But herein the King of Shoa forms an exception; and fortunate it is for His Majesty as well as for his dominions, that the surrounding Galla tribes, united with natural defences, should have so completely shut him out from partic.i.p.ation in the intestine disturbances which have ravaged and laid waste every other province of this beautiful and once prosperous land. Although he propitiates the leader of every party, and pursues a conciliatory policy, it would be in his power to mediate with a high hand for the advantage of all; yet is it curious to observe with what tenacity the Abyssinians adhere to preconceived opinions. The kingdom of Shoa, which was formerly a portion of the empire, still continues in general estimation to form an integral part thereof; and Sahela Sela.s.sie is therefore, but in name only, regarded as a va.s.sal of the puppet Emperor of Gondar, notwithstanding that he is, _de facto_, an independent monarch.
Volume 3, Chapter VI.
GALLA DEPENDENCIES IN THE SOUTH.
During the reign of Asfa Woosen, grandsire to Sahela Sela.s.sie, the independent states of Shoa and Efat were of very inconsiderable extent.
Morat, Morabeitie, Giddem, Bulga, and other districts now appended, were at that period distinct governments, as is now the case in Gurague where there are more rulers than provinces. It is not therefore surprising, that amid the perpetual quarrels of the Christian princes, the Galla should have been left in undisturbed possession of the lands which they had wrested from Southern Abyssinia. But no sooner had Asfa Woosen subdued King Zeddoo, the usurper of Morabeitie and Morat, with whom sank also those of inferior pretensions, than he began with his united forces to make inroads upon the Galla tribes. The unsettled state of the newly-conquered provinces precluded extensive operations; and the task of reducing the Pagans to obedience was thus princ.i.p.ally bequeathed to Woosen Suggud, whose strong arm not only kept in submission the territories conquered by his father, but added greatly to the western limits of Shoa by the acquisition of Moogher on the Nile, and by the conquest of the Ab.i.t.c.hu, Woberi, and Gillan, so far south as the mountains of Garra Gorphoo.
Conceiving that a youth who had scarcely numbered twelve years would be unable to hold them in subjection, the tributary Galla revolted immediately upon the accession of Sahela Sela.s.sie. But subsequent events proved that they were mistaken in the estimate formed of the monarch"s military capacity. He vanquished King Hailoo, who still a.s.serted his dignity in Morat. Having ama.s.sed firearms from Gondar and Tigre, as well as from the sea-coast of Tajura, he was enabled to quell many successive insurrections, and for a number of years was fortunate in the fidelity of the lion-hearted Medoko, who was even more feared than himself by the surrounding Gentiles. He caused all the Galla of the province of Shoa-Meda to be circ.u.mcised and baptised; and having commanded them to wear about their necks the "_mateb_," or cord of blue silk, to fast, and to eat neither with Mohammadans nor Pagans, nor to touch meat that has not been killed in the name of the Holy Trinity, they have thenceforth been denominated Christians.
Throughout his long reign, it has been the king"s favourite project to re-unite the scattered remnants of Christian population which still mark the extent of the dominions of his forefathers. The countries to the south and south-west have therefore always received the largest share of His Majesty"s attention, and in those directions he has attacked and subdued in succession all the tribes on this side of the Hawash. The Metta, Metcha, Moolo Falada, Betcho-Woreb, Betcho-Foogook, and Charsa-Dagha, are all appended to Shoa. Moreover the royal arms have crossed the Hawash, and to a certain extent accomplished the reduction of the Soddo, of the frontiers of Gurague, of the Karaiyo, Loomi, Jille, and other remote clans. In the north little progress has been made, and many reverses have deterred further attempts upon the wild mountaineers; but in the north-east the Selmi, the Aboti, and several other tribes previously independent, have been reduced to feudal submission, and by judicious management are made to secure the frontier from invasion.
But although Sahela Sela.s.sie has thus widely extended the limits of his empire, he has adopted no efficient measures to consolidate his conquests. As a contrast between the former and the existing administration, it is said of the southern Galla, "where all was once strength, there is now nothing save weakness. Of yore, tribute was paid by all, whereas at the present day the possession of the dependencies does but entail expense." Three annual expeditions, made, throughout a period of thirty years, for the purpose of collecting the revenues of the crown, have hitherto proved ineffectual to the preservation of permanent tranquillity amongst the tribes subjugated by his ancestors; and the Sertie lake, with other mora.s.ses, remain monuments of the dire disasters which sometimes attend his usually successful arms. He neither erects fortifications, nor does he establish outposts; and the government being continued in heathen hands, the tributary tribes rebel during each rainy season, only to be re-subdued as soon as it is over-- the insurgents sometimes tendering their renewed allegiance the instant they perceive the crimson umbrellas of state, but more frequently delaying until the locust-like army of the Amhara has swept their fair fields, and like the devastating stream from the volcano, has left a smoking desert in its train.
Chastised by two or three successful forays, the chiefs and elders of the rebellious and ruined clan, finding the futility of further opposition to the yoke, come in with the tribute exacted, and make feudal submission, whereupon they are suffered to ransom their wives and daughters who have been enslaved. It cannot fail to appear extraordinary, that those who are unprepared for resistance should occupy their beleaguered abodes one minute after they had become aware of the presence of their ruthless and implacable foes; but in almost every instance they are in blood feud with all the surrounding tribes of their own nation, at whose merciless hands they would experience even worse treatment than at those of the Amhara. Neither, during persecution, could the tax-repudiating hope to find an asylum among tributary neighbours, with whom they might perchance be on amicable terms, since their reception would inevitably entail on those who harboured the fugitives the last vengeance of the despot. Thus the choice is left between precarious flight to the mountain fastnesses, in the very teeth of the enemy, and the alternative of lurking in the vicinity of the invaded hamlet, upon the slender chance of eluding the keen scent of the bloodhounds.
The governor, or, in fact, the king of all the Galla now dependent on Shoa, is Abogaz Maretch, who resides at Wona-badera, south of Angollala.
At first a bitter enemy of Sahela Sela.s.sie, this haughty warrior chief, renowned for his bravery, was finally gained over by bribes, and by promises of distinction and advancement, which have actually been fulfilled. Partly by force, and partly by soft words and judicious intermarriages with chiefs of the various tribes, he contrives to keep in some sort of order the wild spirits over whom he presides; but he is taxed with want of proper severity, and although still high in favour, has more than once been suspected of divulging the royal projects.
Abba Mooalle, the governor of Moogher and of the surrounding Galla in the west, was also formerly very inimical to Shoa; but being won over to the royal interests by the espousal of his sister, by preferment to extensive power, and by the hand of one of the despotic princesses, he was four years since converted to Christianity, when the king became his sponsor. The valuable presents which he is enabled to make to the throne, owing to his proximity to the high caravan-road from the interior, preserve him a distinguished place in the estimation of the Negoos, to whom he is little inferior in point of state. At constant war with the Galla occupying the country to the westward, between Sullala Moogher and Gojam, he hastily a.s.sembles his troops twice or thrice during the year, and making eagle-like descents across the Nile at the head of ten thousand cavalry, rarely fails to recruit the royal herds with a rich harvest in cattle.
Dogmo, who resides in the mountain of Yerrur, was educated in the palace; and his undeviating attachment to the crown has been rewarded with the hand of one of the king"s illegitimate daughters. Botha, Shambo, and Dogmo, are the sons of Bunnie, whose father, Borri, governed the entire tract styled _Ghera Meder_, "the country on the left," which includes all the Galla tribes bordering on both sides of the Hawash in the south of Shoa. Bunnie was, in consequence of some transgression, imprisoned in Aramba; and Botora, another potent Galla chieftain, appointed in his stead. But this impolitic transfer of power creating inveterate hatred between the two families, each strove to destroy the other. Bunnie was in consequence liberated, and restored to his government; but resting incautiously under a tree on his return, not long afterwards, from a successful expedition against the Aroosi, whom he had defeated, he was suddenly surrounded by the enemy, and slain, together with four chiefs, his confederates, and nearly the whole of his followers. His sons were then severally invested with governments; and Boku, the son of Botora, was at his father"s demise entrusted with the preservation of the avenues to the Lake Zooai, long an object of the royal ambition.
Among the most powerful Galla chieftains who own allegiance to Shoa, is Jhara, the son of Chamie, _soi-disant_ Queen of Moolo Falada, who, since the demise of her husband, has governed that and other provinces adjacent. Sahela Sela.s.sie, who it will be seen relies more upon political marriages than upon the force of arms, sent matrimonial overtures to this lady, and received for answer the haughty message, "that if he would spread the entire road from Angollala with rich carpets, she might perhaps listen to the proposal, but upon no other conditions!" The Christian lances poured over the border to avenge this insult offered to the monarch of Shoa, and the invaded tribe laid down their arms; but Gobanah, foster-brother to Jhara, and a mighty man of renown, finding that His Majesty proposed burning their hamlets without reservation, rose to oppose the measure. At this critical moment an Amhara trumpeter raised his trombone to his lips. The Galla, believing the instrument to be none other than a musket, fled in consternation, and their doughty chieftain surrendered himself a prisoner at discretion.
Upon learning to whom he had relinquished his liberty, Gobanah, broken-hearted, abandoned himself to despair, and refused all sustenance for many days. The hand of the fair daughter of the queen was eventually the price of his ransom; and on the celebration of the nuptials, the king, who, with reference to his conquest of Moolo Falada, might have exclaimed, with the Roman dictator, "_Veni, vidi, vici_"
conferred upon Jhara the government of all the subjugated Galla as far as the sources of the Hawash, and to the Nile in the west. Warlike, daring, and ambitious, exercising his important functions almost beyond the ken of his sovereign, and possessing from his proximity to Gojam and Damot, the means of creating himself the leader of a vast horde, there can be little doubt, although he has. .h.i.therto evinced strong attachment to the crown, that, imitating the example of all pagan chieftains who have gone before him, he will one day profit by his opportunities to take up arms against Shoa, and may thus not improbably enact a most conspicuous part in the history of the Galla nation.
Volume 3, Chapter VII.
THE GALLA NATION.
Abyssinia had long maintained her glory unsullied under an ancient line of emperors, until, in the sixteenth century, the ambitious and formidable Graan, at the head of a whole nation of Moslem barbarians, burst over the frontier, and dashed into atoms the structure of two thousand five hundred years. Defended by hireling swords, which, in a series of sanguinary conflicts, wrested the victorious wreath from the brow of the invader, and since supported rather by the memory of departed greatness than by actual strength, small portions of the once vast empire have struggled on, the shadow only of imperial dignity. But the glory had departed from the house of Ethiop, her power had been prostrated before the mighty conqueror, and his wild band; and the Galla hordes, pouring into the richest provinces, from southern central Africa, re-erected heathen shrines during the reign of anarchy, and rose and flourished on her ruins.
The history of these African Tartars is, however, veiled in the deepest obscurity. Under the t.i.tle of Oroma, they trace their origin to three sisters, daughters of Jerusalem, to whom are applied traditions similar to the Scriptural chronicle of the descendants of Lot. In their own language, the word "Galla" signifies _ingressi_; and of themselves they affirm that Wollaboo, their father, came from beyond Bargamo, "the great water;" and that his children were nine--Aroosi, Karaiyo, Jille, Ab.i.t.c.hu, Ghelan, Woberi, Metta, Gumb.i.t.c.hu, and Betcho-Fugook--from whose loins have sprung the innumerable clans or houses which now people the greater portion of intra-tropical Africa. But by the Moslem bigots, who form the chief curse of Ethiopia, it is said that the term by which the nation is recognised was applied to the Ilma Oroma, or seed of Oroma, by the Prophet himself, who, on sending to summon Wollaboo to become a proselyte to the true faith, received a direct refusal. "Gal La," "he said No," reported the unsuccessful messenger on his return. "Let this then be the denomination of the infidels in future," exclaimed the arch impostor, "since they will not receive the celestial revelations made to me through the angel Gabriel."
But whatever may be the origin of the heathen invaders, it is certain that, as a martial people, they have greatly degenerated from their ancestors. Under one head, they overran the fairest provinces of Ethiopia; and had they remained united, they might, with equal ease, have completed the conquest of the greater portion of the African continent. Relaxing, however, in their common cause against the Christians, the tribes soon began to contest among each other for the possession of the newly-acquired territory. Intestine feuds and dissensions neutralised their giant power; and the weakness and disorganisation by which the majority are now characterised is to be ascribed to the fact of there being no paramount chief.
Roving in his native pastures, where his manners are unadulterated by the semi-civilisation of Abyssinia, the equestrian Galla is an object worthy the pencil of Carle Vernet or Pinelli. Tall and athletic, his manly figure is enveloped in a toga, such as graced the sons of ancient Rome, and his savage, wild, and fiery features, are rendered still more ferocious by thick bushy hair arranged either in large lotus-leaved compartments, or streaming over the shoulders in long raven plaits. But grease and filth form his delight; and he sparkles under a liberal coat of the much-loved b.u.t.ter, which is unsparingly applied when proceeding to the perpetration of the most dastardly and inhuman deeds. Accoutred with spear, sword, and buckler, and wedded to the rude saddle, whereof he would seem to form a part, the Pagan scours fearlessly over the gra.s.sy savannas which he has usurped from the Christian, and is engaged in perpetual desultory strife with all his border neighbours.
Possessing the finest breed of horses in Ethiopia, and wealthy both in flocks and herds, which roam over boundless meadows smiling with clover, trefoil, and b.u.t.tercups, this pastoral people devote their time equally to agricultural pursuits, and herein they are aided by a delightful climate, and by a luxuriant, well-watered soil. Whilst the women tend the sheep and oxen in the field, and manage the hives of bees, the men plough, sow, and reap, presenting in this respect a striking contrast to their indolent lowland neighbours, the Adaiel, whom they rival in barbarous ferocity, in treachery, and in savage propensities. Rich and verdant valleys, the glory of the mountains, and the pride of the proprietors, flourish with the most luxuriant crops, which are but too frequently swept from off the land by the sudden burst of war. Often is the cup of hope dashed from the lips when the enjoyment of the contents is deemed most certain; and the mangled corse of the husbandman is left on the borders of the very field of which he was garnering in the ripe corn.
Nor are the female portion of the Galla population less eminent in the equestrian art than their warlike lords, whose steeds it is their business to tend and saddle for the foray. Distinguished for their beauty among the dark daughters of Africa, their fine figures are slenderly attired in a short leathern petticoat, embroidered with a flounce of white cowrie sh.e.l.ls, and clasped around the waist by a zone of coloured beads. A flowing cotton robe completes the toilet of the wealthy; and the time of all is equally devoted to the braiding an infinity of minute tresses, which fall over the shoulders after the manner of the ancient Egyptians. But their garments and their persons are unsparingly anointed with lard and b.u.t.ter; and the romance that might otherwise attach to their native charms cannot fail to be dispelled on near approach.
The conically thatched cabins of the Galla are grouped in rural cl.u.s.ters, and uniformly surrounded by a stone wall as a precaution against surprise. The hamlet is often concealed by a dark forest of juniper overhanging the deep ravine, whose ever foaming torrent fertilises the adjacent pastures. Bees form a portion of the wealth of every family, and the flower-clothed meads, fostered by an Italian sky, are covered with them. The same whimsical customs which have been generally practised since the days of Virgil are here extant. The same confused clamour is raised to induce the swarm to alight; and the cylindrical hive having been rubbed inside with the leaves of odoriferous herbs to entice the wild insects to remain, it is suspended under the eaves of the hut, and twice during the year robbed of the honey.
To the performance of the religious rites of the Pagan, a tree is indispensable, his devotions and his sacrifices being invariably performed under the shadow of its boughs. On the interment of a priest, a sycamore, or a coffee tree, is planted over the grave, and held sacred for ever; whilst on the banks of the Hawash stands the venerable Woda Nuwee, [_Ficus sycamorus_, the wild fig. It is called _worka_, "the golden," by the Amhara, and attains a vast size] to which the tribes flock from far and wide to make vows and propitiatory offerings, and to recount their exploits in war. Paying adoration only to stocks and stones, and bending the knee to none but idols and serpents, they here make oblations of b.u.t.ter and honey to secure the favour of the deity-- hang upon the spreading branches the trophies taken from their enemies; and performing incantations to _Sar_, the prince of the demons, bind around their necks the entrails of the slaughtered victim which has yielded auspicious omens.
Two great annual sacrifices are made to the deities Ogli and Ateti, the former between June and July, the latter in the beginning of September.
A number of goats having been slain, the Lubah, or priest, wearing a tuft of long hair on his crown, proceeds with a bell in his hand, and his brows encircled by a fillet of copper, to divine from the fat, caul, and entrails, whether or not success will attend the warriors in battle.
This point determined, the a.s.sembled mult.i.tude, howling and screaming like demons, continue to surfeit themselves with raw meat, to swallow beer, and to inhale smoke to intoxication until midnight--invoking _Wak_, the Supreme Being, to grant numerous progeny, lengthened years, and abundant crops, as well as to cause their Spears to prevail over those of their foes; and when sacrificing to Ateti, the G.o.ddess of fecundity, exclaiming frequently, "Lady, we commit ourselves unto thee; stay thou with us always."
The Kalicha is the Galla wizard, conjurer, and physician. With the putrefying intestines of a goat hung about his neck, and armed with a bell and a copper whip, his skill in the expulsion of the devil is rarely known to fail. Adoration having been paid to a serpent, the patient is rubbed with b.u.t.ter, fumigated with potent herbs, and exorcised with frantic howls, a few strokes of the lash being administered until the cure is perfected. No Amhara will slay either a Lubah or a Kalicha under any circ.u.mstances, from a superst.i.tious dread of his dying curse; and Galla sorceresses are frequently called in by the Christians of Shoa, to transfer sickness, or to rid the house of evil spirits, by cabalistic incantations, performed with the blood of ginger-coloured hens, and red he-goats.
But among the Galla sorcerers and soothsayers, the Wato, already mentioned as inhabiting the mountain Dalacha, towards the sources of the Hawash, are the most universally celebrated. Neither Pagan nor Christian will molest this tribe, from the same superst.i.tious apprehension of their malediction, and still more from a desire to obtain their blessing; whilst he who receives the protection of a Wato may travel with perfect security over every part of the country inhabited by the Galla. Subsisting entirely by the chase, they wander from lake to lake and from river to river, destroying the hippopotamus, upon the flesh of which animal they chiefly live--whereas no other heathen will touch it. Feared and respected, and claiming to themselves to be the original stock of the Oromo nation, they deem all other clans unclean from having mixed with Mohammadans and Christians; and refusing on this account to intermarry, remain to this day a separate and distinct people.
All barbarians are orators; and the euphonical language of the Galla, which unfortunately can boast of no written character, is admirably adapted to embellish their eloquent and impressive delivery. Cradled in the unexplored heights of Ethiopia, many of the customs of these fierce illiterate idolaters are closely and remarkably allied to those of the more civilised nations of antiquity. Seeking presages, like the Romans and Etrurians, in the flight of birds, and in the entrails of slaughtered sacrifices; wearing the hair braided like the ancient Egyptians, and, like them, sleeping with the head supported by a wooden crutch--wedding the relict of a deceased brother, according to the Mosaic law, and bowing the knee to the old serpent, whom they regard as the father of all mankind--an acquaintance with these wild invaders suggests curious speculations on their origin, when referred to a common parent; and these are rendered still more interesting by the existence of a prophecy, that their hordes are one day to quit the highlands of their usurpation, and march to the east and to the north, "that they may conquer the inheritance of their Jewish ancestors."
Volume 3, Chapter VIII.
UNEXPLORED COUNTRIES TO THE SOUTH.
Divided into endless houses, the majority of the independent Oromo tribes, to the south of Shoa, are governed by hereditary chieftains; and it is only where the Moslem slave-dealer has successfully commenced the work of conversion to the creed promulgated by the Prophet, that this wild heathen race have been brought to bow the neck to the yoke of kings. Of this Enarea affords a most striking example, for there one-half of the entire population have abandoned idolatry, whilst despotism has taken root, and flourishes under a line of Mohammadan rulers.
Surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains, this kingdom embraces an extensive table-land, which separates the waters to the north and south, and ranks among the most elevated regions of Africa. Menchilla, stretching from east to north-west, is the princ.i.p.al range, and a spur to the south-west is described as joining the so called Mountains of the Moon. Saka, the capital, contains from ten to twelve thousand inhabitants, mixed Pagans and Mohammadans, who inhabit houses of a circular form, somewhat better constructed than those of the Amhara.
Saeed was the son of Ascari, a Mohammadan, and his sister Elikkee wedding a Galla, bore a son, Teso, who was brought up in idolatry, and conquered Enarea. His son Boko also died a Pagan; but Bofo, "the serpent," who succeeded on the death of his father, was converted to Islamism by Mootar, his uncle, the nephew of Elikkee. Abba Bokibo, the present and fourth monarch, is represented to be just and merciful, but his ancestors were monstrous and relentless tyrants, who "caused rivers of blood to flow, and slew the people like cows." Arrayed in a black mantle of goat"s hair, His Majesty dispenses justice in the market-place, sitting on the trunk of a tree with a bullock"s hide spread beneath his feet. Saka contains upwards of one thousand _moolahs_; but in the absence of mosques, prayers are held at the tomb of Bofo, the first convert to the faith. Twice during each year, great military expeditions are undertaken, which rarely extend beyond eight or ten days. Every soldier carries a small supply of bread, and trusts for further subsistence to pillage and plunder. Many b.l.o.o.d.y battles are annually fought with the surrounding tribes, and wide tracts of country thus annexed to the royal possessions.
The Agallo, Yelloo, Betcho, Sudecha, Chora, and Nono, are all subject to the Suppera, or king, of Enarea, whose sway extends to the Soddo, Metta, and Maleema Galla, about the sources of the Hawash, which rises in Adda-Berga. Limmoo, whereof the capital is Sob.i.t.c.ha, is a province annexed of old to Enarea; and Abba Bokibo, desirous of subjugating Gooderoo, and the countries to the north as far as the Nile, sent to propose an alliance with Dedjasmach Goshoo, the ruler of Gojam. "You sell slaves," was the reply of the Christian potentate, "and are a Mohammadan to boot. It cannot be." One hundred horns of civet and fifty female slaves which had been sent by the Suppera, were nevertheless accepted, and thirty matchlocks, with persons versed in the use of firearms, were forwarded in return.
Little sickness of any sort prevails, and mendicants, the pest of Abyssinia, are said to be unknown in the land. The wild vine flourishes, and bears abundance of grapes. The "gosso" tree, which attains a vast height, is covered during the season with delicious berries, and is ascended by means of the tendrils of the vine bound around the stem. Coffee grows wild in every wood, to the height of eight and ten feet, and bends under the load of fruit. A large skin full is purchased for twopence-halfpenny sterling, and the decoction, prepared as in Europe, is invariably presented to the stranger, as is an infusion of the "chaat," a coa.r.s.e species of the tea-plant, which there flourishes spontaneously, and is cultivated in Shoa.
The civet cat is a native of Enarea, and being caught in gins, is kept in the house and fed on meat and boiled maize. The cages are daily placed before the fire preparatory to the operation of removing the secretion, which is performed with a wooden spoon. A lump about the size of a small filbert is yielded at each baking, and it forms a considerable article of export. Myrrh and frankincense are also produced in great quant.i.ties, and are employed in religious ceremonies, burnt sacrifices of incense being made to the guardian genius.
Notwithstanding the conversion to Mohammadanism of so large a portion of the population, sacrifices are still made to "Wak" on the festival of Hedar Michael, which, together with the Sabbath, is strictly observed by all the Galla tribes. The Woda tree is at Betcho; no woman is suffered to come near it; and under its sacred shade all priests are ordained-- even the followers of the Prophet placing blood upon it as a superst.i.tious oblation. Thousands upon thousands of the heathen having a.s.sembled, the Lubah sprinkles over the crowd, first beer, then an amalgamation of unroasted coffee and b.u.t.ter, and lastly, flour and b.u.t.ter mixed in a separate mess. A white bull is then slaughtered, and its blood scattered abroad to complete the ceremonies, which are followed by eating, drinking, and drunkenness.
Zingero, which is visible from the high land of Enarea, was, until within the last two years, at constant war with the Galla states. Jimma and Limmoo uniting, then overran the country; and having dethroned Amno Zermud, the occupant of the throne, annexed the ancient kingdom to the dominions of Abba Bokibo. It is bounded on the south by a great river called the Gochob. Anger, the capital, is situated on the summit of a very high mountain; and the whole country, which sinks to a much lower level, is rich and fertile.
In days of yore, fourteen kingdoms are said to have been tributary to the sovereign of Zingero. The succession to the throne was determined from amongst the n.o.bles, who, at the demise of the monarch, were wont to a.s.semble in an open field, when he over whose head a bee or a vulture first chanced to fly was elected by the unanimous voice of the people.
Although no portion of the population professes the Christianity of Ethiopia, and none of its fasts are observed, the rite of circ.u.mcision is universal, and the Sabbath is respected, together with the Abyssinian festivals of Kidana Meherat and Saint Michael.
Prior to the conquest of Zingero, no male slave was ever sold,--a practice which is said to have originated in the conduct of one of the daughters of the land. A certain king of old commanded a man of rank to slaughter his wife, her flesh having been prescribed by the sorcerers as the only cure for a malady wherewith His Majesty was grievously afflicted. Returning to his house for the purpose of executing the royal mandate, the n.o.ble found his fair partner sleeping, and her beauty so disarmed him, that his hand refused to perpetrate the murderous deed.
Hereat the despot waxing wroth, directed the lady to slay her husband, which she did without any remorse or hesitation, and thus brought odium upon the whole s.e.x, who have since been considered fit only to become slaves and drudges.
Immediately upon the birth of a male child the mammae are amputated, from a belief that no warrior can possibly be brave who possesses them, and that they should belong only to women. This fact is fully corroborated in the persons of the few prisoners of war who reach the kingdom of Shoa. Since the overthrow of the ancient dynasty, the country has been ravaged for slaves by all the surrounding states, but few will deign to survive the loss of liberty; and suicide is so frequent in captivity, that the males are hardly considered worth the trouble of exporting.
Human sacrifices have ever been, and still are, frightfully common in Zingero. When carrying off slaves from that country, the merchant invariably throws the handsomest female captive into lake Umo, in form of a tribute or propitiatory offering to the genius of the water. It is the duty of a large portion of the population to bring their first-born as a sacrifice to the deity, a custom which tradition a.s.signs to the advice of the sorcerers. In days of yore it is said that the seasons became jumbled. There was neither summer nor winter, and the fruits of the earth came not to maturity. Having a.s.sembled the magicians, the king commanded them to show how this state of things might best be rectified, and the rebellious seasons be reduced to order. The wise men counselled the cutting down of a certain great pillar of iron which stood before the gate of the capital, and the stock whereof remains to the present time. This had the effect desired; but in order to prevent a relapse into the former chaos of confusion, the Magi directed that the pillar, as well as the footstool of the throne, might be annually bathed in human blood; in obedience to which a tribute was levied upon the first-born, who are immolated upon the spot.
Of the independent Galla tribes lying immediately contiguous to Enarea, Goma, under Abba Rebo, is the princ.i.p.al. This king is also a convert to Mohammadanism; and the life of his father having been saved by a vulture, which, according to the legend, plucked out the eyes of a host of Gentiles by whom the royal person was a.s.sailed, he retains a domesticated bird, which, with a tinkling bell around its neck, invariably accompanies the army on all predatory expeditions. At the termination of the first march, Abba Rebo, with his own royal hands, slays a white bull, and if the wild vultures of the air join the trained bird in the repast, the omens are esteemed to be fortunate.
The Mohammadan Galla tribes, those on the border especially, are uniformly the most savage and barbarous. The Alaba are dire monsters, and more dreaded than the wild beasts, whom they far exceed in ferocity.
The cruelties practised by the chief of the Goma are almost incredible.
Offenders are deprived of hands, nose, and ears; and their eyes having been seared with a hot iron, the mutilated victims are paraded through the market-place for the edification of the populace. The sight of all prisoners taken in war is similarly destroyed; and a stone having been tied about the neck, they are thrown by hundreds into a river formerly styled Daama, but now denominated the Chuba, from a belief that its waters are composed solely of human blood. It rises in Utter Gudder, where is a tributary tribe called Mergo, subsisting entirely upon the chase of the elephant and wild buffalo. In Goma the Moslem faith is universal. Every man is a warrior; and retaining a number of Shankela slaves to cultivate the ground, remains idle himself, unless when engaged in war or in the chase.
The Boono are a republican tribe of Pagans, bordering on Enarea, and who, acknowledging no king, are governed by a council of the elders.
Inhabiting lofty mountains to which there is only one accessible road, strongly fortified by nature as well as art, none venture to invade this commonwealth, whilst the Boono make war with impunity upon all the surrounding clans; and, from their signal prowess in the field, are said to be propitiated even by the King of Enarea.
Jimma and Mancho are independent Galla tribes under Saana, surnamed Abba Juffar, from the t.i.tle of his war-horse, which in Ethiopia is usually a.s.sumed by the chieftain. From Saka, a southerly course through these provinces leads, by fifteen or twenty easy stages, directly to the Gochob, above the cataracts of Dumbaro, the neighbourhood of which is infested by banditti, who lie in ambush to kidnap the unwary. The river is crossed by means of rafts belonging to the Queen of Caffa. They are capable each of containing from thirty to forty persons, and are formed of the trunks of large trees lashed together with strips of raw hide, and surrounded by high gunwales of the same construction--the helm being a moveable spar, unaided by oars or other propelling power.