper.
An old Dutch method of executing criminals was confining them solely to
the use of bread in which no salt was contained, and which ultimately
occasioned death by the worms that were thus allowed to generate
in the intestines. Many children in England have I seen who have
certainly fallen victims to the foolish fear that they would eat too
much salt; and I believe that disposition to scrofula, the national
disease, is chiefly owing to the vegetable diet of our children not
being sufficiently attended to in the matter of this simple condiment.
Be that as it may, the Abyssinians suffer considerably in their health
from the difficulty of obtaining salt. They are dreadfully subject to
that species of _vermes_, called tapeworm, and every month are obliged
to have recourse to a vile drastic cathartic called “cosso,” to get rid
of the unpleasant cause of this complaint, and all owing to the want of
sufficient salt in their food. To this cause may be attributable also
that tendency to form large spreading ulcers which the slightest bruise
upon their bodies occasions; and the dreadful ravages which syphilis
makes among them.
The supper grew gradually to a close, and as the viands disappeared,
matter for conversation seemed to increase. As the appetites of the
party were appeased, I noticed little choice bits of the fowl that
remained at the bottom of the “wort” basin, were taken out by the
fingers of the lady of the house, and being rolled up in a mass of
bread, far too large for the mouth, were successively handed to all
around. Each one as he received the compliment, slightly rising from
the ground, kissed the joined wrists of his own hands, as he offered
to support the hand of Eichess, whilst she held the morsel to the
mouth, until it had entirely disappeared. Mahriam, the slave-girl, who
sat with the rest, was not neglected, for a larger portion came to
her share than to any of the others. Slaves generally are considered
by their owners in the light of near relations, or rather, perhaps,
as foster children. When their conduct is so very bad as to alienate
the affection of their indulgent masters, they are not unfrequently
dismissed. Latterly, however, a greater relaxation in the principles of
the Christians of Shoa, as in other portions of Abyssinia, has led to
a punishment for refractory slaves, by selling them to their Mahomedan
neighbours, who soon forward them to the coast. Canon law prohibits
this custom of selling slaves altogether, but a system of smuggling in
this unhappy commodity is extensively carried on, by the very priests
of the religion itself, who are continually bringing slave-children to
Aliu Amba market from Gurague, and other Christian states to the south
of Shoa.
The repast being concluded, all wiped their pottage-soiled fingers
upon the last fragments of the bread, which were then duly swallowed.
Mahriam now got up, and from out a gourd-shell poured a little water
upon the hands of each of the party, who, rubbing the fingers together
a little, then dried them upon their ample tobes. A gambo of strong
ale called thalah, containing at least five gallons, was now opened,
and deep horn cups were frequently replenished, whilst a lively
conversation concerning the events of the last two or three days was
kept up; a very highly-coloured account of my reception by the Negoos,
no doubt, having been given by Walderheros, who, as principal speaker
upon the occasion, was in the happiest mood possible, and though
generally very careful of his tapers on other occasions, he found
himself obliged to light the remaining half-yard, to afford him time to
conclude his long narration.
CHAPTER XI.
Leave Ankobar.--Arrive in Aliu Amba.--Musical party.--Durgo.--
Arrangements with Tinta.--Remarks upon internal Government of
Shoa.--The authority of Sahale Selassee. His virtues.
Having slept well during the night, in spite of the very numerous
fleas, and similar trifling annoyances, to which I had become in some
measure accustomed, as must every traveller in Abyssinia, I arose,
like a giant refreshed; for one comfort, amidst all the disheartening
circumstances that oppressed me was, that every other day was one of
rest, on which I was, comparatively speaking, well. A few beads to
Eichess and Mahriam, repaid them for their attention, and my mule being
brought, before the sun had cast his first beams over the ridge in
front of Ankobar, I was following Walderheros along a narrow winding
lane, between high banks, on which grew the broad-leaved banana-like
Ensete plant, and the thick coarse foliage of a dwarf tree called,
“y’ shokoko Gwomen,” the rock rabbit cabbage. In a short time, we
emerged into the regular road to Aliu Amba, called the lower road, in
contradistinction to the one that leads through Ankobar above, and
after an hour’s ride, I arrived upon the market-place portion of the
rock of Aliu Amba, long before Walderheros, but the mule took me direct
to my old quarters at Miriam’s house, along the labyrinth of lanes that
would otherwise have sorely puzzled me. Here I was received by a crowd
of women, who announced my arrival with a loud and long-continued cry
of “La, La, La,” a customary welcome, never omitted on the return home
of any one who has been absent for a time. I subsequently observed,
that the more chance there was of receiving an ahmulah to spend in ale
afterwards, the more joyous was the cry, and more numerous was the
assembly. Two native fiddlers also presented themselves, immediately
that I had seated myself in the house, bringing with them their
instruments, and a little doll dressed up to represent an Amhara
soldier, with small but well-made models of spear, shield, and the
peculiar crooked sword of the country.
Their fiddles were clumsy-looking affairs, consisting of a long handle,
a lozenge-shaped parchment body, and one string formed of a loose
bundle of horse-hairs, that at the upper extremity of the handle were
secured to a moveable pin of wood three or four inches long, and after
being carried over a bridge which stood upon one of the parchment
faces, were looped down to a little projection beyond. The string
thus formed, was tightened at pleasure, by simply twisting it upon
the stick pin. The bows were caricatures of the European ones, being
little tough boughs of some tree or other, bent into a semicircle, the
two ends being connected by a loose band of horse-hair of the same
character as the fiddle-string. A piece of _attan_, or the frankincense
of Arabia, served the musicians instead of resin, and was kept in
little bags that were suspended by strings from the handles of their
instruments. A sharp pointed stick being pushed into the ground,
the doll was fixed upon it so that it could move freely about. It
was then connected by a long string with the bow of the fiddle, the
motion of the one whilst playing, making the other jump about in the
most approved Jim Crow fashion, to the great delight of the naked,
chattering, dark-skinned children, who pushed their faces and little
limbs among their equally amused, but more staid elders, who thronged
the house to witness the performance. When the musicians departed, a
present of two ahmulahs made them quite happy, and after they were
gone, and the greater part of the company with them, Sheik Tigh and
Hadjji Abdullah came in to ask the news, and to hear about the success
of my journey to Angolahlah. Miriam, by dint of a great deal of puffing
at a little stick fire, before which she knelt, managed at length,
to prepare some coffee. My pipe was filled, and Walderheros, who in
the mean time had come in, was sent to borrow another for Hadjji
Abdullah. Sheik Tigh, having some Wahabbee notions, did not indulge
in the fumes of tobacco, so he sat upon one of the boxes, commenting
upon and endeavouring to explain by sundry guesses, the motives that
could have induced the Negoos, in the first place, to order me out
of the kingdom, and then treating me so well when I went up to see
him. It was concluded, at last, that I was on the high way to state
preferment, which was presently confirmed by my balderabah Tinta, much
to my surprise, making his appearance, bringing a message, not only
to me, but to Sheik Tigh. Three affaroitsh, or distributors of durgo,
accompanied him, bringing presents of white wheaten bread, honey, and
butter. The two latter were in large earthenware jars containing ten
or twelve pounds each. The message from the Negoos for me was to the
effect that I must learn the Amharic language as quickly as possible,
and to take plenty of medicine so that I might be quite well to visit
his majesty, on the occasion of his visit to “Michael wans,” which
would be during the fast of Felsat, (the ascension of the Virgin
Mary,) about the beginning of the next month, August. Sheik Tigh also
received an order to act as my “duptera,” or teacher, and received a
small piece of parchment like the one I had received in Angolahlah, and
which awarded to him in return for the duty of attending to my Amharic
education, ten _cuna_ of grain every month.
As I had then no more than sixteen dollars, all of which I might be
called upon to pay at any moment to different parties of my escort and
Kafilah friends, I was in some measure obliged to be dependent upon the
hospitality of the Negoos, upon whom the information that I was very
poor had a very contrary effect to what was intended by the embassy.
In fact, the chief object of Tinta in following me was, to arrange
with me in what manner I would receive the durgo of bread and wine
which he, as Governor of Aliu Amba and my balderabah, had to provide.
Walderheros, upon whose sagacity and honesty I could depend, advised me
that I should make a composition or agreement with Tinta, that instead
of receiving all the rations of bread, honey, butter, &c., to deliver
which, daily, at my house would have been very inconvenient to him, I
would take the same quantity of grain as Sheik Tigh, and although three
times more than I should actually require for making bread, that which
would remain, Walderheros remarked, he could easily exchange in the
market for fowls or sheep.
The proposition being both reasonable and convenient, Tinta agreed
immediately, but added, that the honey and the butter coming direct
from the stores of the Negoos, he had nothing to do with them, and they
would be continued every month in the same quantities that I had just
received them, and if this were not done, I was to complain to him.
During the nine months I remained in Shoa, however, this maintenance,
which is considered equivalent to the gift of a village, was supplied
to me monthly, as regularly as if I had sent my own servant for it.
The only deviation in this first arrangement was when Sheik Tigh was
taken away upon some duty to Bulga, the ten cuna of grain which he
had received was then given to me for the purpose of paying a fresh
schoolmaster.
Tinta was a good-hearted man, very cautious in his manner, and most
faithfully attached to his _gaitah_, Sahale Selassee, than whom,
in his eyes, there could not be a better or a greater monarch. For
several days he remained in Aliu Amba, and on some pretence or other
always came accompanied with Sheik Tigh as his interpreter to spend
the afternoon with me. I soon perceived that the real object of these
visits was to learn the motive that had induced so many Europeans to
visit Shoa of late. About this time, it must be observed, information
had arrived of the approach of M. Rochet de Hericourt bearing presents
from the King of France to Sahale Selassee. I scarcely knew how to
answer Tinta, except by complimenting him upon the able character of
the Negoos, of which we had heard in our country, and, induced us to
desire a more intimate acquaintance with a monarch of whom report spoke
so highly. This not appearing satisfactory, cupidity, the national vice
of Abyssinia, I thought might be excited favourably for the explanation
desired; so I entered largely upon the great commercial benefits that
would accrue to the Shoans by a communication being kept up between
their country and the sea-coast. The very supposition of a road being
opened for this purpose seemed, however, to astound Tinta, who, with a
deal of sincerity in his manner, begged of me, if I wished to remain on
good terms with the Negoos, not to mention such a thing; for “how would
Sahale Selassee,” he asked, “be able to preserve his people, if they
could escape to countries so rich as yours.” To remove the Adal and
Galla tribes, Tinta considered would be to break down the “hatta,” or
fence, that alone secured the Shoans at home, for they dare not leave
their country under present circumstances, except with the greatest
danger to their lives.
This subject-preserving principle appears to be the most important
one in the home policy of the government of Sahale Selassee, It also
appears to have been the foundation of many ancient systems of social
communities, and the representatives of which, preserved in their
original purity, have yet to be discovered in the unknown oases that
stud with desert-surrounded islands intertropical Africa.
In Shoa this principle is carried out for the sole benefit of the
monarch, and Paley’s metaphor of the lording pigeon, over the
productive wealth of the whole dovecote, typifies exactly the
respective conditions of the Shoans and their Negoos. The strictly
selfish and monopolizing rule, established by the sagacious monarch,
has reduced all his people to the most abject state of submission,
dependent upon him for every kind of property they possess. Most
fortunately for them, he is a just and good man, for he can give and
take away at pleasure; and thus holding wealth and honour in one hand,
and poverty and wretchedness in the other, he has made himself the
point upon which turns human happiness; and that kind of demon worship
which propitiates spirits supposed to have the power of inflicting evil
is, in consequence, paid to Sahale Selassee, who could at any moment
reduce to a beggar the richest, and most powerful of his slaves.
It is no fiction of the Shoan law, that everything in the country
is the positive property of the monarch. He can, without assigning
any reason, dispossess the present holder and confer his wealth upon
another, or retain it for his own use. He can demand the services of
all his people at all times, who must perform everything required of
them, to build palaces, construct bridges, till the royal demesnes,
or fight his enemies. They are, from first to last, both rich and
poor, the mere slaves of one sole lord and master, and scarcely a day
passes over but in some way or other the most wealthy are obliged to
confess it, or run the risk of being denounced as an enemy to the
sovereign, which would be followed by confiscation of all property, or
incarceration in Guancho, the State prison, with a heavy fine imposed.
Nor do the Shoans, born and educated in this servile condition,
consider such exercises of power as acts of tyranny; on the contrary,
with loud protestations of their own loyalty, all the neighbours and
late friends of the unfortunate individual so punished would with one
accord ejaculate, “Our good King! Our good King! alas! alas! to have
such an ungrateful servant!” meaning the dispossessed man of course.
Samuel’s expostulation with the Jews[9] when they demanded a King,
often recurred to me at the various instances of what I at first
considered to be undue demands for ploughing, or gathering in the
harvest, or building store-houses for the Negoos, which were made upon
the people whilst I was in the country, and who, at the bidding of the
overseers appointed to see the required work done, were obliged to
leave their own business, find their own tools, material, and cattle,
to perform whatever was required.
“And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked
of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of the king that
shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them for
himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run
before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands,
and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to
reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments
of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries,
to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your
vineyards, and your olive-yards, even the best of them, and give them
to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your
vineyards, and give to his officers and to his servants. And he will
take your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your goodliest
young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the
tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out
in that day because of your King which ye shall have chosen; and the
Lord shall not hear you in that day.”
Samuel very probably spoke from a knowledge of the customs and
practices of the kingly courts in the countries surrounding Judea; and
in that case the principles of home policy which direct the Sovereign
of Shoa in governing his people, appear to have come down to him from
a very remote time; nor can the unfair balance of power we observe
between him and his people be charged to his own cunning and selfish
intrigues. With the prejudices inseparable from his education as a
king, he always feels jealous of his prerogative and of his power,
and the threatened diminishment in the extent of either arouses his
attention immediately. He is perfectly aware that man’s nature will not
allow him to submit entirely to the arbitrary rule of even the most
just superior, and that some spirits will always be springing up among
his subjects, the more numerous the greater the opportunities may be,
and who will endeavour to escape from the bondage to which they have
been born.
It is just possible to conceive the relation between the monarch of
Shoa and his people by comparison with the state and condition of the
household of some rich and powerful nobleman in England; with this
difference, that in the latter case it is optional on the part of the
dependents to continue their servitude; whilst the Negoos possesses
the stronger hold upon the services and property of his subjects,
and consequently a greater power of exercising his will, because
they have no means of removing themselves away from his power. If
opportunities of escaping from this authority were afforded by allowing
free intercourse with other countries, this would at once destroy that
principle of dependence which is the foundation of the kingly power in
Shoa, and which is perfectly understood to be so by the Negoos, and
every Shoan is also well aware of the fact.
It can never be expected, therefore, that any freedom of intercourse
will be encouraged by Sahale Selassee that is not connected with an
increase of his dominion. Give to him the ancient empire, and he is our
intelligent and useful ally; but this clever prince of a petty kingdom
will never afford facilities for its being absorbed in any other
empire. The proffered friendship of a lion will always be suspected by
a sagacious old antelope.
A stranger, at first annoyed with the petty restraints upon unlimited
personal freedom, readily excuses it when he finds this to be, part
of the cautious policy dictated by the exigences of a government so
constituted; and another thing which leads him to feel more satisfied
with his situation in Shoa is, that he soon perceives Sahale Selassee
to be superior to the temptation of abusing that power which he
possesses. The contemplation of such a prince in his own country is
worth the trouble and risk of visiting it. During a reign of thirty
years, save one or two transient rebellions of ambitious traitors,
who have led, not the subjects of Sahale Selassee, but those of his
enemies, nothing like internal dissension or civil war have by their
ravages defaced his happy country; whilst gradually his character for
justice and probity has spread far and wide, and the supremacy of
political excellence is without hesitation given to the Negoos of Shoa
throughout the length and breadth of the ancient empire of Ethiopia. To
be feared by every prince around, and loved by every subject at home,
is the boast of the first government of civilized Europe; and strangely
enough this excellence of social condition is paralleled in the heart
of Africa, where we find practically carried out the most advantageous
policy of a social community that one of the wisest of sages could
conceive--that of arbitrary power placed in the hands of a really good
man.
Although now experiencing the advantages of virtue and wisdom directing
the actions of Sahale Selassee, the Shoans of the last generation were
exposed to the evils arising from the very opposite character, and have
had opportunities of comparison between the disposition of the present
Negoos and the severe and merciless tyrant who preceded him. All the
older men who recollect the rule of Wussen Saggad abound with tales of
the severe punishments, often unmerited, or inflicted for moral faults
of omission in duty, rather than for the commission of actual crimes;
which, in fact, as might be naturally expected under such a tyrant,
were often perpetrated by those of his courtiers, who more particularly
shared his favours. I saw some horrid cases of the excision of noses,
and of obliteration of sight; unfortunates who had been doomed to these
punishments by their tyrannical master, intruding themselves upon the
traveller who visits Shoa, in the vain hope of receiving some medical
relief. In one instance, I was requested by Sahale Selassee himself
to do what I could to relieve one of these objects of his father’s
cruelty, in whom the rude excision of the nose had been followed by a
spreading cancerous sore over the whole face.
By these reflections and observations, noted down when I was more
than usually put out of my way by certain little acts of my servant;
led me at last to reconcile the apparent anomaly of a very rascally
proceeding, according to our ideas of social propriety, being quite
compatible in Shoa with real fidelity, for my servant, the best that
any man by good fortune could have fallen in with, reported every
day to Tinta, whilst he remained in Aliu Amba, every visit I made or
received, and I could not propose to go even to the next town for a
morning’s walk, but some reason would be found to defer it until after
a consultation with my balderabah, or at least my intention made known
to him.
This system of _surveillance_ was most unpleasant to me, because of the
groundless suspicions it seemed to betray; but I was sensible that my
best policy was to pretend not to see this jealous care, but by every
endeavour on my part, to deserve and secure the confidence of a prince
whom I admired for his virtues, and the respect of a people, none but
the most depraved themselves, could help liking for their simplicity,
and for the extreme goodness of their disposition.
FOOTNOTES:
[9] 1 Samuel viii. 10-18.
CHAPTER XII.
Study of Amharic.--Remarks upon wet season in Abyssinia.--Sad
prospect of recovery.--Accident to Walderheros.--Books
in the Amharic language.--Messages from the Negoos.--
Inconvenience of living with Miriam.--Require a house.--
Expenditure.--Choosing a residence.
For several days I continued to apply closely to the study of the
Amharic language. My fever paroxysms on alternate days, became
gradually less violent, and my simple fare and regular habits whilst
living in Aliu Amba, seemed to promise the re-establishment of my
health. The only thing I dreaded was the continual wet weather, which
had now set in decidedly.
In Shoa the rains commence in the month of June, Messrs. Isenberg
and Krapf say about the 21st, and from the long residence of those
gentlemen in Abyssinia, they must be considered very good authority.
This year, the first rain that fell was on the 7th of July, but this
was an extraordinary irregularity, for which the inhabitants could
only account by referring it to the presence of the “Gypt sowitsh;”
as subsequently, when it came down in greater quantities than they
desired, and continued for a still more extraordinary long season.
This evil was also charged to their unlucky visitors, many old
monks having denounced the appearance of the white men as being the
threatening harbinger of some coming evil.
On making some inquiries respecting the commencement of the rainy
season, Walderheros and others, whom I questioned, stated the first day
was generally considered to be St. Michael’s-day, the eighteenth of
June, when the King distributes the yearly clothing to his courtiers
and slaves. This custom may, in some measure, be determined by the
commencement of the rains, and in that case the observation of the
natives differs but slightly from those of the English missionaries.
A severe thunder storm, attended by two distinct shocks of an
earthquake, at an interval of a few seconds, ushered in the first
heavy fall of rain. No very serious consequences resulted; a few rocks
were detached from the heights above, blocking up the narrow road to
Ankobar in some places, and in others, ploughing deep channels through
the young green crops. A few days previously to this convulsion, the
town of Ankobar, and the ridge on each side of it, had been enveloped
in clouds, that hung low down the precipitous cliffs like immensely
large festooned curtains, which were now raised, and again lowered,
as the morning, mid-day, or afternoon sun acted differently upon the
temperature of the atmosphere.
An unpleasant circumstance was communicated to me very feelingly during
the storm on this occasion. The straw roof of Miriam’s house was a
great resort of lizards, and their long serpentine burrows in the
thatch were so many irrigating canals, all of which, for my sins, I
suppose, according to Abyssinian ideas of judgment, terminated over my
bed-place, and I found that unless something was done to remedy this
evil, either by altering my course of life, or by applying more straw
to the roof, I must drag out the remainder of my life in a shower-bath.
As to getting well of an ague under such circumstances, even my
sanguine disposition gave up the idea, and Walderheros, whose fortune
at court depended upon my health being established, was shockingly
excited at this sad prospect of recovery, and was up and looking into
the matter immediately after the brief thunder-storm had ceased.
The lowness of the walls facilitated his examination, and stepping
from the ground he essayed to mount the roof, but the very next
moment I saw his black naked leg thrust quite through the frail stick
construction; filling the whole place with decayed thatch and dirt,
besides threatening my ribs beneath the hanging foot, with no gentle
application of his heel, as he convulsively, but vainly endeavoured to
extricate himself. Fortunately, a straw-band, which in his agony he had
seized and held on by as a centre of support, broke with the violence
of the struggles he made to escape, and he was again tumbled backwards
out of the hole, head and neck over on to the ground, quite as suddenly
and as expeditiously as he had before fallen into the dilemma.
Confounding his zeal, and that of all such injudicious friends, I was
in no humour to laugh when he came in, covered with mud and broken bits
of straw, as if he had been tarred and feathered; whilst the shouts
and jeers of all the boys of the neighbourhood, and Miriam’s high
displeasure, was all the return he got for the readiness he shewed
to risk in my service, his very heavy carcase upon a rotten roof. An
ahmulah was the estimate of the damage done: Walderheros’ procuring for
that sum straw sufficient to thatch the whole roof afresh, and before
night, such was his dexterity, and that of some of the neighbours who
good-naturedly came forward to assist him, the work was finished, and
the house several ahmulahs better for comfort, considering the season,
than previously to the accident.
A long coarse grass, called “cimbyllal,” three or four feet long,
which grows chiefly in what is called, “Wana daggan middre,” that is
land situated between the “colla” or low land, and the “daggan,” or
elevated table land, is chiefly used in thatching Abyssinian houses.
Straw is too valuable as fodder, to be so employed, even if its broken
and bruised condition after the grain has been thrashed out, in the
usual manner, by the feet of oxen, admitted of its being so used.
The cimbyllal grass is cultivated in inferior soils, where grain will
not grow; but this convenience, I should suppose, is not a sufficient
recommendation for its introduction into England, as an economical
substitute for straw for the purposes of thatching cottages or
littering cattle.
For some days I continued closely at my studies, having procured,
through the kindness of Dr. Roth, some Amharic school-books, published
by the Church Missionary Society, and which were compiled by the
industry and the very creditable zeal of the Rev. Messrs. Isenberg and
Krapf, in the discharge of their duties as missionaries of the Gospel,
and as agents for the diffusion of Christian civilization. A geography
which had been written by the former gentleman in the Amharic language,
was particularly useful to me in acquiring a knowledge of the meaning
of many words, which would otherwise have been a difficult business
with a native teacher, who knew nothing of English, and but very little
Arabic; although much more, certainly, of the latter, than myself. The
Amharic signification of Arab words familiar to Sheik Tigh, I soon
learnt, and other names of visible objects were as readily gained, but
words expressive of abstruse qualities I only acquired by reading with
him the geography; descriptive terms of well-known subjects, conveying
by a little exercise of mind, the required words for other purposes of
application. With this work I therefore got on very well, for one great
advantage was, the interest my teacher took in the subject, which,
of all others, next to sacred writings, is most calculated to excite
the attention of an active but ignorant mind. Long after Sheik Tigh
had given up his duty of attending me, when he returned again to Aliu
Amba from Bulga, he reminded me of my promise to bestow upon him my
geographical lesson-book, and I was pleased to see with what reverence
he received, and the care with which he prevented it from receiving any
injury, by making a strong leathern case, in which he deposited it when
not in use.
This was not the only instance, I observed, of the desire on the part
of the people of Shoa, both Christians and Mahomedans, to possess the
Amharic translations published by the Church Missionary Society. The
Christians, of course, generally asked for the books of Moses, and of
the four Evangelists. Tinta, in return for some trifling memolagee, or
gift, desired me to procure him both these works, but before I could
oblige him, an opportunity offered, of purchasing the latter in the
market. He immediately bought it, and the next time he called upon me,
one of his servants carried the purchase before him in triumph, and I
was desired to get him a geography instead of the book he had procured
himself.
Tinta, in his character as my “balderabah,” frequently brought me
messages from the Negoos, sometimes asking about my health, or wishing
to know if I required anything, “for was not Sahale Selassee my
father?” to supply me with whatever I wanted in his country. After one
of these visits, Walderheros put me in mind, that a house of my own
would be very desirable. A very decent one was vacant in the town, and
the owner had offered to sell it to me for five dollars, but not having
any to spare, I was obliged to decline purchasing it. Walderheros’
suggestion, that I should ask the Negoos to give me one, was a very
sensible idea, as I certainly felt I should be much more comfortable in
a house I could call my own, without interfering with the ways and the
convenience of others. Miriam was particularly anxious that I should
make myself as much “at home” with her, as possible; still I found,
that Walderheros and myself occupied the whole house, to the exclusion
of her and her two children. For the accommodation thus afforded me, I
paid a rent treble the amount of what she would have received from any
one else; three ahmulahs a-week is considered a most extravagant price
for lodgings in Shoa, and I gave Miriam two dollars a month, being ten
ahmulahs a-week. Unfortunately for me, Lieut. Barker had resided in the
same house nearly four months, and having always had a plentiful supply
of cash, I could see my economical housekeeping greatly disappointed
the expectation of Miriam’s friends, who, on my taking up my quarters
in her house had congratulated her on the favour of Allah, which was so
evidently shown to her by another “Gypt” coming to reside with her.
The poor woman herself, however, was very thankful for the few salt
pieces I could offer her weekly, and being sensible that it was only
because I had not more to give, she never annoyed me with hints of
disappointed expectations, or invidious comparisons with the habits of
my predecessor; although others, who had no business to expect anything
from me, were much less delicate in their allusions to the liberality
of the “Kapitan,” who, to judge by the kind inquiries respecting him,
made by male and female, old and young, seemed to have been a universal
favourite among the inhabitants of Aliu Amba.
Walderheros, whose greatest weakness was to be considered the servant
of a most powerful and influential master, felt any sneers at my
poverty a great deal more acutely than myself, and which, after all,
he generally excited himself, by his assumption of importance, and the
affectation of swearing by my name, “Ahkeem e moot,” “may the doctor
die,” if a thing was not so and so, as if I had been a magnate of the
land; for besides swearing by the life of the Negoos upon all important
matters, the dependents of Abyssinian noblemen are accustomed, in
private life, or on trivial occasions, to asseverate the truth of
anything by similar imprecations upon the lives of their masters. This
practice has not a bad effect upon a listening stranger, being a very
pleasing characteristic of the natural affection that ought to exist
between master and servant.
Several affronts that Walderheros had received about my economy, and
the small establishment I kept up, determined him at length to put it
to Tinta himself, if such a scandalous little place I lived in was fit
for a friend of the Negoos, and as I supported this expostulation by
a direct request to have a proper domicile appointed for me during my
stay in Shoa, my worthy balderabah undertook to see the Negoos next
day about the matter. This was so far satisfactory to Walderheros, who
could now talk about nothing else but my new house, and a large garden
which was to be attached to it, and where, according to his account,
teff grass, jowarhee, and cayenne pepper plants would all flourish
most advantageously, especially as regarded my expenditure. According
to his account, there could be no question about the success of my
housekeeping. Everything was propitious, and he amused me by the manner
in which he used to endeavour to convince me how comfortable we should
be. He had a wife, and he had a slave girl, caught by himself on some
Galla expedition; besides these, I was to buy a donkey, and then there
was himself, all of whom were to work like horses, and save me three
ahmulahs a-week, about seven-pence halfpenny, and, in fact, my whole
expenditure, by his making out, was to be a dollar a-month, one-half
for his wages during that time, and the remainder for the purchase of
poultry and sheep.
Tinta, in two or three days, brought a reply from the Negoos, that I
was to look out what house would suit me, and if I were well enough to
visit him at Ankobar, where he was coming to from Angolahlah, in the
course of the week, he would then give the necessary directions to put
me in possession of my choice.
Night and morning we were now to be seen, Walderheros and myself,
slowly walking along the narrow confined lanes in search of a house
that would suit us. I leaning upon him on one hand, and in the other,
to assist in supporting my weakened frame, I carried a slender rod,
about seven feet long, called a “zank,” in common use, as an aid when
walking, by the people of Shoa. We visited every vacant house in the
town to examine their condition and character, and occupied ourselves
entirely by suggesting alterations and repairs, or devising sundry
projects of domestic comfort, in connexion with the expected grant by
the Negoos of the one which I should prefer. For five or six days we
thus amused ourselves, and when the eve of the day came on which I was
to see the Negoos at Ankobar, we were as far from having come to a
decisive choice, as upon the first day we commenced the search. Some
were too old, some stood in a crowded neighbourhood, the repairs of
others would have required an outlay of five or six dollars, here the
thatch was nearly all gone, and there the garden was too small, and the
last was worse than all, for, by a curious accident, the roof settled
down on the top of us as we entered, the wattled wall on the outside
giving way as we pushed open the dilapidated door to get in. There
was not one, in fact, that I could fix my mind upon, and Walderheros
being equally difficult to please, we might have continued a long
time without coming to a decision, had not the next day’s visit to
the Negoos rendered it necessary to fix upon some one, that I might
be prepared to answer the Negoos’s usual question, “What is it you
desire?” in return for the memolagee or offering I had prepared for
his acceptance, and which, as it was of a peculiar kind, it shall be
treated of in the next chapter.
CHAPTER XIII.
Custom of giving Memolagee.--Sugar boiling.--Success.--Gratify
the Negoos.--Receive house.--Claims of kindred.--Remarks
upon intestate property.--The two brothers of late owner.--
Removal to new residence.
A custom exists in every Abyssinian court, which requires that no one
shall go empty handed into the presence of royalty. Every visitor to
the Negoos of Shoa in this manner brings with him some present, which,
after having been registered by an officer appointed for that purpose,
is deposited at the feet of the monarch. In return, it is expected that
some request on the part of the inferior is to be graciously acceded
to, and if what is asserted be true, the Negoos is obliged by the law
of custom to consent to whatever is asked, should he accept, in the
first instance, the proffered gift. A monstrous exaggeration of this
system of presenting gifts, to be returned by some greater amount
of property, is, at all events, practised very considerably, by the
Abyssinians, upon ignorant strangers, for the custom is not confined to
an interchange of favours with royalty, but is general also among all
classes. I have myself frequently been imposed upon, or at least have
had attempts made to impose upon me in this manner, when ridiculously
small presents were offered, and then on my acceptance followed some
exorbitant request. A memolagee of eggs, for example, would usher in
a modest demand for as many dollars; when, from a calculation I have
frequently made, one of the latter would purchase one thousand eggs,
at the rate of five eggs for a needle, of which two hundred could
be bought for a dollar. Again, a jar of ale, containing about five
gallons, which would cost the third of an ahmulah, or salt-piece, or
the third of two-pence halfpenny, would be deemed quite a sufficient
gift to ask in return a slave girl, or a mule. To prevent all mistakes,
after I had discovered that I had given considerable offence, in some
cases, by refusing what had been demanded, I made it a rule to know
previously to my accepting it, what was the object for which the
memolagee was offered, and even then it was very seldom I would consent
to give more than the market value of the pumpkins, water melons,
and smuggled honey, which generally constituted these propitiatory
offerings.
The memolagee I had prepared for this visit to the Negoos, at Ankobar,
was about two pounds of sugar which I had managed to manufacture from
cane growing in the neighbourhood of Aliu Amba. I calculated upon the
effect that such a present would have upon the naturally sagacious
mind of the gifted monarch of Shoa, and that the usefulness of such
an article, introduced as a manufactured product of his own country,
would strike him as being of more importance than many richer presents,
the use and value of which he could not, from the circumstances of his
situation, have any idea of.
On my arrival in Shoa, I found that the Wallasmah Mahomed cultivated
sugar-cane in a valley, at the foot of the prison hill of Guancho, and
that he supplied the table of the Negoos with it as a sweetmeat, small
pieces being cut off with a knife, and masticated as I have seen the
inhabitants of Ceylon enjoying it. Whilst staying at Miriam’s house, I
conceived the project of boiling down some sugar as a mode of employing
myself when confined indoors by the fever, or the wet weather. For
this purpose I sent Walderheros to the Wallasmah with a canister of
gunpowder as a memolagee for some sugar-cane, and got in return as
much as my zealous servant could stand under, considering that he had
to carry the bundle upon his head and shoulders for nearly six miles,
along roads of no ordinary kind in the wet season, for that rich,
greasy, slipperiness of surface, where toes well stuck into the mud,
alone admits of any chance of the barefooted wayfarer, pulling himself
up the steep “banks and braes” he has to surmount.
Possessing no means of crushing the cane properly, I was obliged to
have resort to simply pounding it in a large wooden mortar, two or
three of which, of different sizes, are generally to be found in
every house in Shoa. Miriam, her son, Walderheros, and myself occupied
ourselves one day peeling and slicing the long stalks before we could
place the cut-up cane in the mortar, and then we were employed two days
more in triturating it, during which process a little water was added
to take up the saccharine juice, and to free it, according to my idea,
more readily from the cane. Two handsful of the beaten mass were then
placed at a time, in one of my towels, which being folded up, the two
extremities were collected together, and by dint of a great deal of
twisting and screwing by two of us, we managed to force out the liquid
portion, leaving a hard round ball of woody fibrous substance, which,
however, had been pounded sufficiently fine to receive and retain, very
visibly, the diaper pattern of the cloth in which it was strained.
These refuse cakes were very greedily eaten by some goats, and I dare
say, such food would be highly nutritious to animals. The expressed
juice having been received into my copper cooking vessels, they were
placed uncovered upon a low fire, where they continued until more
than one-half of the liquid portion was driven off. The remainder was
then poured into some shallow earthenware dishes, which, with stones
carefully placed under the lower edges of the vessels, to obviate the
inconvenient slope, were exposed upon the conical roof of the house,
to the evaporating influence of the temporary and dodging glimpses of
sunshine, that struggled through the vast number of clouds, which at
this season of the year obscured the sky.
How well I recollect my querulous anxiety, and the patient watchfulness
of Walderheros, as all day long we were obliged to be on the expectant
quick move, to bring out of the passing showers these evaporating
dishes, and which, at length, we were obliged to submit to the
continued action of a slow fire indoors to effect our object, for we
discovered, that what between the moisture in the air, and the frequent
falls of rain the season was not at all propitious for sugar making. In
the end we succeeded in obtaining about two pounds of very excellent
brown sugar, as the result of our joint labours, and very well pleased
all parties were with their success.
It was curious to observe the interest that was taken in the process
by the inhabitants of Aliu Amba, nearly all of whom visited me during
the three or four days we were employed, and not a few insisted upon
helping us. Of these latter, Walderheros was especially jealous, as he
wished all the honour and glory as the actual manufacturer to devolve
upon himself, giving me only the credit of knowing how it should be
done, and of directing him. When the sugar had crystallized and assumed
the shape of the much-desired luxury, a new class of visitors then
came begging for a little as a medicine for their sick children, and
these became so numerous, and I could not well refuse their request,
that at last Walderheros, in despair, complained to Tinta, who had all
along been much interested in the success of the experiment, and who
immediately came, and advised me to put the sugar into his charge, if I
wished to save any for the Negoos.
Here I must observe, that although the very simple art of extracting
the sugar from the cane was unknown to the inhabitants generally of
Shoa, still a few visitors from Ankobar, and a messenger from the
Negoos, who had been sent to Aliu Amba on purpose to learn if the
rumour was true which had reached the palace, that I was engaged in
this manufacture, had seen Shoan sugar before. These assured me that
the French traveller, M. Rochet d’Hericourt, when he was in Shoa, had
made sugar for the Negoos, so that although I observed on this occasion
great ignorance of a simple but important art among the Shoans, still
I do not wish to be understood as claiming the honour of having first
introduced sugar-making into their country.
It was fortunate for me that I had thus turned my attention to subjects
likely to benefit the good people of Shoa, for as it so happened, in
the middle of the night, I was attacked with a paroxysm of fever so
violent that it quite disabled me for the rest of the next day, and
prevented me making any attempt to proceed to Ankobar. As, however, I
had sent word by the messenger of the Negoos that I was coming, and my
balderabah Tinta had arranged everything for our starting together by
sunrise, I considered that it would be as well to send my servant with
the sugar, and a verbal message to the Negoos, stating why I could not
attend myself in person. Tinta also considered, that circumstanced as
I was, it would be the best plan for me to adopt, and readily agreed
to accompany Walderheros, and explain my wishes respecting the house.
After a little conversation, we also fixed upon the one most likely to
suit me, and they then departed with the sugar, which I had packed up
for them in an old tin powder-canister.
They returned early in the afternoon attended by a long train of
Tinta’s servants, and three palace affaroitsh, bearing presents of
wheaten bread, honey, and a jar of preserved butter called “natta
kibbee,” the only kind that can be obtained in Shoa during the times of
the rains.
The reception of my balderabah and envoy, Walderheros, at the palace
had been most nattering, and my request for a house complied with
immediately by the gratified monarch, who also ordered one of the
affaroitsh to remain in Aliu Amba to see me comfortably settled in my
new quarters.
The next morning was a very busy one for Walderheros, as from my
illness everything had devolved upon him. He had first to arrange with
two surviving sisters of the late owner of the house, who came forward
to claim sundry articles of furniture that had remained in the house
after the death of their brother. In Shoa, when a man dies, leaving
no male heirs, the King takes all that he died possessed of; even the
widow and female children have no claim to anything but that which is
granted to them by the justice and compassion of the monarch. These
relations are, however, so far considered, that a small “memolagee”
only is expected, and they are then generally allowed to retain the
personal property of the deceased, but the landed estate is always
retained and granted to some other male servitor capable of bearing
arms. This concession, small as it is, does not extend to other ties
of kindred, for a person dying and leaving only sisters or brothers,
all kinds of property possessed by the deceased is seized by the
governor of the town in which he had resided, for the benefit of the
Negoos, and an account of all such intestate property is annually
drawn up by that officer. When a governor himself dies, before his
successor takes office, an inventory of every thing contained in a
large store house is made, and sometimes all the articles, generally
household furniture, are taken to be examined by the Negoos, who,
retaining the most valuable himself, returns the remainder to the
charge of the new governor. From these repositories are rewarded minor
meritorious acts, and sometimes the things are exposed to sale by a
kind of auction, and thus disposed of. It is not unusual for household
furniture and utensils, instead of being carried to the _gimjon bait_,
the King’s store house, the only public building found in the towns
and villages of Shoa, to be allowed to remain in the house to which
they have belonged, and in that case, the next holder upon whom the
King has conferred it, comes in for these conveniences. It was so in
my case, for I found that I had not only obtained possession of a
house, but found it ready furnished also. One little drawback from my
apparent good fortune was the circumstance that everything was in such
a dilapidated and rotten condition, that I was not surprised at the
governor not insisting upon such rubbish being taken to that general
repository, the “gimjon bait.” The fact is, the good people of Shoa
manage, as in every other country, to remedy by some conventional
subterfuge any political or social injustice; and here, where the
descent of property is diverted from its natural course by an arbitrary
custom, the evil is counteracted by the exchange, during illness,
of everything valuable in furniture or household utensils with near
relations, for the most worthless description of the same articles, so
that in case of death the Negoos gets a very sorry collection as the
heir-at-law to the deceased.
No sooner did Tinta proceed to the house to put Walderheros in
possession, than the two women, sisters of the late possessor, came
forward, and improving upon the general system, of making the exchange
of old worn out things for nearly new ones, they now appealed to a
cloud of witnesses, who took part with them, to testify that many of
the jars, baking pans, and instruments for clearing and spinning cotton
that were in the house, absolutely belonged to them, and which at
various times they had lent to their deceased brother. Tinta, to prove
his devotion to me, for being now considered to be in great favour
with the Negoos, my friendship was valuable, demurred to the claims of
the women; but Walderheros, who knew me a little better, put an end
to their vociferous claims, and recommending them to see me upon the
subject, said it would probably be all settled satisfactorily without a
complaint being made to the Negoos, which had been threatened by Tinta.
The market value of every thing that formed their claim did not
amount to half a dollar, but as the matter seemed to interest all
the inhabitants of the town, it must have been considered of some
importance in their eyes, so when they came to appeal to me, and I
fully understood, by the interpretation of some Arabs resident in Aliu
Amba, what it was that was required, I told the two women they had my
consent to take away whatever they chose, only to be quick about it,
so that on the morrow I might enter upon my new possession without any
more trouble.
_July 23d._--This morning, my house having been well swept and
dusted, I was summoned by Walderheros to come and superintend all
other arrangements myself. I managed to walk down from Miriam’s, and a
new large alga, or bedstead, had been sent from the King’s store for
my use. It was placed for the present in the garden, an ox skin, as
usual, being spread over it, so I had nothing to do but to throw myself
upon it, and as my boxes and cooking utensils were brought in, direct
Walderheros where to place them. Fortunately, no rain fell this day,
and my new neighbours, anxious to testify their happiness to have me
among them, kept thronging into the garden, amusing themselves also by
surveying the premises, suggesting repairs and improvements with the
most officious good feeling possible. As all the inhabitants around
were Mahomedans, several of my visitors sent to their houses for their
gourd shell water pipes, and placing large stones beneath them, took
up their several positions in a semicircle around the front of my bed.
Miriam, to whom I had given three dollars, pleasingly surprised at
receiving so much, seemed most anxious that I should be comfortably
settled in my new residence, her son helping Walderheros in arranging
everything properly, whilst she busied herself preparing coffee for my
numerous visitors.
I was tired and worn out by the time sunset sent them to their several
homes, and left me to move into the house, where I sat upon one of my
boxes until the alga had been forced into a narrow recess between the
double walls, and my bed reported by the indefatigable Walderheros to
be at length ready for me to retire to rest. The pretty wife of Sheik
Tigh had brought me some teff bread for supper, as she expected there
would be a deal too much for us to do on the first day of my removal,
not to feel obliged to any one taking the trouble of baking off our
hands. The “wort,” or cayenne soup being also prepared, after a light
Abyssinian supper, I slept better than I expected, or could have hoped
for.
CHAPTER XIV.
Division of time.--My new servant, Goodaloo.--Thatching house.--
Islam assistants.--Kindness of Tinta.--Finish roof.--Feast
upon the occasion.--Remarks upon practice of eating raw meat.
The Abyssinians divide the day and night into eight portions of three
hours each, and as they commence their fasts the evening preceding, it
is to be presumed that they begin a new day at sunset, like the Jews
and Arabs. Three hours after sunset is _leilet_, “evening,” all the
time intervening between nine o’clock and twelve being so called. From
“night’s noon,” or _aculilielet_, until _duro-oitshiart_, “cockcrow,”
is another term of three hours, and from cockcrow to _twart_,
“sunrise,” is three more; after twart is _arrafat_, or “nine o’clock;”
then _aculican_, “mid-day,” between which and sunset is _tuzziart_, or
“afternoon.”
During the first night after taking possession of my new house,
about the hour of “duro-oitshiart,” (here let the reader learn a
little Amharic), I was awakened, by a loud thunder-storm, to the
disagreeable discovery that my new residence was not water-proof, for
the roof admitted a great deal more rain than it threw off, and had
not Walderheros constructed a kind of pent-house over my bed with a
stiffly-dried ox-hide, I should have been very soon wet through. The
necessity, too, of having some kind of candle or other on emergencies,
was forcibly suggested to us, by the difficulty we experienced in
getting the damp fire-wood lighted, by the blaze of which alone we
could see to arrange our substitutes for umbrellas. Walderheros,
however, soon overcame all difficulties, and after extending his bed,
the aforesaid skin, over me for my protection, he coiled himself up
under a huge Amharic shield, tilted upon its edge, and supported by a
stick in that position.
It is unnecessary to say we did not go to sleep again, but kept talking
away about what we would do to the roof, as soon as the sun had risen,
and we could only get out. Accordingly by twart (sunrise), Walderheros
had started on a long walk nearly to Ankobar to get some straw, and
also to engage a “wandum,” that is, a near relation of his whom I had
determined, at his request, to receive as an additional servant. His
wages were to be only five ahmulahs a-month, about one shilling and a
half-penny, and as he was stated to be the very first of all modern
thatchers, I did not consider this an extravagant demand, particularly
as I required his services so much at this time.
“Wandum” is, strictly speaking, brother, but with the Shoans it
is used as a general term for all male relatives. An uncle is the
“wandum,” of the mother or father, as the case may be, whilst cousins,
especially between opposite sexes, appear to be more affectionately
related than our brothers or sisters. A friend is called “wordage,”
a name derived from some relation between them and one’s own bowels,
“word,” signifying that viscera, which reminded me of a scriptural
passage, where, describing the affection of some one for another, it is
said that “his bowels yearned towards him.” “Bal-ingero,” is another
expressive term for a companion, signifying “the possessor or sharer of
bread.” And as I am on the subject, I may mention, that an additional
term of friendly relationship among this very social people, is derived
from the circumstance of the marriage tie in this country, being but
very loosely observed. “Leech enart,” mother’s child, is sometimes
bestowed upon a very dear friend, as being expressive of a great deal
more affection than “Leech abat,” father’s child.
By “arrafat,” nine o’clock, A.M., Walderheros, and his wandum,
Goodaloo, appeared at the rude misshapen wicket in the small ring
fence of jowarree stalks, that enclosed my garden. Both were bending
beneath huge bundles of the straw-like cimbyllal grass, but being too
large to admit of passing through the narrow entrance, they were thrown
down in the little lane that led from my house, and from a few other
neighbouring ones, into the principal street on our side of the town,
to the market-place.
Goodaloo, was spare, short, and active, seemingly designed by nature
for the ticklish occupation he professed; for the frail stick skeleton
roof, when divested of the old straw, looked as if it would have given
way beneath the foot of a cat. After a professional survey, and a
most important consultation with Tinta, his deputy, a Christian like
himself, and half-a-dozen rich Islam inhabitants, it was determined to
be most advisable, that only a portion of the roof should be renewed
at once, so that I might have the shelter, either of the old or of the
newly finished roof, to sleep under, during the three days required to
put all to rights. The Governor and his Deputy, however, were the only
useful members of this Council, for the former directed his servants to
supply me with the necessary grass, whilst the latter assisted Goodaloo
in thatching. The Islam gentlemen, with the cool dignity which, somehow
or other, they do assume most naturally, sat down upon the skins
brought for that purpose, and proceeded to call for coffee, and to give
directions to their Christian superiors, in a manner that would have
delighted Satan himself, to have observed, if he takes any pleasure at
all, in seeing honest, simple humility, treated with the most evident
contempt.
All this time, I was glad to keep out of the way, lying upon the alga
inside; but when actual business commenced, I began to think I must
retreat into the open air. Black, sooty flakes, now began to fall
thickly from the glistening well-smoked roof frame, which consisted of
long bamboo canes, that diverging from an elevated centre spread around
in a wide circumference, to rest upon a round wattled wall of sticks
and mud. To this annoyance, was soon added falling bits of rotten
thatch, that descended upon my bare head and shoulders, until I could
stand it no longer, but rushed out of the dirty mess and seated myself
upon a quantity of clean straw near to my Mahomedan visitors, who
appeared to have made my garden a public café, for they kept coming and
going all day, staying a little to watch if the proceedings were going
on to their satisfaction, and aiding, to the extent of an “Inshallah”
(please God), “it would be finished by to-morrow.”
Before evening, one-third of the roof was well covered in, for as I had
promised to give a couple of sheep at the conclusion of the business,
to the servants of Tinta, they worked away at his cimbyllal grass, as
if it had been all my own; and had I not inwardly resolved to return
his kindness in some way or other, my conscience would have often
induced me to call out, “Hold! enough!”
_July 30th._--By cock-crow again Tinta’s servants were at my gate
with straw, and Walderheros and Goodaloo went out to recommence upon
the roof. We continued to be highly favoured by the weather, only a
slight shower or two interrupting the otherwise bright sunshine in
which I lay basking on my straw couch all day. A thick mist enveloped
the whole length of the Ankobar range in front, which seemed to
attract all the clouds, or at least condensed the moisture in the
atmosphere to the west of Aliu Amba, leaving the more favoured country
to the east beneath a clear and beautiful sky. The heavy bank of fog,
however, prognosticated rain to us, and every time it caught the eye of
Walderheros, he seemed to move as quickly again, as he supplied with
fast filled arms the bundles of cimbyllal to the two workmen upon the
roof. So expeditiously, indeed, did all proceed, that before sunset
the whole was finished, although, for farther security and ornament,
another day’s labour was required, which was promised with much
self-gratulation by Goodaloo, who confidently asserted that had the
house been thatched for the Negoos himself, it could not have been done
more quickly or more scientifically.
It being too late, and the men too tired to kill and dress sheep,
Tinta’s servants partook, as last evening, of a plain repast with
Goodaloo and Walderheros, consisting only of dry teff pancakes, and
a sop or two in a shallow earthenware vessel of the cayenne soup. To
improve this very poor dinner, I gave Walderheros an ahmulah to get
some “tallah,” and he bought for that sum about fifteen gallons of
excellent ale. This he and two of his companions brought into the
house in three large jars, a girl following with the ahmulah, which,
I expect, she had changed for one of her mother’s smallest, and after
spanning the salt-piece before my face, with a very lackadaisical look,
intimated that it was a very thin one, and she hoped I would give her
a larger one instead. Walderheros, who was just as cunning as any of
his countrymen or women either, always kept the ahmulahs he received in
exchange for dollars in two bags, one containing the larger, the other
the smaller ones. With the former, sheep and tobacco were purchased,
as for these commodities none but the best ahmulahs are taken, whilst
the latter were generally given in return for services performed by any
of the neighbours, and which I paid for, according to Walderheros’s
idea, far too liberally. In the present case, on my telling the girl
she should choose for herself, down came the bag containing the little
ones, the trick of which I was not then aware, and after a long search,
none pleasing the lady, she withdrew, keeping the one which had been
originally given to her.
One of the jars being now placed upon a low chair that had come to
me as a memolagee for some medicine, a long mekanet, or girdle, from
the loins of one of the party was carefully wrapped around the wide
circular mouth of the jar, after the dirty dry seal of cow-dung and
clay had been removed. Over the lip of the vessel, slowly strained
through the cloth, flowed the now released liquor, which was received
into well-shaped drinking-horns of a conical form, and about nine
inches deep. One, full of the sparkling beverage, was handed to me,
Walderheros, in the first place, pouring a little into the hollow of
his hand and drinking it, as the tasters of food and of drink of old
are represented to have done previous to serving their superiors. This
little ceremonial, though its origin is entirely forgotten by the
Shoans, is never omitted by them, and we here find a custom, first
established by a fearful policy, still retained as a matter of form,
and as a dutiful obeisance of inferiors to their masters. The drinking
party sat together in the dark talking for some hours, industriously
replenishing the horns until two of the jars were emptied of their
contents, when, pretty comfortable, no doubt, Walderheros and his
friends quietly subsided upon the ground, where they had been sitting
so long; their busy talk was stayed at once, and all was soon as still
as the night should be.
_July 31st._--Long before sunrise I was again disturbed by Tinta’s
servants, who were up and leaving my house to return home, so as not to
be absent at the first call of their master. This day was to be devoted
to the beautifying and adorning the new roof after the most approved
design. The broken neck of an old jar was soon found, which served as
a kind of coronet to gather the loose ends of the thatch at the apex.
Immediately below this were thrust two sticks across each other, their
projecting extremities preventing a tight band of very pliant twigs
from starting, and which beneath it had been twisted several times
around the loose ends, still farther to secure this part of the roof,
that, as the centre of the whole, was something analogous to the key
stone of an arch.
This being finished, the flat hands of Walderheros and Goodaloo were
applied to the irregular projecting straw ends of the lower edge or
circumference of the roof, which were patted gently back into one even
line, with something like the attention to detail of a careful barber
arranging the straggling hairs of a full-bottomed wig. The circuit of
the whole having been made, I was duly called upon to inspect their
work; but as I supposed that it was not so much to give an opinion as
it was to express my approbation, I took care sufficiently to gratify
them, by stating it to be my firm belief that no “Gypt” could have done
it half so well. To subdue unqualified approbation, and that my praise
should have the more importance, as coming from a man of decidedly good
taste, I suggested that a brightly painted red earthenware crown piece
to the whole, like those used to beautify their churches, would have
looked more religious, and better than the ragged rusty looking neck
of the broken jar, which, not having been put on exactly square, but
cocked a little on one side, gave a rather saucy slovenly finish to my
cottage ornée.
My indefatigable Islam friends now came to congratulate me upon my roof
being finished, and began asking about the cow, with the blood of which
I was to sanctify the door-posts, as they said, to keep “Shaitan” from
disturbing me. They contended that, to render the charm efficacious,
the animal must be killed by a Mahomedan. I shook my head, and denied
the necessity of this, or indeed of the sacrifice at all; but I told
them, as they had helped me so much, they were very welcome to partake
of the two sheep Walderheros had already gone to purchase. They said
not a word in reply, and many of them considered my offer to be a
gross insult, and stayed away several days in consequence. However, as
I had now begun to speak a little Amharic, and did not require their
assistance so much as formerly to interpret for me, I was ungrateful
enough to allow them to come round again in their own good time.
The evening was spent by Walderheros and his friends killing the
sheep; and having boiled the meat in several earthenware vessels,
demonstrated, by a very hearty meal, that on ordinary occasions the
Shoans are as fond of cooked meat as the rest of mankind.
The customary practice of eating it raw, so singular, and apparently
so characteristic of a barbarous and savage disposition, has, in
Abyssinia, a natural inducement for its indulgence, which, I think, is
an apt illustration of the manner, in which man is led instinctively,
to the employment of such means within his reach, to enable him fully
to enjoy life, under whatever circumstances of situation he may be
placed.
The difference of food between the inhabitants of the Arctic region
and those of low intertropical countries is so great, that it has not
failed to strike physiologists, who have, from the comparison, been led
to the knowledge of an important truth in the natural economy of man.
It has been observed that human life is supported in these opposite
extremes of situation by different kinds of food, and that whilst in
the north, blubber and enormous quantities of raw meat are devoured
by the natives, that in the torrid zone, vegetables constitute the
principal diet. The reason is, that during the process of digestion a
considerable amount of natural heat is engendered in the system, and
this is found to be determined in quantity by the nature of the food.
An entirely fleshy diet occasions the development of its maximum,
and contributes materially to the comfort of man in cold situations,
whilst, on the contrary, vegetables are scarcely able to excite
sufficient heat necessary to convert them into nutriment; and, in fact,
beneficent nature has provided for such a want, by supplying in hot
climates a sort of artificial warmth, in the stimulating aromatics
which are the characteristic productions of the torrid zone.
The high table land of Abyssinia, although situated between the tropic
of Cancer and the equator, from its great elevation of ten thousand
feet or more above the level of the sea, possesses a climate which
is not less cold than that of the northern parts of Scotland. Being
a country but poorly wooded, the chief supply of fuel being the dung
of cattle, an instinctive feeling dependent upon the pleasures of a
state of warmth, has taught the Abyssinians that the flesh of animals
eaten raw is a source of great physical enjoyment, by the cordial and
warming effects upon the system produced by its digestion, and to which
I am convinced _bon vivants_ more civilized than the Abyssinians would
resort if placed in their situation. Travellers who have witnessed
their “brunde” feasts can attest the intoxicating effects of this kind
of food, and they must have been astonished at the immense quantities
that can be eaten in the raw state, compared to that when the meat is
cooked, and at the insensibility which it sometimes produces. Eating
raw meat, therefore, a usual practice with the Esquimaux, and which
among them is an absolute necessity, by the Abyssinians is considered
a luxury, or in fact as a kind of dissipation, for eating it in that
state is only indulged in by them at festivals, and it is then taken
as a means of enjoyment, and is not more barbarous or disgusting than
getting tipsy upon strong drinks.
CHAPTER XV.
Market day in Aliu Amba.--Toll of wares.--Court of Piepoudre.--
Appearance of the market.--The salt money.--Character of the
different vendors.--The prices of several articles.--No Jews
in Abyssinia.
_July 29._--The next Friday, feeling somewhat stronger, I determined
to accompany Walderheros to the market-place. As in England, the days
of such weekly meetings, for the convenience of sale or barter, vary
in the towns of Shoa. In Aliu Amba the Mahomedan Sabbath is found most
convenient, whilst Ankobar market is held on Saturdays, and in other
places Mondays or Tuesdays are the appointed days. Nothing, I think,
characterizes a peaceful people, or a healthy social condition, more
than these weekly meetings for the mutual convenience of buyers and
sellers. The security of property is so apparent, honest industry
and prudent economy so evident, that even in the most unfavourable
positions for the increase of knowledge, and the advance of
civilization, wherever these evidences of a people’s foresight and good
disposition exist, I never despair, but that when other more favourable
opportunities are vouchsafed, the soil will not be found unfruitful of
the good seed that may be scattered upon it. This struck me the more
forcibly, from my previous sojourn in Adal; for with what different
feelings did I witness the busy restlessness, and the not inharmonious
murmur, of the multitude of smiling contented beings that were gathered
in the market-place to-day, from those I have experienced, when
startled by the sudden cry, the confused rush to arms, and the silent
squatting of my Dankalli associates, either in the sullen muttering
calahm circle, or else, as with loud yells of defiance, they formed the
line of immediate fight; either of which characterized the only public
assemblies I ever witnessed among them.
Putting on my Arab cloak I followed Walderheros, who had been long
engaged, previously to our starting for market, selecting the kind
of dollar most in reputation among the Shoans. We proceeded along a
narrow winding lane, between high hedges of the _kufah bait_, and senna
shrubs, that assisted in forming the enclosure belonging to each little
cottage, that stood upon the banks on either hand; playing about the
wickets of which children without number attested the peace and plenty
enjoyed by the people of Shoa. Population is the criterion of human
happiness; wherever is real enjoyment of life, the offspring of man
will always be most abundant.
A very short descent led us to an equally winding road, but broader,
and having more of the character of a public way, than the little lane
from my house. Here we met market people hawking their wares, with loud
cries; or loud-talking disputants, carrying on a strong argument, as
they battered away, with heavy but harmless blows of their long sticks,
upon the goat skin sacks of grain or cotton, with which numerous
donkeys before them were laden, and which were being conveyed to the
market-place.
The low hum of distant voices gradually increased into a murmur, and
then into a hubbub, as we entered the market-place, which was a large
plain, occupying the southern half of the table rock, bare and stony,
except in the centre, where a high circular hedge of a thin pipe-formed
euphorbia fenced in the Mahomedan burial place of the town. Its limits,
besides, were well defined by a low stone wall, carried all around,
and upon that portion of it facing the entrance of our road into the
market place, sat Tinta, wrapt up in the customary manner in his tobe,
save his head and one arm, with which he gave directions respecting the
receiving of toll, or deciding such cases of dispute as might arise in
the course of the market. As soon as he saw me with Walderheros, he
called me to him, and as I approached, he shifted his position so that
I might sit upon the sun dried ox skin by his side. A favoured visitor,
honoured thus by a seat upon the bench.
I observed that everything that is exposed for sale in the market pays
a kind of duty. This is generally either in kind, or an equivalent in
salt pieces, the only money in Shoa. Grain is examined by the Governor,
to whom it is brought, who determines the amount to be taken as toll,
and which is regulated according to certain customary laws. Such toll
is measured by single handsful, a species of measure very usual in
Shoa, and called “tring.” Butter is submitted to a similar process,
the officer appointed scooping out of the gourd-shell, in which it
is generally brought, a quantity with his fingers, which is then put
into a recipient jar that stands by his side. The salt merchants,
cattle sellers, and, in fact, all dealers, pay for the convenience of
bartering their goods, and during the day large heaps of ahmulahs, and
of market produce, accumulate around the feet of the Governor, whose
perquisites of office they appear to be. A less profitable employment
for him is the settlement of disputes, as very long-winded debates
sometimes occur, before a settlement can be established between the
disputing parties; and for this business no fees are demanded, although
I have no doubt, such a situation of general referee in matters of the
kind, is very productive of private gifts.
People in the habit of attending the market compromise their tolls, by
a regular payment of from one to three ahmulahs weekly, and they are
then allowed to bring whatever produce they choose. I also understood
that the people of the town were exempted from any imposition of toll
for such articles they exposed for sale.
After amusing myself for some time, watching the proceedings at this
place for the “receipt of custom,” and had witnessed a decision in this
counterpart of the ancient Piepoudre courts of feudal times, I left
Tinta for a while to stroll about the market.
Excepting the dress and appearance of the people, the articles exposed
for sale, and the language in which the transactions were carried
on, the Abyssinian market, in its more prominent character, exactly
resembles similar assemblages of people in English towns; the same
confused hum of voices, busy ever changing figures crossing and
recrossing, stooping to look at wares, or pushing through the crowd to
make way to the seats of those selling that which they may require.
All is bustle and apparent confusion, over which loud cries of hawking
sales-people reach to the very outskirts of the town.
I pushed along with the rest, followed closely by Walderheros, carrying
the goat skin bag over his shoulder, in which to carry home the
ahmulahs we were in search of, in exchange for our dollar. For a moment
as we passed, groups would suspend their conversation to turn and look
at the novel figure that had intruded among them, and strangers, to
whom the white man was a curiosity, would inquisitively ask from the
townspeople all particulars of my nation, and my business in Shoa.
No impertinent interruption, or shouting in derision, made my visits
to this busy scene unpleasant; a short whisper, that I was a _balla
durgo_, and a friend of the Negoos, was sufficient to restrain the most
curious from pressing around, even when, on pretence of directing me in
choosing the ahmulahs, which was an opportunity that the more careful
frequently sought, to introduce themselves to my notice, and which was
generally, in such cases, the preliminary to some request for medicine.
The object Walderheros and I had now in view was to change the dollar,
and for this purpose we sought out that portion of the plain, where
in several orderly lines, numerous salt brokers sat behind heaps of
“ahmulahoitsh,” the remarkable currency of Shoa, in common with all
parts of Abyssinia.
These ahmulahs, as they may be called, are thin bricks of salt,
which have been not inaptly compared in size and shape to a mower’s
whet-stone; they vary some little in size, but few of them are less
than eight inches long. Their form is rather interesting, from the
fact of their being cut somewhat in the ancient form of money pieces,
thinner at the two extremities than in the middle, and if of metal
might not have been inaptly termed a spit. The breadth across the
centre of the ahmulah is a little over two inches, whilst at the
extremities it scarcely measures one inch. The height or thickness
is uniform, being usually about one inch and a quarter. As may
naturally be supposed, this money, consisting of a material so soft and
deliquescent as common salt, becomes denuded by use, and that a great
difference consequently exists between the weight of a new specimen,
and one that has been in exchange for only a few months. During the
rainy season, especially, in Abyssinia the waste of the ahmulahs is
very great, although the inhabitants, by burying them in the wood
ashes of their large hearths, or suspending them in the smoke from the
roof, endeavour to preserve them, at that time, from the action of the
moisture in the atmosphere.
It not unfrequently happens, also, that carelessness exposes them
sometimes to the chances of a quick reduction in size, by leaving the
ahmulahs in situations where mules or cattle can get to them; and
as all domestic animals are inmates of the same apartment with the
family during the night, these opportunities of robbing their master
by licking the salt-pieces, is frequently a temptation too great
for their virtue. It is amusing, also, sometimes to witness in the
market-place the contests between children who have been entrusted
with an ahmulah, and the flocks of goat and sheep with which they are
immediately beset. These circumstances are mentioned because they have
considerable effect upon the value of this sort of money, ahmulahs much
worn not being received as such at all, and can only be weighed against
weight in the ordinary mode of barter, in which case, I presume, they
lose their character as currency, and must be considered articles of
exchange alone.
As money, new salt-pieces are given during the dry months in the town
of Aliu Amba, at the rate of twenty for the most favoured Austrian
dollar. This is of the mintage of the Empress, Maria Theresa, and is
called “_sait burr_,” woman silver; and it is particularly insisted
upon, that to be genuine, these should possess certain peculiarities,
namely, that the bust of the Empress should bear a tiara or bandeau
placed in the hair, a star of many points upon the shoulder, and
beneath all, near to the rim, the letters F. S. It is of great
importance to travellers in Abyssinia, at least in Shoa, to be aware
of the predilection of the natives for this kind of dollar, which
will always bring in exchange twenty-five per cent. more than those
of the mintage of the Emperor, called “want burr,” man silver, and
even ten per cent. more than the Maria Theresa dollars, which do not
present these three important requisites. In the wet months of August,
September, October, and November, from sixteen to eighteen ahmulahs
only can be obtained for the best dollars, and for the others less in
proportion. During this time, it is with great difficulty that the
“want burr,” or Emperor’s dollar is taken at all by the Shoans. I
considered that twopence halfpenny was above the actual value of an
ahmulah in English money.
The salt-brokers are generally Christians, who proceed in little
kafilahs of fifty or sixty donkeys to the northern confines of the
kingdom of Shoa, to a town called Giddem, where they meet with
Mahomedan merchants, subjects of Berroo Lobo, the chief of the
Argobbah, or valley country, to the north of Efat. These latter
obtain the ahmulahs that they bring to Giddem from the salt-plain of
Ahoo, situated on the confines of the old kingdom of Dankalli, to
the south-east of the kingdom of Tigre. At Giddem the best dollars
are exchanged for twenty-eight or thirty ahmulahs; so that a profit
of nearly fifty per cent. repays the expense and trouble of carriage
for little more than a distance of forty miles to Aliu Amba. A like
increase in value is attendant upon farther carriage: thus sixteen
ahmulahs can only be got in exchange for the best dollar in Angolahlah,
which is about thirty miles from Aliu Amba.
No people are more troublesome than the Abyssinians in inspecting the
money, whether salt-pieces or dollars, that pass through their hands;
the former are turned over, spanned, balanced doubtingly in the hand
for several minutes before the final determination is taken. The worst
is, that the vendors generally insist upon choosing, or at least beg
to be permitted to do so as a great favour, out of the whole lot,
that may happen to be in the possession of the party from whom they
are receiving them; the time so occupied being sometimes provokingly
long. At length the single ahmulah is fixed upon, a last hurried look
over the remaining pile as they lie displayed upon the floor is taken,
then a glance at the chosen one in the hand, and with such an effort,
as if the party felt convinced that he had taken the least; he at last
reluctantly tears himself away from the fascinating examination of
their relative value.
Dollars, again, are first well scrubbed with the fingers, then spit
upon, followed by a good rub in the hair, and very probably, after all,
the coin is handed back with a sagacious shake of the head, as much
as to say, “I am not going to be done in that way,” but seldom a word
passes between the parties. A salt banker at length being found who is
content to take the chance of the dollar being a counterfeit, a good
deal of higgling then takes place whether nineteen or twenty ahmulahs
shall be given, but supposing the dollar is declared to be of the first
order, the broker in that case generally gives way, and the full value
is obtained.
It not unfrequently happens, either from carelessness or atmospherical
causes, that the ahmulahs become very cellular and light. In that case
the holes are stopped up with a paste of meal and fine salt dust, but
the ahmulah so adulterated is generally rejected at once when offered,
or a very considerable reduction is made in its value when any article
is purchased.
When by any accident the salt-pieces are broken, they are receivable
only as common salt, although sometimes, if but into two pieces, these
are bound round with a piece of very pliant tough bark called “_lit_,”
and at a diminished value still circulate.
Besides ahmulahs the Shoan markets are supplied with a rough broken
salt in thin broad pieces, of no use but for culinary purposes, by the
Dankalli, who bring it to Dinnomalee from the Bahr Assal, or salt lake,
near Tajourah. This kind of salt is of less value than the ahmulah,
and is only employed as barter, and the solid money-piece will command
weight for weight, one half as much more of the Adal salt; so that the
Shoans submit to a loss of just fifty per cent. of material for the
convenience of their clumsy currency.
The town of Aliu Amba being occupied by Christians and Mahomedans,
its market presents a much more varied appearance than either that of
Farree or Ankobar; the former being almost exclusively frequented by
Mahomedans, whilst the latter (which is held in the meadow adjoining
to the mill of Demetrius, on the road to Tchakkah) is as exclusively
Christian in its dealings. To judge from the character of the produce
sent to Aliu Amba market, it would not be difficult to assign the
greater amount of wealth in Shoa to the possession of the Christian
subjects of Sahale Selassee; but, on the other hand, it appears to be
a principle of religion almost, among the Mahomedans, to conceal the
riches they possess, so that appearances are not to be trusted. Had I
not known that the more wealthy of their religion invariably invest
their money in slaves, to supply the Dankalli and Hurrah dealers, I
should certainly have inferred from the scanty and very limited stores
placed before the saleswomen of that faith in Aliu Amba market, that
the Islam inhabitants of Shoa were exceedingly poor. Many of these
women sit for a whole day, offering, in exchange for anything in the
shape of corn that may be offered, a thimbleful of “col,” (antimony
used for blackening the edges of the eyelids,) a few lumps of gum
myrrh, a handful of frankincense, or a little shumlah, the blue and
red threads of unwoven cloth, brought from the sea-coast, and which
is used in forming the ornamental borders of their large body cloths.
Sometimes their scanty stock is increased by three or four lemons, or
as many needles. On the contrary, the Amhara (the name now given only
to Christians of this country) bring an abundance of cotton cloths, of
cattle, of corn, and are the only money-changers I saw, some of them
sitting behind high walls of new and good-conditioned salt-pieces.
Trade, in a great measure, is carried on by barter, an exchange of
commodities being much more general than purchasing with ahmulahs;
except in the case of cattle buying, when the price is generally fixed
at a certain number of these salt-pieces. For two ahmulahs a very fine
young sheep or goat may be bought, and the very best of the kind will
not sell for more than five. A good-sized goat, however, commands
a much higher price, ten or twelve ahmulahs being sometimes asked.
An ox for ploughing brings about seventy ahmulahs, or, if small and
intended for killing, may be bought as low as thirty. Horses and mules
vary in price from seven to twelve dollars. The latter are preferred
by the Abyssinians. I have been offered a very excellent horse for
two dollars, and have seen one blind, but in good condition, sold for
twelve ahmulahs, or about two shillings and sixpence.
The next principal thing in the market is the cotton cloths, which are
woven of one general width, about three quarters of a yard, and from
ten to fifteen yards long. Of the common kind are made the “sennafil,”
or wide short trowsers of the men, and the “shumah,” or waist-cloth, of
the women. The body-cloth, or tobe, is common to both sexes, but those
of the men being much larger than those of the women, are generally
double folds of the cloth, or four cubits in breadth, and at least
seven cubits long. Sometimes they are of an extravagant size. A narrow
border of the blue and red woollen stuff, called shumlah, woven into
the cloth, is the only ornament, and these coloured stripes will be
sometimes repeated at the distance of a foot from each other through
the whole length of the cloth These tobes vary in price according to
the number of these ornamental additions to the simple cotton thread,
of which the greater number are entirely composed. Four or five dollars
is a great price to give for one, but the one forwarded to our Queen
by Sahale Selassee was worth thirty dollars. I gave for a cloth for
Walderheros, which was ten yards long and three quarters broad, ten
ahmulahs; but when I wanted one a little finer, with a stripe across
each end of the blue and white worsted, for my own use, I had to give a
dollar for it.
The mekanet, or girdle, generally woven for the purpose, is considered
to be worth one ahmulah for a cubit, or from the point of the elbow
to the extreme tip of the middle finger, which is the only measure of
cloth in Abyssinia. Neither hats nor shoes are worn by the Amhara; but
the Islam men wear sandals, made something like the Dankalli ones,
and I think those which are brought into the market are made by some
settler in Aliu Amba, either from Adal, or the city of Hurroo, and not
by a native Abyssinian. I bought myself a pair, having worn out my
English shoes, and gave the sum of three ahmulahs (7½_d._) for them,
but Walderheros bargained for a sword-belt besides from the man who
sold them to me.
Among the articles of food exposed for sale, are great quantities of
grain in small skin-bags holding perhaps, four or five pecks, and
which may be purchased for as many ahmulahs. Barley is somewhat
cheaper than wheat, but the price is not so much less as I should have
expected. Marshilla, or dourah, is half as cheap again as wheat. It
is used principally as “_nuffrau_,” being boiled in water, and with a
little salt sprinkled upon it, eaten in that state. This dish forms the
principal food of the slaves belonging to the slave-merchants on their
journey to the coast, but in Shoa the slaves in Christian households,
as I have before observed, usually live in the same manner as their
owners, and are invariably considered as part of his family.
Peas, kidney-beans, and the common horse-beans are also used in the
same manner, and are generally sold so low as two Islam cuna, or nearly
two pecks, for an ahmulah. Onions and the green leaves of a species of
kail are hawked about the town, broken salt being exchanged, according
to the quantity that can be decided upon as the fair value, after a
deal of higgling between the two parties.
Tut, or cotton, and tobacco are sold for salt only, according to
weight, a rude kind of balance called _mezan_ being employed for this
purpose. This is a kind of steelyard, made of hide and wood; a piece of
thick cowskin is dried in the sun upon a round stone, till it assumes
the form and size of a small washhand-basin, which is suspended by four
thongs of skin to the thin end of a stick, about fourteen inches long,
heavy and thick at the further extremity. Notches are cut with a knife,
not in any regular manner, for about two inches from the scale end,
on the under side. These notches receive the bite of a cotton thread
loop, and when suspended by this, its position in any of the knots mark
no established standard weight, but merely that of the article to be
exchanged; of course such a weighing-machine can only be employed in
barter.
Honey and butter are not regularly brought to the market as the supply
is dependant in a great measure upon the season, scarcely any during
the latter part of the dry, and the earlier part of the wet season,
being to be obtained but through the favour of the Negoos, who forwards
to his governors or favoured guests large jars of these articles as
presents during the period of its scarcity. The manner in which butter
is preserved by the Abyssinians is rather peculiar; and I must observe,
that strictly, all the honey produced in the country is claimed by the
Negoos, who, however, generally gives some equivalent for it, so that
I never heard this _apparently_ arbitrary circumstance complained of;
although I have frequently noticed the clandestine manner in which
small quantities of this delicacy were obtained by the nominal owners,
who wished to have the opportunity of obtaining some few ahmulahs by
selling it to me. The kind that was exposed in the market for sale,
was the refuse of the first droppings of the comb, or merely the last
drainings mixed with more than one-half of fragmentary wax, and the
dead bodies of bees. The Abyssinians, to their credit, do not kill
these interesting and industrious insects, but place in juxtaposition
to the hive, supposed to be nearly full of honey, an empty one, and
in a very short time, the whole of the inhabitants of the older hive,
have commenced constructing fresh combs in the new one placed for their
convenience.
For one ahmulah a _winechar_, or drinking-hornful, holding about a pint
of honey, is obtained; and double that quantity of butter brings the
same price, so that I consider both articles very dear. Immediately
after the rains, however, three or four times this quantity of butter
may be obtained for an ahmulah. Besides cotton and tobacco, “_gaisho_,”
or the dried leaves of a shrub belonging to the same species of plant
as the tea-tree, is also sold by weight against salt; these leaves are
used as a bitter in brewing the native beer instead of hops. Six times
in weight of this article is given in exchange for one of salt, but if
weighed against cotton, four times the quantity of gaisho is given.
Tobacco in small round cakes, two inches in diameter, and half an
inch thick is also weighed in exchange for salt, two of tobacco being
considered equal to one of salt; it is grown in the _wana-daggan_
country, or where the climate is temperate, in contradistinction to
_daggan_, or highlands, and _kolla_, or lowlands. Tobacco is the
article in which the people of the wana-daggan chiefly speculate,
taking it down to the kolla country in exchange for cotton, seven times
its weight being then demanded. They also carry berberah, or the red
cayenne-pepper pods to the _daggan_, or cold country, where they obtain
wheat or other grain in exchange, five times the weight of berberah
being given. The quantity of grain given for tobacco depends greatly
upon circumstances; the eye of the seller, and the appetite of the
purchaser of the tobacco, determining the rate of exchange.
Besides these articles, all of which are exposed for sale in the
market-place of Aliu Amba, saddle-makers from Ankobar, spear and sword
manufacturers from the Tabeeb, or artificers’ monasteries, supply it
with their wares, and the industrious inhabitants of the latter also
bring hoes and plough-irons, and their women and children hawk about
the town, with loud cries, coarse earthenware utensils for sale.
No Hebrew pedlar is to be seen in this, or any other market-place,
though a recent traveller of Shoa has asserted such to be the case,
and to allow the assertion to pass without denying it at once, might
lead to some ethnological error among the naturalists of the human
race, who might be speculating upon the origin and descent of the true
Abyssinian. Such was the ignorance of both the Amhara and the Islam of
these people, that scarcely a stranger called upon me, but desired to
know if I were not a “Yahude” (Jew). I questioned them in return upon
the very subject, and none had even met with one, except some of the
travelled slave-dealers, the two or three pilgrims Shoa could boast of
who had visited Mecca, and who always advanced, as one evidence of the
extensive journeys they had made, that they had seen a Jew. The Falasha
of northern Abyssinia, speaking the Agow language, cannot be pretended
to be of Hebrew descent, and the more we hear of this interesting
people the more assured we shall be, that although practising somewhat
similar customs, no connexion, more recent than prior to the era of the
Exodus, can be traced between them and the Jews.
Having noticed everything that can interest the reader in an account
of an Abyssinian market, I shall now return home. Walderheros slings
over his shoulder a broad chain of ahmulahs, connected together by the
pliant _lit_ bark; ten of the salt-pieces reposing upon his chest, and
the other half-dollar’s worth in a corresponding manner hang upon his
back. Having arranged his burden, the change for one dollar, we proceed
together, saluting Tinta as we pass him, sitting in judgment upon a
case of dispute that has just arisen; with shoulders bare, the noisy
declaimant addressing him, gesticulates with much energy; the etiquette
of respectful undress, (unrobed to the waist,) admitting of the freest
exercise of the upper limbs, and a corresponding display of the most
approved oratorical action is the consequence.
The evening of the market-day in Aliu Amba, closes with similar scenes
of jollity to those which characterize the hebdomadal meetings
of farmers and their friends in our own agricultural towns; and
the expression “market fresh,” best expresses the condition of the
staggering Christians, and of the singing groups of male and female
Abyssinians returning home, who have been closing the labours of the
day with sundry deep potations of beer.
CHAPTER XVI.
Visit from Sheik Tigh.--Strange news.--Arrival of Abdoanarch.--
Situation of my house.--Wallata Gabriel.--Baking bread.--
Vapour bath.--Cure for hernia.
After my visit to the market, I was confined to my house for two
or three days by illness, but feeling a little better this morning
(August 1st), I brought out a small saw I was possessed of, and began
to amuse myself, in giving the last finish to the roof, by removing
the projecting ends of the cane rafters, which made the low eaves look
very ragged. Whilst thus employed, Sheik Tigh, who had been absent some
days at a “_tescar_,” or funeral feast of a frontier Islam Governor,
called, and after congratulating me upon having come into some property
at last, gave me the astounding information that Tinta had been removed
from the government of the town, and a rich Hurrah merchant, who had
come as an Ambassador to Sahale Selassee, from the Imaum of that city,
was now the Governor.
The day that I left Miriam’s house, I heard that a Hurrahgee kafilah
was coming into Shoa, and learnt then, that Aliu Amba was the town
appointed for the people belonging to it, as Channo was for the Adal
kafilahs. I sent Walderheros to Tinta’s house to get more information,
but he had already left the town and gone to Angolahlah to see the
Negoos; as I supposed, to remonstrate. I did not tell Sheik Tigh I was
very sorry at the news he brought me, because, as he was a Mahomedan,
he seemed so to enjoy the circumstance of having a governor of his own
religion, and my regret, as a Christian, I was afraid, would only elate
him the more. I did the good man wrong by my unworthy suspicion, for he
was certainly one of the best-hearted men I ever met. On asking him who
the new governor was, and what business he had come upon to Shoa, he
told me that his name was Abdoanarch, and the Wizeer of Sheik Houssein,
Imaum of Hurrah, and that he had come to induce the Negoos to join in a
league with all the other monarchs of Southern Abyssinia to prevent the
ingress of Europeans into that country. I was not well enough to ask
many questions, but felt glad, that the return of the Embassy to the
coast had been decided upon, previous to the arrival of Abdoanarch from
Hurrah, and that consequently he could not boast of having effected
such a desideratum among the Mahomedans of Shoa.
The bestowal of the government of Aliu Amba upon the Hurrah ambassador,
was a proof of very high regard; and as the language of that
celebrated but little known city is a dialect of the Geez, similar
to the Amharic, Abdoanarch was not considered to be altogether a
foreigner. Besides, he was, as I have remarked, a Mahomedan, and as
three-fourths of the inhabitants of Aliu Amba professed the same
belief, his appointment caused great satisfaction. With him, a large
kafilah of his countrymen had arrived, at least, two hundred, so that
they made a sensible addition to the population, which, at most, did
not exceed three thousand people. Indeed, accommodations for them could
not be found, and they were obliged to erect a number of straw huts, on
the other side of the cemetery in the market-place. This new village
consisted of about fifty houses, all of them, merely thatched roofs,
resting upon the ground, with a low entrance, not three feet high, cut
out in front.
Sheik Tigh sat with me nearly all day; the singularly situated and
nearly unknown city of Hurrah affording an inexhaustible subject of
conversation. As, however, he had never visited it, and I subsequently
received more accurate information respecting this interesting place
from a native, I shall not now attempt to describe it.
_August 2._--My house was situated on the western face of the rock of
Aliu Amba standing upon its own little terrace, which was enclosed
partially by a thick-leaved hedge, and where this failed by a row of
the yellow-stalks of the high Indian corn plant. It overlooked and
was overlooked by a number of other houses similarly constructed,
each built upon its own garden platform, one above the other, like
a series of high steps, from half way down the steep hill-side, to
the summit of a bluff, cone-like eminence, in which the northern
extremity, of the otherwise flat-topped hill of Aliu Amba terminated.
On this exalted point, the long thatched roof of the largest house of
the town was visible over a strong palisading of splintered ted, and
over which two tall mimosas towered like giant sentinels. To go near
here was considered a crime, and to break through the enclosure would
have been a sacrilege. This of course was royal property, the “gimjon
bait,” where was preserved until the annual account was made by the
Governor to the King, all the fines, lapses by death, and duties, that
had accumulated during that time. Beneath this public storehouse was a
long terrace, divided into several enclosures, in each of which stood a
snug cottage; and these again looking upon one below, the top of which
scarcely reached the level of the ground, the upper ones were built
upon. Here dwelt a most respectable man, an Islam slave-merchant, who
kept a gratuitous school for boys, whom he instructed in Arabic, that
is to say, in reading and writing passages of the Koran. Far beneath
the level of this my own house stood, and before it, and on either
hand, were several others whose gardens all surrounded mine. The hill
at this point, too, seemed to assume a more umbrageous aspect, for
high “_shuahlah_,” sycamore fig-trees, and mimosas, sheltered beneath
their foliage the unassuming roofs of thatch, which less and less,
diminishing as they descended the slope of the hill-side, seemed at a
very short distance from my garden to have dropped into the yawning
valley that separated Aliu Amba from the opposite height; which still
higher, differed in its more gently sloping ascent, and its ridge
being occupied by a village inhabited exclusively by Christians. Over
this again could be seen still more elevated crests, and beyond these
others, until the eye reached the last, the commanding height of
Ankobar; which, extending some ten or twelve miles north and south,
each extremity then curved towards the east in one vast amphitheatre,
that encircled, as in an embrace, an extensive valley of little
village-crowned hills and sunny slopes of cultivated fields.
This afternoon, having another serious attack of my fever fit, one of
my first acquaintances in Aliu Amba, Hadjji Abdullah, undertook to
provide me with a certain cure. He went away, and returned after a
short time with a large bundle of green odoriferous herbs. Walderheros
was directed to boil these well in my tea-kettle, and having poured
out the decoction into an open-mouthed earthen vessel. I was wrapt
up in a large tobe, underneath the folds of which the remedy was
placed. In this manner I sat for about a quarter of an hour, until a
profuse perspiration resulted from this primitive kind of vapour bath,
which had certainly one good effect, that of producing at night a
long-continued sleep.
_August 3d._--As I felt a good deal better this morning, I took a
walk as far as the market-place, to see the houses of the new come
Hurrahgee people. A great many turned out for my inspection, to gratify
themselves by looking at me; which party was most entertained, I or
them, at the mutual novelty of our appearance, I do not know, but after
exchanging salutations with an old man belonging to them, I returned
home with Walderheros.
Finding that I was still laying myself under great obligations to
Miriam, who came for a few hours every day to grind flour and bake
bread, I determined that Walderheros should send for his wife to come
and take up her abode with him as housekeeper. Goodaloo was accordingly
sent on this errand, and before night they returned together. As a kind
of offering upon the occasion she brought, hanging in her tobe upon her
back, a large pumpkin. She was a good-looking girl of about seventeen
or eighteen years of age, and had been married to Walderheros for
five years. Her father was one of the King’s watchmen, holding a farm
for that service, which required his absence one week out of four,
at whichever palace of Ankobar or Angolahlah the King should be then
absent from.
She was very soon down upon her knees before a broad circular pan
of earthenware placed upon three stones, which was being heated for
baking-bread over a glaring fire of sticks. Taking a short horn, in
which was contained the well-powdered dust of the oily seed of the
cotton plant, she scattered a small portion over the surface of the
nearly flat dish, which was about a foot and a-half in diameter. She
then rubbed this well over the whole with a rag. The leavened batter
had been made ready in the morning by Miriam, so Wallata Gabriel, my
new housekeeper, had only to take a little out in a basin, and from
this pour it upon the heated dish, quickly spreading it into a thin
layer, and then placing over all a hollow shield-like cover, also of
earthenware, the edges of which, where it rested upon the pan, being
luted with wet rags that stood by contained in another spare basin of
water.
Sticks, a bundle of which had been brought in by Goodaloo, lay upon the
floor of the house, and with these a bright fire was kept flaring away
for about five minutes, when the cover being taken off a nice-looking
crumpet curled up its edge all round, as if anxious to be taken off and
eaten. This was adroitly done by Wallata Gabriel placing upon her lap
as she knelt a neat straw mat, something larger than the baking-dish
itself, made of a band of grass folded around one end as a centre, and
stiched into that situation. Upon this was pulled, by a quick jerk, the
warm cellular-surfaced bread, and then getting up, my new handmaiden
presented it to me as it lay on the mat, with a look that said “Taste
it yourself, and see if I cannot bake bread.”
In this manner she soon turned over six or eight of these pan-cakes,
and a fowl having been boiled to-day for the sake of the broth, of
which alone I could partake, no other food was cooked for my three
servants, they so far observing the fast, and soon after their meal
they retired to rest; Walderheros and his wife occupying an ox-skin
upon the floor, Goodaloo making his bed in the porch, which was formed
by the passage into the house leading through the outer and inner wall,
being closed in on either side by a mud-plastered partition.
_August 4th._--I was glad to find Tinta come back this morning, he
having returned with a message, that if I knew how to make gunpowder,
the Negoos wished me to manufacture some for him. On inquiring, I
found that my balderabah still continued in the good graces of the
Negoos, who, instead of the town of Aliu Amba, which convenience had
required should be given to Abdoanarch, had put Tinta into possession
of a much more valuable one called Ramsey, in sight from my garden. He
was instructed, however, to live as usual in Aliu Amba, to communicate
between the Negoos and myself, and to keep, at the same time, a
careful watch upon the outgoings and incomings of the great Abdoanarch
himself.
I soon satisfied him about the gunpowder, and the next day was
appointed for taking the first step in the process, by making some
charcoal, for I was led to suppose that the inferiority of the coarse
grey-looking sort of native manufacture was owing to the badness of
that article. Two of Tinta’s servants were immediately despatched for
wood of the “ted” (_Juniperus oxycedrus_) tree, which I had chosen as
best calculated for charcoal. The ted tree is a species of pine, and
grows in the characteristic form of that tree. The wood smells exactly
like cedar, and is extensively used for fuel in the royal residences.
It does not grow on the table land, but only in the upper portions of
the valleys of Efat and corresponding situations, at an elevation of
between six and eight thousand feet above the level of the sea.
A large euphorbia called kol-qual, sometimes thirty feet high, with
strong spreading arms, bearing at their extremities a little red
fig-like fruit, was pointed out to me by the Shoans as the tree
supposed to produce the best charcoal. This cannot be the tree that
Bruce asserts yielded so much milk-like juice upon striking it with
his scimitar, although I have heard it asserted that it is. On making
the experiment myself on several of different ages, I never could
produce more than a mere exudation of a white fluid, which collected
in drops, and which I found upon inspissation turned black, and formed
a substance not unlike Indian rubber. The most singular circumstance
respecting this tree is the four-sided character of its branches, being
as angular as if put together by a carpenter. On examining the interior
of a decayed portion, I found a shell of hard wood not more than
three-fourths of an inch in thickness; and the interior sometimes, from
side to side, several inches wide, hollow, but divided into chambers by
partitions, consisting of a substance like the paper formed by wasps in
constructing their tree-suspended nests.
I was called in to a singular case to-day; for in Aliu Amba, I must
observe, my professional services were in great request, and I had
stated hours of attendance daily at my house, from sunrise to nine
o’clock, during which time my door was regularly thronged. I went to
see my new patient with Walderheros, and found a youth about sixteen
years old, afflicted with a rupture in the groin, but the protruded
intestine had been returned by the boy’s father just previously to
my going into the house. The people I found there, wanted me to do
something to prevent the recurrence of the complaint, but as I had
no trusses with me, I only recommended rest and future care against
violent exertion. Understanding that I could do nothing more, it was
determined among them to proceed with an operation customary in their
country, and which I was invited to witness. I accordingly sat down
whilst the boy was laid upon his back on the alga. The father then
took a red burning stick, Walderheros and others holding the patient
down, and restraining him whilst the former placed the rude searing
instrument over the diseased part, blowing it with great vigour all the
time to keep it alight. In less than a minute the painful operation was
over; and the boy, who had been previously reminded that he was a man,
bore it with great fortitude.
The Shoans assert, that after this application of the actual cautery
rupture does not again occur; and I could readily conceive it probable,
considering the great contraction sometimes consequent upon burns, that
this effect produced over the parts affected in hernia might, in such
cases, counteract the relaxation of muscular fibre which occasions this
disease. At all events, where so few practical preventives for a most
serious complaint are known, I have considered this observation worth
recording, and as a medical man even recommend the operation.
_August 5th._--Three long bundles of splintered ted, carried upon the
head of as many slaves of the Negoos, were brought to my house this
morning. Cutting and carrying wood is the principal occupation in
Shoa of the male slaves, as carrying water is of the females; and the
prophets, when they say of the Jews carried into captivity, that “they
will be cutters of wood and drawers of water,” convey the allusion
that both sexes will be oppressed alike, and suffer equally the
laborious hardships of a state of slavery.
It rained too much to-day to be able to make any charcoal; and as I
required the pieces of wood brought me to be cut into more convenient
lengths, Walderheros and Goodaloo occupied themselves doing this within
doors. Sheik Tigh having gone to reside at Bulga for a month, had given
up his office as my teacher in Amharic, so I determined to look out
for a duptera, or Christian scribe, as I was anxious not only to speak
Amharic as quickly as possible, but also to read the Geez character,
and get some knowledge of that very interesting but neglected language.
To-day commences a long fast for fifteen days, called “Felsat.” No meat
is allowed to be eaten, and the first food taken daily must be after
three o’clock in the afternoon. Walderheros grants me an indulgence,
as I am very ill and weak. It seems children and sick people are not
required to fast. I never saw the members of any Church less bigoted
than the Christians of Shoa, but I am given to understand that more
to the north much less toleration is exhibited towards Mahomedans
and individuals of other faiths. I have often thought, civilized as
I considered myself to be, that had I been in the place of Sahale
Selassee, I should not have acted quite so fairly to my Mahomedan
subjects; and when we consider that they are far inferior in numbers
to the Christians, in the proportion of about three to one, a great
deal more credit is due.
_August 6th._--Being a very fine morning, I had my alga brought into
the garden, and superintended Walderheros and Goodaloo making the pile
of wood for burning it into charcoal; covering it with the stalks of
the thorn apple-plant, which alone seemed to flourish around my house
to the exclusion of every other kind of herb. Upon this green kind
of thatch a layer of earth was placed, and all being completed, fire
was applied below, and the aperture through which it was introduced
immediately closed up; a vent, or chimney, through the centre alone
being left open.
Instead of any length of time being necessary, I found my charcoal-heap
blazing away as if air entered at twenty places. Being my first attempt
as a practical burner, I somehow expected this, and therefore carried
off the failure as a thing intended, for Walderheros began to think his
learned master a bit of a quack when he found that I was ignorant of
the simple native cure for hernia; and he would now have been downright
sure of it had he not supposed that all my present proceedings,
regarding the charcoal-burning, was necessary to produce the excellent
article required to make gunpowder as it was manufactured in my
country. I therefore sat and looked at the blazing pile, revolving in
my mind what could possibly have caused the failure, for I believed
I had observed every particular, that I had been taught was necessary
to convert wood into charcoal. Fortunately for my credit, just when I
concluded that I knew nothing about it, and had best say so, and before
the whole heap had been consumed, a sudden shower of rain poured down;
this of course spoiled all my arrangements, and among other things,
to all appearance put out the fire. Here was a case for condolence;
and Walderheros, thinking I must want something to support me under
the disappointment, when the rain had ceased, which was not for some
hours, took a straw basket and went to examine the ruins. One effect
of the rain, it seems, had been to beat down the dome of earth and
moist stalks of the thorn apple, when the support of the wood inside
had been lost by the combustion. This buried considerable portions
of unburnt extremities of the pieces of ted, and as they continued
smouldering underneath the fallen cover, the result was that, much to
my surprise, Walderheros brought me back the basket full of beautifully
close-grained shining black and very light pieces of charcoal. As
Walderheros thought it was all quite natural and right, I made no other
remark than merely asking him “if the people in Shoa ever made charcoal
like that.”
Having succeeded so well in this, it encouraged us to proceed,
and I sent to Tinta to say, that on the morrow he must supply me
with hand-mills and mortars to grind down and pulverize the other
ingredients, sulphur and saltpetre, of which a large quantity of each
had been brought to my house from Ankobar during the day.
Both sulphur and saltpetre abound in Shoa, the former being obtained
from the volcanic country immediately to the west of the Hawash,
near Azbottee. From an extinct crater, nearly half a mile from our
halting-place at Lee Adu, I had brought to me a piece of the purest
sulphur, that required no farther process of refinement than the
natural sublimation by which it had been deposited in the fissures of
the cone. The Adal Bedouins who occupy that neighbourhood bring it to
the Negoos of Shoa as a kind of tribute, and sometimes a demand is made
upon them for a certain quantity, which is delivered in a few days, so
plentifully is it found, to the Wallasmah Mahomed, who forwards it to
the Negoos.
Saltpetre is found in many places, both on the table-land of Shoa,
and in the valley countries to the south and east. It is principally
brought from Bulga, where the grey rubbly earth it forms is ploughed
over, and the disturbed soil containing more than fifty per cent. of
the salt is placed in immense earthenware jars containing water, in
which, by frequent agitation, the saltpetre becomes suspended. The
liquor is then decanted, and in large saucers allowed to evaporate,
when the finest needle-formed crystals of the salt are formed.
CHAPTER XVII.
Determine to be cupped.--Mode of operating.--Medical knowledge
of the Shoans.--Surgery.--Remarks upon their diseases and
their remedies.--The cosso tree.--Mode of using the cosso.--
Other curative processes.--Manufacture of gunpowder.--
Success.--Health improving.
_August 7th._--Being Sunday, Tinta did not come to my house. I also
staid within all day, and took advantage of Walderheros having nothing
to do, to be cupped in the Abyssinian manner, during the cold stage
of the fever, and which I expected would attack me in the afternoon.
A constant dull pain in the left side, just over the region of the
spleen, gave me considerable uneasiness, for although I was aware
that in ague this viscus is always affected, still I could not divest
myself of the idea that in my case it must be organically diseased.
I proposed, therefore, that the incisions should be made in that
situation, but Walderheros would not hear of such a thing. Abstracting
blood, to be beneficial, he asserted, must either be upon the crown
of the head or at the back of the neck, and should he perform the
operation anywhere else, and after all I should die, that the Negoos
would put him to death as my murderer. Seeing that I could not
induce him, and both his wife and Goodaloo being of the same opinion
as himself, I allowed him to use his own discretion. During the
consultation, however, that was held upon the occasion, Hadjji Abdullah
came in, and it was decided among them I should be cupped upon the
top of the head. The hair being accordingly shaved off the assigned
place, in a circle about the size of a crown-piece, the hollow upper
end of a horn, about four inches in length was then placed upon the
bare skin. To the tapered extremity of this, through which was a small
hole communicating with the interior, Walderheros applied his mouth and
exhausted the air. This being done, he then closed the aperture with a
piece of wax, that had been placed ready for that purpose around the
end of the horn. The usual tumefaction of the integument immediately
beneath was occasioned by being thus relieved of atmospheric pressure.
After a little time remaining in this position, a needle was inserted
into the wax, and air being admitted into the horn, it fell off.
Walderheros, with the heel of a sharp razor, then gave three jerking
cuts in the skin, and immediately replacing the horn over the part,
again withdrew the air, and a slight movement of the tongue closed
the aperture as before with the wax. In a few minutes, the ascending
surface of the blood, seen through the white semi-transparent horn,
indicated that sufficient had been extracted, and holding down my
head, at the request of Walderheros, the primitive instrument was
withdrawn, the whole operation having been performed by these simple
means as speedily and as effectually as with the most expensive
apparatus.
Excepting their acquaintance with some few cathartic remedies, all
derived from the vegetable kingdom, the Shoans possess but little
knowledge of medicine. A specific effect upon the bowels appears to
be absolutely necessary to convince them that the remedy employed is
medicine; and it is upon this principle that the articles contained in
their limited “Materia Medica” have been selected. The only exception
to this is a demulcent drink, made with honey and the mucilaginous
seeds of the soof, _Carthamus tinctorius_, which is taken to relieve
the local symptoms of “goomfon” (common catarrh).
The science of medicine principally consists of mysterious ceremonies,
to be observed whilst collecting the few herbs employed as remedies,
and in a knowledge of certain absurd formula of characters, which,
being inscribed upon a little bit of parchment, is then enclosed in a
case of red leather. The amulet is worn around the left arm above the
elbow, or among the women around the neck, attached to the front of
the martab. Pieces of red coral, sea shells, and various other things,
are also believed to have protective powers against diseases. Copper
rings, especially around the ancles or wrists, are considered to be
very efficacious in the cure of rheumatism. These kind of remedies are
supposed to be obnoxious to certain demons who afflict the body during
sickness, named “saroitsh,” of which there are several, but great
difference of opinion exists as to their exact number.
The Shoans have also external applications, and little operations,
by which they remedy the consequences of accidents, but these are
mere exigencies, conceived at the moment by the most sagacious of
the spectators, and, excepting blood-letting and cupping, no art or
mystery exists among them worthy of being dignified with the name of
surgery. A strange operation for the removal of the whole tonsil, when
enlarged by inflammation, I have often heard spoken of, but never had
any opportunity of witnessing, although I believe one of the Irish
soldiers attached to the Embassy, was foolish enough to submit to the
operation, and almost died in consequence. The mode they employ of
blood-letting and cupping is of very ancient origin, and appears to
have been received from former Egyptian connexion; as, since my return
to England, I have observed, in some representations preserved to us of
the arts and manners of the people of that ancient country, the same
method of venesection was adopted by them, as by modern Abyssinians,
and also, I may remark, by their less civilized neighbours, the
Dankalli. This is performed in Shoa with the blade of a small razor,
held between the fore-finger and thumb. The point of the left thumb
of the operator is then placed upon the frontal vein of the forehead,
which becoming turgid, is laid open by a jerking cut with the razor,
and the blood flows freely. Cupping with the assistance of a cow’s
horn, as I have before been describing, I have also seen practised
in exactly the same manner, by the negroes of the western coast of
Africa, so that this method of abstracting blood appears to be very
general, and strongly attests a previous civilized condition among the
ancestors of the inhabitants of this continent, as such a practice
argues a greater advance in intellectual acquirement for its first
introduction into use, than we are willing, ignorant as we are yet of
what civilization exists in the unknown countries of intertropical
Africa, to accord to the ignorant natives, with whom we are at present
acquainted.
I must not omit to observe, that among other external remedies,
counter-irritation is a very favourite practice among the Abyssinians.
Thus, in inflammations of the lungs, several small burns are made
upon the chest, either with a red-hot iron rod, or a piece of burning
charcoal, and this remedial process appears, and, I dare say,
deservedly, to rank high as being very efficacious in the opinion of
the inhabitants. In rheumatism, also, this kind of treatment, and
the disease, is so common on the high table land of Shoa, that an
exhibition of joints, to intimate how the patients have suffered,
is sometimes most ludicrous; our inclination to laugh, such is man’s
nature, not at all diminishing with increased evidences of the patient
submitting to the barbarous, but still, I have no doubt, excellent
remedy.
Syphilis has been represented to be the curse of the land; and
certainly, from King to beggar, according to their own account, they
either have it, or are about to have it. Priests and their wives
are not exempt, nor do even children of the tenderest age escape.
The reputation of this disease is as general among the Shoans, as
scrofula is in England, and it is admitted and spoken of in the same
manner without any reluctance or shame. This disease is supposed by
the natives to originate from several causes; among others, that of
eating the flesh of fowls which have become diseased, by living in
the neighbourhood of some one more than usually afflicted, and great
care accordingly is taken, when purchasing fowls in the market, to
learn from whence they came. The prevalent opinion also is, that it is
communicable by the simplest contact, and those who are suffering from
it are, therefore, carefully avoided, except by their own relations,
and for years after they are quite cured, a reluctance to eat or
drink with them, except with certain precautions, may be observed
among those of their acquaintance who are aware of their previous
condition. From these and many other observances against contagion,
it may be surprising that the disease should be so general. As it
struck me as being very remarkable, I made a point of examining into
the subject, and have concluded that by far the greater majority of
sores, and unhealthy appearances upon the body, though referred by
the patients themselves to this disease, arise, in fact, from other
causes, and are confounded with syphilis, sometimes, probably, from the
consciousness of having deserved it, but more frequently from their
ignorance of the fact, that the peculiarity of their situation, and
the character of their system in consequence, predisposes them to an
extensive ulceration, should the continuity of the skin be separated
by the slightest bruise. The ill effects which arise from this, the
unfortunate sufferers, unable to account for it in any other manner,
refer to a complaint, whose best known symptoms are of a similar
character; and without any idea of disgrace attaching to them for what
has arisen most innocently, they jump to the conclusion that they
have become contaminated by an unfortunate contact with some affected
individual. This is one reason, also, of the very various remedies
popularly employed; for many of the cases, as I have observed, not
having the least taint of syphilis, when a rapid recovery takes place
by the use of any simple cathartic, a reputation is immediately gained
for it, as being a certain cure for the presumed obstinate disease
for which it has been taken, and which it has so readily subdued.
Many vegetables in this manner are considered to be most efficacious
in this disease, without the least claim to it, farther, than being
gentle aperients and generally, in consequence, having a beneficial
influence upon the human frame. On many such mistaken cases, the effect
of blue pill was most wonderful, and it was a general observation with
the medical officers of the Embassy, the remarkable efficiency of this
remedy upon the Abyssinian human system, when, if its cause had been
examined into, it would have been found that its simple alterative
effects, producing a healthy reaction, was all that was required to
establish a healing process very rapidly in the numerous cases of
common ulcers, that were prescribed for under the impression that
they proceeded from one sole cause: that a universal syphilitic taint
characterized the whole population of Shoa.
The Abyssinians, immoral as they appear to be, are much more simple
than depraved. It is the virtuous confidence of people afflicted with
the _reputed_ complaint, conscious of having no improper cause to
attribute it to, and still, in their ignorance, believing it to be
syphilis, which has given support to the general opinion among them
of its extremely contagious character, and which has occasioned that
apparent shamelessness with which this disreputable and distressing
disease is spoken of by all classes and conditions.
The most generally employed remedy, for common purposes, by the
inhabitants of Shoa, is the flowers and unripe seeds of the _Hagenia
Abyssinica_, called by them “Cosso.” Bruce gives us a good description,
and was the first who directed the attention of Europeans to this
remarkable tree. In Shoa it grows frequently to the height of fifty
feet. About one half of the way up the Tchakkah ascent, it flourishes
remarkably well. It appears to be a short-lived tree. Of its wood the
Negoos has all his gun-stocks manufactured, as it approaches nearly in
colour to that employed for the same purposes in the European firearms
he possesses. The wood, however, is far from being strong; but whilst
the colour satisfies the eye of the monarch, the workmen he employs
find it is well adapted, by its soft nature, to their tools, and its
excellence for the purposes required is therefore never questioned,
except by the unfortunate gunman, who, when the stock of his piece is
fractured by any accident, must submit to a stoppage in his rations or
pay, until its value has been reimbursed to the monarch, who always
takes this method of ensuring carefulness as regards valuable property.
The cosso tree, as was remarked by Bruce, does not grow below a certain
elevation, which is about eight thousand feet above the level of the
sea, in the 10th degree of latitude north of the equator. It is a very
beautiful tree in appearance, and, I think, would grow very well
in England. Its leaves are largely pennated, and of a lively green
colour; a great deal brighter than the foliage of the chesnut-tree,
which, in figure, the cosso somewhat approaches to, except that it is
not quite so high. The flowers are of a blood red colour, and hang in
large bunches, sometimes a foot or a foot and a half long, consisting
of numerous small flowerets attached to one common footstalk. Amidst
the bright green leaves of the tree, these drooping crimson masses
have a very picturesque appearance. Cosso-trees do not seem to be so
carefully cultivated at the present day in the country to the west of
Tchakkah, as they appear to have been when the Sara and Durra Galla
tribes occupied the country between the Barissa and Angolahlah. We
find them now generally marking the sites of former Galla villages. On
riding off the road on one occasion to examine a group of these trees,
a civil herdsman conducted Walderheros and myself into a cave of some
extent where cattle used formerly to be kept by the Galla, whom I then
learned, in this situation had their principal town.
The fruit of the cosso is gathered for medicinal purposes before the
seeds are quite ripe, and whilst still a number of the flowerets
remain unchanged. The bunches are suspended in the sun to dry, and
if not required for immediate use deposited in a jar. Cosso is taken
in considerable quantities to the market, where it is disposed
of in exchange for grain or cotton, a handful of the latter, or a
drinking-hornful of the former, purchasing sufficient for two doses,
two large handsful. When taken, this medicine is reduced upon the mill
to a very fine powder, having previously been well dried in the sun
upon a small straw mat, upon which from some superstitious reason or
other, several bits of charcoal are placed. The largest drinking-horn
being then produced, the powdered cosso is mixed with nearly a pint
of water, and, if it can be obtained, a large spoonful of honey is
also added. When everything is quite ready, a naked sword is placed
flat upon the ground, upon which the patient stands. The nurse then
takes between two bits of sticks, as a substitute for tongs, a small
bit of lighted charcoal, and carries it around the edge of the vessel
three times, mumbling a prayer, at the end of which the charcoal is
extinguished in the medicine, which is immediately drank off by the
patient, who all this time has been pulling most extraordinary faces,
expressive of his disgust for the draught. The operation is speedy and
effectual, and to judge by the prostration of strength it occasioned in
my servants, when they employed this medicine, it must be dreadfully
severe. I can answer for this, that it occasions frequent miscarriages,
often fatal to the mother, and even men have been known, after a large
dose, to have died the same day from its consequences. I am, therefore,
surprised at the noise this remedy has occasioned the last few years
in Europe, as if it promised to be a valuable addition to our Materia
Medica. This, I conceive, can never be, for no civilized stomach could
bear the bulk of the drug necessary to produce its effects. Even in
Abyssinia it is but barely tolerated, and let another remedy, equally
efficacious for dislodging tape-worm be introduced into that country,
and the use of cosso will be soon abandoned. In fact, several other
vegetable productions are now employed to escape the punishment of
a dose of this violent cathartic. Among many I could enumerate, but
without any benefit arising from the list, is the “kolah,” the same
berry which is used in making the “barilla” tedge, also the red berries
of a climbing plant called “inkoko,” growing in the forest at the foot
of the hill of Kundi, near Michael wans. These are swallowed whole,
like pills, but a very great number are required to produce the desired
results.
Besides the use of the cold bath, employed in the manner I have before
related, and which may be of considerable benefit in some diseases,
I have no notes upon any other medical treatment employed by the
Shoans, excepting that from which I derived considerable benefit in my
intermittent; the vapour bath, prepared by putting several species of
odoriferous herbs, such as wormwood, rue, bergamot, and some others in
boiling water, and then placing the vessel beneath a large tobe, I was
wrapt up in, and which was securely fastened around my neck and in
front, to prevent the escape of the vapour of the medicated decoction.
This kind of bath was always followed by profuse perspiration, and
assisted materially to relieve the violence of reaction in the hot
stage, by accelerating that relaxation of the pores of skins which
marks the return of something like comfort to the suffering patient.
_August 8th._--Felt a great deal better after the cupping, and even
proposed, as the Negoos was now at his palace at Michael wans, about
six miles distant from Aliu Amba, that either on the morrow or the
next day after, I should take the gunpowder which we had begun very
early this morning to manufacture. Tinta sent me a good pair of English
scales, several wooden mortars, and two handmills, with a party of
labourers, consisting of eighteen or twenty men and boys. One request
he made was, that as he desired to learn how to make gunpowder, I would
not, therefore, commence weighing and mixing the ingredients till he
could come to me.
My garden now exhibited a lively scene, several men standing around
huge mortars two feet and a half high, made out of the round trunks
of trees, and pounding the charcoal, or else the saltpetre into fine
powder. The pestles consisted of heavy pieces of wood three feet
long, which were generally kept going up and down by two men standing
opposite each other, and who were relieved three or four times in the
course of an hour. Several others were on their knees upon the ground,
leaning over coarse flat stones, grinding the sulphur beneath another
heavy one they moved about with the hands. Some hours were employed
in this occupation, for it was long before the several materials were
reduced to a sufficiently fine powder to commence mixing them together.
It was too much to expect such another fortunate accident, by which the
supply of charcoal had been obtained, and as I knew quite as little of
the manufacture of gunpowder, I was very much afraid I should fail in
this attempt also; I determined, however, it should not be for want
of pounding, and to encourage the men, sent Wallata Gabriel with an
ahmulah to purchase some ale.
Tinta came very soon after, and with him, a learned scribe, who had
been desired by the Negoos to watch the proceedings, and mark the
proportionate amounts of saltpetre, charcoal, and sulphur, I used. The
scales were produced, and then it was discovered there were no weights,
but this difficulty I soon got over by employing bullets, and having
duly apportioned the necessary amount of each ingredient, they were
thrown together into the largest mortar, with water sufficient to make
a stiff paste. A second pounding match now commenced, for to do the
business effectually, I divided the mass into three portions, which I
placed in separate mortars, and set as many couples at work again. The
constant fear, that the whole party was now in, was most ludicrous.
I was scarcely permitted to sit a moment--here, I was wanted--there,
I must go and look, and the other mortar would, perhaps, be actually
deserted; and all arose from a suspicion that an explosion would take
place; water was continually being added, and the least approach to
friableness frightened the workmen, as if a hot cinder was about to
be thrown into a barrel of dry gunpowder. However, I managed to keep
them to their guns until sunset, when they were discharged, without
any casualty, from the dangerous duty; for which, I don’t know, if the
Negoos has not rewarded some of them for military service.
After Tinta, scribe, and all were gone, then my anxious moments came
as to my success. A small quantity being taken out of the mortar, was
placed upon paper near the fire, and soon drying, Walderheros had the
immortal honour of firing the first sample, which flashed off in the
most approved manner, much to the delight of Wallata Gabriel, and
Goodaloo, and in fact, of us all, and more especially of myself, as I
least expected it.
_August 9._--Tinta was at my house, as soon as it was light, and as I
had put the evening before a small portion of the damp powder in the
fragment of a jar, and placed it among the warm ashes of the hearth,
sufficient for two charges, was quite dry and ready for proofing when
he came. I soon loaded my double-barrelled carabine, and having
examined the nipples of the locks, covered them with caps. The
shoulder-bone of an ox was our make-shift target, and each taking a
shot at the distance of about forty yards, both of us were successful
in perforating it with the balls.
It was now determined, that Tinta should provide me with a mule, and
that next day I should follow him to Michael wans, usually pronounced
Myolones, to bring the gunpowder and present it to the Negoos.
Accordingly, Walderheros returned with Tinta to his house, and after
some hours brought me back a mule; during which time, I and Goodaloo,
dividing the powder into small portions, dried them well before a
low red fire of the spare charcoal. The temerity of the latter was
extraordinary, but it was quite in keeping with the silent steady
manner he always performed any service I required. The large grains of
the powder being afterwards forced through a sifting basket of grass,
used in fining flour, I then secured it in a quart bottle I happened to
possess; and which it about two-thirds filled.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Start for Myolones.--Account of the road.--Effect of the
Earthquake.--Dangerous passage.--Ford the Gindebal wans.--
Dubdubhee.--Reach Myolones.--Remarks upon taking possession
of the land.
_August 10th._--It had rained very heavily all night, and as the sky
was covered with clouds, I did not feel inclined to go to Myolones.
Walderheros, however, had set his mind upon it, and as the ride was a
very short one, and might, perhaps, be of service in many respects, I
at last consented. Walderheros had the mule ready before I could change
my mind, and giving some precautions to Wallata Gabriel to look after
everything well whilst we were away, and to let no one enter the house
upon any pretence, off we started, Goodaloo running before, with the
skin containing my bed-clothes upon his head, and Walderheros following
slowly after me, having in special charge the very precious bottle of
gunpowder.
We proceeded along the narrow arid winding path, that leads down the
steep western slope of the rock of Aliu Amba. Here the road is deeply
worn in the hard stone, so as to form a kind of hollow way, upon each
bank of which thick bushes of a large strong-leaved plant, meeting
above the head of the traveller, forms an umbrageous tunnel, nearly
impervious to the sun’s rays. At the bottom of the descent we crossed
a stream, yellow with suspended earth, for, like most other rivers of
Shoa, during the wet season, its running water is an active agent of
denudation. We now slowly ascended the opposite bank of the valley, and
passing through the little Christian village upon its summit, called
Aitess, we then again descended to the level of another stream, along
whose miry banks, crossing and re-crossing it several times in its
tortuous course, we at length reached, where, in a narrow cascade, the
water falls suddenly the distance of two hundred feet, with the usual
rushing din of an impetuous torrent. Here the bald face of a rock,
across which not the trace of a road could be perceived, projected a
smooth surface of compact stone, from beneath a super stratum of a
loose schistose formation of several hundred feet high, whilst below
us appeared an almost perpendicular wall, with just such a sliding
inclination as suggested an idea of the bridge said to be situated by
some Orientalists between heaven and earth, for there required scarcely
the impetus of a wish, to have slipped from life to death during the
walk across. The earthquake that ushered in the rains had occasioned
this obliteration of the road, for the effects of some thousands of
tons of the overlying detritus which had been detached, with bare
skeleton branches of overturned trees protruding amongst the ruins,
were visible over the devastated fields of vetches and horse-beans
that occupied the bottom of the large valley into which we had opened,
where the stream we had previously kept along, fell over the waterfall
into this the bed of the principal tributary of the Dinkee river.
This fallen earth, scattered far and wide, had converted the green
appearance of large tracts of cultivated lands, with the crops far
advanced, to the condition and character of a freshly ploughed fallow.
I halted when I arrived at the dangerous pass, to see if there were not
another passage somewhere else, and looked up and down, but saw no way
available but the one back again, which, as I had come so far, I did
not choose to take, so at once put the question of its practicability
to my mule by urging her forward, willing to depend upon instinct
not leading the animal into a position, where she was not perfectly
satisfied that her preservation was well assured. The termination of
the road, where its continuity had been swept away by the land-slip,
was opposite and in sight; and with this encouragement, and perhaps
satisfied, that her rider was a reasonable creature, and would not
attempt anything impracticable, the mule did not hesitate the least,
and on my intimation to proceed, began carefully to place her feet,
one after the other, on the sloping rock, and slowly entered upon
the death-inviting scene. After we had started, and it was impossible
to come back, as usual I began to think of the value of life, and the
little courage that man really has, just sufficient to make him take
the first step into peril, and then, from despair, or the recklessness
of a suicide, bear himself up against all contingencies, and comes
out a brave man if he lives, with the certainty of being thought a
wretched fool if he is killed. With teeth set, and eyes fixed upon
the yawning gulph on one side, I muttered to my mule, as if she had
been my murderess, “my blood be upon your head,” and to her folly,
not my own, attributed my present perilous position. Once I looked
upon the other side, but there, overhanging, as if suspended by the
air which it projected into, was the high black wall of the loose
angular fragments of an easily fractured schistose rock, which seemed
as if a thousand ton torrent of stones was suspended only whilst I
passed, to follow in one rush of ruin the land-slip which, but a few
mornings before, had been detached and, precipitated into the foaming
river below, carrying along with it many acres of jowarhee and cotton
plantations. My carefully slow mule seemed to invite the catastrophe,
and it was long after I had really passed the horrible ordeal, before
the conscience-stirring scene lost its repentant effect upon my mind.
Having got safely over this delicate pass of about one hundred
yards long, I turned round to look after Walderheros. I found he had
not dared to attempt it until he saw that I had reached the end of
the road, when he came cautiously along, making no reply to my loud
shout of caution that he should take care of the bottle. He looked
perfectly satisfied, however, when he saw himself landed upon sound
ground again, after a little spring over the two or three last feet of
the distance, impatient even then of peril impending. Away we went,
talking over the rash feat, and determined not to come back that way
again if we could help it. A little reaction, too, consequent upon
the excitement had taken place, and I no longer felt fatigued as I
had done before, but proceeded in much better spirits. The hill, or a
prolonged height of Lomee, was now crossed, covered almost entirely
with fields of the common horse-bean, whose grey blossoms perfumed
the whole neighbourhood. Generally, the fields were quite green with
young grain but a few inches high, and through these our road lay for
nearly an hour, when, by a gradual descent, we found ourselves upon
the edge of a coarse gravel bank, that in this situation had been cut
into a perpendicular cliff, about thirty feet high, by the action of
the confined, impetuous river that rushed around its base. The river is
here called “Gindebal wans,” the tree-eating stream, and is singularly
characteristic, like most other Abyssinian names of localities. Here,
in the little reaches that alternated with rough stone waterfalls, were
numerous trunks of the sigbar, ted, and “_waira_,” or wild olive tree,
which had been brought down from the forests that surround its remotest
sources. Through the dark green mass of foliage could be observed,
in several places, broadly cut channels, produced by the crashing
boulders from the edge of the table land behind, detached by the late
earthquake, and it is such an agent, rather than the denuding effect of
the stream itself, that occasions such vast numbers of these trees that
are annually floated down the “Gindebal wans.”
I considered that it would be hopeless to attempt fording this stream,
for although above it widened considerably, and was spread over a
rocky cascade, still between the huge stones that there appeared above
its surface, wide channels existed, and however shallow the water
might be, the swiftness of the current would have turned a man over
like a leaf. At all events the mule would not take me over, and so
I sat down whilst Walderheros was looking out for the ford, leaping
from stone to stone, and instructed by Goodaloo, who, on the other
side, was shouting out directions, which were very indistinctly heard
amidst the noise of the torrent. His appearance alone demonstrated the
possibility of the passage, but seeing him in a very short time joined
by Walderheros, who, for a few moments had disappeared, I got up to
see what success I might have. Walderheros having given the bottle
containing the gunpowder to Goodaloo, returned to assist me, and I soon
found that by a very indirect mode of progress, successively leaping
in different directions, the opposite bank was being gained. The mule
came clattering after me, jumping like a cat, her four feet occupying
sometimes the summit of a stone not the size of a dinner-plate, and
sometimes scratching up on to a high rock, as if she had strong claws
rather than smooth horny hoofs. I kept a sharp look out behind, for
though she was making use of me as a guide, she came so fast that,
occasionally, a very summary kind of ejectment precipitated me forward,
to make room for her upon the stone.
After reaching the opposite bank we all sat down to rest ourselves,
previous to commencing an ascent before us, that if not so steep,
seemed to promise to be as long as that of Tchakkah. As I looked up I
could not help expostulating with Walderheros for having persuaded me,
ill as I was, to undertake a journey which I had calculated would only
occupy me an hour, and here we had now been that time, and by his own
confession we were not half way yet. Some consolation was afforded by
the sun breaking out, and enlivening me by its warmth and brightness.
I mounted my mule again, and with a desperate resignation faced the
rugged steep. Half an hour we were climbing this stone ladder before
we reached the little town upon its summit, called Dubdubhee. In one
of the best houses the mother of Walderheros lived, so here it was
resolved to stay and breakfast, having, after the usual Abyssinian
custom, brought the meal with us. Of course, I alone partook, as the
observance of the fast required my servants to abstain from food until
evening.
The mother of Walderheros lived with a second husband, by whom she had
had several children. Her first husband, the father of Walderheros,
occupied a farm a short distance from Myolones, and he also had married
again, and had another numerous family by his second wife; so what
between both parents, my servant was very well off for parental and
fraternal relations, a thing, too, which he considered to be a great
advantage; especially as all parties were still on the very best of
terms.
From Dubdubhee, the road to Myolones was along a narrow ridge, similar,
in many respects, to that in front of Ankobar, and it was not until
the shallow circular valley of Myolones spread below us in full sight,
that we commenced a short descent into it; having first passed close to
the side of the grove of the new church of St. Michael, the cone-like
thatched roof of which was terminated by a wooden cross, on the top,
and on the two arms of which were fixed ostrich eggs; these eggs,
by-the-by, are favourite ornaments of Abyssinian churches; one that I
had brought up to Shoa with me from the Adal country had been begged
from me by Tinta, who presented it as a desirable offering, to the
priests of the church of St. George, on the road from Aliu Amba to
Ankobar.
The palace, a number of long thatched residences, enclosed by a strong
stockade, and surrounded with ted and wild olive trees, occupied the
left side of the valley, as we approached from the east. A little spur,
projecting into the valley, affords a convenient perch, and the side
opposite to us was dotted with white tobed courtiers, and numerous
individuals passing and repassing, formed a lively scene. The heights
of Kundi and Mamrat behind, enveloped in fogs, and the sun struggling
through a thick bank of clouds, made everything seem uncomfortable,
which impression was aided considerably when I dismounted, and found I
had to walk some distance up the palace hill on a moist, soddy turf,
that seemed to hold water like bog-moss.
My arrival was soon notified to the Negoos whilst I was invited into
a large new building of the usual character, constructed outside of
the palace enclosures, and which was intended for the accommodation of
the numerous train of attendants, guards, and guests that now followed
his Majesty; and which, having greatly increased by the successes of
his arms and his reputation for wisdom, had rendered it necessary to
enlarge considerably all the royal residences since he had come to the
throne. The palace of Myolones, however, had been erected for his own
use, numbers of individuals having been dispossessed of their holdings
to make room for this favourite retirement of Sahale Selassee; for once
or twice during the year the ordinary public business is suspended, and
here the monarch indulges in a short relaxation for fourteen or fifteen
days.
As I was told two or three times of the manner in which the people
who previously held the land had been driven from Myolones, I made
particular inquiries to learn if any injustice had marked this course,
for I felt naturally so inclined to respect the character of Sahale
Selassee, that I was jealous of allowing myself to be deceived by false
appearances, into the belief that he was the admirable character I
could not help taking him to be.
Walderheros’ own father was one of those who were thus ejected, but
when I asked him what return he had received, said promptly that his
present farm had been given to him in exchange, and seemed perfectly
satisfied with the conduct of the Negoos. Goodaloo also represented
that every one so removed was more than compensated for their loss.
I had, therefore, no reason to suppose that the fair fame of Sahale
Selassee had been tarnished at all by this transaction, for although
any opposition to the wishes of the Negoos would, I have no doubt, have
been severely punished, and summary ejectment have been enforced, yet
I do not see how any frail human being, educated a despotic monarch,
could help feeling angry should his presumed rights be questioned in
such a manner by a subject. I contend, therefore, that no injustice was
committed in the apparently arbitrary taking possession of the valley
of the Michael wans, when the previous possessors of the land were
remunerated, as that is all our own Parliament demands on the occasion
of carrying out any public works.
When William Rufus formed the New Forest in Hampshire, his situation
and circumstances were as nearly parallel as possible with those of
the present King of Shoa, yet we are told that he did not observe
towards the ejected inhabitants, that justice which characterized the
proceedings of the Abyssinian monarch.
CHAPTER XIX.
Examination of the gunpowder.--Tinta in disgrace.--The remedy.--
The scribes, or dupteraoitsh.--Their mode of writing.--Audience
with the Negoos.--Memolagee.--College of priests.--My new
residence.--Night of storm.--Uncomfortable situation.--Weather
clears up.
I declined taking a seat in the waiting-room outside the palace-courts,
as I thought that by being reported waiting at the gate, I might be
called sooner to an audience with the Negoos. It was not long before
Tinta, who had already arrived at the palace, came to inform me that
after some little business was concluded with the superior of the
Church in Shoa, the Negoos would see me. A crowd of idle courtiers had
now surrounded me, amusing themselves with the gunpowder, tasting it,
smelling it, and giving their opinion, and questioning Walderheros how
it was made. A judicious silence, however, obtained for my servant the
credit of knowing fully how it was prepared; he was wise enough to
keep his ignorance to himself, and then, as he remarked afterwards,
nobody knew anything about it. Tinta had also got something to ask me,
but as it was very private, and there was no other place to retreat
to, he spoke to the outer gatekeeper, who admitted us both into the
intervening space between the only two stockades which surround the
palace of Myolones. Walderheros and the King’s scribe, who had been
sent to take notes of the process and relative weights of the different
articles used in manufacturing gunpowder, also accompanied us, and I
then found that my system of weights and measures, by leaden bullets
and table-spoonsful had quite bothered them; and a most extraordinary
report of the business had been drawn up, which the Negoos soon
detected to be erroneous, and had expressed himself very dissatisfied
with them. They therefore now applied to me to assist them in their
dilemma, and we accordingly sat down upon some large stones, and
occupied ourselves for some time in getting a proper statement written
down to restore the Negoos to good humour, and my two friends again
into favour.
A scribe, or “duptera,” as he is called in Shoa, appears to be an
inferior order of priest, at least it is their first degree, and
which is acquired by merely being able to read and write; nor is it
requisite to pay a visit to Gondar, the seat of the Abune, or Bishop
of all Abyssinia, as is the case when priests are to be ordained.
The usual occupation of the scribes is principally to transcribe
manuscripts for the Negoos, who has a most extraordinary desire to be
possessed of copies of all the works in the Geez language, and to
procure which, or, if possible, the originals themselves, he expends
annually a considerable sum. These manuscript books are all written
upon parchment, and bound, most frequently, into a volume about the
size of a folio. The backs are made of two thin boards, covered with
red leather, which is ornamented very tastefully by borders and
designs impressed by iron stamps; and for the means they have at their
disposal, the Abyssinians produce in this manner very creditable
specimens of book-binding. For farther protection, it is usual to have
a small leathern case, which receives the book, and a flap strapped
down then secures it from all accidents.
When engaged writing, the duptera sits upon the ground, takes from
out of his girdle an ink-horn, the tapering extremity of which being
reduced to a kind of spike, he sticks into the earth by his side. The
ink is a composition of powdered charcoal and gum arabic or myrrh,
with a little water, and a very permanent ink is thus produced. I may
observe, that excepting in the manufacture of ink, the Abyssinians of
Shoa have no other use for the gum myrrh, and I have frequently been
asked, “What else could it be used for?” As for using this gum as
medicine themselves, or giving it for that purpose to their cattle or
horses, they have no idea of any such thing; neither have the Dankalli,
from whose country it is brought into Shoa.
Having placed his ink-horn in the earth, the scribe then produces
a small leathern case, in which he generally carries a supply of
parchment, a few reed pens, and a large pair of scissors, to clip
off the ridiculously small pieces of parchment upon which the Shoans
write their ordinary letters, which have not, sometimes, a surface
of more than one inch. A pen being formed, it is carefully examined
by thumb-nail and eye, and is then either nibbled, to make it soft,
or if it be too soft already, it is made finer by means of a large
dinner-knife, which is generally carried in a small slip, in the
scabbard of the crooked sword that curls its point nearly up to the
shoulder of the right side, on which it is always worn. Everything
being arranged, the parchment is held fast upon the knee by one hand,
whilst the long and careful inscription is being made. The process of
writing the shortest note is a very tedious one, for every letter is a
capital, and although the Geez character, as a syllabic alphabet, is
the most correct of any with which I am acquainted, and best suited
for conveying exact sounds, still the required attention to the proper
situation of the small vowel points, occasions considerable delay.
Having given Tinta the required information, which was all carefully
written down by the duptera, they left Walderheros and myself for a few
moments, whilst they went in to the Negoos, with the improved report.
In a very few minutes Tinta returned, and beckoning for me to come,
as he appeared at the wicket in the second enclosure, I got up, and
followed by Walderheros, entered the inner court, where I found the
Negoos reposing upon a couch placed on one side of the porch, that
leads into the principal apartment of the palace. All the buildings
were of the same description as those of the other Royal residences,
consisting of a wall of splintered ted, six or seven feet high,
plastered inside with common red clay, and thatched. Outside from the
projecting eaves were hung in great numbers, the disgusting trophies of
Abyssinian warfare stuffed with dry grass.
My memolagee, on the occasion of this visit was, the gunpowder, which,
although Tinta had carried it in previously, with the written account
of the mode of preparing it, had been returned to Walderheros, so
that I might deliver it in person. The usual Arab word “_kaphanter_,”
did duty for “How do you do?” and, disfigured as the countenance of
the monarch is by one sightless orb, which is more striking from its
mottle pearly hue, contrasting with the dark brown colour of his
face, still, I consider, the expression of the monarch’s features to
be pleasing and good-natured. He received the bottle containing the
gunpowder, and uncorking it, poured out a little into the palm of his
hand, and examined it attentively, and evidently with the eye of a man
of business. Sahale Selassee, in fact, is particularly interested in
the production of a good article of the kind, as, could he command a
good supply of gunpowder, he would, I am convinced, greatly extend his
conquests. After some examination, he pronounced it to be genuine; and
I then found that he questioned, or at least, suspected, that it might
he adulterated. A previous traveller had attempted to practise upon the
Negoos, by representing as having been made in Shoa, some gunpowder
he had brought with him from Europe, and who had been detected by the
knowledge of a little fact, which it had been presumed, that the clever
monarch was not aware of. The saltpetre obtained in Shoa, although very
plentiful, abounds with another salt, that not decomposing by explosion
leaves a residium of white globules which, besides fouling the barrels
of the guns, deteriorates, considerably, the exploding effects of the
powder; so much so, that an ordinary charge for a common musket, is two
or three large handsful, and it is nothing unusual to see the ram-rod,
after loading, projecting twelve, or even eighteen inches beyond the
muzzle. The presence of this salt occasions the powder to be of a very
light grey colour, not unlike wood-ashes. From not possessing any
chemical tests, I was unable to decide its mineral character, but I
supposed it to be the nitrate of soda.
Besides the gunpowder, I had taken with me, not as a memolagee, but as
a present for the Queen, a beautifully worked black lace veil, which
had been made for a very different personage, and for a more suitable
character, a bright-eyed daughter of Spain. Not, however, having been
thrown upon the southern coast of that country during the past three
years, and considering it was not very likely that I should be for the
next two or three more, I determined to return the politeness of the
Queen of Shoa, by presenting it to her, as she had sent me presents of
wheaten bread, with inquiries after my health, several times during
the last month. Of course, I had no chance of giving it into her
own hands as, like all the other of the Royal wives and concubines,
she is carefully secluded from the gaze of ordinary mortals. Her
name, _Bashabish_, conveys a compliment of no little meaning, being
literally, “By thee I have increased,” which alludes to the two sons
with which she has blessed Sahale Selassee; the elder, named Hylo
Malakoot, and the younger, Safie Selassee, or the “Sword of the
Trinity,” as his father’s name signifies the “Given of the Trinity.”
The latter is the favourite son, and as the crown is not hereditary,
but the King nominates his successor; as David, we are told, in like
manner, chose his son Solomon, above all his elder brethren; so, to all
appearances, Safie Selassee, on the demise of his father, will succeed
to the throne in prejudice to his brother. Besides these children, the
Negoos has one or two daughters by his favourite wife, Bashabish.
When I presented the veil, it created quite a commotion, for its novel
texture and the embroidered pattern surprised and gratified the Negoos
exceedingly. He threw it over his face to look through it, tried the
strength of the thread, and seemed much amused at the idea of its
being merely a “_guftah_” (woman’s head dress), for he had taken it
to be intended for some dignitary of the Church, to be worn over the
shoulders. However, the usual “Egzeer ista,” and what I required from
him, being asked, after I had stated that I had only to return my
thanks for the house he had given to me, and had no request to make,
the usual abrupt recommendation of me to the care of Heaven, and “you
may go,” terminated the interview.
I was not taken back to the shed outside the palace courts, but into
a much more comfortable apartment between the two stockades, where I
found several priests sitting upon the ground on low chairs, employed
perusing a book themselves, or attending to some boys, who, in the
usual school tone, were practising a reading lesson, that I was told
soon after I went in was a chapter of St. Luke. A few pupils were
also receiving their first instructions in writing. It appeared that
this was a religious institution connected with the palace, being the
residence of these priests, who about midnight begin chanting their
orisons, and keep the howling concert up until daylight. How it is
possible for the Negoos, or any one residing within ear-shot of them,
to sleep, I do not know, but I do not exaggerate when I say, that to my
ears their holy exercises sounded a deal more inhuman, than the noise
made by a pack of famished wolves. The priests, however, appeared a
good-natured set, and soon spread an oxskin upon the loose dry grass,
that appeared to be collected in large quantities for the purpose
of forming soft beds for the holy fathers, all of whom, with their
pupils, occupied this thatched apartment. I considered that it formed
a good counterpart of the character of the college of Oxford in the
days of King Alfred, and looked with interest upon its inmates, when
I reflected, that probably their habits and feelings assimilated with
those of the earliest teachers of our celebrated University.
A bright fire of wood crackled upon the low hearth, and I threw myself
upon my littered couch by its side. No inducement existed to tempt me
into the open air, for the sky had now become covered with low grey
clouds, whilst a heavy mist hid the high romantic cliffs of Kundi, that
close around the head of the valley of Myolones. Sometimes a puff of
wind rolled along before it, a huge cloud of the condensed moisture,
that for a few minutes enveloped the precincts of the palace in a dense
fog. A thought of rain, however, did not trouble me, for I was in most
comfortable quarters, on very good terms with the learned monks, and
as Walderheros had been sent for to the palace, and returned with two
bottles of the barilla tedge, I enjoyed myself exceedingly.
“A change came o’er the spirit of the dream,” for towards evening I
began to feel exceedingly hungry, and urged Walderheros to prepare me
something to eat, as not only had bread, honey, butter, onions, and,
in fact, everything required to make a sumptuous repast, been sent
from the palace, but a sheep also. I soon learnt that the reluctance
on this occasion shewn by my servant to do as I desired him was, that
the present time being a strict fast, the monks would not allow their
place to be desecrated by anything like food being cooked in it. Not
relishing the poor fare which, it seems, they are restricted to during
this fast of fourteen days, I sent Walderheros to the palace requesting
an indulgence; and in about half an hour he came back, bringing with
him Goodaloo, who had remained outside all this time with the crowd of
retainers and servants, who are not allowed the privilege of the entrée
of the palace. They soon collected my bed-clothes and presents, having
intimated to me that a fresh place had been appointed, where I could
have the sheep killed and cook whatever I liked.
The monks were anxious that I should understand that it was public
principle alone that occasioned their apparent inhospitality, and I
readily excused it; for they could not have consistently enforced a
strict observance of the fast among the household of the Negoos, and
yet have allowed animals to have been slaughtered in their presence,
and flesh meat cooked under their roof.
Tinta, as usual, appeared with his servants to superintend my removal,
and after passing out of the outer gate and through the little belt
of ted and wild olive trees that encircle the palace, we proceeded a
short distance down the valley, where were three or four tents pitched,
and I then saw one of these was intended for me. My illness, however,
had made me rather particular, and instantly I saw that I was about to
be quartered in such a residence as that, I objected, pointing very
feelingly to the sloppy spongy turf, and the dirty-looking clouds that
floated lazily above our heads. At the request of Tinta, however, I
went to look at the accommodations, and was certainly better satisfied,
when I found that one larger tent outside enclosed a very snug new one,
leaving a large space between the two surfaces. Besides, a high and
very commodious alga, or bedstead, had been brought, so that, excepting
from the vapour rising from the moist earth, I could be in no danger of
being exposed to any damp, and feeling pleased at the arrangements that
had been made for my comfort, I raised no more objections, but took my
place upon the bed, and after a bright fire had been lighted upon a
temporary hearth of large stones, Tinta and his train departed, leaving
me to enjoy myself, until Walderheros should have prepared supper, by
reading a pocket volume of “Childe Harold” I had brought with me.
It was not long after the sun had set behind a high bank of clouds
than a drizzling rain came on, and although I did not like this symptom
of a wet night, I was satisfied by Goodaloo going and procuring a hoe,
with which he soon pecked up, around the outside tent, a large gutter
to carry off, and thus prevent the water that might fall, spreading
over the floor inside. After seeing this done, and partaking of supper,
I soon fell fast asleep, as comfortably as if I had remained in the
warm close-thatched residence of my learned friends.
Before midnight, however, the storm that had been brewing the two or
three days previously around the cliffs of Aramba, Kundi, and Mamrat,
progressed gradually but rapidly to its fullest development. The Scotch
mist of the evening increased to a sharp rain, which soon after came
down as if the windows of heaven had opened, and another deluge was
approaching; in a very short time, not only were both tents soaking,
but before I awoke even, every article of clothing I had on was
completely wet through. The fire, fortunately, had been kept in, and
a large bundle of wood having been placed between the two tents, we
were in no fear of being left without that comfort. The first thing,
when I awoke to the misery of my situation, was to send Walderheros to
the house situated outside of the palace stockade, but he could get no
attention paid to his representations, they were all as bad off, they
said, as myself, the new roof of their apartment letting in water at
every part. He was equally unsuccessful at the palace, for no one could
be made to hear the loud summons at the outer gate, the cold and rain
having driven in the wardens to some retreat, and probably amidst the
noise of the tempest man’s voice was lost; so Walderheros, after some
time, returned to the tent unsuccessful, and nearly half drowned.
The night would have just suited Byron, provided he had been wrapt up
in some good macintoshes, for now increased the fierce contention of
the elements of fire and water. Thunder in the distance boomed heavily,
and, quick as the blow of wrath, its dinning _rat tat_ seemed to break
the electric cloud directly over head; whilst bright leaping flashes
of the most vivid lightning pierced the darkness of tempest and of
night with a moment’s triumph. Like a bright spear-head glaring for
an instant upon a broad buckler of dingy hide, night’s darkness, more
darkly opposed the recoiling shaft of light, and the muttering echo of
the retiring peal, seemed to curse the innoxious effect of its spent
force upon earth and her inhabitants.
I sat upon my heels shivering in the middle of my rude bedstead, where
the concavity that formed by my weight being in the centre of my hide
mattress, made a good pickling tub, and I was very soon ankle deep in a
pool of water, whilst to increase the pleasantness of our situation,
the rain succeeded, against every endeavour to prevent it, in putting
out the fire.
It was a sad night, and most uncomfortable were my forebodings, whilst
Goodaloo, silent and stirless, never moved from the position he had
taken after the last vain attempts to keep up a blaze. Walderheros
seemed to talk faster the faster it rained, now anathematizing the lazy
occupants of the outhouse, then trying to convince me of his superhuman
efforts to arouse the gate-keepers of the palace, and sometimes
consoling me with the truism that morning must come, and all would be
well again. So far he was right, for after suffering nearly a martyrdom
during the tedious progress of the early morning hours, no sooner did
the light of day begin to appear than the persecuting element stayed
its violence, and the recreant rain retired in misty fogs to its
fastnesses among the heights in the rear of Myolones.
By sunrise the sky was nearly clear of clouds, birds were singing,
and the noise of laughing men told of a reaction in nature, in which
I could have gladly participated, but that I was well nigh exhausted,
and could scarcely walk to the college of the monks, several of whom
now came to beg that I would return to the shelter of their residence;
where they said I might eat as much bread and “dillock” as I liked,
without any further observation from them.
CHAPTER XX.
Abyssinian dress.--Visit to the Negoos.--Inspection of fire-arms.--
Congratulated on my reception.--Return to Aliu Amba.--A
troublesome companion.--Pleasant beverage.--Market day.--
Numerous visitors.--Home manufacture of cloth.
_August 13th._--Every endeavour was now made by the worthy priests
to obviate any ill effects from the exposure during the night; fresh
billets were piled upon the hearth, and dry clothes being sent for
from the palace, with Walderheros’ assistance I was soon dressed as
a southern Abyssinian. I did not look to advantage, certainly, in my
new suit, for the _sennafil_, a pair of very loose petticoat drawers,
fastened by a thick, but soft, cotton rope around my waist, left my
white thin legs bare for more than a hand’s-breadth above the knee.
In lieu of my shirt the long _mekanet_, or girdle, a narrow band of
cloth one cubit wide, and sometimes twenty or even thirty cubits long,
was wrapt around my loins, being spread open over my chest, and behind
almost as high as my shoulders. It is not usual for the Abyssinians to
wear this in the house, but as I thought that I was not quite bound by
their habits, considering my present weak state, I had put it on as a
substitute for a shirt. Over all was thrown a most comfortable thick
cloth of the softest cotton, more like a light blanket than anything
else. This part of the dress, which is called _legumbigalla_, is about
four times the size of a Scotch plaid, and worn very much in the same
manner, but is an ordinary, not extraordinary, article of clothing, and
is hardly ever off the shoulders of an Abyssinian, except when occupied
in some laborious duty.
Being thus attired in the costume of the country, and having drank a
bottle of the very strongest barilla tedge, I felt quite recovered, and
in reply to a message from the Negoos, inquiring if I were well enough
to wait upon him that morning; proposed going at once to the palace, as
I was anxious, whilst under the influence of the reaction, to get over
a considerable portion of the fatiguing road home.
It was ten o’clock, however, before a second messenger from the Negoos
desired me to go immediately to see him, as he wanted me to give an
opinion upon the respective merits of a number of rifles and other
guns. Accordingly, on arrival at the palace, I was ushered into an
inner apartment beyond the large central room, and which corresponded
with the porch on the front side, where I had seen his majesty the day
before. This opened, however, into a private court, at the farther
end of which, was the house assigned to the female part of the royal
household, as a residence. In the back porch, if I may so term it,
therefore, I found the Negoos reclining upon a couch covered with a
white cloth, and the usual yellow satin cushions at each end. He was
in his customary dress, a large legumbigalla, like the one I had on,
only ornamented with numerous bars of the red and blue shumlah, which
adds considerably to the value of the cloth. He had also on his feet
a pair of red Turkish slippers and white socks, the only European
articles of dress he had adopted, and these he only wore in the palace;
for whenever I have seen him in the fields around his palaces, he was
always barefooted like his courtiers. I have often regretted that I,
at that time, did not know how to knit, nothing would have pleased
the monarch so much as to have learned the process, and seen growing
beneath his fingers a well-formed stocking. In a cold country, situated
like Abyssinia, knitting would be a most useful art to introduce among
the natives, and I hope, therefore, if any traveller intending to visit
that country reads this book, he will make himself acquainted with that
mysterious accomplishment, which I can assure him is much easier than
he may suppose.
Upon the ground before his Majesty lay some twenty or thirty fowling
pieces and rifles, and several pages and attendants were bringing in
others from the private armoury, where he keeps the more valuable of
his fire-arms. An ox skin was brought and laid down for me to sit
upon, and his Majesty then began to examine me in my knowledge of his
language, but he soon got tired of conversing with me in my halting
Amharic, and directing my attention to the guns, inquired of me to tell
him which was the best among them; I knew very well that he was a much
better judge than myself, and told him so, but unfortunately truth will
never be believed in a court, and he supposed I was complimenting him,
and insisted upon my pointing out the strongest, that he might take it
with him on the next “_zemitchar_” or expedition against the refractory
Galla tribes, which would be during the next month.
On looking over the very decent collection which he had made during
his reign by the contributions of various travellers, who had visited
his kingdom, I observed a rifle, manufactured by Theophilus Richards,
of Birmingham, and pointed it out to the Negoos as having been made in
the town I came from, and as being one of the best. He took it out of
my hands as he said, “Agger sou?” (townsman?) and cocking and uncocking
it, as if there had been music in the sound, remarked that it was
his greatest favourite, and, as if, because I had come from the same
neighbourhood, I must be a gunmaker, added, “You know all about guns,
and when you are quite well, you must teach my servants how to make
them.”
After nearly an hour’s conversation upon the same subject, he bid me
“Good bye,” in the usual abrupt manner, and I retired with Walderheros
to the house of the monks, followed by Tinta, who had been present the
whole of the interview, and who now congratulated me upon the position
I stood in with regard to the Negoos. I certainly did not attach that
importance to his friendship as he seemed to do, although I felt
gratified at the attention my endeavours to serve him and his subjects
appeared to command.
By the time we returned to the college, my wet clothes were all dried,
and I soon divested myself of the Abyssinian costume and resumed my
usual appearance.
There being, however, every prospect of the rain recommencing, we
were all anxious to return to warm weather and Aliu Amba as soon as
possible, and I only remained sitting with the priests until my mule
was brought up. A large goat that had been royally fed with barley
and salt for the king’s own table, afforded a tiresome occupation to
Walderheros and Goodaloo, as in turns they took the long rope attached
to his horns, and endeavoured, much against his inclination, to drag
him along with us. He was as large as a roebuck, and as contumacious
and stiff-necked as well-fed beasts of all descriptions are apt to
be. Now hanging behind, nothing but being positively carried up the
steep miry hill could induce him to ascend to the top, but when
arrived there, he afforded every assistance to my servants on the
descent; beginning the war by rearing up on his hind legs, and with
nose pressed down upon his chest, darted like a flying battering ram,
upon his persecutors, who generally went to the bottom of the hill by
one application of the sort. In this manner he compelled us to come
to terms, and when we arrived at Dubdubhee, Walderheros left him in
charge with his mother, who was to take every care of him for the few
remaining days of the fast; at the conclusion of which, he was destined
to form a prominent actor in the festivity, which it is usual among the
Shoans to indulge in, the day after any term of abstinence has expired.
After remaining nearly all day at Dubdubhee, where my ague paroxysm
came on, and obliged me to stay, we again started, and arrived at Aliu
Amba a few hours before sunset, where I was right glad to lay myself
comfortably down upon my own bed, and under my own roof. A bright fire
soon blazed upon the hearth, and my first essay in the art of brewing
was tested, a large gambo of tallah being brought out of the store
recess, a small concavity being first made in the earthen floor, to
receive its round bottom. The potent beverage was soon being decanted
into large drinking-horns, and the value of misfortunes to heighten
the enjoyment of succeeding pleasures, was demonstrated by the zest
that the comforts of the night derived, from the recollection of the
miseries of the last we had spent at Myolones. My teakettle, half
filled with the ale, was soon heating over the fire, whilst eggs, and
honey, and butter, in another vessel, were being mixed together for the
manufactory of a certain beverage that Wallata Gabriel protested was
to be a cure for my fever, whilst Walderheros, to expel the “saroitsh”
that I understood had already taken possession of his hips and
shoulders, drew from its hiding place his clumsy pipe. In the folds of
his mekanet he soon found some tobacco, and breaking the hard cake in
which it is dried into smaller pieces, charged the slightly excavated
stone bowl, upon the top of which a glowing piece of charcoal was
placed, and consolation and comfort in vast clouds soon spread through
the close apartment.
The “moack,” or egged ale, Wallata Gabriel now prepared for me, was
a drink fit for the entertainment of the gods when, in the good
old times, they made Abyssinia an annual visit, and from whom the
knowledge of it must have been first derived. It consisted of two or
three drinking-hornsful of strong tallah, as many eggs, and two large
spoonsful of honey for each horn of beer. A little butter was added,
when the mixture was boiling over the fire; that which, however, gave
to it its pleasantest flavour was a small portion of a warm spice
called _korareema_, a large kind of coriander, one inch and a-half
long, which is brought from Gurague, and the spice country to the
south. They are brought into Shoa by priests travelling to Gondah,
the only individuals that can traverse in safety the different Galla
tribes to the south of the Hawash, between their country and Shoa.
Forty of these _korareema_, threaded upon a strong hempen string, may
be purchased in Aliu Amba for an ahmulah, and in aromatic flavour are
equal, I think, to the best nutmeg or cloves.
Drunk warm this “moack” was an excellent cordial, and I very soon got
into the habit of concluding very pleasantly by its assistance many
very uncomfortable days, either from circumstances or ill-health.
_August 12th._--Market-day again in Aliu Amba, and as usual there was
a deal of bustle in the town, and many visitors calling; however, the
first duty to attend to after getting up was the important business
of breakfast. This invariably consisted of a large teff crumpet which
was fresh toasted in the frying-pan, and well overlaid with butter
and honey. Coffee, having been scorched and pounded by Walderheros,
whilst his wife attended to the bread, was boiled in an earthenware
jar, and black and strong, was then poured into a cup which had at
one time formed part of the canteen of Lieut. Barker. He had bestowed
it upon an Islam friend of his, who resided in a neighbouring town,
and who offered it to me in exchange for a small ounce phial, and
a pomatum pot, which I had previously been obliged to drink out of
for want of anything else. The flavour of the unsugared coffee, was
rendered doubly agreeable by the honey, the cloying sweetness of which,
subduing, and being subdued, by the bitterness of the berry, left the
pleasant and peculiar aroma of the latter alone sensible to the palate.
Scarcely had I partaken of breakfast this morning, before patients
and visitors from distant villages, coming to the market, and taking
this opportunity of calling upon me, thronged around my house, and
memolagees of eggs, butter, and fowls, would, if I had accepted them
all, have most inconveniently occupied the floor of my house. Among
others, the father of Wallata Gabriel came for some medicine he
required, having long been labouring under a rheumatic affection of the
hip. As an offering on the occasion, he brought the entire tapering
trunk of a ted tree, more than fifteen feet long, which I had desired
Walderheros to get me, for the purpose of manufacturing into an English
chair, and also a pair of window frames, over which I intended to
stretch a glaze of oiled parchment, and place in the outer wall of one
of the recesses, to convert it into a study. Another daughter of his,
named Wallata Selassee, assisted the old man in carrying the tree, and
she brought me besides, a number of eggs tied up in the girdle around
her waist.
These had not sat long, and before the old man had finished his
doleful story, when another married daughter of his, her husband,
Walder-Yoannes, and an infant, slung in the lady’s tobe upon
her shoulders, also arrived. They lived in the town of Lomee, a
neighbouring height, visible from my garden, and about half-way
between Aliu Amba, and Myolones, and coming to market with some grain,
they came to my house, to stay for the day, with Wallata Gabriel. In
accordance with Abyssinian custom, they had brought their provisions
with them, a large roll of teff bread being taken out of the mekanet
of Walder-Yoannes, and placed in charge of my housekeeper until after
_tuzziart_, three o’clock, P.M., when, by the regulations of the canon
law, they might make their first meal for the day. A pretty noisy party
I had now collected about me, for they talked at the top of their
voices, and had a great deal to say about one thing or another, and
as they were invited to stay the whole day, and also to make my house
their resting-place, on all other occasions of coming to Aliu Amba,
they soon felt themselves quite at home.
The confused buzzing sound of the distant market, was audible at my
house, and the cries of the different vendors hawking their wares,
resounded along the narrow winding lanes. _Tut allishe ahmulah_,
cotton in exchange for a salt-piece. _Burr allishe ahmulah_, silver in
exchange for the same. _Gaisho allishe tut._ All being different cries,
which, with many others, might be heard in all directions.
My female visitors remaining after their lords and masters had gone
to the market, with the usual industry characteristic of the women
of Shoa, they sat down upon the floor, and chatting away, commenced
spinning cotton; for I had made up my mind to have a cloth woven at
home, from the first operation of cleaning the cotton, to the weaving
of the last bit of _shumlah_, in the ornamented extremity of the tobe.
Walderheros had entered into the spirit of my wish, and had already
exchanged some grain, which we did not require, for a quantity of raw
cotton, as it is taken from the pods of the plant; in which state it
is full of seeds, and other substances, that have to be separated by a
simple process of cleansing I shall describe in another place. He had
now gone to market upon the same business, to purchase more of the raw
material, the value of three ahmulahs, or about thirty pound weight of
cotton, being considered as sufficient for a cloth about eight yards
long, and one cubit broad.
CHAPTER XXI.
Spinning cotton.--Of police force of Shoa.--Mode of administering
justice.--Priest lawyers.--Politics of Shoa.--French intrigues.--
Different kinds of cotton.--Process of cleaning it.--Instruments
used.--Return from market.
I lay watching the cotton-spinners some time, thinking upon the effect
produced in the human form by occupation, as I noticed that the arms of
the whole party were the most beautifully moulded I had ever seen. I
could attribute this general characteristic of Abyssinian women, to no
other cause than the action and exercise dependent upon spinning, which
requires both arms to be in constant motion, without any heavy labour
being imposed at the same time. The white fleecy cotton, reposing like
a wreath of snow upon the bronze red skin of the hand and wrist, is
gradually carried to its farthest extent one way, whilst drawing from
it the long slender thread, the other hand conducts, in an opposite
direction, the short thin reed tipped with a piece of ivory or horn
that forms the reel, which spinning as it hangs, its effect upon the
thread depends upon the slowness or quickness with which the cotton is
drawn out. Continued gentle exercise in some light occupation, would
lead to somewhat similar effects in forming a beautiful arm, and I
recommend it to my countrywomen, whom I certainly thought of when I
made the observation in Aliu Amba.
An unfortunate Arab, named Allee Chous, one of the discharged servants
of the mission, now came in. He had that morning been robbed of
sixty-three ahmulahs, the last money he had in the world, and although
he hoped to discover the thief, had nothing with which to purchase
his next week’s provision in the market. I understood the statement
to be an appeal for assistance, and as I felt some sympathy for his
situation, I gave him the last two salt-pieces I had in the house.
Tinta coming in soon after, I made some inquiries respecting the police
of Shoa, and learned that there was a regular body of men employed
as thief-takers, called _Labarshoitsh_, who have an _ullica_, or
superior, and form a portion of the royal household. They are agents
of the King’s commands alone, and it is not until directions have been
given by him that they proceed to apprehend culprits. Thieves must
therefore have been denounced by name before a _Labarshi_ is sent upon
his errand. The Negoos refuses to entertain charges where the accused
parties are unknown, on the same plea that, according to Abyssinian
ideas, the devil will be repulsed at the last day by our Saviour; on
his demand for justice, the monks say he will be asked the names of the
souls that belong to him, which, not being able to give, Jesus will
then answer, “Begone from hence, for I know none of thine.”
Most cases of theft, however, are not brought before the Negoos at all,
but before the governors of the towns in which the crime has occurred,
a summary kind of conviction takes place, the stolen articles being
returned to the owner, and the property of the thief confiscated, who,
if dissatisfied, can make an appeal to the Negoos; but in that case he
must have very good evidence of innocence, or he will, in addition to
the loss of his property, receive a severe flogging, commonly inflicted
by the Labarshi, at the gate of the inner court of the palace, where
the Negoos, if he pleases, may see the punishment.
In cases of suspicion or doubtful guilt, singularly enough, the
Shoans follow certain instructions which they say are contained in
the epistles of St. Paul, and point more particularly to that passage
in the sixth chapter of Hebrews, where it is said, “An oath for
confirmation is the end of all strife.” It is, therefore, customary
for the accuser and the accused to present themselves at a church,
where before a priest mutual oaths are required to be taken; the former
swearing to the loss of his property, the latter that the crime laid
to his charge is unfounded, and there, unless further evidence is
obtained, the matter ends. Should the accused refuse to purge himself
in this manner of the accusation, it is considered as a confession of
guilt, and the priest then acts as mediator, and generally receiving
a small fine for the use of the Church from the delinquent, he is made
the agent to restore the stolen property to the rightful owner, and the
affair is quietly hushed up amongst them.
Originally, I believe European lawyers were priests, and, perhaps,
in this portion of the duties of the clergy in Abyssinia, we have at
the present day, law practice as it existed amongst our ancestors in
an early state of society. In making wills, it may be also observed,
where a number of sons are left behind, the monks in Shoa are the only
executors, three of them being closeted with the dying father, receive
his commands, and after the celebration of the _tescar_, or funeral
feast of the deceased, they then assemble the children, and divide what
property is left, according to the verbal directions of the testator,
and from their allotment there is no appeal, even if they should
disinherit, with a single ahmulah, the son that has been supposed to
have been the greatest favourite with the father.
Tinta had made the visit to-day, to ask me if I would accompany him in
the evening to visit Abdoanarch, the new governor, who had expressed
a wish that I should call upon him. I excused myself upon the plea of
ill-health; for I did not choose that it should be supposed because
I was not upon good terms with the Embassy, that I was anxious to be
friendly with those who avowed open hostility to the English, and all
white men. Tinta naturally disliked the new governor, so soon agreed
with me that he was a cunning old fox, and that it was as well to have
as little to do with him as possible, “for,” said he, “he is older
than you, and cleverer than I am, and he will make us, _missala oolet
hiyahoitsh_, like two donkies, carry his grain to market.” Abdoanarch,
although crafty, was not clever, and his first act as governor rather
startled Sahale Selassee, for he released all the market people from
paying the usual toll, and he ought to have known that the monarch
did not bestow Aliu Amba upon him, for the purpose of purchasing
popularity among some very restless subjects, the Mahomedans of Efat.
No apparent disapprobation, however, was evinced at this, and the
smiling Abdoanarch, proud in his place of honour by the side of the
King, little suspected how admirably he was fooled to the top of his
bent, like many others of far superior education were by the master
mind that managed, like those of children, the shallow intellects that
were politically opposed to him.
The only foreigner in Shoa, whilst I was there, able to compete with
Sahale Selassee, was the Frenchman, M. Rochet d’Hericourt; him the
King liked, and yet feared, but I am afraid he will now have secured
to himself a place high in the royal confidence, whilst his daring
schemes, suited exactly to the genius of Sahale Selassee, will lead, I
am convinced, to an unlocked for revolution in the political relations
of the various petty kingdoms into which Abyssinia is at present
divided. Our Government has no idea of the ability which is now
directing French intrigues in one of the richest countries upon the
face of the earth, and which can yield within its own limits every
valuable product of the temperate and torrid zone; in that country,
to the northern limits of which the gold searching expeditions of
Mahomed Allee, successful beyond all European knowledge, have and are
continuing daily to add to his treasury, whilst to the south, the
spices and rich wares of the market of Zanzibar are now competing
with the similar productions of our East Indian possessions. Our
Government will see, too late, the Phœnician empire again established
in the north of Africa, supplied by its own inland provinces, with all
those luxuries, for which, at present, Europe is dependent upon our
possessions in Asia. At the same time, the Americans are successfully
nursing on the Eastern coast a rival market, where their vessels can be
supplied almost upon their own terms, with those products which, until
the last twenty years, were only to be obtained in English or Dutch
settlements in the East Indies. The policy of the talented Zaid Zaid,
Imaum of Muscat and of Zanzibar, towards us is apparently the most
friendly; but it is notorious, that in every indirect manner he can, he
favours more highly the interests of the United States.
Walderheros returning from market, brought a large bag of cotton,
around which the girls all thronged to pass judgment upon his
purchase. Tufts of the down-embedded seed were taken out, and pulled
to pieces, handsful were extended in the light, and after a deal of
examination it was decided “that he might have made a better bargain,
had he taken more trouble about it.” The cotton was good, but slightly
discoloured, which was attributed to the late rainy weather, as they
asserted its yellowish tint was produced by moisture, and that it had
been allowed to remain too long upon the tree. Specimens of two very
different kinds of cotton were taken out and shown to me, one very
frizzly, with short fibre, was called _Efatee tut_, Efat cotton; the
other, with a longer fibre, and more like unspun silk, was called
_Gondaree tut_, Gondar cotton, and is by far the most superior, and
none known to America or Europe equals it in excellence.
Cotton is brought to Aliu Amba, chiefly from the country around
Farree, and appears to flourish best at an elevation of between three
or four thousand feet above the level of the sea. This is in latitude
10° north. Some small plantations may be found, even so high up the
scarp of the Abyssinian table-land as six thousand feet, but these are
not productive, and yield very indifferent cotton. The young plants
require to be from three to four years old, before they bear available
crops of pods. During this time, the cotton nurseries are cultivated
with jowarhee, though I should think not upon any sound principle of
husbandry, for the ripening of the tall grain must interfere with the
full development of the lowly shrub, which is seldom more than three
or four feet high. A cotton plantation reminded me very much of the
appearance of the vineyard in the south of Europe, although the little
snowball-like tufts of the burst pods, sprinkle the dark green foliage
with numerous white spots.
My last ahmulahs having been expended, I had to send Walderheros to
market again with a dollar, whilst I directed my attention, as all
other visitors had departed, to the party now busily employed cleaning
cotton, for as soon as the supply was brought from the market, Wallata
Gabriel and her sisters, had set about preparing it for spinning. Flat
stones, something larger than bricks, with a smooth upper surface, were
placed upon the ground, my three factory girls kneeling down before
them, each with an iron rod in her hands, about twelve inches long,
and three quarters of an inch thick in the middle, and tapering to the
extremities. This instrument is called a _medamager_; and with it a
small quantity of seeded tufts of cotton, being laid upon the near end
of the stone, is rolled out; the seeds, by the pressure being forced
before the medamager, until they fall over the farther extremity of the
stone. By this simple, but very effectual process a large portion of
the cotton was soon in a state fit to be farther cleaned from dust and
other extraneous matter, and which is the next part of the process it
has to be submitted to before it is in a fit condition to be spun into
thread.
The instrument employed for this purpose is called _duggar_, and is a
large bow, the extremities of which are connected by a strong line of
catgut. The cotton to be operated upon is placed in a clean soft hide
spread upon the floor, whilst a woman, kneeling, holds the bow in the
left hand over the cotton, so that the string is just high enough to
catch the topmost fibres, whilst with the other hand, in which she
holds the smooth curved neck of a gourd-shell, she continually keeps
twanging away, each vibration of the string scattering and throwing up
quantities of the lighter filaments, whilst all heavier matter sinks,
as if in a fluid, to the bottom. The finer portions, upon the summit
of the heap, as it appears satisfactory, is taken off, and placed
carefully in a large covered basket made of mat, and a fresh supply
of the unclean cotton is added to the heap in the ox skin, when the
twanging process goes on again for a short time longer until another
interval marks the removal of more of the approved material into the
aforesaid covered receptacle. An instrument, exactly the same as the
_duggar_, is used in England by hat-makers, to clean wool and fur for
hats.
After the cotton has been cleansed in this manner, the ox skin is
removed, and the dirt and dust resulting from the operation thrown
away. The beautifully white dressed material is then taken out of the
basket and piped, by portions being twined around the medamager, which
being withdrawn, leaves a twisted lock. These, in numbers of six or
seven, are folded together into a single knot, and laid by in a clean
skin bag, until they are required for spinning into thread.
Long before Walderheros made his appearance on his return from the
market, his voice was heard in the narrow lane that led from my house.
He always made a practice of thus intimating his approach by conversing
in a loud tone with any of the neighbours who might happen to be
looking over the top of their inclosure, to examine the passers by in
the hollow way beneath. Talking as he came along, he never concluded
until after he had entered the wicket of my garden, and as he closed
it behind him, a benediction, that might have been heard to the
market-place, generally finished these conversations with his friends,
just in time to begin another with me before he had entered the house.
As he now came in he took down from his shoulder the large goat skin
bag, which formed the elegant purse for about ten pounds weight of
salt, the small change for the dollar he had been nearly two hours
employed in getting. One by one he arranged the ahmulahs in a long
row, like a lot of thin, narrow bricks, at my feet, that I might
sufficiently admire their bulky character, and compliment him upon the
excellent choice he had displayed in their selection.
His labours for the day closed with this, and the sun being nearly on
the point of setting, the cotton spinners laid aside their reels. The
father of Wallata Gabriel, Goodaloo, and Walder-Yoannes, all came in
from the market together, and fast or no fast, young and old, on my
proposal that they should taste some of my home brewed ale, a large
gambo was broached, and soon disappeared, whilst they certainly did
confine themselves to a meal of bread and cayenne _wort_, in which,
as usual, a fowl had been boiled to rags, although Wallata Gabriel,
out of a tender regard for the conscience of her religious old father,
had fished up the bones with a spoon, that he might suppose its rich
consistence depended only upon a thickening of meal.
CHAPTER XXII.
Carpentering.--Fit up a study.--Worshippers of demons.--Saroitsh.--
English superstition.--Priestly benediction.--Tabeeb monasteries.--
Of their character and discipline.--Turning lathe.--Drinking
hours.--Female ornaments.--Sumptuary edict.
_August 13th._--Walderheros was occupied all day splitting and reducing
to proper dimensions the ted tree that was brought yesterday, and
of which I had determined to manufacture an English chair. Goodaloo
was also busy, as he had undertaken to make me a table, and which
he managed to do very well, after a long day’s labour. It consisted
merely of a round basket open at both extremities, made by turning thin
stripes of bamboo alternately, before and behind strong upright pieces
of the same plant. This was completed by a top being constructed of the
like material, dexterously interwoven upon a ray-like skeleton, which
was afterwards lashed tight down upon the basket pedestal with thongs
of raw hide, and in this manner an excellent round table was made,
three feet and a-half in circumference, and more than a yard high.
I managed to put up a parchment window during the day in the mud and
stick wall, over where I intended the table should stand. Conveniently
to hand, when seated upon my intended chair, I also placed against the
wall, upon stick pegs thrust through, a shelf of seven or eight short
jowharee stalks, so secured as to form a flat surface for a few books
to stand upon.
It was two days before I could manage the chair, for I had neither
hammer nor nails to work with, only a small saw and a _matrabier_, or
axe of Abyssinia, and which is identically the same in form as those
used by the Dankalli. With these, however, and a _medamager_ heated
red hot, with which I burnt the holes in the frame, after some little
trouble, I built up by degrees a very respectable-looking piece of
furniture. Walderheros admired it greatly, and soon interwove a very
convenient seat, with thongs of hide and a rope made of a long kind of
very tough grass, called _gwassia_, which grows in the _daggan_, or
high country, and is largely used by the Abyssinians in making mats,
fining sieves for flour, and baskets.
When my new chair was placed in its situation by the side of the table,
a good light falling through the parchment window, which I took care
to emblazon with sundry hieroglyphical and heraldic devices, and my
little library itself laden with my books, I considered that I had a
study complete. On the partition behind the chair, which separated my
recess in the narrow corridor between the two walls of my circular
house, from that occupied by the bedstead of Walderheros, I put up a
large map of Africa, whilst in the prolonged sweep, on the other side
of the table, was contained my own bed, and although the greatest width
of the recess was scarcely five feet, altogether when the arrangements
were complete, I considered my retreat to be very snug and comfortable.
All the portion of the inner wall of the house, in front of my chair
and table, was knocked down, and being exactly opposite to the door,
which was again opposite to the little wicket of my garden enclosure,
not only was light admitted freely into my study, but I always had a
good view, from my chair, of what was going on in the interior of my
house, and also of the neighbours who might be passing down the lane,
and who generally, whether they saw me or not, bawled out the morning
or evening salutation.
I was now gradually becoming accustomed to the circumstances of my
situation, and began to take more interest in observing man as I found
him in Shoa, but still I could not overcome my disease, although for
the sake of information, I had called into my aid nearly all native
means and medicines. To-day some pretenders to a mysterious kind
of treatment were introduced by Walderheros, with a strong request
that I should give them a trial, but on understanding that they were
professors of the black art, and undertook to dislodge the _saroitsh_,
or demons, that afflicted me, I dismissed them very summarily.
The popular belief in the existence of an inferior order of bad
spirits, is universal in Abyssinia, and to their malign influence
it is usual to ascribe every disease incidental to the human frame.
Different opinions exist as to the number of these “_saroitsh_” (_sar_,
in the singular). Some affirm there are only eight, others sixteen,
and not a few say as many as eighty. Christians, Mahomedans, and
Pagan Gallas, alike pay a kind of reverence to these evil spirits,
by observing customs to avert the consequences of their anger, when
supposed likely to be excited. In England we do exactly the same,
when certain means are adopted to avert what we term “bad luck.” I
certainly believe myself that the same idea of minor devils afflicting
man in some cases of ill health, was popular among our immediate
ancestors, and the fantastical names that appear to have been bestowed
upon them, assimilates still more closely this popular superstition
of the Abyssinians of the present day, with that of the inhabitants
of England about the time of Shakespear. Mad Tom, in “King Lear,”
affords some illustration of this, for we observe he says of himself,
“The foul fiend haunts poor Tom. _Hop-dance_ cries in Tom’s belly for
two white herrings.” From forgetfulness I neglected to note down the
names of the Abyssinian “saroitsh,” for having one day inquired what
they were, neither Walderheros nor his wife could recollect more than
six, and they could not vouch for the correctness of these, so I was
desired not to set them down, as I should have a better opportunity of
acquiring them. After that it never occurred to me, until it was too
late, that I had not again attended to the subject. One name, however,
I recollect, was “_Burr alunga_,” _silver whip_, and this is somewhat
of the same whimsical character as the name of Hop-dance; and, in my
opinion, future inquiries will show a near approach in the nomenclature
of the two countries as regards this very similar superstition. It
must be also observed that Mad Tom was afflicted with more than one,
Frateretto, Obidicut, Hobbididance, Mahu, Modo, and Flibbertigibbet,
being the several fiends whom we are told tormented him.
_August 14th._--Walderheros seeing that I defied the devil and all
his works, by dismissing with a suitable admonition his lying agents,
tried then, upon a different principle, to relieve me of the fever,
and brought me down this morning two priests from the Church of Goodis
Gorgis (St. George), which is situated on the ridge in front of
Ankobar, before we come to the denuded site of the old Church of Abbo.
These turbaned ministers of religion promised faithfully by prayers to
cure me of my harassing complaint. I shook my head in a most scandalous
manner, as I doubted the efficacy of their intercession quite as
much as I did that of the devil worshippers, but gave them the salt
notwithstanding, and after a long blessing, which I thought would never
have ended, these two holy men took their leave.
When I was at Myolones, I heard that I was not far distant from a
“goodam,” or monastery of Tabeebs. This is the name of the artificers
of Shoa, a blacksmith, a carpenter, a potter, a saddle-maker, each
being called “Tabeeb.” This has also become proverbial to particularize
a clever man by an allusion to these cunning workmen, and I suspect
that ere long the Shoans will have no other word for a sorcerer.
I heard some remarkable tales respecting them: that they lived in
common, men and women, but only met during the darkness of night,
and the consequence was, that the greatest confusion of family and
kindred ties resulted. In the day time the sexes lived, I was told, in
separate houses. There was something very mysterious about them, so
I determined as soon as the rains had subsided to visit one of their
“goodams” and judge for myself. Among other things, it was said they
were not Christians, and yet worshipped God and believed in Christ;
that they had no “tabot,” and that all the men and women were priests
and priestesses. I could, in fact, make nothing of them; sometimes I
thought they might be Jews, and then again that they were Freemasons,
whose orgies had here assumed a religious character.
I had an opportunity during to-day of making some inquiries; for one of
the inmates of the Tabeeb convent, near Myolones, called to ask me for
some medicine. He produced from beneath his tobe a drinking-horn, very
neatly made, which he presented as his memolagee. After I had given him
what he required I got Walderheros to ask him a few questions, and he
seemed quite pleased that I took an interest in the religious opinions
of the sect. He denied with a deal of indignation the common rumour of
the men and women living promiscuously; on the contrary, he insisted
that not only did a breach of chastity exclude the parties from the
community, but no married people were allowed to live among them. It
is only in the _Goodam_, or convent, this discipline is enforced,
for a Tabeeb can marry and live like the other Shoans, but he then
only visits the “Goodam,” of his relations as a stranger until, tired
of society, disabled or old, when he can again claim admission as a
brother of their order. The Tabeebs are Christians, but do not pray to
the Virgin Mary, and believe that Christ had no father, but still was a
man like ourselves. They have no “tabot,” or moveable altar (an ark),
like the other Christians of Shoa, or as they would have, I suppose, if
they were Jews. Every day in the week, except Saturday and Sunday, is a
strict fast. They have no bed to sleep upon, as they sit up all night
in their church, ranged along the wall, to which straps are secured,
and within which the people sit at prayers, so that should any one go
to sleep, he might not fall and hurt himself, or disturb the others.
The _Goodam_ is divided into two portions, one side being occupied with
the women, the other by the men, and no unnecessary communication is
permitted between the sexes. They eat and drink together once a-day
in the evening, each having a fixed portion of food. The women grind
flour, and work as do other Shoan females; the monks labour at the
forge, or in the fields belonging to their convent. The Tabeeb women
also make the earthenware vessels in the country, as all ironwork is
done by the men. There are two superiors, an aged woman who has charge
of the females, and an old man placed in authority over the males. The
Negoos is a great friend to the Tabeebs, and gives to them several oxen
during the year. Besides he has bestowed a great deal of land upon
the various monasteries of these people, of which institutions there
are no less than forty-two in Shoa. When the good man left me, I gave
him a pair of scissors in return for his drinking horn, as I now made
it a rule not to receive any memolagees. He was so delighted with my
gift, that he pressed me very much to come and see him at his convent,
as soon as ever I dared to move about, and promised me a very good
reception.
The Abyssinians in making their drinking-horns, show considerable
ingenuity, not so much in the complexity of their machinery, as in the
great simplicity of the few aids they require to turn out a very neatly
made article. A proper ox-horn being selected, it is cut into such
lengths as are required. One of these is then gradually fixed upon a
conical wooden mould; boiling water being employed to soften the horn,
and make it more readily adapt itself to the shape, it is then laid
aside for a few days, when the form becoming fixed, it is placed in the
lathe to receive a series of circular cut rings, with which the outside
is usually ornamented.
The lathe is nothing more than two short sticks placed in the ground,
not more than three inches high above its surface. From the centre of
each end of the mould an arm projects about six inches long, which is
armed with a bit of iron. These iron points are received in the short
stick supports, and the mould, with the horn upon it, then revolves
freely. The workman sits upon the ground, and with his feet pressed
hard against a stick, supports it in this manner against two stones,
placed at a convenient distance in front of his work. This forms a
rest for his cutting instrument, which he holds in his left hand, and
presses against the horn, whilst with his right he wheels backwards and
forwards the mould by a small catgut string bow, applied and used in
the same manner as is the same tool by many artisans in England.
Not only are drinking-horns thus fashioned (and which, I must observe,
are finished by a piece of round wood being fitted like a thin cork
into the lower and smaller end), but also earrings are turned from the
long black horn of the _sala_, a species of antelope, common in Adal
and the low countries around Abyssinia. The solid extremities of the
horns only are used, so that not more than two pair of earrings can
be made from one horn, which is at least two feet long. The earrings
are large and clumsy, but, considering the simple means employed in
making them, are not despicable works of art. Each is turned in two
pieces, not at all unlike in form and size high convex buttons, with
small straight shafts projecting from the inside centres. These shafts
are made so that one receives the other, and the earring thus formed
looks like two small wheels connected by a short axle. To receive them
into the ear a very large hole is required, and the axis of one of the
halves being first introduced, the other is fixed upon it, and the lady
then turns round, to ask how the new ornament looks.
Sometimes I have seen these horn earrings ornamented with an inlaid
star of silver, and many an hour’s labour have I had myself, letting
in little brass studs from an old box-lid into the surface in the same
manner, to please some of my female friends, who would come begging
to have their earrings thus improved in appearance. Besides these
ornaments turned from the sala horn, small black rings are cut, and I
have also seen a neat little bottle, about two inches long, turned in a
very ingenious manner, and which was intended to hold “col” (the black
oxide of antimony), with which the Mahomedans adorn their eyelids, and
the Christians employ as a medicine, applying it in the same manner.
Besides horn earrings, the Abyssinian women wear large silver ones,
sometimes weighing as much as two or three dollars each. One fashion
alone is general in Shoa, a back and front portion, each of which
invariably consists of three large beads, surmounted by a fourth. These
are fixed in the ear in a similar manner as the horn ones, and look not
unlike small bunches of grapes projecting before and behind.
Whilst I am upon this subject, I may observe that the Shoan women are
exceedingly fond of silver ornaments, and all their riches consist of
such stores. Dollars are only valued as the means of thus enabling
the possessors to adorn themselves or their women, for all the coin
of this sort which enters Shoa ultimately finds its way into the
crucible, except such as falls into the hands of the King, and which
are destined for a less useful end, these being securely packed in
jars, and deposited in caves. One hill, called Kundi, a few miles to
the north of Ankobar, is pierced by numerous subterranean passages, in
which are hidden in this manner immense treasures in gold and silver.
They are kept closed by heavy doors of iron, and the whole hill,
which is surmounted by a church, dedicated to the Virgin, is under the
care of a vast number of priests. I think it not improbable that some
excavated chambers that have been found in Egypt, and in rocks near
Jerusalem, and considered to have been intended for tombs, were in fact
the treasuries of the monarchs of these countries.
One ornament of silver, and which is worn by the women of Shoa upon
the breast, hanging from the neck by a chain, also of silver, is in
the form of a clasp, three or four inches long, and one inch broad;
upon its front surface not unfrequently is rudely engraved some simple
design in waving lines. Bracelets of silver are sometimes seen, and
with the Mahomedan women, they are invariably of that metal; but the
Christians generally wear plain ones, made of pewter, with anklets to
correspond.
Besides the little unpretending martab of blue silk, the Christian
women, if they can afford it, wear large necklaces of beads, and the
British Political Mission have greatly increased the stock of these
ornaments that is now brought into the market. Those I have seen
were made generally by a succession of loops, consisting of seven or
eight threads of different coloured seed beads, collected at certain
lengths into one string, through a large angular-cut piece of amber.
Eight or ten of these loops formed a long negligee, which, ornamented
with a large tassel of small beads, was a present suited even for the
acceptance of royalty. The Mahomedan women, on the contrary, wear
one string of beads around their necks, formed of a hundred large
and differently coloured beads, among which bright red ones seem to
be preferred. These are divided into lengths by the interposition
of pieces of amber, at least twice as long as those employed by the
Christian women in collecting together into one, the various bead
threads of their necklaces. The silver bracelets of the Islam are also
different in form from those worn by the Christians, consisting of two
or three thick silver wires, twisted upon each other, and finished
at each extremity by a beaten square head. This is looped around the
wrist, where it remains until required as security for loans, the
most important use, I think, of silver articles in Shoa, amongst all
religious denominations. No golden ornaments are ever observed among
the Shoans, for a sumptuary edict of the Negoos forbids his subjects
the use of this metal; the royal family of course being excepted.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Wallata Gabriel dismissed.--Reinstated.--Comparison of
different races of man.--Of human varieties.--Of the
process of brewing.--Abyssinian ale.--Ingredients.--The
horn of plenty.
_August 14th._--Wallata Gabriel was a very good housekeeper, but
unfortunately, like most other young women in Shoa, and, I believe, in
all Abyssinia, she had a great many followers. Whenever Walderheros
and I walked out, some one or other would always be manœuvring to get
out of the house unobserved on our return; and although I was rather
suspicious of some of her lovers making free with what little property
I had, still I had as yet never missed anything. I had frequently
reminded Walderheros of this weakness in his wife, but he always, in
reply, appealed to me if she was not a good servant, although, he
added, that it was for my convenience that he recognised her as his
wife, and would previously have divorced her, only he thought that
together they were so well adapted to manage my domestic affairs, that
he could not do better than keep her. Coming in rather inopportunely
this afternoon, after a long walk round the town, I could do nothing
else but turn her away at once; whilst Walderheros expostulated with
her paramour, among other severe things, asking him if he were not
ashamed to intrude in such a manner when the _balla bait_ (the master
of the house) was not at home.
About an hour after I had dismissed Wallata Gabriel, an old lady, a
relation of Walderheros, made her appearance, bringing some of the
sweetly-scented herb called _Err-guftah_, as a memolagee. On requesting
to know what she required, a long apologizing palliating intercession,
of no ordinary character, was made for my delinquent housekeeper. She
attributed my severity, she said, entirely to my not knowing Abyssinian
customs, and turning to Walderheros, who sat on the raised rim of the
hearth, stirring up the dry ashes with a stick, she upbraided him
for not raising his voice in the behalf of his lawful wife. I was
determined she should not return, and was dismissing the mediatrix
with a positive refusal, when Walderheros looked at me with a most
grievous expression of countenance, and lifted up the top of the straw
bread-basket, to intimate, by its empty condition, how badly we should
be off for dinner if I persisted in not recalling his wife. I could
not help smiling, and the old lady, seeing me relent, put her head out
of the door, and called out “Wallata Gabriel!” two or three times. The
_fair penitent_ very soon appeared, for she had been sitting in the
lane all the time, and came tripping in, laughing and looking quite
happy at being reinstated, and without the least trace of sorrow or
contrition in her countenance.
This apparent lack of morality amongst the Shoans, like their Church
history, is quite beyond my understanding. Yet even as respects this,
a person educated in the more correct principles of what is considered
to constitute social happiness, does not perceive in Shoa that violence
done to propriety, which similar conduct in many of the southern
states in Europe is apt to excite. The loose habits and indiscriminate
intrigue, which displeased me when I witnessed it among the inhabitants
of various countries situated upon the northern shores of the
Mediterranean, only occasioned a smile when I observed it in Abyssinia.
Among the former it was the pretension and affectation of virtue that
made their sins stand in bolder comparison as vices, than a somewhat
similar course of conduct among the simple, good-natured inhabitants
of the latter country, who have no public opinion to propitiate, or,
on the other hand, to control them, and whose naturally yielding
disposition renders them too prone to indulgence; where also, let it
be recollected, religion applies no curb, for the priests themselves
in Shoa have had the decency to cease preaching that, which they never
pretend to practise.
I was not many weeks upon the banks of the Ganges, and had not many
opportunities of observing the native population of India, but the
impression upon my mind of the moral character of the people generally
of that country, apart from their particular worship, is, that the
Indians, especially the women, possess in a great degree that moral
principle, that delicacy of the mind, which is essentially the basis
of that high sense of honour and personal respect, which constitute
female chastity. I was enabled to draw, by my visit to India, a very
interesting contrast between the women of that country and those of
Shoa. Let me compare two extreme specimens, which will illustrate more
broadly that which I wish to establish; that important differences
in the constitution of the mind are the primary causes of those
varieties in human nature; but which have been previously determined
by differences in the features and form. This comparison will assist
me, as truth, I think, is sometimes strikingly demonstrated by widely
different contrasts; the paradox surprises and amuses the mind, and its
effect in consequence is more permanent.
We will first, however, cursorily allude to the physical differences
between the Indian girl and the Abyssinian, as a kind of introduction
to their habits. The former is tall, thin, long-waisted, with an
angular configuration of form, her features regular, sharply defined,
bright and placid. She is a Circassian with a dark skin. Turn to
the Abyssinian beauty, her eyes smile uncontrollably as you look.
Her figure is short, plump, and roundly formed, with small, but full
voluptuous features, that appear blended together with an infantile
expression.
The minds of both are uneducated and natural: in this circumstance of
their character, fortunately for the effect of the comparison, they
may be supposed to be alike. But are their dispositions or conduct
the same? How very different. The Indian girl has considerable
personal vanity, is fond of ornaments and show, and seeks to attract
attention by rich clothes, or studied graces. Even in their national
attitudinizing, and the alluring nautch, repose and quiet seem
to distinguish her from the laughing, romping, dress-neglecting
Abyssinian, who, to attract notice, affects the child, and endeavours
to please by artlessness and simplicity. As lovers, the Indian girl
capriciously selects one lord, but the Abyssinian would consider this
to be petty treason against nature, and a crying sin; she always
loves the nearest, and whilst the eyes of that one are upon her, is
reluctantly constant, but considers all engagements quite at end by
absence, however short. Our coquettes, tall girls, with thin lips and
cold sparkling eyes, always remind me of the Indian beauty, whilst
our laughter-loving romps, even in their features and form, seem to
belong to the Abyssinian mould, in some measure demonstrating the
solution of the difficult problem, of accounting for the origin of
those differences in the several varieties into which ethnologists
have divided mankind. Among our own acquaintances, under external
circumstances, exactly alike, nature produces by the mysterious agency
of mental endowments, the possible mothers of families of man, which,
under different circumstances of situation and of social education,
would ultimately present two nations as distinct in every phenomenon of
external appearance as are the most opposed specimens of the Circassian
or the negro type.
The Shoans are certainly not a virtuous people, according to our ideas,
and if we are to judge them by the standard of our moral code; but I
positively deny that they are an immodest people, except among those
where the dehumanizing influence of Mahomedanism, by degrading woman
to the condition of a slave, has engendered the disgusting sensuality
which characterizes the professors of that religion, and even these in
Abyssinia are as superior as possible in this respect to the Mahomedans
of Arabia and Persia. My opinion as to the modesty of the Shoan women
may not perhaps be sufficiently understood, to be considered correct;
but it was formed by observing the freedom from all restraint which
they appear to enjoy in their country and among their families. This
implies some confidence on the part of the men, and a woman must be
modest to the extent that society requires, to command such a mark of
deference and respect from the opposite sex.
I have seen sufficient, indeed, to convince me that the youth of
Abyssinia, males and females, whilst influenced by the feelings natural
to that age, are diffident, confiding, and good-natured, and however
they may become altered by the experience of increasing years, and the
education of after life, these moral principles still prevail, and
give a favourable inclination to the practice of virtue and justice,
that renders their social condition productive of much happiness to
themselves, and affords some pleasure to the mind, that contemplates
their character and condition, uninfluenced by the bias derived from
the moral discipline of a very differently constituted community.
_August 15th._--Being unable to go much abroad to extend my
acquaintance with the habits and manners of the Shoans, I was
particularly desirous that my establishment should be entirely
conducted upon the principles of Abyssinian domestic economy. As this
exactly suited the inclination of Walderheros, and as it did not
matter to Goodaloo in what way things were managed, so that he got a
large roll of teff bread in a morning to wrap up in his mekanet when
he went to cut fuel, and his supper in the evening when he re turned,
the proposal met with universal approbation from the members of my
household, and my wishes were attended to in every particular.
Among other employments that occupied Walderheros and his wife two or
three days every fortnight, was that of brewing, which was no trifling
affair, as a fresh jar of ale, holding at least four gallons, was
broached every day. The process is simple enough as performed in Shoa,
and instead of being obliged to stand some time after it is made,
five or six days is the time that is required to ripen and fine the
beverage, which, if made well, is agreeable and very strong, with a
slight acidity, that reminded me of the oldest ale I had ever drunk in
England.
The ingredients are various, sometimes wheat or barley, or jowarhee
grain, but in the kolla or low countries the latter is preferred, and
as I also found some useful medical effects resulting from its use, my
ale most frequently was made from this grain. The jowarhee is the durra
of the Arabs, and is largely grown in India, where I think English
residents might, by following the Abyssinian method, always have
home-brewed ale in their houses.
When barley is employed for the purpose of brewing, it is first well
dried in the sun, and afterwards broken in a mortar to divest it in
some measure from the coarse outer skin, and which is separated by the
usual process of fining through a grass made sieve. The prepared grain
is then placed in a large earthenware saucer, at least two feet in
diameter, and in the centre about six inches deep. This being raised
upon three supports over a low fire, an attendant keeps stirring the
contents, using for this purpose the small reaping hook of the country,
the convex curve of which scrapes the barley from the bottom of the
saucer, and prevents its burning. Whilst this is going on, another
servant washes the jars intended to receive the ale, and which, after
being well rinsed out, are fumigated by a few leaves of the bitter
_gaisho_ plant, placed upon a little lighted charcoal, on a broken
piece of earthenware, and is introduced beneath the mouth of the
vessel, which is held over it to receive the ascending smoke.
_Gaisho_ are the leaves of a species of _Rhamnus_ indigenous to Shoa,
for besides being regularly cultivated in favourable situations between
six to eight thousand feet above the level of the sea, I have also
found it growing wild at the base of the hill of Kundi, above the
Tabeeb monastery, in that neighbourhood. These leaves are serrated, and
of the form and size of bay leaves, only of a lighter green. When used,
after being dried in the sun, they are pulverized in a mortar until a
very fine powder of an intensely but not permanent bitter is produced.
It is then ready for the purposes required, which are similar to those
of hops and gentian in brewing our beer.
After the barley has been well roasted, it is taken out of the pan and
ground into a coarse meal, which, after being slightly wetted with
water, is again exposed to the action of heat in the same manner as
before, until it has become thoroughly scorched; being kept the whole
time well stirred to prevent its burning. During this process, a small
jar containing a thin acid mixture of flour and water, called _wahaka_,
or leaven, to which the powdered _gaisho_ has been previously added,
has been standing to infuse in the warm wood ashes. The meal being
now removed from the fire, is put into another jar, and sufficient
water being added to make it into a paste, the _wahaka_ is also added,
and the mixture remains for the rest of the day. On the morrow, the
whole contents of the lesser jar are transferred into one much larger,
capable of holding at least thirty gallons of water, and which is now
brought and poured by successive jarsfull into it until full. This is
allowed to stand another day, when the surface, showing evidences of
a certain point in the process of fermentation having been attained,
the whole is then decanted, and strained through a large straw funnel
into a number of lesser jars, each of which contains from four to
five gallons. These are carefully stoppered by large cakes of a dirty
mixture of the refuse of the strainings of the large jar and of clay,
and which are plastered over the mouths of the jars. In about three
days the ale is ready for use, and if made properly, is most excellent;
bright, sparkling, and potent, it reminded me, by a slight acidity,
of the best October of England. After nine or ten days, Abyssinian
ale gets too sour to be a pleasant draught, which I attribute to the
imperfect covering afforded by the clay plasters which close the jars
in which it is contained.
When jowarhee, or durra is used, the grain, after being reduced to
a fine meal, is made into a paste, or rather thin batter, with the
_wahaka_. After standing one day and night, it is then made into thin
cakes, as in the usual manner of baking teff bread. These cakes are
afterwards broken up and placed in the large jar, the gaisho and water
being added exactly as in the process where barley is employed, and
when fermentation has somewhat progressed, the wort is in the same
manner strained and decanted into lesser jars.
There is a red variety of jowarhee, or millet, called _tallange_
largely cultivated in Shoa for brewing the tallah alone, as it is
considered to produce the best description of the beverage. It is
said to be injurious to man eaten in the form of _nuffrau_, or bread,
although the grain is given to cattle for food. This certainly makes
very fine ale, and should the experiment of making jowarhee beer
succeed in the East, where I hope it will be tried, it will be very
easy to procure some _tallange_ for seed from Abyssinia, should the
plant not exist, as I do not expect it does at present, in India.
In conjunction with all these different grains, and with a mixture
of all, which is sometimes employed in the same brewing, it is not
unusual to add a little real malt called _bikkalo_, generally in the
proportion of double the quantity of gaisho. To make the bikkalo,
a quantity of barley is placed in a flat dish and well wetted with
water, a large stone being placed upon it. This presses the sprouting
grain into one mass of a wheel-like form, which, when the operation
has proceeded as far as is desired, is taken from the dish, a hole
made through the centre, and it is strung upon a rope, where it hangs
to dry against the wall, and is a common ornament of the interior of
the houses in Shoa. On occasions of brewing, the quantity required is
broken off, and its value as an ingredient is well-known, for a common
Shoan proverb says, “the more bikkalo the better ale.”
The proportions of the different ingredients are generally from forty
to fifty pounds of grain, to which is added one pound of _gaisho_, and
two pounds of _bikkalo_. From these quantities are made about thirty
gallons of very good beer, but which, as I have observed before, will
not keep more than ten or twelve days, which is one reason why ale is
brewed generally in such small quantities.
There is no beverage so largely indulged in by the Shoans, whether
Christian or Islam, as tallah. The Hurrahgee people are also extremely
addicted to drinking it, and when they arrive in the country, every
saltpiece that they can get is sure to be spent in ale. It is,
therefore, an essential on all occasions of rejoicings, whether of
a religious character, or at weddings, and even at _funerals_.
In fact, the number and size of the jars of ale provided for the
company indicates the importance of the feast, or the wealth of the
entertainer, whilst no one to whom the cornucopœia of ancient mythology
is familiar, but detects at once, the origin of that poetical appendage
to divinity, as he contemplates the parties engaged in celebrating
these jovial meetings. Every one bearing in his hand, a deep
drinking-horn, varying in length, from a long span to more than half a
cubit, which, as he drains its contents, is handed to the servants in
charge of the jars of tallah, who quickly replenish it, and return it
to the thirsty soul. Each reveller keeps to his own rude flagon, and
nothing could more strikingly typify agricultural wealth and rustic
happiness, than the representation of one of these drinking horns; and
which, ornamented and embellished by Grecian and Latin poets, still
I believe to have been the original of the famous horn of plenty;
probably derived from some Egyptian hieroglyphic, which well expressed
the condition of man it appears so naturally to characterize.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Visited by Ibrahim.--Map of the Hawash.--Its effect upon
table-land of Abyssinia.--Future juncture with the Abi.--
Its early tributaries.--Effects of denudation.--Zui lake.--
Popular tradition.--Abyssinian geographical work.--Galla tribes.
_August 16th._--Ibrahim, the retired slave-merchant, who had not called
since I had made the improvements in my house, came in to-day. He was
rather astonished at the transformation I had effected, gave the table
a good shake, sat down in my chair, and _tabored_ with his fingers
against the parchment window. “_Ahkeem e moot_,” said he at last, “may
the doctor die! if it is not good; you are a _tabeeb_, and the house
of your Queen is not furnished so well.” The old gentleman had brought
his work with him, a piece of blue sood, which he was embroidering
with green and red silk in a large cross-bar pattern, and which he
told me was intended for a holiday guftah for his wife. Here I must
observe, that although the Islam women in Shoa usually wear clothes of
some common material dyed red, upon festival days they display very
rich headdresses of foreign silk, or embroidered cotton cloth, such as
Ibrahim was now working.
Walderheros placed the low Abyssinian chair for his accommodation, and
then, as was generally the case when Ibrahim came to see me, a long
conversation commenced respecting the town of Hurrah, of which he was
a native, although he had not been to that city for the last eight or
nine years. As usual, we had a map sketched upon the floor before us,
which, however, on this occasion was not a very complicated one, merely
the southern portion of the Hawash, where it encircles Shoa, and which
formed the conclusion of the course of that river, the northern portion
of which, as far as the ford of Mulkakuyu, I had already received
information of from my Dankalli friends, Ohmed Medina and Ohmedu.
The principal features of the geography of the country included in the
sketch map, were the three principal streams entering the Hawash from
the scarp of the Abyssinian table-land, all of which flowed nearly
to the south; but the most remarkable and interesting one was the
great indentation in the outline of the high country, which in this
situation seemed to be approaching to a separation into two parts
by the denudation of the sources of the Hawash on the east, and a
corresponding degradation on the west, occasioned by the action of the
waters of the Assabi, or Abiah, the red Nile falling from the elevated
plains of its earlier tributaries to join the Bahr ul Abiad at Kartoom,
where its height above the level of the sea does not, I believe, exceed
three thousand feet.
Surrounding the head of the Hawash, separated only by the narrow
valleys of denudation around its sources, are three elevated countries,
all forming part of the table-land of Abyssinia, and between which, in
the course of ages, this river has intruded itself by slow degrees,
and is still progressing annually farther to the west. These three
countries are Zingero to the south, Enarea to the west, and Shoa to
the north, whilst the corresponding portions of the scarp are Gurague,
Maitcha, and the ancient province of Fatagar, the more westerly portion
of which is now possessed by the Soddo Gallas.
This now excavated portion of Abyssinia must have been at a former
period one continuous table land, and the countries of Zingero and of
Shoa then could only have been separated by streams that flowed to
the north into the Abi, or to the south into the Gibbee, the ancient
Assabi. The same convulsion which has determined the peculiar course of
the Abi, or Bruce’s Nile, seems to have influenced the direction of the
encroachment of the Hawash into the limits of the plateau of Abyssinia;
and also the position of the débouché of the Red Nile from its summit
to the plains below. An examination of the map will show a curious
correspondence between the situation of the sources of the Hawash,
of the southern curve of the Abi, and of the break in the table land
where that river joins the Red Nile near Fazuglo. A great geological
fault seems to extend across Abyssinia in the direction of these
several points, one effect of which (that of the great disintegration
of the material of the rocks along its course) appears to me to have
favoured the denudation observed on the eastern and western borders of
this country. To this fracture I also attribute the sudden curve of
the Abi to the west, after flowing nearly due south from lake Dembea;
the physical barrier to its farther continuance in that direction not
being a ridge of hills, or what is generally termed an anticlinal axis,
but the presence of the opposite wall of the disjointed rock, which
characterizes the extension of the fault across the table land. This
is neither unfounded assertion nor rash conclusion, but the deliberate
opinion I have formed by a careful examination of the mighty operations
of nature that appear to have acted upon the surface geography of
Abyssinia from the most remote ages.
Let my reader return with me for a moment to the country of Adal, an
extensive plain, scarcely one thousand feet high above the level of
the sea. Its river, the Hawash, peculiarly its own, distinct in the
non-existence of opposite corresponding water-sheds to identify it as
having formed part of the original surface level of the surrounding
countries: an intruder, in fact, between the opposite slopes of the
river Tacazza to the north and of the river Whabbee to the south; the
countries of which were once continuous, but some convulsion connected
probably with that which has occasioned the fault across the table land
of Abyssinia, has in this position, severed the country completely;
and in the gaping chasm, filled up to a certain level with the debris,
has formed the bed of the Hawash, which gradually progressing on every
side, its wide circumference of sources encroaches every year upon the
elevated lands which surround it.
A traveller in Adal cannot help noticing the singular character of
the situation of the river Hawash, for he crosses over its bounding
ridge to the east, and has partial opportunities of observing the
bluff scarp-like terminations of the Angotcha, the Abyssinian, and
the Hurrahgee table lands, all of which are being rapidly denuded by
the numerous little tributaries which flow to swell the Hawash. But
this extending operation is most strikingly illustrated in a line
with the fault which has extended from the sea-coast to Fazuglo, in
the west of Abyssinia. Here, to the south of Shoa, the Hawash has
already approached within one day’s journey from the deep valley of
the Abi, and removes annually great portions of the surrounding table
land, which had previously determined the rain drops to flow into that
river, but subsequent to which removal, all falling water must for the
future, aid in swelling the insidious river of the low-land of Adal.
The valleys of numerous small streams, the sides of which, denuded to
the required depth, have been thus gradually opened into, and as this
is naturally aided by the steep fall of the scarp, denudation goes on
rapidly when the first inclination towards the Hawash has been given to
the stream, that had previously meandered upon a nearly level plain.
In this manner I contend, that the valley of the Airahra, between the
narrow ridges of Ankobar, and the edge of the table-land at Tchakkah,
has been acted upon, and that the waters falling to the west of
Ankobar, and which now flow into the Hawash, were formerly conducted to
the Jumma, and so to the Abi, when the two elevated points mentioned
were continuous, as they most certainly have been.
The geology of Abyssinia also favours these strange alterations of
its own face; for it is composed almost entirely of volcanic rocks,
easily decomposable, the operation, in fact, scarcely requires the
aid of water to occasion it; for the atmosphere alone crumbles the
hardest rocks, in the course of one year, into a stratum of loose
earth; and water appears to be merely the carrying agent, to remove
the soft soil, and expose a fresh surface to the action of the air. It
is this which adds so considerably to the fertility of the Argobbah
counties, situated on the scarp of the Abyssinian table-land; for every
fresh year, virgin earth of the most fertile capability, is offered
spontaneously, for the benefit of the cultivator, to whom, in this
situation, the use of manure is unknown.
Rain, however, aids considerably in removing vast portions of the
table-land; for during the wet season, generally some few days after
the commencement of the rains, and again, near its close, severe
thunder storms, with slight earthquakes, occur; and the devastation
which results, is not so much to be attributed to the latter, as it is
to the previously fallen rain; which, having penetrated to a certain
depth of the easily disintegrated rock, the least agitation brings down
immense quantities, from the nearly perpendicular cliffs. An earthquake
scarcely perceptible, and which, perhaps, is only consequent upon
meteoric explosion, by the reverberating vibrations being communicated
to the loose, yet prominent surfaces of the hilly scarp; there always
precipitates ruinous masses of earth and rock, whilst not a trace
of its effects can be perceived upon the table-land. This is the
real character of all earthquakes in Abyssinia I have witnessed; and
although the death of twelve or fifteen people, have been consequent,
it has only been in different situations of peril, the proper
precaution could have easily obviated, as it was where denudation had
been long undermining the foundation of their houses, or of those
on the terraces above; and which, when a moment of extraordinary
atmospheric commotion occurred, were shaken from the sides of the
valleys into the stream below. No leaping of the earth, or those
violent commotions, which mark these convulsions in other countries,
occur in Shoa. In Ankobar, during the severest landslips, for they
are nothing else, a loose stone building thirty or forty feet high,
and a still more rickety arch built by Demetrius, although in exposed
situations, were not affected in the least.
The tremour of the earth consequent upon portions of its surface
being detached, was only felt upon the situation on which it
occurred; and were it not for the heavy fall of rocks from the
overhanging table-land, no evidences of a violent convulsion could
be ever observed; so that I am justified, in attributing to external
influences, rather than to internal operations, the occasional
agitations of the earth which are experienced in Abyssinia during the
wet season.
The combined effects, however, of all these disintegrating agents
of the table land of Abyssinia, is to increase farther westward the
course of the Hawash, and we find that in the situation most favourable
for the operation of denudation there is contained, its most distant
sources. Already, by the testimony of M. Rochet d’Hericourt and Dr.
Krapf, the head of the Hawash reaches within thirty miles of the Abi,
the Nile of Bruce, and that in that direction it will still progress,
may be safely assumed, whilst the present order of things established
by nature is continued; and in the course of time a communication
will most certainly be opened between this river and that of Northern
Abyssinia, when probably, by this addition to its volume of water,
and a continual denudation going on also towards the east, diminishing
daily the barrier between it and the sea; the Hawash will then enter
the sea, and open a fresh highway into the interior of Africa.
Geologists may observe in this mighty operation, something analogous to
that to which they attribute other natural phenomena with which they
may be familiar, and the facts that I have stated, singular as they
may appear, are as easily demonstrated to be true as is the westward
progress of the falls of Niagara towards the lakes of Northern America.
Within the indentation in the table land to the south of Shoa, Ibrahim
placed three principal streams, all of which appear to flow south from
the scarp in that situation. These were, one stream which separated
the Maitcha Gallas from the Soddo Gallas; the second, called Hashei,
which separated the latter from the Abitshoo; and the third was the
Kassam, which flowed through the province of Bulga. On inquiring the
situation of the Zui lake, which, from previous information, I knew
was not far from the Hawash in this situation, Ibrahim explained to
me that it received the waters that flowed from the opposite scarp to
that of Shoa, and which constituted, with the high land to the north
of the Gibbee in this situation, the country of Gurague. On the other
side of the stream of the Gibbee was Zingero. Zui, called also Lakee,
has several small islands situated in its waters, each of which is
inhabited by monks, but on the largest a very celebrated monastery
exists, in which, according to vulgar ideas, all the wealth and books
relative to the ancient empire of Abyssinia have been concealed since
the celebrated Mahomedan invasion of that country in the sixteenth
century, by Mahomed Grahnè. There may be some truth respecting the
manuscripts that are contained in the monastery of Lake Zui, but I
question much if any treasure is to be found there, for in that case
Sahale Selassee would, before this, have attempted to subdue the Galla
tribes intervening, which could be accomplished in one campaign, for
already, in that direction, the country as far as the Hawash has
submitted to him, and Zui is not more than two days’ journey to the
south. That its conquest is intended by the Negoos of Shoa, I have
no doubt, and I think he only postpones it until he can effect the
reduction of the whole of Gurague, at the same time the inhabitants of
which are very much affected towards him, and in fact consider him to
be their monarch. I have witnessed two or three interesting interviews
between parties coming with unsolicited tribute from Gurague; and when
the monarch endeavoured to induce me to remain with him, he held out
the opportunity I should have of visiting that country in the course of
the next two years, by accompanying him, and which he supposed would be
a temptation for me to stay.
The Negoos himself corroborated the statement of Ibrahim, who had
visited the shores of this lake several times, that there was no
outlet for its waters, but that it was entirely distinct from the river
Hawash. Karissa, a Galla, from Cambat, who when enslaved was first
taken to Gurague, and lived near Zui several years, also told me that
a number of small streams fell into the lake from all sides and that
there was a tradition that a long time ago, the length of which he had
no idea of, all the country now occupied by the lake which is about
fifteen miles in diameter, was possessed by seven chiefs, whose lands,
for their sins, of course, or it would not be an Abyssinian legend,
were swallowed up in one night, with loud subterranean noises, and
stars shooting out of the earth, and that the next day nothing could be
seen but the present lakes, and the islands it contains. Considering
the character of the country, and the phenomena still witnessed in
Adal, whilst the country around Zui appears to be situated upon the
same elevation above the sea; I have no doubt that this tradition
is partly founded upon fact, and contains the national remembrance
of an extensive and appalling incident connected with some volcanic
convulsion, that at a former period occurred in this situation.
My morning’s lesson in geography terminated with a promise that Ibrahim
should get me the title of a Geez book upon the subject, which he
asserted he had seen in Hurrah, for I must observe he ridiculed the
idea of anything having been preserved during the invasion of Grahnè
into Abyssinia, by being taken to the monastery of Zui. He stated
that in the city of Hurrah, which was then the capital of the kingdom
of Adal, there was at the present day an entire library which had
formed part of the spoil of the conqueror on that occasion, and that
in the same building with the books is preserved the original silver
kettle drums that were formerly carried before the Emperor. He had also
seen a map which had been made by the orders of Mahomed Grahnè, of
the countries he had subdued from Massoah and Gondah in the north, to
Magadish in the south, and upon which was particularly marked the site
of every Christian temple he had destroyed. A copy of this map could,
I think, be easily obtained by means of our Berberah acquaintance,
Shurmalkee, whose connexion with the city of Hurrah is much more
considerable than it is supposed to be by our Government.
Upon both banks of that part of the Hawash which partially encircles
Shoa, numerous tribes of Galla find sustenance for immense herds of
cattle. Among these, the most important are the Maitcha and Soddo
tribes, situated upon the earliest of its most western tributaries;
next to these, proceeding from the west, is the Tchukalla; then Lakee,
or those living between lake Zui and the Hawash; to these succeed the
Gilla, the Roga, and then the Gallahn, the chief of which, Shumbo, is
a son-in-law of the Negoos, baptized and married the same day, whilst
I was in Shoa. Through his district lies the safest road to Gurague,
and accordingly it is the one principally taken by slave merchants,
who, however, seldom return that way, preferring a more circuitous
one, around the sources of the Hawash, among the tribes situated upon
the table land of Abyssinia. Adjoining to the Gallahn Galla are the
Aroosee, a powerful and warlike nation of the same people, but who
appear to be considerably in advance of their barbarous brethren. The
Aroosee are large agriculturists, and great quantities of coffee, and
of a red dye, called _wurrsee_, which is exported from Berberah to
India and Arabia, is produced in their country. They occupy all the
district between Hawash and the north-western streams of the Whabbee.
Where they terminate on the east, the possessions of the Hittoo Galla
commence, who also “drink of the waters of the Hawash,” and are, it
will be recollected the tribe, some of whom attacked the Kafilah of the
Hy Soumaulee, at Dophan, on the occasion of my coming up to Shoa. On a
map of a limited size, it would be impossible to introduce the names of
the numerous tribes of these people that border upon Shoa to the south,
nor would any benefit arise from the list beyond that which may be
obtained by the general designation, “Galla tribes,” and which I have,
therefore, employed to mark the localities of these people.
CHAPTER XXV.
No prospect of recovery.--Slaughter of the goat.--Manufacture
of skin-bags.--The process.--Farming.--The bark employed.--
Morocco leather.--Carcase butchers.--Process of cutting up meat.
_August 21st._--The termination of the fast of Felsat was hailed with
considerable pleasure by the very best of Christians in Shoa, and this
happened on the last day of the interval which dates this chapter, for
increasing want of space compels me to relinquish the usual diurnal
account. As it happened, nothing of importance occurred, except only
that I began to find myself gradually getting weaker and weaker, and
the symptoms of my illness increasing in violence upon every fresh
attack. I attributed this, in a great measure, to the wet season, which
was now most decidedly set in, and for the last three or four days
especially it had rained without intermission. It was a cheerless time,
the moist foggy state of the atmosphere, and the muddy condition of the
road, quite prevented me from taking my usual walks, and looking at the
dripping state of my thatched roof, or listening to the pattering of
the large rain drops against my parchment window, was all the amusement
I had after I had determined to confine myself more to bed, either
to recruit myself after the severe fever paroxysms, or with the hope
of averting in some measure the force of their attack by a little
careful nursing. I ceased, too, to take any pleasure in the interesting
conversations of Ibrahim, or Sheik Tigh, or, in fact, any one from whom
previously I had ever been most inquiring respecting every subject of
importance or novelty I could think of to ask about. My cup of coffee
in the morning, or a drinking hornful of the warmed ale, was the only
thing I dare indulge in, for solids of any kind had a great tendency to
occasion congestion in the brain, and after eating anything a severe
headache was the certain consequence. I took the hint, and gave up
the honeyed repast at breakfast and the fricassee at night, and made
a point of conciliating as much as possible that irritable viscus the
stomach, that seemed after all to be at the bottom of the evil.
It was a horrible retribution, therefore, for Walderheros to
contemplate, and which, no doubt, will have a beneficial effect upon
his future conduct as regards the respect due to the institutions of
the Church, when, on the morning after the end of the fast, which was
to be a day of great rejoicing, I intimated my determination to eat
no more flesh meat for at least a week. After all my jests about the
folly of fasting, telling my people that during the continuance of such
terms of abstinence, I was a good Mahomedan, and having by my example
on more than one occasion, tempted him and the others of my household
to indulge in food when they ought to have been observing a stricter
discipline--after all this, on the day appointed for rejoicing, to
see all appetite taken from me was so evidently a judgment from
heaven, that I was strongly recommended to propitiate the Virgin
Mary immediately by bestowing the goat, which the Negoos had sent to
me at Myolones, upon a church dedicated to the Mother of Christ. So
disinterested in fact, was Walderheros, that he went off to procure one
of the priests upon the establishment, and who, when he arrived, had I
carried out my servant’s intentions, would have walked away with the
goat immediately, such was his anxiety for my restoration to the favour
of heaven.
I could not be very well angry with Walderheros, and I was too ill
either to laugh at, or to endeavour to convert the priest, so I
dismissed him with an ahmulah, for his willingness to relieve me of the
supposed ban under which I was laid. When he was gone, however, the
weather having cleared up a little, I directed my servants to kill the
goat, and to ask such of their Christian friends who lived in Aliu Amba
to come to the party on the occasion, as I wanted it eaten up, that no
temptation should exist to divert me from my resolution not to take any
animal food.
The best butcher in the place, Tinta’s misselannee, who had always
shown himself ready to render assistance whenever I required some
extra hand, could not, of course, be omitted. Gwalior, another servant
of Tinta, and a patient of mine, was also called in at the death of
the doomed goat, which gallantly showed fight, surrounded, as he was,
by a host of hungry enemies, who, besides seeking the satisfaction
of revenge for the indiscriminate tuppings and bumpings he had given
and occasioned among the party, had had their interest excited by the
portions of his venison mutton, that each, in the mind’s eye, already
saw hanging up in a mimosa tree that grew in my garden, and which
formed the shambles generally on such occasions.
A lot of yelping boys came into the enclosure, and crowded about the
butchers aiding the goat in his attempts to get away, by attempting to
catch him, and of course running in the way of those who might have
been able to do it. A number of women also thronged in as the stir
became faster, and who stood around me as a kind of body-guard, for
the leaping “diabolus” of a goat sometimes threatened even to make our
heads a stepping-stone to fly over the high enclosure. A long lasso at
length being thrown ignobly at his feet, the next move he made ensnared
him by the leg, and the triumph of his life-hunters was complete. The
rope being run around the trunk of the mimosa, the unwilling goat was
dragged, like a victim of Spanish civil war, backwards to his doom, and
a prayer of peace being muttered by the clerk, Walderheros, the high
priest, the misselannee, cut the throat of their prey, the invocation
of the Trinity, like the Islam “ul Allah,” sanctifying the bloody
business of depriving an animal of life.
It is singular to observe the pertinacity of custom, and how
characteristic of descent particular habits and ceremonies become
long after the separation of different nations from their original
root. The Arabs, the Amhara, or the Abyssinians, and the Jews, all
precede the slaughter of animals for food with some short prayer,
which, differing in form, is still the same custom, and which, I think,
originated at a period antecedent to their dispersion as different
nations into the several countries they now occupy. It has also
continued among them, even changed as these nations are in religion and
social character, the Hebrew trader, the Arab nomade shepherd, and the
Abyssinian agriculturist. Jew, Mahomedan, and Christian, still retain
this evidence of a common origin, but which marks an ethnological era
posterior, I believe, by many centuries to the more general custom of
circumcision common to all these people, and to many other African
nations.[10]
Such a goat as had just been killed, fed up to the high condition he
was in, could not have been bought in the market for less than ten
ahmulahs, two shillings and twopence. The skin alone, however, is
supposed to be worth three ahmulahs; and great care is taken not to
injure it with the point of the knife, when flaying the carcase. To be
of any value, it must be taken off uncut, except around the neck, and
in those situations necessary to enable the butchers to draw the legs
out of the skin. Also, of course, where the first incision is made to
commence the process, and which is a circular cut carried around both
haunches, not many inches from and having the tail for a centre. The
hide is then stripped over the thighs, and two smaller incisions being
made around the middle joint of the hind legs, enable them to be drawn
out. A stick is now placed to extend these extremities, and by this,
for the convenience of the operators, the whole carcase is suspended
from the branch of a tree, and by some easy pulls around the body,
the skin is gradually withdrawn over the forelegs, which are incised
around the knees to admit of their being taken out; after which, the
head being removed, the whole business concludes by the skin being
pulled inside out over the decollated neck. One of the parties now
takes a rough stone and well rubs the inside surface, to divest it of
a few fibres of the subcutaneous muscle which are inserted into the
skin, and after this operation it is laid aside until the next day; the
more interesting business of attending to the meat calling immediate
attention.
These entire skins are afterwards made into sacks by the apertures
around the neck and legs being secured by a double fold of the skin
being sewed upon each other, by means of a slender but very tough
thong. These small seams are rendered quite air-tight, and the larger
orifice around the haunches being gathered together by the hands, the
yet raw skin is distended with air, and the orifice being then tied
up, the swollen bag is left in that state for a few days until slight
putrefaction has commenced, when the application of the rough stone
soon divests its surface of the hair. After this has been effected,
a deal of labour, during at least one day, is required to soften the
distended skin by beating it with heavy sticks, or trampling upon it
for hours together, the labourer supporting himself by clinging to the
bough of a tree over head, or holding on by the wall of the house. In
this manner, whilst the skin is drying, it is prevented from getting
stiff, and still further to secure it from this evil condition, it is
frequently rubbed with small quantities of butter. When it is supposed
that there is no chance of the skin becoming hard and easily broken,
the orifice is opened, the air escapes, and a very soft flaccid
leather bag is produced, but which, for several days after, affords an
amusement to the owner, when otherwise unemployed, by well rubbing it
all over with his hands.
Almost all the produce of the fields is conveyed to the market in such
sacks as these--cotton, grain, and the Berberah pepper. It is even the
only moneybag employed to carry home the salt returns for the different
wares that have been sold. None other could have been employed by
Joseph’s brethren when they loaded their asses and went down into
Egypt; for none are more naturally the resources of a shepherd people,
or better adapted by their form and size for the little useful animal
which seems to have been as universally employed by the Jews as by
the Amhara of the present day. By a species of gratitude, sincere as
it is deserved, _hiyah_, the word signifying _ass_, is used by the
latter people as another designation for friend; and I well remember
the mistake of a learner of that language who went into a great rage by
being accosted “hiyah” by an Amhara friend.
The skins of sheep and of small goats are made into parchment by being
more particularly divested of the fleshy fibres with the rough stone,
and then, after the hairs have been removed by putrefaction, simply
drying in the sun. For this purpose, it is stretched in a favourable
situation, a few inches from the ground, by a number of small wooden
pegs, which are inserted into small apertures made in the edge of the
skin, and it is thus prevented from becoming corrugated during the
process of drying.
In the same manner, the larger hides of cows and oxen are dried,
most frequently before putrefaction has produced any effect upon the
hairs, and which, of course, then remain. This is the general seat
for visitors during the day, and their bed at night, unless a tanned
hide (_nit_, as it is termed) can be procured, and which is considered
softer and more suitable for a respected guest.
The _nit_, or leather, is tanned by being made into a kind of trough,
which contains an infusion of the bark of the _kantuffa_ acacia.
This trough is formed by a skin being loosely extended upon four
stick supports, which elevate it about a foot from the ground. The
kantuffa bark, after being well pounded in a mortar, is strewed over
the surface, and the hollow is then filled with cold water, and in the
course of a few days a strong red infusion is made, with which the
whole surface of the skin is frequently washed, and when evaporation
has reduced its contents to a sloppy paste, the sticks are withdrawn,
the ends folded in, and with the contained mass, the skin then
undergoes the usual fatiguing process of treading, until the evidences
of the nit being properly prepared are satisfactory.
The bark of the _kantuffa_ reminded me of that of the red mimosa of
Adal, which produced an astringent gum, something like _kino_, but
not, I considered, so powerful a drug. This tree, however, was pointed
out to me as being that with the bark of which the Dankalli tan their
affaleetahs, or small water-skins, carried by travellers; for the
larger ones are prepared with the hair left on, by simply drying in the
hot sun, after having been distended with air, to expose them fully to
its influence. It is very probable that the celebrated Morocco leather,
derives its bright red colour from the bark employed in tanning being
obtained either from the kantuffa or the Adal tree, for both these
trees give a very red colour to the skins that are prepared with their
bark. From this I am inclined to believe, that among other articles of
commerce that might be advantageously drawn from the Barbar states
in the north of Africa, a good tanning bark could be obtained in
considerable quantities, and at a very reasonable rate.
Walderheros and the misselannee proceeded to carve the flayed carcase,
not in any systematic manner, as I could observe, but directed chiefly
in the size of the lumps of meat that were cut off by the character
of the individual to whom they were severally assigned: thus, Tinta
got a noble haunch forwarded to him, whilst, on the other hand, the
_matrabier_, or axe, was called in to aid in dividing the other into
three portions, for as many minor acquaintances of my servants. In the
same manner, a certain number of ribs were counted for Gwalior, but
the mother of Goodaloo got a great many more of the opposite side, and
in this irregular manner, after a very busy scene of some two or three
hours, except the portions which Walderheros had retained for himself,
the whole of the goat had disappeared by degrees through the wicket of
the inclosure, for the rain that was now commencing prevented the party
from holding the festival in the garden, and I was a great deal too ill
to have it celebrated within my own house.
FOOTNOTES:
[10] A singular fact connected with this custom of making
a short prayer, whilst slaughtering the victim, I
gathered from a note in a recent edition of “Sale’s
Koran.” It appears that by a decision of those learned
in the law, which is laid down in that book, animals
killed by the Jews may be partaken of by Mahomedans.
A representation to the Cadi of Cairo having been
made, that nearly all the butchers of that city were
followers of the law of Moses, they were about to be
suspended from that employment, when their Chief Rabbi
proved to the satisfaction of their Moslem judges,
that the Koran bids Mahomedans not to refuse food
which has been sanctified to the one true God, which
was always done by those who professed the faith of
Abraham and the law of Moses, when killing animals for
food. This circumstance, and also the disrespect shown
by the Whaabbees to the tomb of the Prophet, and the
temple at Mecca, demonstrate to my satisfaction that
education alone is required to show to the Mahomedans,
the absurdity of the false hopes with which their
Prophet has surrounded the worship of the only one
God, and of the inapplicability of his laws to improve
or humanize mankind. I could point out, if this were
a proper place, proofs without end, of the liberality
and extreme toleration of learned and enlightened
Mahomedans, and we ought not to attribute the bigotry
of ignorance, alike fierce and cruel in Christian,
Mahomedan, and Jew, to their _religious belief_, which
on examination will be found to have been originally
very similar amongst all these denominations, and that
the greatest differences appear to be in the several
codes of social laws adopted by each.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Invitation to visit the Negoos.--Karissa and his firelock.--
Some account of the countries to the south of Shoa.--
Distances.--A reputed cannibal people.--Other absurd
rumours.--Probable truth.--Of the Doko: not dwarfs but
monkeys.
_August 24th._--Early this morning, Tinta appeared at my house. He had
returned from Ankobar the night before, and had brought an invitation
or command, that if I were able I should visit the Negoos at Debra
Berhan, on the 24th of September, upon which day a great national
festival is held in honour of the anniversary of the discovery of
the Cross by the Empress Helena. This is called the _muscal_ from a
similar word signifying _cross_, and is a kind of military review,
before the Negoos, of all his forces, every tenant and slave capable
of bearing arms being expected to be present. It is, in fact, an
Abyssinian wapentake, and its real origin, although at the present time
concealed by the substitution of a religious name and purpose, may be
still traced to the same social institutions that first established
similar feudal parades among the older European nations. I shall
dismiss the subject at present, however, with the single remark, that
no Mahomedan, except he wear the _matab_ for the occasion of the
muscal, or the expeditions against the Gallas, is expected to appear
as a soldier before the Negoos; the Wallasmah Mahomed having all claim
upon military service from those inhabitants of Shoa who profess that
religion.
With Tinta came a gunman of the Negoos’ body guard, named Karissa, with
whom I was previously acquainted, and who, having injured the lock of
his new musket, now came to solicit me to set it to rights, under the
full impression that I had been brought up to the business. Finding
on examination that a small fragment of the catch of the trigger was
only broken off, which prevented it being held properly in the groove
of the tumbling portion of the lock, I promised to do it for him, but
as I had then no spring vice, or files, I told him he must stop until
Tinta could procure them for me, which the latter promised to do in the
course of the day.
Karissa was a very intelligent Galla, wore his hair in their usual wild
manner, in a series of long plaited elf-locks, hanging on all sides
of his head and dark brown face. His features were regular and well
defined, which is not very usual among those considered to be true
Galla, but as he came from Cambat to the south and east of Zingero,
and as I have seen others from the same country who resembled Karissa
very much, future discoveries have yet to determine to what is owing
this difference in the appearance of the countenance from those whom I
term Soumaulee Gallas, or the mulatto progeny of Shankalli and Dankalli
parents. At present it will serve our purpose to class them as a mixed
race between the Amhara and the Shankalli, or what is more probable,
between the Amhara and the Soumaulee Galla.
As he sat with me all day, and it happened to be my good day, in
contradistinction to the alternate evil one on which I was afflicted
with the ague fit, I asked him many questions respecting his
country and his parents. As I began to feel more interested in the
conversation, and found that my partial knowledge of Amharic prevented
me from making my visitor quite understand some of my questions, I sent
Walderheros for Ibrahim, who soon came, and very readily undertook to
act as interpreter and illustrator of Karissa’s information.
He first told me that he was not a born slave of the Negoos, but had
recommended himself to the notice of the monarch, by the dexterous
manner in which he had conveyed messages to the Kings of Enarea, and of
his own country, Cambat. For the fidelity which had marked his return
to servitude, and for his bravery during the rebellion of Matoko he had
been rewarded by being made a _nuftania_, or gunman, and would, were he
to marry, have a house bestowed upon him, with as much land as two oxen
could plough in the year.
He had lived several years in Gurague, and had crossed the river
Gibbee where it passes to the south of Enarea, and he stated positively
that it flowed into the Abiah, and so far gratified Ibrahim, who
had so described it to me in his geography of Southern Abyssinia.
One circumstance favourable for my proper understanding of the true
situation of the countries he described as having passed through in his
several journeys was, that Karissa had crossed the Hawash at Mulkukuyu,
so we had at once a standard of distance that both of us knew, and this
aided me materially in correcting the situations of many places with
the names and relative positions of which I was already familiar from
my conversations with Ibrahim.
Respecting Ankor, Karissa stated it to be a part of Enarea, and not of
Zingero. He did not know whether it had ever formed part of the latter
country, which I had heard from another authority, a Christian duptera,
who told me he had read it in a book belonging to the church of St.
Michael, in Ankobar (where the Negoos deposits the greater part of his
manuscript volumes), that Anquor, or Ankor, was a province of Zingero.
Be that as it may, from Ankobar to Ankor is three times the distance
between the former place to the ford over the Hawash, or about 150
miles. Zingero was about the same distance, directly to the south-west,
whilst Ankor, or that part of Enarea which borders on the Gibbee, was
nearly to the west-south-west. The sources of the Gibbee were not more
than eighty miles from Angolahlah, and going on horseback, Karissa
said that he could drink of the waters of that river before the evening
of the second day. The Gallas of Limmoo he had heard of, but never
visited, so that when I mentioned to him the name of Ouare, the Galla
informant of M. Jomard, and also Kilho, who is represented as being
chief of that country, he could give me no information respecting them.
The river Abiah he knew was the same as the Gibbee, and said that it
went through the Shankalli country to Sennaar.
Beyond the Abiah I was now told, a nation of white people like
ourselves existed, but who were cannibals, and had all their utensils
made of iron. That they boiled and eat all intruders into their
country. He stated positively that he had himself seen a woman of this
people, who had been brought to Enarea, and who had confirmed all the
statements he was now making to me. As I believe myself that the Bahr
ul Abiad will be found to have its earlier sources in an isolated
table land like Abyssinia, but of much greater elevation, I began to
suspect that these white people must be the inhabitants of the country
surrounding the distant sources of this mysterious river, and that
as the Assabi derived its name from flowing through a country of red
people, that the White Nile, in like manner had been so designated
from the circumstance of its table land being inhabited by a white
race, and as a branch of that river is known by the name of Addo,
which I consider to be the _Arian_ term for _white_, this added some
confirmation to my ideas. On inquiring, however, what knowledge Karissa
had of the Bahr ul Abiad, I found that he was entirely ignorant of
such a river, and when I modified the name, by calling it the river
of the Tokruree, or blacks, he instantly conceived I was speaking of
the Kalli, that is well known to flow to the south and east of Kuffah
into the Indian Ocean, and by which caravans of slaves are constantly
passing between Zingero and the coast of Zanzibar. There must, in fact,
exist in this situation a most available road into the very centre of
the continent of Africa, for I have subsequently seen Nubian slaves
who had been in the service of Zaid Zaid, Imaum of Zanzibar, that
corroborated this statement of Karissa in every particular respecting
the transit of slaves across the table land of Abyssinia, from Sennaar
to Lamoo on the Indian Ocean, and so to the market of Zanzibar.
I was, however, more interested in the account I received of the white
people, and which was as exaggerated a relation, as many of the reports
received by some travellers respecting the Doko dwarfs. To retail
here all the absurd nonsense that Karissa entertained me with would
be sadly misappropriating space, but I could gather from the reports
that a singular race of men live in the most jealous seclusion, in a
large desert-surrounded table land, similar in many respects to that
of Abyssinia. That they were civilized was evident, from the fact of
their writing being said to be quite different from the Geez, and it is
not a nation just emerged from barbarism that would possess a knowledge
of such an abstruse art as that of writing. As to the tale of their
being cannibals, I recollected that even at the present day the very
same report is entertained, and believed by the Negroes around Kordofan
of European habits, and that we ourselves are supposed by them to be
cannibals. This is, in fact, a charge so easily made, and serves so
admirably to heighten the horrible, in a picture of a barbarous people
drawn by an imaginative mind, that even among modern travellers we find
an inclination to spread such rumours, without any examination as to
their correctness, and sometimes, from a hasty conclusion, or an error
in interpretation, without any foundation whatever. In this manner, a
stigma of cannibalism has been attached to the Dankalli, but which only
shows how careful travellers ought to be before they promulgate such
strange and absurd stories.[11]
Nothing can be positively asserted; but I believe, myself, that we
are on the eve of a most interesting ethnological and geographical
discovery, that will at once afford a solution to all the strange and
improbable accounts which have reached us respecting the inhabitants
of Central Africa. What we hear of dwarfs, cannibals, and communities
of monkeys, may, perhaps, prove to be merely a muddied stream of
information, conveyed to us through the medium of ignorant and
barbarous tribes; but which may have a foundation of an unexpected
character, in the existence of a nation in this situation; which,
almost physically separated from the rest of the world by impassable
deserts and unnavigable rivers, has continued in its original integrity
that perfect condition of society which, once general, then almost
extinguished, evidently preceded the barbarism from which the present
transition state has emerged, and which I believe to be gradually
progressing to the re-attainment of the previous excellence of the
primeval social institutions.
One strange report respecting the inhabitants of intra-tropical Africa,
I think I shall be able to show the origin and foundation of, and
which is the existence, in a situation to the south of Kuffah, of a
nation of dwarfs, called Doko. From the information I have received
myself, and from an examination of unpublished Portuguese documents
relative to the geography of the eastern coast of Africa, and of the
people inland; in the very situation presumed to be the native country
of the Doko, I learn that a very different family of man is only to
be found--the tall, muscular, and powerful Shankalli negro; and,
more than this, the French traveller, M. d’Abbadie, from information
received in Abyssinia, has reported that to the south of Enarea and
Kuffah, a nation of Shankalli reside, to whom the name Doko was given.
It cannot, therefore, I think, be doubted that a people so designated
do occupy the country to the south of Abyssinia, and that from among
them are taken the greater number of slaves, that arrive at the markets
of Enarea and Zingero, where the dealers dispose of them to the slave
Kafilahs that are proceeding to Zanzibar, or to northern Abyssinia.
Doko perhaps designates the slave country, or, perhaps, signifies as
much as our _terra incognita_, for we find the same word entering into
the name of the unknown countries situated to the south of Bornou and
the Mandara range, and, therefore, the Dukalata of those portions on
the west of Africa may correspond with the equally unknown country of
the Doko upon the eastern side.
The accounts, however, lately received of the dwarfs of central Africa,
is not new information, but is merely the revival of a very old idea,
which in less enlightened times was naturally enough entertained by
just and properly constituted minds, who acknowledged the greatness of
the natural truths which had been demonstrated to them, by thus not
refusing to believe that which with their limited knowledge, they could
not consistently deny might be possible. It is this which characterizes
the humility of genius, and which is rewarded by the light which
must result from the inquiries excited by such expectations. But it
becomes a proof of no little mental obtuseness, when the probability
of any popular rumour is insisted upon, after the knowledge of facts
has so far accumulated, as to enable us to demonstrate its absurdity.
No reasonable being can positively deny the existence of a nation of
very short statured men in Africa, but that he must believe because
there may be such a people, that the animals described as the Doko
dwarfs, are them, is quite out of the question. The real dwarfs may,
ultimately, prove to be the Gonga people, and most probably they are.
I have some singular evidence upon this very subject, which I only wish
somewhat farther to confirm, to lay before the public; but shall at
present confine myself to denying, that the Doko, of modern Abyssinian
fable, represent the dwarfs alluded to by the naturalists of antiquity;
or, that, in fact, they are men at all.
Ludolph and d’Lisle are, I believe, still the great authorities
upon the geography of interior Africa; their maps were evidently
constructed from well compared and long considered information; and
conjectural geographers of the present day, are too glad, when their
theories accord in any way with the delineation of these countries as
represented by those authors. On examination of their maps it will
be perceived, that both received such apparently well-authenticated
accounts, of a nation of dwarfs dwelling to the South of Abyssinia,
that they had been obliged to recognise their existence, and, of
course, to find them a locality.
Ludolph, whose knowledge of the Geez and Amharic probably prevented
him from considering the accounts of so great an importance as did the
French geographer, only notices, by a small note appended to the name
on the map, that the King of Zingero was stated to be a monkey. In the
body of his work, however, he represents that he received considerable
information respecting a nation of dwarfs living in this situation,
and who accord in so many respects with the Doko of the present day,
that there cannot be any reasonable doubt, but that both have resulted
from similar popular rumours that have continued to us, from the time
of Ludolph. A plate in his very interesting “History of Ethiopia,”
actually gives the presumed character of these so-called dwarfs, and
who are represented in several situations characteristic of their
habits, among which appears as most prominent that of being employed
in devouring ants, which we are told also forms the principal food of
the Doko. Ludolph, however, has so much respect for human nature as not
to picture these dwarfs as men, but in every respect has delineated
them as monkeys; and when it is understood that the word Zingero in
Amharic signifies baboon, as well as the name of a large kingdom in
the south of Shoa, the connexion of words and the confusion of ideas
will be allowed to be quite natural, when we consider the ignorance
of the Abyssinian informants, and the imperfect knowledge of their
language, more especially of its synonymes, by even the most learned
of the travellers from whom had been received any account of that
country. It was this which misled Ludolph, although from the cautious
note upon the map respecting the King of Zingero being stated to be a
monkey, it appears that he had certain doubts, but his fidelity as a
_closet_ geographer and historian did not allow him to throw aside the
information, merely because his own opinion did not accord with that
which he was told to be the fact.
M. d’Lisle seems to have been perfectly satisfied as to the human
nature of the Government, and of course the people of Zingero, but
still he was trammeled with a nation of so-called dwarfs, which in his
days were represented to occupy a tract of country more remote than the
Abyssinian kingdom of Zingero, so we find that in his map encircling
that country to the west and south, a nation of dwarfs is placed, the
name of whom, he was informed, was Makoko. Exactly as in the case of
the _Zingero_ of Ludolph, Makoko is nothing more but the Amharic term
for monkey, and of course the same explanation proves the connexion of
these Makoko dwarfs with those animals, and also of their identity with
the same reported race of which Ludolph had previously recorded his
knowledge, although, as I have before said, their existence as a nation
was not so insisted upon by him as it appears to have been by d’Lisle.
I will now direct attention to the principal characteristics of the
modern Doko, but I may observe, that no Abyssinian I ever questioned
upon the subject, either learned duptera, or Kuffah slave, could give
me any information, excepting an old servant of Dr. Krapf, Roophael,
who seemed fully acquainted with them, and I have seen him amusing a
whole circle of Shoans with his relation of these people. But be it
observed that Ludolph’s “History of Ethiopia” formed a part of his
master’s library, and he appeared perfectly familiar with the plate of
the ant-eating monkeys, to which he always referred as his authority
for his strange tale. The fullest account of these dwarfs is found in
Major Harris’s recent work, “The Highlands of Æthiopia,” where we are
told, “Both sexes go perfectly naked, and have thick pouting lips,
diminutive eyes, and flat noses.” “They are ignorant of the use of
fire.” “_Fruits_ are their principal food, and to obtain these, women
as well as men ascend the trees in numbers, and in their quarrels
and scrambles not unfrequently throw each other from the branches.”
“They have no king, no laws, no arts, no arms, possess neither flocks
nor herds, are not hunters, do not cultivate the soil, but subsist
entirely upon fruits, roots, mice, _reptiles_, _ants_, and honey.”
These, such as they are described, cannot certainly be men possessing
reasoning powers, and without that necessary characteristic of human
nature, I cannot conceive how the idea could have been entertained for
an instant, that the Doko belonged to our species, or that they could
have been believed to be the dwarfs, supposed to exist in Africa by
those ancient authors who have in their works treated upon the subject.
Had it been shown that they possessed any attribute of humanity; a
knowledge of God, for example, beyond a mere prostration with their
feet against a tree, and a calling upon “_Yare! Yare!_” when in
trouble or pain; or of social order beyond mere gregarious instinct;
or of the simplest arts of life requiring the exercise of the least
reasoning powers, then there might have been some reason to accord to
the Doko the dignity of belonging to our species; but when we are fully
acquainted with the character and manner of living of an animal that
coincides exactly with the chief characteristics of the habits of the
Doko, it would have been more philosophical to have classed them at
once with monkeys. In that case, no reasonable objection could have
been made to the supposition that they were a new and distinct variety
of that animal, and which, perhaps, admitted of domestication to a much
greater extent than any with which we are at present acquainted. It is
probable, indeed, that this will be found to be the foundation of the
whole story, for we are told that “their docility and usefulness, added
to very limited wants, render them in high demand. None are ever sold
out of the countries bordering the Gochob, and none, therefore, find
their way to Shoa.” This I consider to be another evidence of their
being monkeys, for had they been real men and women, slave-dealers
would most certainly have conveyed some of them either into northern
Abyssinia or to Zanzibar. The plea of humanity, which has been stated
to actuate these traffickers in human flesh not to separate the
faithful and affectionate Doko from his master, I am glad to observe
is too absurd not to be suppressed; but it is no reason why I should
not mention this part of the statement as an additional evidence of
the entirely ridiculous character of the information that has excited
lately some little interest and attention among ethnologists in Europe,
as to the probable existence of a new variety of the human species in
intertropical Africa.
That the Doko may be monkeys admitting of considerable domestication
I am the more inclined to believe, from the fact that the ancient
Egyptians did call to their aid such a species of animal servants;
and in many of the representations of the habits and arts of that
interesting people will be found instances where monkeys are employed
upon the duty they are so well adapted for--that of collecting fruits
for their masters. At the present day we have no practice similar to
this in the customs of any known people; but among other novelties
to reward future enterprise, will be probably the identification of
the Doko of Kuffah with the house-monkey of ancient Egypt, and their
docility and usefulness, in that case, may then lead to their being
introduced into other countries adapted to their constitutions, and
where their services may be required. Such an animal, among a people
subsisting upon fruits and vegetables, would be as valuable as the
sheep-dog to a herdsman, or as the domesticated cormorant to the
fish-eating inhabitants on some of the canals in China.
FOOTNOTES:
[11] One evening, on my return from Abyssinia, in company
with the British Political Mission, a Galayla Muditu
appeared in the camp. Around his head was placed
the brindled shaggy tail of a hyena, which added
not a little to the savage appearance of the man.
He squatted on his heels in the customary manner,
and most of the Europeans surrounded him, to look at
the extreme of barbarism his figure and appearance
presented. Several of our Kafilah men joined us,
volunteering information; among other things, it was
observed by a slave-dealer, that the man before us
“was a bad man” (pointing at the same time to the
Hyena’s tail), “that eats man,” meaning of course,
that the man being a Mahomedan, was very wicked for
wearing any part of such a corpse-eating beast about
his person. I met this very slave-merchant, who had
thus expressed himself, some weeks afterwards, in
the Red Sea, and as we were together on board the
same vessel for several days, our conversation was
frequently upon Abyssinian matters. I once recalled
the scene of the so-called man-eater, and he was
astonished, certainly, when I told him it was reported
that the Dankalli were cannibals, and that the picture
of this very Galayla Muditu was taken with that idea,
as a portrait of a man-eater. Dankalli Mahomed, as
he was then called, never came afterwards to sit
with me and my friend, Padre Antonio Foggart, but he
went through the process of sawing his throat, as if
cutting it with a knife, to intimate how any cannibal
would be punished if he appeared in their country.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Conversation with Karissa.--Of the origin of the Galla.--Of
the word Adam.--Of Eve.--Phœnician history.--Sanchoniathon
and Moses.--Of the religion of the Galla.--Of Waak.--
Connexion with Bacchus.--Reward of enterprise.--African
ethnology.--Of the armoury of the Negoos.--Different kinds
of guns.--Of the ammunition.
Karissa remained the whole day at my house, for Tinta had been obliged
to send to Ankobar for a spring vice. A discharged servant of the
Embassy, named Sultaun, who resided in Aliu Amba, brought two files,
which I purchased from him for a few charges of gunpowder, but until
the return of Tinta’s messenger, I was obliged to postpone repairing
the gun-lock. When the required instrument did come, it was too late to
do anything, so Karissa stayed all night, turning in upon an ox-skin,
and sharing the porch of my house with Goodaloo.
The next morning (Aug. 25) I set about the business, and managed to put
all to rights before noon, during which time we had a long conversation
upon the origin of the Galla, and, in fact, of all other nations, for
the traditions he related reached to the very remotest times. How far
his information was founded upon recorded history I cannot say, but he
referred it to the conversations of some priests of Gurague, with whom
the early part of his life had been spent, and much of what I collected
upon this subject (the ethnology of the inhabitants of Abyssinia) from
Karissa, was by his asking if such and such a thing that he had heard
were true. Ibrahim was as much amused as I was, for, without supposing
it, our Galla friend was contributing considerably to the knowledge of
both.
Of the Gallas themselves, he could only tell me that they originally
came from _Bargamo_, which was represented to be a large water,
across which the distant opposite side was just visible. That their
ancestors, dwelling upon the farther shore, were induced to come over
into Abyssinia, which they soon overran and conquered. Karissa always
pointed to the south as the situation of _Bargamo_, or I was inclined
to suppose that by this was intended the country around the shores of
lake Tchad, the eastern portion of which, we learn from Clapperton and
Denham, is called Berghamie. He was very curious to know if I were of
a nation of whites of whom he had heard, called _Surdi_, and which,
in his system of mankind lore, constituted one of the three great
divisions of mankind into which the whole world was divided. There was
no question about himself, for he was a Tokruree, or black, whilst
Ibrahim, although not much lighter complexioned, was an Amhara, or red
man. The _Surdi_ he insisted as existing, and was contented to believe,
although I did not seem to know anything about them, that I was of that
race.
His fathers, Karissa said, all believed that at one period the people
of the whole earth were of one colour and language, and that the first
man, like Adam, was produced from clay. Here I may observe, that the
Abyssinians all contend that the real signification of the word Adam
is first, and is a form of Adu, the Geez for the numeral one, and as
such was once used to designate the first day of the week, and the
first month of the year. Kádama is also another modification of the
same word, signifying _before_ the first. A very interesting comparison
can be therefore made between the Mosaical account of the Creation and
that which has been preserved in Manetho as the Phœnician record of the
same event; for the name of the first mortal in the list _Primogenus_
will bear an interpretation similar to the Geez translation of Adam,
or _the first_. That which makes the identity more striking between
the two narratives is, that the name of the first woman, according to
Manetho, or rather the older writer, Sanchoniathon, was Æon, which is
the very word that is given in the Genesis of the Geez Scriptures as
the name of our common mother, and which, by tracing it through its
modifications in Arabic, Hebrew, and the Greek, to our own language,
will be found to be the original of the word Eve. That Æon appears
to have been the word which designated the mother of mankind, we have
the circumstance that it retains the signification of mother to the
present day, with slight alterations depending upon dialects; for the
Amhara of Tigre call the word mother, Eno, whilst in Shoa, Enart is
the term employed. The connexion of the name Eve with the motive given
for bestowing it, contained in the third chapter of Genesis, cannot,
in fact, be perceived unless we admit this interpretation; for we are
expressly told, that Adam gave his wife that name because “she was the
_mother_ of all living.” To this also I may add, that by deriving the
name _Adam_ from the Geez _Adu_, giving that name both to the man and
woman, as in the second verse of the fifth chapter of Genesis, “And
calling _their_ name _Adam_,” occasions no confusion, as it implies
simply that they were _the first_. I have brought home with me two or
three Ethiopic manuscripts relative to the subject of the creation of
the world; for I believe by a careful comparison we shall find still
retained in Geez literature the original from which Sanchoniathon,
and perhaps other historians, have derived the accounts, at present
received, of the first creation of man; at all events, the Amhara
reject the authority of Genesis, and adhere to one which accords much
more with the profane historian of the Phœnicians.
To return, however, to Karissa and the Galla people, their ancient
history is no less interesting, nor will it prove less important when
we possess fuller information respecting the religion they profess.
It is such a field for conjecture that I decline to enter upon the
subject, except to note that they worship a limited number of principal
deities, but recognising also a numerous host of demigods, whose
influence upon man and his affairs are exerted most malevolently, and
who can only be propitiated by sacrifices and entreaties. _Waak_,
however, appears to be the supreme god who made the world and every
inferior deity. Waak has no visible representative, but is everywhere,
and exists in everything. He is the limit of all knowledge; for “_Waak
segallo_” (God knows) invariably expresses ignorance of a fact, and the
best definition of him I could get from the most informed Galla I ever
conversed with upon the subject was, that he was the “unknown God.”
Waak is, I think, the only deity proper to the Galla people, although
long intercourse with the Gongas has made them acquainted with a
mythology which would show, had I only space to enter into the subject,
a most extraordinary connexion with that of the ancient Egyptians. They
have also derived some knowledge of one or two of the principal saints
_worshipped_ by the Greek Church, and according to their situation
with respect to the Christians of Abyssinia or the Pagans of Zingero,
so is their religion modified by the errors or absurdities of their
neighbours, and which is another reason why I suspect that originally
the unknown god Waak, was alone the object of pure Galla worship. It
is singular that very ancient travellers, Cosmas Indicopleustes, for
example, surround the then known world by a _terra incognita_ which is
inscribed as Wak-wak; whilst Edrisi, the old Arabian geographer, makes
this the name also by which he describes the present Galla countries,
and which d’Lisle, by an interesting Gascon provincialism, as it aids
me in my interpretation, makes this word Bake-bake, and places it to
the south of Abyssinia, I have been led therefore to believe that the
worship of the most ancient god of India, which European nations in
the classic ages adopted under the name of Bacchus, was supposed to
characterize the inhabitants of the regions that were so designated,
and hence the reason of describing unknown countries as lands of
_Wak-wak_. If so, and _Waak_ can be by future travellers identified by
other particulars with the Bacchus of the ancients, it will be a most
important corroboration of the origin of the Galla with an Asiatic
people who invaded Africa at a very early period. It is not one volume
that would exhaust this subject; nor is it one journey that can give
a traveller a just right to impose his opinions upon his readers. The
dissipation of a deal of obscurity respecting the earlier history
of man, and, in fact, of his original nature, and of his primeval
institutions, will be the glorious reward of future enterprise; and
since the days of Columbus, no subject of more stirring interest,
or of greater importance has been discussed, than the probability of
finding in Central Africa a country characterized by the civilization
of China, but more purely sustained in its original excellence by its
isolated position, surrounded by burning deserts, that like “flaming
swords,” turn every way to keep the way of “the tree of life.” To
me, it almost appears such a community of man is shadowed out in the
mystical language of the sacred historian; and though I do not expect
to find a paradise, still there is that in Central Africa that will
well reward those adventurous spirits who will press on to explore its
unknown portions.
The empty iron-bound chest taught the man who opened it, industry; and
even if no wonderful discovery be made, knowledge, must result from a
journey across the mysterious continent.
I return again to Karissa and his system of ethnology, for out of
the question of my being one of the nation of whites, or _Surdi_, a
conversation grew, by which I perceived the very simple system of the
original separation of man that is entertained by the Abyssinians, and
their ideas upon which are singularly confirmed by what is observed in
our own extent of knowledge. This is, that originally three families of
man occupied three distinct countries, each divided by their respective
seas; and that Tokruree, the blacks, were separated from the whites
by a white sea; which I find actually to mean the Mediterranean, so
called by Arabian geographers, from being supposed to belong to the
white people. The red people, again, were the Asiatics, the Assyrians
of Jewish historians; and the sea which separated them from Tokruree,
or Africa, was, and is called to the present day, the Red Sea, from the
reason of its being situated upon the borders of a country inhabited by
a red race of men; whilst the black people, had also their particular
sea, which is that which intervenes between India and Zanzibar, and
which still bears that name in Arabic and Indian geographies. This
simple division of the earth seems to have been the popular idea of
ethnology at a very early period; for all the various names of Alps,
Albania, Albion, and numerous others, of Latin and Greek combination,
having reference to this colour, prove that the ancient designation of
Europeans was “the whites,” and which appears to have been as general
and as familiar a term to use, as is the word blacks, or Negroes,
or Tokruree, when, at the present day, we speak of those coloured
inhabitants of Africa; whilst on the other hand the derivation of Asia
from Assa, a word which signifies red, is both easy and natural. Of
the word Tokruree, and its Geez signification, my reader must be well
aware that it means _blacks_, or Negroes, and is the significant and
expressive designation of those people.
After some more conversation upon the same subjects, as the day was
drawing to a close, Karissa took up his musket, and made preparations
for departing; but before he went insisted upon my promising to ask
the Negoos that he might be allowed to accompany me to Enarea when I
went, to which place he undertook to conduct me, through Gurague, with
perfect safety, and would only require such a present as I could give
him, upon our return to Shoa. The journey would not require more than
one month to accomplish it, including all detentions and necessary
delays. It only required, he said, the permission of the Negoos; who,
in that case, would send an affaro, or servant, to see me safe upon my
journey, and to bear the royal commands for assistance to his governors
or friends. It was this appointment of affaro Karissa desired, and
none other could have been better qualified, had circumstances been
so ordered as to have admitted of my proceeding farther; but situated
as I was, worn out by disease, and reduced to my last seven or eight
dollars, I could hold out no hope to Karissa beyond saying that I
should apply to the Negoos for permission to go to Enarea, and if I
went he should be sure to accompany me.
I learned from this man that Sahale Selassee possesses at least one
thousand firearms, of which three or four hundred are European muskets.
Of these the British Embassy had presented three hundred, and before
its return one hundred and forty more had been brought up by M. Rochet
d’Hericourt. With the Kafilah I accompanied there were more than fifty
pistols, all of which were given by the Ambassador to the Negoos. These
small weapons were quite unsuited to Amhara soldiers, who like long
shots about as well as any military, it has ever been my fortune to
observe in actual combat. The pistols, however, were not altogether
useless, for, by the orders of the sagacious monarch, several of the
best matchlocks were immediately new stocked and fitted with the locks
of the former, and were thus rendered much more available as fire-arms.
There are no less than four descriptions of guns in the armoury of
the Negoos. The first and most ancient being termed _balla quob_,
are immense long old-fashioned affairs. Each require three or four
individuals to hold, whilst another runs up with a lighted stick to
discharge it; when those who stand behind, find it most desirable to
get out of the way, for the recoil throws it several yards out of the
hands of the gunmen. The second kind is called _balla matatchah_, and
is the common matchlock; many of these, I was assured, were formerly
_balla quob_, but that a Gypt several years before had visited Shoa,
and so far benefited the Negoos by reducing his long pieces into
something like portable guns. The next kind, and most in favour, were
the English and French muskets, called _balla dinghi_, and only to
those whom he most favoured did the monarch trust these much prized
arms, every one of which is valued by him at twenty dollars, the price
of two beautiful young horses. The _balla tezarb_, or percussion guns,
are those which have come to the Negoos by the voluntary contribution
of strangers, or the direct application of the monarch for the
coveted weapon at whatever price may be demanded. My single-barreled
fowling-piece was destined to the same resting-place with nearly all
the valuable stock of private fire-arms brought up to Shoa by the
members of the Embassy, who found it very difficult to retain more
than one or two guns each for their own use. The less valuable of
these _balla tezarb_ are distributed among the superior courtiers as
great marks of favour, and besides, two or three favourite pages have
occasionally lent to them, by the Negoos, guns for their amusement; and
he rewards them also for such petty services as cannot well be paid in
any other manner, by scanty donations of four or five percussion caps
at a time. These constitute a good coin in the precincts of the palace,
and a great deal of attention and civility may be commanded in exchange
for a few caps.
The Shoan gunpowder, as I have before described, is very bad, and
also, from the want of lead, all manufactured bullets are made of
small pieces of iron, hammered into a round form. Many of the gunmen,
however, are obliged to substitute small round pebbles, as the Negoos
never distributes to each more than five or seven of the iron ones, on
occasions even of the most extensive expeditions.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Message from the Negoos.--Visit Ankobar.--The Monk Bethlehem.--
Conversation.--Bad weather.--A tattooing operation.--Interview
with Negoos.
Some few days after Karissa had visited me, an affaro came from the
palace at Ankobar, with a message that I should proceed immediately to
see the Negoos. On inquiring what circumstance had occurred to occasion
such a sudden and urgent summons, I learned that a Gypt priest had
arrived from Gondah, and that he spoke English, and for all that my
informant knew, might be an _ascar_ (a subject or servant) of my Queen.
As soon as I heard this, I was in a great hurry to be away, although,
had I consulted common prudence, I should certainly have postponed the
interview, upon the plea of the exceedingly weak state in which I was,
and the violence of fever attacks every other day, especially as the
height of Ankobar was entombed in clouds, nor had I seen its summit
for several days past. A mule, however, being procured, and certain
resting-places during the ride having been determined upon, where
friends of Walderheros or Goodaloo resided, I started early in the
afternoon, and after occupying the remainder of the day in the ascent,
I arrived at Musculo’s house by sunset. Walderheros went up to the
palace to announce my arrival, and returned in the course of half an
hour with a turbaned monk, barefooted, and with the usual soft yellow
leathern cape of his order over his shoulders. He was an elderly man,
spare and short, but he came along actively enough, and as he entered
the house, with a good English accent accosted me with, “How do you
do?” He soon gave me an account of himself and of his business in Shoa.
His present name was Bethlehem, but by birth he was an Armenian, who
had become somewhat educated in European languages and customs, by a
military service of many years with the Dutch. From other sources I
heard that he had distinguished himself greatly in several conflicts,
and had received a medal for some particularly dashing exploit. He,
however, had now forsworn the world and all its vanities, and after a
residence of several years in Abyssinia, had assumed the turban of the
clergy of the Greek Church in that country, and probably was among the
most correct in conduct, of the members of that rather lax ministry.
He sat down upon my alga, and after a few sensible observations upon
the evil of countrymen not being on good terms in a country so situated
as Shoa, and the bad effect produced upon the mind of the King by the
previous quarrels of the Embassy with their servants[12] and their
own people, he then turned the conversation upon a subject which he
said was of great interest to the Negoos, who had been talking to him
respecting it for the last two days. This was the production of indigo
in Shoa, seeds of which plant had been received from Gondah, and the
Negoos desired me to point out the situation I considered to be most
favourable for their cultivation. Judging from the character of the
country bordering upon the Ganges, its probable elevation above the
sea, and its geographical position, I had no hesitation in stating,
from the comparison, that many of the little islands of the finest
alluvial soil, situated in the bed of the Dinkee river, where it
extends in broad valleys in the neighbourhood of Farree, would be well
calculated for the interesting experiment.
Our conversation was not, however, altogether upon this subject, but
merely that I might be prepared for the interview the next day with
the Negoos, when Bethlehem was to act as interpreter. Information
respecting the state of Northern Abyssinia, as regarded differences
in the manners and customs of the inhabitants from those of Shoa, was
freely volunteered by my new acquaintance, but who was exceedingly
cautious and reserved upon political matters, so that I supposed that
the discussion was a delicate one, and that his visit to the Negoos was
connected with some business of that kind. Bethlehem is an intelligent
man, and might be made exceedingly useful, and as his knowledge of the
English language appears to give him a bias towards the interests of
this country, his probable value as an agent, must not be passed over
without being remarked. As he was nearly twice as old as myself, I
talked just as much the more in proportion, for I had no other way of
parrying the questions that his apparently careless curiosity prompted
him to make. I knew nothing of the objects for which the Embassy had
been sent to the Court of Shoa; at least nothing beyond what might
naturally be supposed--such as the extension of our commerce, and the
establishment of friendly relations with native princes; farther than
this I was quite ignorant of the purposes for which our Government had
sent political agents into Abyssinia. To learn this, was evidently the
chief object that Bethlehem had in view, during our long conversation;
but I think he went away with an impression, that I knew nothing about
it, and that the assumed mystery of my hints and suggestions was all
affectation to make him believe that my information upon the subject
was very valuable indeed. If so, I had reason to be very glad; for
after this interview, no political questions were ever asked me by any
of the agents of the Negoos; and he himself, during the interview the
next day but one, confined himself entirely to matters connected solely
with the improvements and arts, that my education would enable me to
introduce a knowledge of among his subjects.
I sat all the next morning expecting the summons for me to go up to the
palace, but no messenger appearing, and symptoms of the approach of
my fever fit coming on, I sent Walderheros to Bethlehem, to represent
to the Negoos, the impossibility of my going to the palace that day,
and to ask for an interview early the next morning, that I might leave
Ankobar immediately after, for it was impossible that I could exist
many days in that city.
Oh, the weather in Ankobar! To look out of Musculo’s house was like
looking into a boiling-house in a brewery, which I presume is always
full of steam. But was it warm? had it that dryness which even the
vapour of hot water may be said to have? No; by heavens! for the
atmosphere was one heavy drizzling perpetual Scotch mist, whilst the
earth beneath was one rich surface of sloppy greasy mud. No life seemed
stirring, except occasionally, when some closely wrapped-up figure came
like a ghost emerging from a cloud, and jumping under the thatched
roof, threw off his thick cotton _legumbigalla_, and stamping the dirt
and wet off his feet and legs, loudly expostulated with the wet season
for bringing such inconveniences with its rain.
In the afternoon, Tinta came down with his Court train of servants, to
see me at Musculo’s house. I happened just then to be lying under the
influence of the ague fit, so he only remained to express his sorrow
at seeing me in such a condition, and promised that he would ask the
Negoos to receive me early in the morning, that I might not be detained
any longer in Ankobar than was absolutely necessary.
During this stay at Musculo’s house, I observed the tattooing process
by which the Shoan ladies disfigure their faces with large artificial
eyebrows of a black colour; for nearly the whole day was occupied by
Eichess ornamenting in this manner, the broadly round face of her
fat slave-girl, Mahriam. It appeared to be no joke, although, if a
ridiculous absurdity could have suspended my predisposition to the
fever paroxysm, it would have been this beautifying operation. The
whole year previously, every depilatory means by which to eradicate the
natural hairs of the eyebrows had been employed, and the pertinacious
industry with which this had been done, I noticed on my previous visit
had occasioned an expression of vacuity that was not at all wanted in
the ever-smiling expanse of countenance which Mahriam displayed over
a bust, breast, and body, so large and fat, that darkened the house
immediately if she stood a moment in the wide door-way. One half of
the right eye-brow had been done two or three days previously, a very
promising dry scab of charcoal and the natural secretion consequent
upon a sore had formed, and which was looked at by Eichess with all the
interest that a mother may be supposed to examine the progress of the
virus influence upon her recently vaccinated child. In a word, it was
pronounced to be promising very well, and the instruments and dye were
then produced to finish the business. Eichess sat upon a boss of straw,
and Mahriam knelt down before her, whilst Walderheros, to encourage
the latter to bear the pain with fortitude, told her to be sure and
recollect she was a _man_. A bundle of long white thorns, which I
recognised as belonging to the commonest kind of mimosa, were now taken
from a rag in which they were folded, and one being selected, Eichess
commenced with it a dotting kind of puncturing in the skin, along a
semicircular line, previously marked with a piece of charcoal around
the frontal edge of the orbit, and which, besides including the bald
part of the original eyebrow, was prolonged considerably towards the
lower part of the temple, and also extended to the middle of the space
between the eyes, where it met the similar delineation coming from
the other side. Blood soon flowed freely, and I could scarcely have
imagined it possible that such a punishment could be sustained for the
attainment of so unnatural an ornament. Custom must constitute the
principal part of original sin, or such barbarous attempts as these
to improve upon nature would not be persisted in from one generation
to another. The ladies of antiquity, I recollect learning when I
was a student, employed a black mineral, _stibium_, supposed to be
_plumbago_, or black lead; for the purpose, says Celsus, of making
them black browed, and this fashion, with many others, appears to have
been early introduced in to Abyssinia, either by the Greeks or Romans,
and has been continued in that country to the present day. The manner
in which a lady of fashion dresses her hair in Shoa, in a series of
close pipe-like curls, is identically the same with the head-dress
represented in the bust of Octavia, the niece of Augustus, in the
British Museum, (Chamber vi. No. 65,) and I should require no other
woodcut to illustrate this Abyssinian fashion than a drawing of that
bust.
After the painful process had concluded as regarded one eyebrow, a
mixture of powdered charcoal and water was made, and a little rag being
first dipped into this was then rubbed over the fresh wound, until
a sufficient quantity of the blacking dye had become absorbed, when
the blood was washed from her face, and Mahriam was complimented by
all for her fortitude and improved appearance. With the most simple
gratitude the well-pleased girl stoops and kisses, with an affectionate
obeisance, the hand of her indulgent mistress.
A similar operation is sometimes performed over the front part of
the gums, and upon the inner surface of the lips, where I should
conceive the most excruciating pain must be occasioned by the process.
What girls will suffer for the sake of gaining admiration is most
astonishing; but, however, they are not all so silly as this in
Shoa, for, in justice to the Tabeeb women, I must observe that this
custom is not practised among them, and the consequence is, that the
younger females of this very singular people, are the handsomest in
the country. In addition to the tattooed eyebrows it is not unusual
to observe the figure of a Geez letter ጠ, which I am told is a very
ancient Egyptian symbol expressive of the unity of the Deity. All
idea of this signification is lost, but the Abyssinians account for
the employment of this mark upon the forehead because it is said to
exert a very benign influence upon the bearer. Besides the physical
appearances which led me to consider that the Christians of the Malabar
coast of India I have seen, were emigrants from Southern Abyssinia,
was the circumstance of this very symbol being tattooed between the
eyebrows in exactly the same manner as it is borne by the Shoan women.
Before nine o’clock the next day a message came down from the palace
for me to attend upon the Negoos, and although my shoes let in water
and even mud very freely, and the drizzling fog threatened soon to wet
me to my skin, I took the long _zank_ which was given me to assist in
the ascent up the steep hill, and I started with the desperation of
a man who had given up all hopes of ever being permitted to dismount
again from death’s grey steed, disease, which, at a hard trot, for
nearly the last two years, had been carrying me towards the grave.
The palace of Ankobar lifts its thatched roofs above the summit of a
high pyramidal hill, the abrupt termination of the narrow spur-like
ridge upon which Ankobar stands. Three sides are singularly regular,
and appear as if cut into an angular pyramidal cone, that rises two
or three hundred feet above the level of the ridge to which it is
connected on the fourth side. A high stockade of splintered _ted_ winds
spirally from midway, to the last enclosure upon the top of the hill,
wherein stand the royal buildings. The lower portion of the palisades
skirt for some distance the road into Ankobar from the valley of the
Airahra, and the first house upon the elevated ridge may be said to be
the palace, for its large and rudely-formed wooden gates on the left
hand, are the first doorway perceived by the weary traveller after
having ascended to the level of the town.
If, however, he look over the precipices to the right, the whole way
up, he will perceive hundreds of the thatched roofs of little circular
houses, in which the greater number of the Royal slaves and servants
reside with their families. These descend by a quick succession of
little gardened terraces to the meadow-like but limited plateau that
intervenes some distance, before the actual bed of the Airahra river
is gained. If the traveller looks from his elevated position in this
direction, and if it be a bright day, a splendid prospect extends
before him. Houses, the straw tops of which he could jump down upon, so
steep is the descent, conceal the view of those which are immediately
below; but jutting beyond these, fringe-like enclosures of the
thick foliage of the _shokoko-gwoman_ and the _amharara_ trees, and
low-thatched roofs buried in gardens of the broad-leaved _ensete_ or
_koba_ banana plant, appear, falling rapidly to the undulating broad
meadow, studded with numerous little eminences, where solitary, but
snug-looking farmhouses are sheltered by tall flat-topped mimosas or
the pine-like growing ted. Partial glimpses, of the winding Airahra
beyond; here, where it meanders sluggishly through a verdant mead, or
there, where a silver column marks a distant fall; the opposite grey
cliffs of the Tchakkah range, dotted with dark green clumps of the huge
crimson-flowering _cosso_, all aid in filling up the background of a
picture of real beauty and of apparent peace, upon which the eye and
mind can dwell for hours untired, contemplating with a pleased sympathy
of delight, upon a scene that appears so adapted for a practical
experiment of Utopian colonization, the object of which should be the
fullest development of human happiness and excellence.
I did not stop to-day, except when violent palpitation of the heart and
the greatest oppression in breathing obliged me to come to a stand to
recover myself after climbing up some stairs formed of the trunks of
trees, that placed me upon a level position or landing-place; several
of which aids in the steep ascent, characterize the King’s highway into
Ankobar. Leaning upon Walderheros, I turned under the arch-way of the
first gate, and passed through a narrow court, or partition, between
two succeeding enclosures. Then beneath another gate-house, over which
the clanking of chains needed no interpretation from my servant that
it was the Royal prison for the temporary confinement of culprits. In
the sheltered passage thus formed, I sat upon a huge stone to rest,
whilst a long string of donkeys descended, coming from the storehouses
above, where they had been delivering grain and berberah for the use
of the palace. A long irregular series of wooden steps in a winding
curve along the side of the hill, brought us to the last enclosure
upon the summit. Here a little wicket leads to a high terrace-walk,
having on one side a long row of palisades, and on the other, a clear
and open view of the broad and deep valley of the Airahra, whilst
before the visitor, stands a rude stone arch, but of what character,
its architect, Demetrius, would be at a loss to say; this occupies the
whole width of the terrace-walk, or about eighteen feet wide, and is
from twelve to fifteen feet high. The gateway is about six feet wide
and about nine feet high, and is closed by one large door, in which a
lesser one for ordinary purposes is cut. After staying a short time
in a little shed near the first wicket, and in which the porter is
sheltered from the weather, Tinta appeared at the gate of Demetrius,
and called me to come immediately, and in a very few moments I was
introduced into a small room, where, upon a raised iron hearth, a good
fire was burning. Here, on his usual throne, a white cloth covered
alga, the Negoos was reclining, and in close conversation with the monk
Bethlehem, who, sitting cross-legged on an ox-skin below, seemed to
have been giving his opinion upon four or five rifles that lay before
him upon the floor.
After the usual salutations were made, and an ox-skin had been spread
for me, Walderheros, Tinta, and other attendants who had accompanied me
into the room, were ordered to withdraw, and I began to suspect some
political matters were to be the topic of our conversation. “Kaffu
wobar,” (fevers are bad things,) said the monarch, which Bethlehem
translated rather unnecessarily, but it commenced my examination as to
the relative merits of gun-barrels. I had to describe how they were
manufactured; what was the differences between the plain and twisted;
in what manner the grooves on the rifle were made; and whether long or
short barrels were most economical for service. As regarded the latter
query, the monarch showed his quickness in detecting any anomaly, or
apparent contradiction; for having before asserted that the best gun
he had showed me to-day was a strong two-ounce rifle, double-barreled,
I said that the long Arab matchlock barrel was most inconvenient by
reason of its great weight, when he instantly took the rifle and placed
it in my hands, to show me that it was at least twice the weight of the
one I now contemned.
From guns the conversation changed to the subject of dyes, which
appeared to be of the next importance in the mind of Sahale Selassee.
The scarlet colour of our country I told him required not vegetables
for its production, but either insects or minerals; and I suppose
Bethlehem had previously explained this to him, as he seemed satisfied
with my statement without farther question. Indigo, I was able to
promise him that I would undertake to cultivate, and make serviceable
to his people by teaching them how to manufacture the dye, if that I
recovered my health after the rains subsided, and which it was expected
they would in the middle of this month (September). He inquired very
particularly into the process, and I explained it to him as well as
I could, and he complimented me by saying, that my services in thus
extending a knowledge of useful arts among his children (subjects)
would be of more value than all the rich gifts that had been brought
to him by the commander (our ambassador). I was then asked for some
medicine for his brother who was sick, Bethlehem interpreting the whole
conversation that took place upon this subject.
FOOTNOTES:
[12] Major Harris, in his “Highlands of Ethiopia,” has
made the following assertions:--“In utter abhorrence
of the country and its inhabitants, the Moslem
servants who accompanied the Embassy from India all
took their departure, willing to brave the dangers
and difficulties of a long journey through the
inhospitable deserts of Adaîel, rather than prolong a
hateful sojourn in Abyssinia. One half of the number
were murdered on their way down, and the places of
all long remained empty.” This is most unjust both to
the Dankalli and the Abyssinian, for of the twenty
native and Arab servants, independent of the two tent
Lascars mentioned as having accompanied the Mission,
eight only were dismissed in Shoa--Sultaun, Hadjji
Abdullah, Allee Chous, Berberah Allee, Abbas, Mahudee,
Hadjji Ohmed, and an Indian boy, whose name I have
forgotten. These servants had been led to expect, on
their arrival in Abyssinia, the payment of the high
wages which, in some of their cases, had alone induced
them to accompany the Mission through Adal. Their
disappointment may be conceived when they were then
informed that a moiety only of their wages would be
paid to them in Shoa, and that the remainder would
run on in arrears until their return to Aden. This
injustice, as it was conceived to be, was resented,
and the discharge of these eight, in this remote
country, was the consequence. The unfortunate servants
appealed to the Negoos for redress, who condescended
(but without avail) to intercede for their return to
the Mission. This affront to the royal dignity was
never forgotten, whilst a very injurious prejudice
was raised by the conduct that was pursued by our
representative with reference to the non-performance
of the engagements entered into with these men. This
being followed shortly afterwards by the infliction of
corporeal punishment upon a soldier for a breach of
martial law, when no other kind of discipline was even
pretended to be kept up, astonished the Abyssinians
not a little, and gave the finishing blow to all
popular respect for English civilization, or wishes
for any connexion whatever with our country.
But this is not all. Of the eight discharged servants,
instead of the whole of these men showing any
abhorrence of the country, the greater part of them
took to themselves wives, and upon what little they
had saved lived near me in Aliu Amba. Three of them
however (Hadjji Ohmed, Mahudee, and the Indian boy),
were induced to attempt a passage to the sea-coast.
The Kafilah they accompanied was attacked on the
eastern bank of the Hawash by the Takalee tribe. The
Indian boy was slain, but Hadjji Ohmed and Mahudee,
being mounted, fled different ways; the former
fortunately found protection and shelter for more
than a month with Omah Batta’s sub-division of the
Sidee Ahbreu tribe, whilst Mahudee contrived to reach
a much more distant portion of Adal, the country of
Chur-Chur, on the road to Hurrah from Shoa. Here he
also remained several weeks, receiving the greatest
attention and kindness, and finally was restored,
as was also Hadjji Ohmed, to the _Negoos_ of Shoa,
who rewarded their _Adal_ entertainers for their
hospitality to British subjects.
It may be naturally supposed that the author of the
“Highlands of Ethiopia” was ignorant of these facts,
but this is impossible, for Mahudee, who had visited
Chur-Chur, was reinstated in his situation as
horsekeeper to Major Harris himself, in return for the
interesting information it was supposed he could give
of the little-known country where he had been living.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Conversation on medical matters with the Negoos.--Of Guancho.--
The State prison.--The construction of its defences.--Good
medicine for captives.--Its probable effect.--Of the Gallas.--
Their invasion.--Of the Gongas.--Abyssinian slaves.--Conclusion.
A very singular circumstance connected with our conversation respecting
the health of the brother of the Negoos was, that neither Bethlehem
or myself recollected at first, that all the near relations of Sahale
Selassee were incarcerated in prison, according to ancient Abyssinian
custom, and which, I believe, was also practised in the kingdom of
Judea, to secure, by this cruel policy, the monarch from personal
danger, and the country from the evils inflicted by civil war, that
might otherwise arise by the ambition or simplicity of the other
branches of the Royal family, either acting itself or admitting of
being acted upon by the arts of others.
The Shoan prison for these unfortunates is a high conical hill,
called Guancho, situated midway between Aliu Amba and Farree, and
is the residence of the Wallasmah Mahomed, who fills the office of
State gaoler, as well as collector of duties upon that frontier of
the kingdom. Here, at the period of this interview with the King,
were confined five princes of the blood Royal, some of whom had been
prisoners for as many as thirty, or thirty-four years.
From personal inspection of their apartments, an opportunity afforded
to no other European besides, I can state that the close and rigorous
confinement, said to have been imposed upon these captives, is much
exaggerated; and, although the separate sleeping apartments at night
were not more than seven feet in all their dimensions, still they were
only composed of sticks, such as the common garden rods for raising
peas in England, and a strong man leaning hard against them must
have fallen out through the wall of his cell. Only two of the royal
prisoners wore chains; these were on one hand and leg of the same side,
and were long enough to admit of the freest motion. A long-thatched
_wort bait_, or meat-house, contained their families; for not only did
the King remember his captive brethren on days of festival, by sending
them oxen, and honey-wine, but they were allowed to marry, and their
wives lived with them in their confinement. I took a ground plan of the
whole establishment, and the Wallasmah, who was too old to accompany
me on my survey, when I was in the only place that looked like a
dungeon at all, a vault about twenty feet square, cut out of the summit
of the hill, stamped several times upon the roof to intimate that
his sitting-room was over this secure place. In this dismal dungeon,
however, no person had been confined for the last six or seven years,
although it was being then prepared, by a second door being put up,
for the occupation of the unfortunate Samma-negoos, an ex-frontier
governor, who had assisted his brother, a denounced rebel, to escape to
Argobba, where he is now entertained by the Mahomedan Prince of that
country, Beroo Lobo. When I visited Guancho, this prisoner occupied a
small den of sticks, not four feet wide in any direction, and his hands
and feet were chained close together, so that his removal to the larger
subterranean cell will, at all events, afford him some opportunities of
exercise, though he will then be deprived of light and fresh air.
Although, therefore, the Royal prisoners did not enjoy life in a valley
of delight, they certainly did not drag out a miserable existence upon
the hill of despair. This would have been adding unnecessary cruelty to
an exigency of State policy; an evil that would, I am convinced, have
long before corrected itself, by the frequent escapes that would have
been attempted, especially in a place that afforded such opportunities
for obtaining personal freedom. An Abyssinian Baron Trenck would only
have to wrench open the thin bar of soft iron which constitutes fetters
in that country, and by three successive jumps through, not over,
as many fences of rotten sticks, he would be as free as the wildest
Galla, into whose country a walk of a few hours would take him. I did
not show any lucifer matches, for I recollected that the Portuguese
traveller Bermudez, had been confined in this very prison, and I did
not know whether an act of incendiarism might not at a future time be
available as a means of escape; for, it must be understood, at the time
of this visit I had been threatened if I attempted to leave Shoa with
the Embassy on their return to Aden, to be confined in Guancho, so
desirous was the Negoos of detaining me with him.
Guancho, the State prisoners, nor the anxiety of his Majesty that
I should remain in his service, can be entered into now; this is
anticipating the occurrence of events, the relation of which must be
excused from the increasing contraction of my limits, that prevents me
from holding but a little more pleasant converse with my reader, who,
I hope, so far has been conducted with an amused interest through the
scenes of Dankalli and Abyssinia life, in which I was a participator
during my sojourn in those countries.
Recalled to a recollection of the circumstances of the condition of the
Royal relations, by a remark of the Negoos, Bethlehem turned to me,
and commented upon the sanitary observances I had been recommending
for the benefit of my supposed patient, as he was a prisoner, and I
then learnt, that the Negoos was consulting me upon the subject of a
disease, to which he was himself subject. The symptoms that he had
detailed plainly indicated a great determination of blood to the
head, and among other things which I had suggested as preventives of
the occasional giddiness, dimness of sight, &c., which was complained
of, was frequent exercise by walking, and recommended that this should
be for some distance regularly every morning and evening. It was this
which had led the Negoos to make some playful remark in his character,
as his brother’s representative, that this indeed would be a pleasant
medicine for him, and which reminded the interpreter that if I went on
prescribing in that way I might say something unpleasant to the Royal
ear. Perhaps the unconscious shrug, with which I acknowledged our error
operated upon the mind of the monarch more than any direct appeal that
I could have made in favour of his unhappy relatives, and expressed
more real sorrow than the cold interpretation of Bethlehem could have
conveyed.[13]
The monarch soon after changed the subject by alluding to the bad
state of my own health, and of the necessity of my remaining quiet in
Aliu Amba until the termination of the wet season, which was expected
about the middle of the present month. He did not forget to recommend
to me the study of the Amharic language during that time, so that in
the next expedition against the Galla, to which he had already invited
me, I might be able to converse with him. The Negoos did not detain
me much longer, but after telling me not to miss seeing the Muscal
(at Debra Berhan on the 24th), if it were possible for me to come, he
dismissed me, glad enough to escape from the fatiguing interview.
I returned to Musculo’s house a great deal too tired to think of going
on to Aliu Amba directly, but made up my mind to stay until an hour or
two before sunset, to arrive in that town just in time for bed, and
so escape the houseful of inquiring friends, who would have thronged
around me with compliments and congratulations on my return.
To amuse me some portion of the time, Musculo introduced three of four
slaves who had been brought from the more interesting countries around
Shoa, and none of whom, as regards their political relations with that
country, demand a more particular notice than the Gallas. These appear
to surround Shoa on every side, except towards the north, where the
Amhara inhabitants of the Argobba appear to have their country in that
direction, continuous with the Shoan province of Efat; but even here a
narrow belt of debateable land, by the mutual jealousies of the rulers
of the two kingdoms, is left to the undisputed possession of some
unsettled Adal Galla tribes.
I have several times, in the body of this work, represented these
people as being the mixed descendants of the Dankalli and Shankalli
people, and although this descent has been modified in some situations
by contiguity to nations differing very considerably, both physically
and morally, from each other, still all the numerous tribes that
stretch on the eastern side of the table land of Abyssinia, from the
neighbourhood of Massoah to an unknown distance in the south, speak
one language, and practise nearly similar customs. The first disputed
question respecting the Gallas is their origin, which is generally
supposed to be foreign to the continent they now occupy, and from the
name _Calla_ resembling a Hebrew word signifying milk, it has been
presumed that they were a white people of that nation, who have become
changed in colour by a long residence in their present inter-tropical
possessions. Modern travellers continue in supporting this supposition,
but in recording my dissent I ask no one to adopt my opinion, I owe
it to my readers to state my ideas upon a subject I have studied a
little, and upon which I presume they require information. It is not,
therefore, to attract attention by opposing received opinion, which I
would much rather avoid, but for the sake of exciting discussion among
abler men than myself, that I here throw out suggestions respecting the
Gallas, as on other subjects I have done before.
The origin of the name Galla, from the Arian word _calla_, black,
appears easy and natural, and I have therefore adopted it, but shall
feel greatly indebted to any learned ethnologist who will correct me if
I am in error. The country their presumed parents occupied, is that in
which, from its situation, no other complexioned people could reside,
whilst that law of nature continues to exist which has imposed a black
skin upon men living in a very hot country.
We find, however, these so-called blacks in geographical situations,
quite at variance with that betokened by the dark colour of their
skin, and more particularly upon the elevated plateau of Abyssinia,
the natural country of the pale yellow Gonga, where their appearance
presents an apparent anomaly, which, fortunately, history enables us
to explain. The first intrusion of the Amhara I have in another place
endeavoured to show was in the time of the Egyptian king, Psammeticus,
and to trace their history, in connexion with the changes consequent
upon their colonization of the left banks of the Abi and the Abiah,
would be most easy and interesting; for the present generation possess
sufficient documentary evidence, to supply the necessary materials; but
until some indefatigable scholar takes upon himself this task, I have
no hope of seeing that obscurity dispelled which hangs over the earlier
history of mankind, and which is intimately connected with the earlier
history of Abyssinia. With this part of my subject, however, at present
we have nothing to do, and must call attention to the fact, that
the first recorded appearance of the Galla in Abyssinia, as hostile
invaders, was in 1537, during the reign of the Emperor David, otherwise
called Onag Segued. By this must be understood that it was at that
time they first found themselves able to assert their independence.
A more favourable opportunity could not have been afforded them
than that offered, when the Mahomedan King of Adal, Mahomed Grahne,
conquered and overran considerable portions of the ancient empire.
To the distractions and misfortunes that then harassed the Christian
Court the Gallas contributed, led on by sheer destiny, I believe, for
they quietly took possession with their herds of the countries that
had been devastated during the long civil sectarian war which, at the
time of Grahne, had assumed a national character from the divisions
of the Christian and Mahomedan Amhara, being then under two distinct
monarchial governments. These two kindred people mutually destroying
each other, were unable to offer any resistance to the lawless and
barbarous intruders who were alone benefited by the struggle for
supremacy between the professors of these two faiths.
The Adal conquerors, however, lost a great deal more by the war than
the defeated Christians of the table land; for occupying a country
of much less elevation than Abyssinia, the Gallas naturally located
themselves first upon the lands so much more suited to their habits
and constitutions, and accordingly, the Dankalli, closing from the
north, whilst the Shankalli came up from the south, their progeny soon
swept from the face of the country their Amhara predecessors; and the
red man of America retreats no faster before civilization, than on
this coast of Africa, the latter has been extinguished by the advance
of the barbarian Gallas. Only one town remains of the once mighty
kingdom of Adal, the city of Hurrah, the former capital of Mahomed
Grahne, before whose time Christianity was here at least tolerated
and professed by numbers of its inhabitants. Within the last century
another lingering remnant of this population of Adal has been entirely
driven out. Owssa, now exclusively Mahomedan Dankalli, was formerly
the capital of Amhara kings of Adal, and the traditions of the present
occupiers record the late residence in that country of a Christian
population. After the death of Mahomed Grahne and the expulsion of the
Jesuits from Abyssinia, the attention of its princes was first directed
to the increasing evil of Galla intrusion, and they then endeavoured
unsuccessfully, to recover those portions of the table-land upon which
they had established themselves.
It is admitted that the Gallas entered Abyssinia, through the natural
breach in its surrounding rampart on the east, where the denuding
operation of the Hawash has constructed a favourable high road for the
journeyings of a nation. Had a similar facility existed to the south,
such as would be afforded, for example, by the débouché, of a river
from the table land in that situation, we may be assured that the
national integrity of the Gonga people, who, in the north, were unable
to contend against the intruding Amhara, would have found it very
difficult to contend with the more warlike Galla; yet who, it will be
found, have made less impression there than in any other situation upon
the whole table land.
It appears that Fatagar, Efat, Shoa, then Damot, (which at that period
extended to the south of the river Abi,) were successively taken
possession of, a succession of conquests which prove that the course
of the Hawash, was the principal natural direction this people took in
their wanderings.
In Shoa and Efat they appear to have been early civilized. One of the
most characteristic traits of the Galla people is, the facility with
which they appear to adopt the religious creeds of their neighbours;
and the adjoining kingdom of Amhara, the central stronghold of the
Christian religion, afforded numerous opportunities of conversion, and
perhaps other favourable circumstances then existed of which we are now
ignorant; but the result has been a closer amalgamation of the Gallas
with the Amhara people in Shoa than, I believe, any other country of
Abyssinia presents. Whilst, therefore, an exceedingly corrupt dialect
of the Amharic language is there spoken, the dark colour of their skin
attests their close consanguinity with the Galla invaders, coming from
the low hot country immediately at the foot of the Abyssinian scarp in
this situation.
The Galla, physically speaking, are a fine race of men, tall, muscular,
and well formed. In the colour of their skin they vary considerably, as
may be supposed, from the differences of situation and of neighbourhood
in which they have located themselves. The Edjow Gallas, to the north
of Angotcha, are, I understand, of a lighter colour than the real
Amhara or red man, but it is probable that some mistake exists as
regards this statement. The Gallas of Limmoo are very dark-coloured,
but they live in a country considerably more elevated than that of
the Edjow Gallas. The Shoans themselves, who are considerably more
Galla than Amhara, are a very dark brown, although several light red
individuals, not born in Shoa, but more to the north, as I was told by
Sheik Tigh, are to be found among them.
In the expression of the Galla countenance there is that which reminds
the observer more of their Shankalli than of their Dankalli origin. The
form of their heads is long, the sides being flat, with very contracted
but not receding foreheads. The lower parts of their faces have the
full negro-form development of the lips and jaws, although the teeth
are regular and well set, without the inclination forwards I have
observed in several negro skulls. Their hair is coarse and frizzly.
It is generally worn in long narrow plaits, that hang directly down
upon the neck and shoulders. In Shoa it is customary to dress it with
considerable care, and it is then sometimes arranged in most fantastic
forms, the head being adorned all over with numerous small collected
tufts, and at others, three monstrous heaps of hair on the sides and
top make the head and face look like a huge ace of clubs. Their natural
dispositions are very good, and their courage is undoubted.
It is very interesting to remark how readily the Galla appear to adapt
their national habits to the circumstances in which they are placed.
This seems to be a kind of instinct in man, or perhaps is an element
of that moral development which seems to determine those occasionally
mysterious inroads of a new people, who seem to have sprung up at
once to exert the most extensive changes in the history of nations,
and which then subsides again for another term of ages. Such was the
appearance of the Mongols in Asia, and of the Goths in Europe; such was
the appearance of the Arabians after Mahomed; and such are the Gallas
of the present day, who are gradually appropriating to themselves the
whole of the Abyssinian empire. This moral principle, however, whatever
it may be, seems to promise an abundant harvest of converts to the
zealous and intelligent missionary, who shall first appear as the
professed apostle of Christianity among them.
Besides the Gallas whom I saw at Musculo’s, were several Zingero and
Kuffah slaves, and as these are the principal representatives of the
Gonga people, of whom I have frequently spoken, I shall take this
opportunity of more particularly describing them. The Gongas are a
mysterious people, of whom rumours alone had reached the civilized
world in the remotest antiquity, and the same obscurity continues at
the present time to hang over this interesting and secluded nation.
With the evidence I collected during my travels in Abyssinia, it will
not be presumption in me to call attention to a few facts that appear
to me calculated to throw some little light upon this subject, and
which may probably excite a greater desire to become better acquainted
with the hidden secrets of man’s history contained in the heart of
Africa.
The Gongas, in the era of the celebrated Egyptian king Psammeticus,
occupied the whole table-land of Abyssinia. Neither Amhara, or Galla,
had, as yet, appeared upon their naturally defended and very extensive
fortress. In their social institutions the great principle of foreign
policy, was the exclusion of strangers; and their isolated situation,
easily enabled them to effect this. One character of civilization, the
geography of the desert-surrounded table-lands of Africa, is eminently
calculated to prosper and promote, that peculiar social condition, the
consistency and continuance of which, requires little or no intercourse
to be kept up with the rest of mankind; the isolated members of which,
live contented among themselves, uninfluenced by wants which could
only be gratified by the products of other lands. In such African
communities, no inland seas, or navigable rivers, afford that facility
of intercourse which is enjoyed (as it is presumed) by the inhabitants
of more highly favoured countries. Protected also from foreign invasion
by vast and almost impassable deserts, individual enterprize could
scarcely be tempted to keep up a communication with a people so
situated, provided that they adhered to the principles of contentment,
and did not allow themselves to be seduced into a desire for foreign
luxuries; an unwise indulgence in which, first leads to molestation
from commercial intruders; who, breaking up the seclusion, open a path
to military invasion, which usually ends in the loss of country and of
personal freedom.
We hear of the Gongas in ancient history under various names, but
they were principally characterized by the cautious manner in which
they communicated with those merchants, with whom nature imperatively
commanded them, at least, to have some intercourse to exchange the
productions of their country, for what was an absolute necessary of
life to them, and of which they had no supply but from abroad; I need
scarcely mention, that this was salt. In return for this, it appears,
that gold was principally given to the traders; and for ages, this
commerce was carried on, with no more communication than was necessary,
through the medium of the following practice. “This country of Sasu
is very rich in gold mines. Every year the King of Axum sends some
of his people to this place for gold. These are joined by many other
merchants; so that, altogether, they form a caravan of about five
hundred people. They carry with them oxen, salt, and iron. When they
arrive upon the frontiers of that country they take up their quarters,
and make a large barrier of thorns. In the meantime having slain and
cut up their oxen, they lay the pieces of flesh, as well as the iron,
and salt, upon the thorns. Then come the inhabitants, and place one or
more parcels of gold upon the wares, and wait outside the enclosure.
The owners of the flesh, and other goods, then examine whether this be
equal to the price or not. If so, they take the gold, and the others
take the wares; if not, the latter still add more gold, or take back
what they had already put down. The trade is carried on in this manner,
because the languages are different, and they have no interpreter; it
takes about five days to dispose of the goods which they bring with
them.”[14] Heeren, in his Historical Researches, connects the country
where this system of barter was practised, with that of the Macrobians,
or long-lived Ethiopians, mentioned by Herodotus. By an ingenious
conclusion, he supposes that the altar or table of the Sun which
characterized the latter people was the market-place, in which, at a
later day, the trade with the strangers was transacted. My observations
have also led me to the same conclusion, but I am able more distinctly
to authenticate this, and to suggest additional and more direct
evidence of its being the actual fact.
The worship of the Gongas, which has continued to the present time, is
the adoration of the river that flows through their country, as being
part of the sacred Nile. The Abi, or Nile of Bruce, is worshipped by
the modern Adjows, whilst the Gibbee, or Abiah, is the object of a
similar devotion among the Pagan Gongas of Zingero, and of Kuffah. We
are enabled from our knowledge of the former river to presume, that
its singular course determined in the first instance, a reverence,
which, when the increasing encroachments of foreign foes had made this
river a convenient defence to the pressed Gongas, was soon elevated to
the character of a protecting deity. That its singular course should
have thus attracted attention arises, I believe, from the circumstance
of its encircling an extensive province, and going around it, as the
sun was supposed to revolve around the earth. The zodiac, or track of
the sun through the heavens, was typified by the form of a serpent,
and this I have always understood to have been the source of that
serpent-worship which characterized so many of the earlier and more
civilized nations of the earth. In no country, was this idolatry more
prevalent than upon the plateau of Abyssinia, and _Arwè_, the great
serpent, it will be recollected figures considerably in the earlier
history of the Amhara, who appear to have in some measure adopted the
religion of the Gongas, when they took possession of the countries upon
the left hand of their _father_, their _king_, their _sun_, by all of
which names, it is usual, even at the present day, to designate the
river Abi.
The great serpents of classic mythological history, the Hydra,
the Python, and others unnamed, destroyed by Apollo and Hercules,
all allude evidently to the worship of the serpent in Africa being
superseded by that of the sun. The relation of these gods to that
luminary is generally admitted, and _Hiero Calla_, fortunately for
my derivation of the word _Galla_, the sun of the _blacks_, is the
interpretative analysis of the name of Hercules. In the modern Dankalli
language no other word is used for sun but _Hiero_, and it enters
into the name of several names of places; Hyhilloo, the scene of the
celebrated battle between the forces of Lohitu and the Muditu, is
translated by the Dankalli to mean the hill of the sun.
The head of a sculptured Hercules is invariably portraited with the
frizzly hair of the Dankalli, whilst antiquarian ethnologists will be
interested to observe the persistance of national character preserved
in the flowing locks and ample beard usually given to Jupiter, his
European counterpart.
That which increased the celebrity of the northern portion of the
table-land of Abyssinia, and established the superiority in dignity
of its stream, was the circumstance of its flowing through the lake
Tzana or Dembea. No little light breaks upon the subject when it is
understood, that the literal interpretation of these two words in very
different languages, is the same, both signifying the lake of the sun.
Dembea, let me observe, is a word in use in Abyssinia that belongs to
the same language as _Abi_, _Assa_, _Galla_, _Nil_, and others, that
to avoid confusion, I have called _Arian_. That so many proper names,
should all be derived from an Asiatic language in a country where no
representatives of the modern people who speak it can now be found, is
only to be accounted for, by supposing that the African original of
the Arian family of man yet continues in some of the secluded oases of
Intra-tropical Africa, to reward by their discovery future enterprize.
Bahr Dembea, or the Lake of the Sun, would give a very appropriate
designation to the plateau upon which it is found. It was that, and
the course of the Abi, which occasioned the country visited by the
messengers of Cambyses to be called the Table of the Sun. It was also
the presence of these singularly situated geographical features,
and their supposed reference to the sun’s track in the zodiac, that
determined the reputed sanctity of this portion of Ethiopia in the
classic ages.
The connexion of the ancient Persian empire with its Ethiopic tributary
kingdoms, did not extend so far as the country of Sasu, and the fate
of Cambyses, in his attempted conquest of that country, would be, I
have no doubt, an instructive lesson to his successors. The claims
of these monarchs to supremacy in Ethiopia appears, in fact, to have
been founded upon former family connexion with some father-land in
Africa, not situated upon the plateau of Abyssinia, then inhabited by
the Gongas, but in another desert-surrounded country, of the same
character; probably, that which surrounds the sources of the Bahr ul
Abiad.
The African origin of other ancient nations can also be most easily
demonstrated, and the historical accounts of their descent from gods,
which have come down to us, although they consist of exaggerated and
distorted relations, in consequence of having been derived from the
ignorant translation of hieroglyphical records, in which it would
appear that the earlier history of Africa was preserved; still we are
able to gather from these mythological enigmas everything that is
necessary to connect their origin with a common centre of divergence,
which I believe to have been the country around the sources of the Nile.
In the same manner the worship of the rivers in India, and of the
dragon monster in China, seem to have originated from Ethiopia; the
emigration which carried the first colonies of serpent worshippers to
these countries having probably flowed in a direction from the south,
as Europe and Western Asia appear to have been civilized by colonists
from the north of the same point of dispersion.
It is most interesting to trace the intimate connexion at an early
period of the, at present, widely separated and even physically
distinct varieties of man; and did not a cautious policy restrain me, I
would attempt to demonstrate the original unity of nations now the most
dissimilar upon novel evidence, which, to be satisfactory to others,
must, however, receive farther corroboration than my own individual
observations.
One illustration of the light African explorations promise to throw
upon this subject I cannot refrain from advancing, as it is such
a striking evidence of the presumed fact of even ourselves having
originated from a colony of African emigrants; and that the ancient
British temple of _Abury_, or _Abibury_, near Stonehenge, derived its
name from the same religious worship being there celebrated as was
once general on the plateau of _Abyssinia_, and which, in fact, is
so called from exactly the same cause. The deductions of classical
learning materially assist a traveller, whose pursuits, so different to
a closet student, do not allow him to assume the character of a learned
critic or commentator. Dr. Stukeley, known by his inquiries into the
ancient religion of the Druids, has proved, I think incontestably,
the true character of the temple at _Abibury_, and demonstrates it
to have been constructed in the form of a serpent, bearing upon its
back a circle. He referred the religion, that directed such a form to
be assumed in the sacred architecture of this people, to an Egyptian
origin, and freely speculates, in consequence, upon the African origin
of our ancestors, which is asserted by our most ancient historians,
but who have been in consequence considered to be apocryphal. In
these traditions it is affirmed that Britain was first inhabited by
a celebrated descendant of Shem, singularly enough the same, who is
considered by biblical ethnologists to have been the common father of
no less a respectable people, than the modern Dankalli; Affer, the
son of Abraham, having led a colony of Africans to our shores, where
he introduced the worship of the sun, and established the religion
of Druidism. I recommend to my reader the perusal of Stukley’s work
upon “Abury, a Temple of the Ancient Britons,” and then to compare
the parallel, but more magnificent temple of nature upon the plateau
of Abyssinia, where the _serpent Arwè_, or in profane language the
river Abi, bears upon its back the lake of the _sun_, most curiously
identifying the peculiar worship of that luminary by the ancient
Ethiopians with the same adoration which was professed by the Druids
in Britain, but who, from their situation, were obliged to construct
the winding avenue of stones at Abibury to represent the same mystical
hieroglyphic of the serpent and the sun. The name given to this work
was _Abi_, the _father_, or _king_, as it was also of the river-symbol
in Abyssinia; hence the name _Abibury_, the latter portion of which
word is of Saxon origin; and added, subsequently to the decline of
Druidism.[15]
Returning to the Gongas and their connexion with the Sasu of Cosmas,
it is singular to observe in what manner the seclusive integrity of
that country was first sapped, and then in a great measure overthrown.
Within the last two centuries, the Adjows of Northern Abyssinia, the
representatives of the Gongas in that situation, were said to continue
the original practice of their fathers with respect to commercial
transactions. But these must have been a tribe now extinct, as, from
what I can learn, it is only in the extreme south where the custom
is still persisted in, and it is among these that the most ancient
authentic record (uninspired) of the antediluvian world will be found.
It is here, too, that the original name of this people, Sasu, is
preserved in the modern word Susa, of whom, as a nation, we scarcely
possess any information more than sufficient, to warrant the mere
assertion that such a people now exist highly civilized, and using a
peculiar written character dissimilar to any with which the literati of
Europe are acquainted.
Of the Sasu traders in the time of Cosmas, we are told they carried
with them oxen which, on their arrival in the country, they killed, and
hung up the raw flesh on the thorns, as a kind of merchandise. It will
be remembered that I have previously stated the intoxicating effects of
this kind of food upon the Amhara, and I have therefore no difficulty
in supposing that the Gongas were tempted by this kind of dissipation
into the intercourse with the traders, just as in modern times, “fire
water” for Indians, and opium for the Chinese are employed to effect a
similar object. This receives further confirmation from the fact, that
the secluded Gongas of the present day live entirely upon vegetables,
the ensete plant and grain forming the principal food. In Zingero and
Enarea, broken in upon by the Mahomedan and Christian religions, the
inhabitants have adopted the use of animal food, but even among them
a party of the older faith exists who continue the original mode of
living of their fathers, and who are contemptuously styled, for that
reason, “grain eaters.”
The Gongas that I have seen are of short stature, not exceeding five
feet four inches, are delicately made, and of a pale yellow complexion.
The aperture of the eyelid in some were quite straight, but in others
it was obliquely divided. Their hair was straight and strong. A
triangular formed face, the forehead being low and long, and the chins
very pointed. I could not convince myself, as I looked at their whole
appearance, but that they were of the same race as the Hottentots of
the Cape, differing only in so much as that the latter are in a very
degraded state. Many remarkable customs practised by both nations
could not have been merely coincidental; and one, that of voluntary
semi-emasculation, is too extraordinary not to be referred to the same
origin of imposition. Of the identity of the two people there can
be no doubt, and there is no ethnological fact I observed during my
journey of which I am so well satisfied as this.
The remains of this interesting people in Northern Abyssinia are the
Adjows and the Falasha, and if future travellers will expend their
resources in exploring Northern Abyssinia, in preference to the far
more important examination of its southern portion, they cannot occupy
themselves more advantageously to science than by examining into the
customs and characters of the Adjows. I consider it would be a waste
of time that could be occupied much better in another direction, or I
would, for my own satisfaction, visit the country for this purpose; but
as it is far from difficult and constitutes an excellent probationary
journey, I recommend aspirants for fame in the field of African
discovery to make this their trial excursion.
One more remark upon the Southern Gongas of Enarea, Zingero, and
Kuffah, and I must close this notice of a very interesting race of man;
and that is to explain the apparent anomaly of their country, situated
at such an elevation above the level of the sea as I presume it to be,
producing cotton and grapes in profusion.
The observations of that indefatigable and enterprising traveller,
Dr. Beke, has proved that the river Abi, after flowing a distance of
scarcely one hundred and thirty miles, has excavated a valley five or
six thousand feet below the general level of the table land, whilst the
opposite summits of the bounding sides are distant between thirty and
forty miles. We may look in vain over every portion of the known world
for a similar effect of denudation, and this again illustrates the wide
field of novel facts which is promised to science, by an examination of
the unknown interior of Africa.
On the artificial terraces and natural slopes of these extensive
valleys the vegetables of all climates can be successfully cultivated,
and the theoretical centre of successive elevations from whence,
according to the hypothesis of Linnæus, all vegetation spread over the
rest of the earth, appears to exist in the natural phenomena presented,
by the surface geography of the Abyssinian table mountain. The country
of the Gongas is similarly excavated by the deeply cut channel of
the Gibbee, or the Red Nile, which, much larger than the Abi on the
northern portion of the plateau, will have a greater extent of denuded
valley for the production of those vegetables of a hot climate, the
presence of which have been such an argument in favour of those, who
contend that the water-shed of the Gibbee must be towards the lowlands
in the South, where it is presumed these vegetables could only have
been cultivated.
The other slaves I examined at Musculo’s, were a few Amhara from
Gurague, but who contributed but little to my previous information,
upon the subject of their character and country. I noticed there
were no Dankalli among those brought down for my inspection; and was
given to understand that none of these people were ever brought into
Abyssinia as slaves; and if they were, no one would purchase them,
for they would neither remain with their masters, nor would they
work. Even in this, their true Circassian origin is betrayed; for,
although their morality does not prevent them from selling their own
daughters, this caste of mankind cannot be enslaved. The superiority of
this mentally endowed race is manifest, even in their most barbarous
state; and I have been led, therefore, to disbelieve the general
presumption, that the Negro is universally the type of man in his most
degraded condition. From what I have observed myself, the Dankalli,
the Shankalli, and the Bushmen, are the lowest grades of the three
varieties of the human race, the Arian, or Circassian, the Amhara,
or Negro, and the Gonga, or Mongolian, all of whom have a height of
civilization, and a depth of barbarism distinct from each other;
and that, however, the Bushman may be improved, he will only become
a civilized Chinese, and that a Negro may by education be made an
ancient Egyptian, but would never by that alone become the enlightened
Circassian, that his neighbour, the Dankalli, could, certainly, be
made.
I have now exhausted, not my subject, the numerous ideas upon which I
have latterly been most inconveniently obliged to crowd together, but
the very limited space that I had proposed to myself in my ignorance of
book-making, as being sufficient to contain all I had to say respecting
my journey, and the ideas and incidents which occurred to me during my
sojourn in Abyssinia. Much to my surprise, the manuscript has grown
under my hand, and the greatest difficulty that I have had, has been to
arrive at the period I have done, before I laid down the pen.
From this date, however, September the 3rd, having returned to Aliu
Amba, from Ankobar, I was confined some time entirely to my bed, during
which period my note-book presents such a series of entries, “no
better to-day,” that I have taken the opportunity thus afforded me of
concluding my narrative.
FOOTNOTES:
[13] About two months after this interview the captive
princes of the blood Royal were liberated from
Guancho, in accordance with a vow made by the Negoos
whilst lying upon a bed of sickness, under the
impression that death was approaching, and that such
an act would propitiate heaven favourably for his
recovery. It was a spontaneous act, nor can any just
claim be made by any one to have instigated the Negoos
to take this step. During his illness he refused the
aid and medicine of the Embassy, and it was a topic
of public conversation, that a monarch possessed of
such abilities, and so excellent a disposition as
Sahale Selassee, should be so under the influence of
suspicion, as even in the extremity of his illness on
this occasion, he should have refused the proffered
assistance of European skill and knowledge, of which
he had had such evidences of superiority.
The attention of our Embassy was first called more
particularly to the subject when the Ambassador and
Captain Graham were desired to attend at the palace
the day when the liberated captives came before their
generous king. During that interview, when his heart
felt naturally the pride of having acted in the manner
he had done, Sahale Selassee turned to the English
officers, whom he knew were compiling a book, and
asked for a compliment, by saying, “Will you write
this down?”
I shall make but one more remark, that if indirect
influence is to be exaggerated into direct
instigation, then I certainly claim to be considered
as the liberator of the Shoan princes; for I possess
evidence of the regard entertained for me by Sahale
Selassee, and I have more than once hinted to his
Majesty the difference that existed between the policy
of European courts, as regarded the younger branches
of royalty, and that which was observed in Shoa. To
his courtiers, also, who conveyed to his ears every
word that was said, I always denounced the custom of
imprisonment as most absurd and cruel.
[14] Cosmas, pp. 138, 139. This author wrote about A.D. 535.
[15] Abi was also the title of prince among the ancient
Himyaritic nation, and, slightly changed, is still
given to the kings of the countries to the south of
Shoa; for example, Aboo Bogaboo, king of Enarea; Abba
Wabotoo, king of Kuchah.
Macintosh, Printer, Great New-street, London
Transcriber’s Note:
Words may have multiple spelling variations or inconsistent
hyphenation in the text. Obsolete and alternative spellings were left
unchanged. Misspelled words were corrected.
Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like
this_. Footnotes were renumbered sequentially and were moved to the
end of the chapter. Obvious printing errors, such as backwards, upside
down, or partially printed letters and punctuation, were corrected.
Final stops missing at the end of sentences and abbreviations were
added.
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