# Africa by Élisée Reclus/Volume 1/Chapter 7

Contents
CHAPTER VII.
SHOA, COUNTRY OF THE DANAKILS, NORTHERN GALLA STATES.
HOA or Shawa, and the hilly country of the northern Gallas, form a part of the Abyssinian plateaux. From a political point of view Shoa, after having been independent for some length of time, has again become attached and pays a regular tribute to the Abyssinian empire, the king of Shoa humbling himself before the "king of kings." South of the Abaï most of the civilised or barbarous tribes have been subjugated to Northern Abyssinia by victorious expeditions, and ambassadors bring to Debra-Tabor or Makaleh a yearly tribute of ivory or other valuable commodities. On this side the whole of southern Abyssinia even beyond Kaffa is thus bounded by fluctuating frontiers; the area of Shoa has been increased threefold, and the kingdom of Gojam has been enlarged in the same proportion, although the Abaï interrupts all communications between Abyssinia and the country of the Ormas for seven or eight months in the year.
The peoples of these countries, mostly differing in origin, speech, religion, and customs, should be studied apart. The lowland tribes, however, comprised between the main Abyssinian range, the Red Sea coast, the Gulf of Aden, and the watershed south of the basin of the Awash, form a group clearly defined by the way of life the soil and the climate compel them to follow; but as intermediaries of the trade between the plateaux and the sea, they are indispensable to the inhabitants of Shoa. Thus, however different the two countries may be, they form a part of the same social organization.
The Shoa Highlands.
South of the Angot and the Zebul the main Abyssinian range penetrates into Shoa, here diverging slightly from the line of the meridian towards the south-west, parallel with the course of the Awash. This part of the border-chain is called Shakka, or Amba-Shakka, and, according to Beke, attains a mean height of from 8,000 to 9,000 feet, several of the crests even considerably exceeding this elevation. The highest mountain, at least in the vicinity of Ankober, is Mount Metatiteh (11,000 feet), which overlooks the greater part of the kingdom of Shoa lying at ​ its feet, and the lower terrace-lands sloping towards the Awash Valley and the affluents of the Abai. In no other region of Abyssinia is the laud more cut up into distinct sections by the running waters. From some of the heights on the plateau the country seems at a distance like a vast and almost level plain, where the valleys are scarcely suggested by the interrupted vegetation, but on a nearer approach those valleys develop into vast chasms of enormous depth. One of these gorges, some 36 miles north-west of Ankober, is over 5,100 feet in depth, with a breadth scarcely exceeding 2,000 feet. Amongst the abysses occurring in this rocky region are Tegulet-Wat, near the ancient capital of Shoa, a fissure some 600 feet long with a breadth of less than 3 feet. Stones dropped into this rent are never heard to strike the bottom. The rivers rising on the eastern slope of the Amba-Shakka, some of which have to descend from an altitude of about 6,600 feet on their way to the Blue Nile, rush through these chasms in a series of foaming cascades or magnificent rapids.
Volcanic Formations.
East of the main range, the base of Amba-Shakka is flanked by a collection of rounded hills, while parallel chains, such as the Argobba, rise in its immediate vicinity. Farther on an undulating plain stretches away towards the Gulf of Aden, here and there studded with volcanic cones which have ejected vast quantities of lava. One of these extinct craters, near the right bank of the Awash north-west of Ankober, forms a vast chasm many miles in circumference. Another much smaller crater still emits vapours from the summit of an isolated crag; this is the Dofaneh volcano, which lies on the left bank of the Awash some 36 miles north-east of Ankober. Its state of activity may be compared to that of Volcano in the Lipari Islands. On its sides are deposited layers of sulphur, presenting every shade from bright yellow to reddish brown. The group of Mintshar volcanoes, in the southern district of Fatigar, contains other craters in which the sulphur becomes sublimated. One of these igneous mouths, that of Winzegur, forms an enormous caldron, according to Harris nearly 6 miles in circumference, with walls rising to a height of from 800 to 1,000 feet; two breaches in the enclosure have given vent to streams of molten lava and black scoriæ which wind amid the surrounding vegetation. The pool of Burtshatta in the vicinity fills a circular bed of black and yellow lava surrounded by vertical cliffs ; the rock is honeycombed with hundreds of caves, whose entrances are half concealed by the climbing plants growing to its sides. Through one of the extinct craters the elephants and rhinoceroses have opened a passage to the brink of this lake. In the western district of Dembi, Antinori describes another volcanic group interspersed with numerous lakelets, but their water being destitute of fish they are evidently of recent origin. Farther on to the south-west the isolated Zikwala peak, about 10,000 feet high, already mentioned on Fra Mauro's famous map, encloses a lake in its terminal crater, on the margin of which stands a monastery founded by a "vanquisher of demons." Many hot springs rise in these volcanic ​ lands of Shoa, three of which in the country of the Finfini Gallas, close to the lofty and isolated Mount Entotto (9,956 feet), spout forth like geysers with a temperature of 170° F. To the action of these warm mineral waters are probably due the fossilised siliceous trees occurring in so many places on the plateau between Lasta and Shoa. Like the "petrified forests" of Cairo, those of Abyssinia consist of trees belonging to the order of the sterculiaceæ.
The Galla Highlands.
A ridge of uplands, curving to the south-west, and separating the Abai from the sources of the Awash, forms the natural boundary between Abyssinia proper and Gallaland. This region is but slightly diversified, presenting no prominences except those of the cliffs fringing both sides of the torrents; but to the south the mountains resume the appearance of a regular chain. They must be regarded, however, rather as a general swelling of the surface broken into distinct segments and isolated masses by the rivers flowing northwards towards the Blue Nile, and southwards to the large river known as the Gugsa, Uma, Abula, and by a thousand other names. By the action of the erosions which have broken up the plateau into its present shape, the axis of these heights has been directed from the northwest to the south-east. In this direction follow in succession Goro Chen, Belhella, Tulu Amara, Chillimo, Diriko, Kalo, and Roggeh, all mountains exceeding 10,000 feet in height. The highest point at the eastern extremity of this range is said to be Hamdo, with a reputed elevation of not less than 11,500 feet. In the same direction, but in the Gurageh district, occurs the isolated Mount Wariro, to which Chiarini has assigned an altitude of 13,000 feet.
The mountainous masses bounded north by the course of the Upper Gugu are considerably lower, having a mean elevation of scarcely more than 7,000 or 8,000 feet. Nevertheless a range in the Inarya district, running from the north-east to the south-west, rises here and there to 10,000 feet, culminating in Moimt Egan, 10,300 feet high. In the Kaffa country, another chain, bounded north by the river Gojeb, rivals the Gurageh Mountains in height ; and Mount Hotta, towards the eastern extremity of this chain, is said to have an altitude of about 12,200 feet. But the giant of the Ilm-Orma territory is said to be Mount Wosho, situated west of the river Uma, in the hitherto unexplored Waratta country. According to Antoine d'Abbadie, who saw it at a distance of twenty miles, towering above the valley of the Uma, this mountain exceeds 16,600 feet.
The Afar Country.
The country of Afars, east of the Abyssinian border-chain, usually designated as a plain in opposition to the plateaux, has however a very hilly and even mountainous surface in some places. In the volcanic chain which bounds the depression of Lake Alalbed stand the Mount Ortoaleh of Munzinger, and another "Smoky Moimtain" seen by Bianchi during his vain attempt to reach Assab by descending ​ from Makalch. South-west of the Bay of Assab, the irregular volcanic Mussali Mountain is stated to attain a height of more than 6,600 feet ; lastly a border range, skirting the north side of Tajurah Bay, is dominated by cones from which lavas have been erupted. Mount Juda, one of these extinct volcanoes, attains a height of some 3,000 feet above sea-level; it throws off a southern spur, whose reefs have almost separated into two parts the bed of the gulf, which thus forms an inner lake rather than a part of the Indian Ocean. To the west other lava streams have entirely covered what was formerly the marine bed, and have thus cut off a portion of the bay, which has become Lake Assal, or as the Arabs ironically call it, in spite of the saltness of its waters, "The Lake of Honey." It is also probable that the upheaval of the land has contributed somewhat to the isolation of this sheet of water, for the seaboard in the vicinity of Tajurah is largely composed of calcareous clays containing, to a height of from 130 to 160 feet, fossil shells similar to those now living in the African seas.
Ijake Assal, at present separated from Tajurah Bay by a ledge some 12 miles long, has undergone various changes analogous to those of liake Alalbed. It has also become a saline reservoir, and the crust of salt surrounding the shallows is so thick that laden camels can traverse it for nearly a mile from the bank. Like that of Lake Alalbed, the salt of this lake is a source of wealth to the neighbouring tribes. All the Afar and Somali peoples of the country here procure the supplies for their own consumption and for south Abyssinia, which gives them in exchange coffee, ivory, musk, and slaves. Like Alalbed, this lake is gradually subsiding, the waters brought down by the wadies being insufficient to replace the loss by evaporation. A whitish mark some 50 feet above the present surface of the lake indicates a former water level. At the time of Rochet's first journey to Shoa in 1834 it stood 600 feet below that of Tajurah Bay ; since then its level has been variously calculated at from 576 to 770 feet, with a probable depth of about 130 feet. According to Bianchi numerous other depressions are found in the country of the Afars, some 660 feet below the level of the sea.
The Awash Basin.
South-west of Lake Assal, in a region similarly studded with volcanoes and lava beds, are other lakes, but of fluvial origin, belonging to the basin of the Awash or Awasi. Unlike the other rivers of the country, the Awash does not disappear in deep narrow gorges. Whilst those watercourses sweep away the fertile soil along their banks, the Awash, which flows towards the Indian Ocean, waters its valley like the Egyptian Nile, without, however, reaching the coast. Like the Raguleh and other streams of the Afar country, it runs dry, notwithstanding the large volume of its middle course. The Awash rises south-west of the Shoa Alps, in the Finfini district, which is separated from the Nilotic basin by a mountain range. Its sources form several pools communicating with each other by several channels winding through a grassy district. Already broad and deep, the river sweeps round the mountains of Shoa, and after receiving a part of their drainage, it trends north​ wards along the foot of the main Abyssinian mountain range. At this part of its course the stream is most copious even during the dry season, being everywhere over 160 feet broad, with a depth of more than 3 feet, and a very rapid course. During the floods the Awash overflows for many miles right and left of its bed, its level rising from 40 to 46, and even to 60 feet, above the usual watermark. It might possibly be available even for steam navigation in this part of its course.
At the point where it is deflected from the mountains, the river flows north-eastwards towards Tajurah Bay, and its volume is increased by its affluent, the Germana, or Kasam, but afterwards gradually diminished, and at about 60 miles from the sea, after having traversed a distance of 480 miles, it loses itself in the marshy lake Bada, or Aussa, also called Abhelbad by many writers. This lacustrine basin, which probably lies below sea-level, rises and falls with the alternating rainy and dry seasons. Its waters are sweet, and deposit a fertilising mud, which repays a hundredfold the agricultural labour expended upon it by the Danakils of Aussa. The water necessary for the irrigation of the fields in summer is retained by a dam constructed at its northern end ; but when the lands are thoroughly watered the overflow is discharged into a basin called "Lake Natron" from the crystallised chemical substances on its banks. Other lakes belonging to the Awash system, amongst others that of Leado, commanded by the Dofaneb volcano and Jebel-Kabret or "Sulphur Mountain," not far from the Abyssinian Alps, receive the overflow of this river during the flood season. Lake Zwai, Jilalu, Laki or Dambal, in the Gurageh country, probably belongs also to the same hydrographic system, and its surplus waters are said to flow into the Awash. Nevertheless, the natives informed Antonelli and Cecchi, that this basin had no affluent; hence its Ethiopian name of Zwai, or the " Motionless."
Climate, Flora, and Fauna.
The climate of this southern portion resembles that of the rest of Abyssinia, the only difference being that the air is more moist. The Shoa and Galla uplands, being nearer to the equator, are much more affected by the rainy zone, which lying between the two trade winds, fluctuates alternately north and south of the equator. Whilst the mean rainfall on the Abyssinian plateaux may be calculated at 30 inches annually, it is said to be about 40 inches south of the Abai and Awash. Hence the vegetation is far more dense and exuberant in the southern than in the northern regions of Abyssinia. Whilst forests are rarely met in Abyssinia outside of the kwalla districts, travellers in the mountains of Shoa and its tributary territories speak of the immense forests of conifers, wild olives, and other trees, under the matted moss-grown branches of which they have travelled for hours. The vegetable
​Like the flora, the fauna of this Abyssinian district aleo presents a great diversity, although on the whole the types are similar. Shoa appears to be the home of the colubus guereza, an ape with a splendid black and white fur, which gives it a monkish appearance. The superstitious natives regard these animals almost as hermits, in consequence of their shy habits and the colour of their coats, In the Awash basin are also found oxen, distinguished beyond all others for the size of their horns, which attain a length of some six feet, with a thickness of six inches at the base. The upland prairies are overrun by a zebra, equus Grevyi, with
extremely curious purple-black stripes. The Galla horse, which dies if taken for from its native mountains, has the thin legs, delicate head, full and shapely crupper, and the fire and obstinacy found amongst the pure Russian breeds. The animal most appreciated in Southern Abyssinia, from an economical point of view, is the civet cat (civetta viverra), whose musky secretion is monopolised by many of the sovereigns of the country. The males, who alone furnish this essence, are kept in packs of from one to three hundred, each animal being enclosed in a long cage made so narrow as to prevent him turning round; the ​ enclosures are kept at a uniform heat, so as to hasten the secretion, which amounts to from about eighty to one hundred grammes every fourth day. The animals are fed on an exclusively flesh diet, consisting of choice morsels prepared in butter. To prevent the evil eye, strangers are forbidden to enter these preserves.
Inhabitants of Shoa.
Like those of Gondar, the civilised Christian peoples of Shoa are mainly Amharinians, but they are separated from the body of the nation by lofty mountains. Whilst most of the Abyssinians live on the lands sloping towards the Blue Nile, those of Shoa occupy more especially the watershed of the Awash, a tributary of the Red Sea. Moreover, a large part of the plateau bounding Shoa towards the north is inhabited by peoples of Gulla origin. Hence, from an ethnological point of view, Shoa consists of a sort of isolated promontory. The Abyssinians, properly so called, are here surrounded by the Ilm-Ormas, by far the most numerous, but divided into several tribes, the alliances between which are broken or formed according either to momentous interests or the caprices of the chiefs. The customs of the Shoa peoples are the same as those of the Amharinians, with this difference, that the entire population is more abjectly subject to the king's will. There are few slaves properly so called, and the Christians are forbidden to sell the Negroes, although they themselves are little better than slaves whose property and lives are at the disposition of their masters. A few Felasha or Fenja communities are scattered throughout Shoa, and amongst these Abyssinian Jews is usually classed the sect of the Tabiban, which possesses a monastery in the immediate vicinity of xlnkober, in the midst of the Eraamret forests. They are greatly respected and feared by the surrounding peoples as wizards.
As in Abyssinia properly so-called, the Shoa Mahommedans have been forcibly converted. They were formerly very numerous, and the name of Jiberti, by which they are known throughout Abyssinia, is a reminiscence of their holy city of Jabarta in Ifat, which has since disappeared. Foreigners, more especially French and Italians, are relatively numerous in Shoa, and since the visits of Rochet, Lefebvre, Harris, Combes and Tamisier, Isenberg and Krapf, hundreds of missionaries, artisans, and merchants have presented themselves in the nomad court of the successors of Sehla Sellasieh; but hitherto the natives have benefited little by the European inventions. Powder and arms manufactories and mills have not succeeded, and the concessions made to strangers for the building of railways is merely a proof that the king of Shoa is desirous of entering into direct relations with his powerful foreign allies.
Scientific voyages of discovery in the Galla country, interrupted since that of the missionary Fernandez in the seventeenth century till the time of Antoine d'Abbadie, are also becoming more frequent, thanks to the extension of the Abyssinian power into these countries; but it is still a dangerous undertaking, and of the two Italians, Chiarini and Cecchi, who recently penetrated as far as Bongo, one succumbed to fatigue, whilst the other was with difficulty saved by the intervention of the chief of ​ Qojam. The object of d'Abbadie's visit to these countries, which was to completely survey the course of the southern Abyssinian river, has not yet been accomplished. It is not known whether, after describing the large curve east of Kaffa, the watercourse which forms a continuation of the Gugsa and receives the Gojeb trends westwards to the Nile or is deflected towards the Indian Ocean, but it probably fulls eastwards as the upper course of the Juba. In any case it is not the Nile, as d'Abbadie supposed.
The Afars.
In the triangular space comprised between the Abyssinian range, the Red Sea, and the course of the Awash, the bulk of the people, whether nomad or settled, constitute the Afar, or Afer, that is to say the " wanderers," more commonly called Danakils by the Abyssinians. In the vicinity of the Awash they are known as Adel, or Adail, after the Ad-Ali, one of their most powerful tribes ; but the various clans differ little in customs, dialects, and usages. The Dunukils themselves claim to be Arabs, like so many other peoples of eastern Africa, and this pretension may be explained both by local crossings as well as by their nominal conversion to Islam. But there can be no doubt that the main body of the nation is connected with the Gallas of the west, the Shohos of the north, and the Somalis of the south. Their language is also of Hamitic origin, and their physical appearance is of an analogous type. They are still mainly addicted to fetish practices, in the sterile region of Lake Alalbed worshipping a solitary tree, the caesalpinia, with splendid pink flowers, and elsewhere presenting their offerings to the sycamore. The men are usually handsome, extremely active and graceful dancers; while the women, who go unveiled, are distinguished during their brief youth by exquisite forms. . But their beauty is soon blighted by their laborious life in this country of lava and sand, under the hottest climate in the world. More scantily clothed than the Abyssinians or Gallas, the Danakils merely wear a waistcloth of a many-coloured material, with a toga or shamma, often replaced by a skin thrown negligently over the shoulders. The men stick a porcupine-quill in their deftly arranged coiffure, and, like the Gallas, are extremely proud when they can ornament it with an ostrich feather, emblem of an enemy slain in battle. In the northern region, the huts of the Afars are very tastefully ornamented, the floor being covered with yellow mats, embroidered with red and violet designs.
The Afars are an independent nation, divided into two'main groups, the Asahian (Asaïmara) and the Adohian (Adoïmara), and into upwards of one hundred and fifty Kabilet (Kabail) or sub- tribes, banded together or divided according to their several interests. They recognise hereditary chiefs, called sultans or ras, according to the importance of the tribe. These chiefs, however, are by no means absolute masters, but merely the executors of the will of the people, expressed by a majority of votes in the general assemblies. All combine against the common enemy, and fight desperately in defence of their liberty. The most powerful sept are the Modaïtos, occupying the whole of the region of the lower Awash, Lake Aussa, and the inland pasturages between Edd and Raheita. No European traverses their ​ territory without claiming the right of hospitality or the brotherhood of blood; the two newly made brothers kill an ox and pour the blood over their foreheads, cutting its skin in strips, which they make into necklaces and bracelets. About 1840 the Zeïla Arabs, reinforced by immigrants from Yemen, and Persian or Baluch mercenaries, penetrated into the Danakil country nearly as far as Aussa, but not one of the invaders returned. In 1875 an enemy more formidable than the coast Arabs attempted to force his way into their territory. At the head of 350 Egyptians armed with improved rifles and a train of artillery, Munzinger Pasha endeavoured to open a route towards Shoa, his intention probably being to reduce this kingdom under the sovereignty of Egypt. But the same Modaïto tribe who exterminated the first expedition fell upon the second with a like result. Munzinger, with the bulk of his troops, was slain by the lances of the Danakils, who say that "Guns are only useful to frighten cowards."
As the mountain streams are lost amongst the sands and lavas before reaching the sea, the Danakils are unable to cultivate their lands, except along the banks of the Awasli, where are a few garden-plots; insufficient, however, for the local wants. But through commerce the Danakils are enabled to procure sufficient supplies from the seaports and the markets of Shoa. It is the custom for every caravan en route to pay a tax on encamping, in return being entitled to the protection of the tribe, and thanks to its guides and safe conducts they pass in safety between the mountains and the sea. The Abyssinian sovereigns have often desired to close certain trade routes across the desert in order to open up others for their own advantage; but their power is arrested at the boundary of the plains, where the Danakils indicate the route to be followed with the points of their lances. In the northern part of the desert the Taltal tribe, who, according to Rüppell, greatly resemble the Abyssinians in features, are chiefly employed in working the salt in the bed of Lake Alalbed, which they sell to the Abyssinians of the plateaux in square bricks. The Taoras and Saortas, dwelling south of Adulis Bay in the Buri peninsula, are also Afars, modified by crossings with the Abyssinians, and speaking a Tigré dialect mixed with a large proportion of Arab words. According to Rohlfs the Taora and Saorta women are of extremely small stature in comparison with the men.
The redanto or chiefs of the northern Danakils are magicians, who hold
The Somali.
The Somali race, akin to the Afars in features, speech, and origin, is represented in the Awash basin, between Tajurah Bay and the realm of Harrar, by the powerful tribe of the Issas, who even make incursions across the Awash into the plains of the Danakils. These temporary migrations are caused by the irregularity of the climate, the rains falling at different times on the coast of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Immediately after the rains, when the pasture-lands are covered with rich grass, the Issas demand hospitality from the Danakils, who in turn come
over to the Somali country when their own pasturages are dried up and the southern lands are renewed by the rains. This reciprocal dependence maintains harmony between these two powerful and warlike nations. The Issa, although nominally tributaries of the Egyptian Government, were practically independent, as the chief of the tribe had to be subsidised to protect the caravans going between "the mountains of Harrar and Zeïla. The Issa camel-drivers are almost exclusively engaged in transporting merchandise to the mountains, where their-loads are committed to other drivers. They are always accompanied by their wives, who lead the camels and bear on their backs the firewood and cooking utensils, and, if ​ mothers, their children. The hereditary enemies of the Issas are the Gadibursis, also a Somali people, bold mounted marauders, who occasionally seize their flocks even in the neighbourhood of Zeila.
The Gallas.
In numbers and extent of territory occupied by them, the Gallas are one of the largest nations in Africa. Some of their communities are even settled on the frontiers of Tigré, along the eastern slope of the Abyssinian main range. Even as far as the equator, over a space of 600 miles from north to south, are scattered or grouped together tribes of the same race, whilst Gallas are met with from east to west throughout the region which stretches from the Upper Nile to the Somali coast. But it is not yet known where the national type is the best represented, or which is the most powerful tribe, the country of the southern Gallas being one which has been the least explored by European travellers.
In this part of Africa an area larger than that of France is still unexplored, and everything strengthens the belief that this region, stretching south of Kaffa, will be the last to be visited by travellers. The only Gallas we are well acquainted with are those of the northern region, who, since the middle of the sixth century, have dwelt in and about the Abyssinian states. It is therefore natural that these races should be studied after those of Abyssinia. According to Beke the Gallas were so named by the neighbouring peoples after a river of Gurageh near which they fought a great battle; but this appellation is usually interpreted in the sense of "Land-hunters," a term denoting their nomad life and conquests. They call themselves Oromo, "Men," or Ilm-Orma, "Sons of Men," possibly "Brave Men;" although according to D'Abbadie this name, like the Spanish hidalgo, is sjnionymous with "Nobles." The traditions of the tribes vary ; still the bulk of the Gallas, when asked whence their ancestors came, point to the south. Their original home is said to be towards the southern uplands, and the tribes near Mount Kenia are said still to go on a pilgrimage to this mountain, bringing offerings to it as if to their mother. It appears certain that towards the middle of the fifteenth century a great exodus took place among the peoples throughout all eastern Africa, and that this movement continued during the following centuries; it has even continued till recently in a north-westerly direction. The Abyssinian Gallas, the Wa-Humas of the riverain states of Nyanza, were to the north and west the advance guard of this migration of the Oromo peoples, which according to Barth and Hartraann, was probably caused by some great eruption of Kenia and other volcanoes of equatorial Africa.
In any case the "Sons of Men," whom some authors have termed Semites and even "Aryans," are Nigritians, connected by imperceptible transitions with the populations of Central Africa. In many points they resemble their northern neighbours, the Agau, and their eastern and irreconcilable enemies the Somalis. Both speak dialects of the same linguistic family, which has been provisionally classed in the "Hamitic" group. According to Krapf, all the Gallas, those living ​in the vicinity of the equator as well as the Orômos of Abyssinia, speak languages so closely related that they can easily understand each other. The various dialects may be reduced to five, all bearing remote resemblance to the Semitic tongues, not in their vocabulary but in their phraseology, indicating a similar mental constitution. D'Abbadie has called attention to a certain coincidence between a large number of roots and grammatical features in the Basque and Galla tongues. The Gallas are said by Bleek to possess clicks like those of the Hottentots, but the statement has not been confirmed by other observers. Ignorant of writing, the Orômos have no books except the Bible, introduced by the missionaries, and which, with a few dictionaries and a grammar by Tuschek, constitute the entire Galla
Fig. 62. — Routes of the Chief Explorers in South Abyssinia. Scale 1: 6,000,000.
literature. The Ilm-Orma country is also occupied by peoples of different stock speaking another dialect as yet not reduced to writing by the missionaries. They are evidently the remains of conquered peoples forming isolated ethnological groups amid the invading hordes of the Galla nation. In the open Orômo country still exist a few groups of Amharinians who have preserved the Abyssinian language.
The Gallas are usually of middle height, or about 5 feet 4 inches, although men are found amongst them as tall as the Scandinavians. They are broad-shouldered and slender-waisted, the young men having chests which would delight a sculptor; the legs are shapely, the feet small and always well arched. Strong, active, and ​slim, they resemble the Abyssinians, and more especially the Agau, to whom they are probably related; but they are usually of a more attractive and open cast of countenance. The Gallas are extremely dolichocephalous, forehead high and rounded, the nose flat, the lips full but rarely pouting, the beard thin and the hair wavy and growing in separate tufts. The finest men are said to be found amongst the Limmus and Gudrus on the banks of the Abaï, who, according to some authors, may be taken as types of the race. Like the bulk of the natives of the Upper
Nile, the "Sons of Men" are very skilful in dressing their hair in the shape of a crescent, a halo, or in long tresses; but the right to these decorations is limited in many tribes to those who have killed a man, under penalty of having it shaved off every three months. The skin varies greatly in shade; whilst that of the men is of a deep or reddish brown, that of the women is usually very light. The.latter are all considered, even by white people, to be very handsome in their youth. According to Beke, the complexion of the Gallas along the Abaï or Blue Nile Valley is not darker than that of the Andalusian peasantry. It was due to their relatively fair ​ colour that the Jesuits derived their usual name from the Greek word gala, that is to say, "milk." The men and women are gracefully attired in the Abyssinian toga, and the hero who has distinguished hiniself by some famous exploit proudly plants an ostrich plume in his hair. The Gallas are armed with a lance, the two-edged knife, and a shield of buffalo or rhinoceros hide. Their dwellings, which resemble those of the Abyssinians, are circles of rough stones conically roofed with grass or reeds. They are nearly all built under the shade of large trees, and the traveller traverses many villages which he scarcely perceives through the dense forest vegetation.
The northern Ilm-Ormas, like their Abyssinian neighbours, are far more intelligent than those of the west, and acquire languages with remarkable facility. Like the civilised Abyssinians, they till the land and breed stock. They possess numerous varieties of cereals, good horses, the best mules to be found in Central Africa, and two varieties of oxen, the zebu and the sanka, with long horns which when sprouting are trained to grow in the shape of a lyre. In many districts all the villages are occupied with bee-farming. However, the Gallas have not all the peaceful virtues of the agriculturalist, and their warlike instinct is often aroused. The country is wasted by continual feuds, and in some tribes the able men have been reduced by more than two- thirds. Even in the family itself, endless vendettas are carried on, unless blood-money has been accepted. But if the Gallas are with good reason feared by most of their neighbours, they are in their turn frequently threatened in the north by the Abyssinians of Gojam and Shoa, and to the east by the Somalis, whilst the slave-hunters often make successful razzias into their forests. The children, especially, have reason to dread these marauders, because the adult Galla will often starve himself rather than submit to slavery, whereas if taken young they can soon be trained for a life of bondage. In nearly all the petty Galla states the trade in these children is carried on to the profit of the chiefs themselves, some of whom impose a direct "child-tax" on each family, whilst others accept human flesh in payment of imposts.
Some Galla tribes are grouped into republican federations, but the bulk of them, engaged in interminable wars, have elected heyu or chiefs, who alone of all the Gallas practise polygamy. Amongst the southern Ilm-Ormas, these chiefs are always chosen from some noble family, and are invested with power merely for a term of years.
Most of the Ilm-Ormas were converted to Abyssinian Christianity before the invasion of Mohammed Granheh, or the "Left-handed," who overthrew the power of the ancient Ethiopian kings. From this period they have preserved the names of a few saints, the celebration of Sunday or "the Great Sabbath," and some other feasts of Christian origin. At present the increasing influence of the Abyssinian sovereigns has compelled several Galla tribes to re-embrace the monophysitic religion; some of the natives also have accepted the tenets of the Protestant and Catholic missionaries. The native priests, originally slaves purchased in their youth by the Capuchin friars from the parents or slave-dealers, and brought up in the French seminaries, do not appear to enjoy much influence with their fellow​ countrymen. The Mahommedans have been more fortunate, and whole populations have fervently embraced the faith of Islam.
The bulk of the nation has, however, remained faithful to their nature-worship. Nevertheless the Gallas believe in Wak, Waka, or Wakayo, a supreme god whom they confound with the sky, and pray to for rain during the dry season, and for victory over their enemies. They have also other inferior gods, to judge from their names evidently of foreign origin. Such are Saitan, the spirit of evil; Boventicha, the tutelar genius of the race; Oglieh, the god of generation, to whom sacrifices are offered at the commencement of the rainy season; and Atetieh, the goddess of fertility, whose least is celebrated at harvest time, which falls at the end of the winter. Moseover, they worship all living things and all formidable objects of nature, such as the forests, rivers, woods, mountains, thunder, and the winds; each family has its protecting tree, often an olive, which is named after the Virgin, St. Michael or some other saint, watered with the blood of sacrificial-victims reared on honey and beer. Of animals the serpent, "the father of the world," is the most worshipped, and many a cabin has its domestic snake. The northern Gallas have priests and sorcerers; these latter, called kalisha, greatly dreaded on account of their incantations, pretend that they can dispose of the future at their will, causing life or death, and conjuring the evil spirit. But still more terrible are the buda, or were-wolves, who transform themselves into wild beasts and cause death by a mere glance. Every person proved to be a "buda" is immediately butchered, and, as in mediæval Europe, it is the old women who usually fall victims to these popular superstitions. In the case of persons merely "possessed," an incessant drumming and exorcising is kept up, so as to drive out the zar, or evil spirit, and thus effect a cure. Thieves are scented out by the medium of a magician, or béba-shiaï, a high court functionary, who, according to Antinori, aided by the terror his shrewdness inspires, rarely fails to discover the culprit.
The Ilm-Ormas seldom practise polygamy, having only one wife, too often a mere slave charged with all the domestic duties, but considered unworthy to till the land, water the cattle, or milk the cows. The marriage forms are very numerous, and that of abduction is still honoured amongst certain tribes, the suitor's friends undertaking the seizure. He who manages to seize the young girl and carry her off in spite of her cries, becomes merely by this act her brother and protector; he brings her to the lover's hut, a cow is quickly killed, and the young girl sprinkled with its blood, which she also drinks. The union is henceforth inviolable, because the Ilm-Ormas, unlike the Somalis, "a nation of traitors and perjurers," never break their pledged word. However this abduction is often a mere pretence, the parents themselves bringing the sacrificial cow to the lover's dwelling. Sometimes it is the young girl who takes the initiative. She runs away from the paternal mansion bearing in her hand a tuft of fresh grass, with which she crowns the head of her lover; then kneeling down she strikes the ground to the right and to the left, as if to take possession of her chosen husband's residence. It even happens that the ugly or deformed girls, to whom no young man would be tempted to throw a necklet, the usual form of asking in marriage, are assisted by their parents at night ​to climb over the enclosure round the house of the man of their choice. Sho stops at his door till morning, and if he does not succeed in driving her away by insults, she has conquered, and "as required by the laws of their ancestors," the young man is obliged to marry her, whether he desire it or not. When a Galla falls seriously ill and there is no hope of saving his life, to prevent him suffering useless pain, his friends stifle him by filling his mouth with clotted milk kept in place by a cloth. In some tribes the children and relations also kill their aged parents, even when not ill. The funeral ceremonies are regulated according to custom. A trophy of branches is placed on the tomb, indicating the wealth, position, and entire history of the deceased. The hair of women floating over the grave
expresses grief and puts the evil spirits to flight. The elder brother inherits the wife and children; but if the deceased had no issue, his brother or relations must adopt or purchase an heir, who takes the dead man's name, and thus carries on the family. Children are frequently adopted by the Gallas; the wife gives the child suck, the husband gives it his thumb to bite, and the ties of relationship are henceforth inviolable.
The Galla communities, tribes or fractions of tribes, which bear a distinct name, differing according to their political surroundings and their upland or lowland place of habitation, may be reckoned by the hundred. Some of the clans have become Abyssinians by marriage and mode of life. Such are principally the Mechas of Gojam, the Jaggadas of Beghemeder, all nominally Christians; the Wollo ​ Mohammedans of the great plateau between Ankober and Magdala, and the heathen Borenas of the Abaï kwalla. The dreaded Assebos, the Rayas, Ejus, and Dawris on the passes and eastern slopes of the Abyssinian range, have for the most part preserved their primitive customs. The same is true of the independent or tributary Ilm-Omias living to the west of Shoa, towards the sources of the Awash, and on the waterparting between the Abai and the Gugsa, as well as the Jillis, Soddos, Hadas, Finfinis, Mettas, Nonnos, Gudrus, Horros, Jummas, and other tribes occupying the region formerly known as "Great Damot." A large tract of territory south and south-east of Shoa, towards Harrar, is inhabited by the Ittus and Arussis. Lastly, the Sidamas, peopling Innarya (Enarea), and Kalfa, in the south-western region of Abyssinia, are regarded as a branch of the Galla family. Amongst them Christianity had formerly the largest number of adherents and Abyssinian culture had made the greatest progress. Their colour is generally lighter than that of the other Ilm-Orraas, and the Arabs compare the complexion of the young Sidama girls to cinnamon. To the north some of the Sidama speak Gonga, a tongue related to the Agau, and current amongst the Damot Abyssinians north of the Blue Nile.
Topography.
The political centre of Shoa occupies the watershed on the two slopes of the Abyssinian range, eastwards towards the basin of the Awash, and westwards towards that of the Blue Nile. In this country, where the climate is temperate, and where the soil, better cultivated than in any other Abyssinian region, produces corn and fruits in abundance, are grouped the civilised populations of Abyssinian origin, and here stood the cities successively chosen as capitals of the kingdom of Shoa. The palaces being merely large huts, it is easy to shift the site of the capitals, and the residence of the sovereign has changed several times during this century, according to the strategic advantages or the royal caprice.
Licheh, the present capital, founded by King Menelik, and hence the greatest market in the country, stands on a terrace at the western base of the mountains culminating in Mount Métatiteh, between two ravines forming the beds of two headstreams of the Jemma, an affluent of the Blue Nile. To the east on an isolated rock still nearer to the range, and in the vicinity of Wat, or the "Abyss," are the ruins of Tegulet, the "Town of Wolves," which became, after Aksum, the capital of Abyssinia, whilst its name was used for some time to designate the whole of Shoa. The fortress of Tegulet, which overawed the land, was taken by assault and destroyed in 1528 by Mohammed Granheh, the conqueror of Abyssinia. A few miles to the
precipices, bear the two ambas of Emanbret, or Ememret, and Fekereh-Gemb, which are regarded by the Abyssinians as impregnable. The latter fort contains in its terminal tower the treasures of King Menelik and the supplies for his army. To the north, in the valleys of the spurs, the villages of Aramba, Kokfara, Daweh, Majettieh, and several others follow in succession as far as the country of the Eju Gallas.
In the remote future, when the question of connecting southern Abyssinia with the Red Sea coast shall be seriously thought of, three natural routes indicated by running waters cannot fail to be explored: to the north that which descends from the plateau of southern Lasta by the river Golima, and is lost in a depression flooded by brackish waters; and farther south, under the latitude of Magdala, that following the Melleh or Addifuah River valley as far as the confluence, and thence to the Awash and Lake Aussa, where it rejoins the caravan route towards Tajurah Bay. Another route, as yet unexplored by Europeans, descends from the Argobba ​ towards the Awash by the market-towns of Daweh and Mejettieh. Abargues de Sosten claims to have explored these two northern routes in their upper part, in spite of the vicinity of the dreaded Dawri tribes. Bianchi has recently attempted to explore auother and more northern route, from Makaleh to the port of Assab, by way of the country of the Taltals ; but he was compelled to retrace his steps. The presence of ferocious peoples on the spurs prevent traders from visiting this part of the Abyssinian watershed, whilst the caravans coming from the Red Sea coast or Tajurah Bay are compelled to make a complete detour from the direct route to reach the provinces of Shoa. From Tajurah to the town of Ankober, the usual caravan route is about 360 miles, some 120 to 150 miles longer than the direct route towards the plateau.
At present the most frequented route between Ankober and the shores of the Indian Ocean is that which passes through the principality of Harrar, terminating in the port of Zeila. From the Shoa uplands, it descends at first to the town of Aliu-Amba, inhabited, like the neighbouring village of Abderasul, by merchants, slave-dealers, hotel-keepers and muleteers of all races, nearly all of whom, however, are zealous Mussulmans. After paying the custom-house duties, the caravans pass on to Farrch, or Farri, the last village of the province of Efat, built at a height of 5,560 feet on a projecting terrace ; then skirting the craters and lava-fields, they reach the Awash, which they cross to enter on the great plain of Mullii. Beyond this point the caravans proceed over the hills of a watershed, belonging to the country of the Ittus, thence redescending into the plain of Harrar. Some 24 miles west of this town is the little Lake Haramoya, near which the French explorer Lucereau was assassinated in 1881.
Harkar and Zeilah.
The town of Harrar, also called Harrayhch by the Abyssinians, Ada or Adari by the Somalis, and Herrer by the Egyptians, is stated by travellers to be exactly midway between, or 170 miles from, Ankober and Zeila. Lpng at an altitude of 5,600 feet, Harrar enjoys a relatively temperate climate, from 54° to 59° F., and is surrounded by fertile fields and groves of diversified vegetation. A delightful and well-watered oasis situated on the border of the arid regions, Harrar could support itself, even if it had no commercial relations with the neighbouring countries. But it is moreover an important market-town, and its two ports, Zeila and Berbera on the Somali coast, keep up a brisk trade with Egypt and Arabia. In 1883 it had an European settlement of five persons. Said to have been founded three centuries ago, it is the most populous city in the whole of Abyssinia, and even one of the largest on the continent, for from Cairo to Zanzibar, a distance of 2,400 miles, its only rival is Khartum. Accordingly the Egyptian Government took possession of it in 1875, so as to protect this precious market from the attacks of the surrounding Somali and Galla tribes; but the garrison of from four thousand to five thousand soldiers, more dangerous than the nomads in the vicinity, has exhausted the country by oppression and plunder. The English, who as they ​ possess the seaboard, are the heirs to Egypt, have already taken the necessary steps to secure this prize, which Burton was the first Englishman to visit, in 1855. On withdrawing the Egyptian garrison they hoisted the British flag on the walls. The king of Shoa, who was also desirous to obtain this town, had not suflicient strength to struggle against such rivals.
Harrar, whose shape may be compared to that of a pear, lies on a granite hill which gradually tapers to the west. To the south Mount Hakim commands the town from a height of some 660 feet, giving birth to many streams, which water the gardens of Harrar and become lost in the marshes before reaching the Wabi, a tributary of the Indian Ocean. The numerous grottoes of Hakim are inhabited by long-tailed yellow monkeys, with thick manes. Contrasting with the scattered dwellings of other Abyssinian cities, the nine thousand five hundred terraced dwellings of Harrar, covering a space of only 120 acres, and built of calcareous rock full of vegetiible fossils, are crowded together within a rampart of stones flanked by embattled towers. The houses have few openings on the narrow, winding, steep lanes, whilst the few irregular squares usually open on the mosques; the largest public space, called the Meulatt, occupies the summit of the hill. The Harrari, nearly all merchants, are fanatic Mussulmans of the Shiah sect, like the Persians and several tribes of Southern Arabia. From these countries probably came the missionaries who converted the Somalis and Gallas to their faith, and whose descendants constitute the present population of the city. When the Harrari meet together to chew the leaves of the kat (celastrus edulis), which is as highly prized by them as by the natives of Yemen as a stimulant, they begin and end the evening with readings from the Koran and acts of thanksgiving, "because this holy plant enables us to prolong our vigils longer into the night, in order to worship the Lord."
The society of Harrar differs from the rest of the Mussulman world in the respect that is shown to women. Before the arrival of the Egyptians, the emir, alone of all the inhabitants of this country, had more than one wife, whilst divorces, so common in other Mohammedan countries, are here of rare occurrence. Besides, the women are unveiled, and sell the products of their gardens in the bazaar, the men taking on themselves all the hard work; and this town is also distinguished by its love of letters. According to Mohammed Mukhtar, all the children read and write Arabic, although it is a foreign language differing greatly from their own, which is either of Galla origin, or according to Burton and Miiller, of Semitic stock. But they write the letters vertically, instead of from right to left. They have a certain literature, and their writers do not restrict themselves to mere comments on the Koran. One of the local industries is bookbinding. Although essentially a commercial town, Harrar has scarcely any industries, excepting that of its highly prized potteries, and its manufactories of togas, the black robes and mantillas worn by the women, and the red garments reserved for the young girls. Most of the other manufactured articles are imported from Arabia, and the chaplets worn by the Harrar people are made by immigrants from Hadramaut. Since the people have exchanged their independent state for the Egyptian ride, they have lost much of ​their property, the population has diminished, and hyænas prowl around the town-walls. Coffee-growing is the principal occupation of the region around Harrar and in the plains tilled by the Gallas; the berry, which is of a superior quality, is exported from Hodeidah and Aden, under the name of "Mocha." Like the Yemen Arabs, the Harrari do not infuse the coffee, although they drink decoctions of bark and dried leaves. Tobacco, the opium poppy, bananas, oranges, and grapes are also produced on the plains of Harrar; the potato has recently been introduced, and all the vegetables imported from Europe have thrived well. In its forests
Giuletti has discovered the coffar, or musical acacia, which Schweinfurth describes on the banks of the Nile, at the confluence of the Sobat.
Two routes, often blocked by the inroads of plundering hordes, lead from Harrar to Zeïla. One crosses a ridge to the north of the town, thence redescending into the basin of the Awash by the Galdessa Pass and valley, and from this point running towards the sea through the Issa territory, which is crossed by a chain of trachytic rocks trending southwards. The other and more direct but more rugged route ascends north-eastwards towards the Darmi Pass, crossing the country of the Gadibursis or Gudabursis. The town of Zeïla lies south of a small archipelago of islets and reefs on a point of the coast where it is hemmed in by the Gadibursi tribe. It has two ports, one frequented by boats but impracticable for ships, whilst the other, not far south of the town, although very narrow, is from 26 to 33 ​feet deep, and affords safe shelter to large craft. According to Rochet d'Héricourt, it is not of sufficient size to accommodate more than eight or nine vessels of from three to four hundred tons. In the vicinity of the town lies a large saline plain, whence the Issa camel-drivers obtain the salt which they sell to the Harrari at a high price. Zeïla has no springs; hence every morning a long string of camels is dispatched to seek the necessary water in the wadi of Tacosha. Three-fourths of the population consists of Issa Gallas, and every evening the village resounds with
their warlike or other national songs. A small English garrison from Aden now occupies the town, so that there is some hope that the slave-trade may at last be suppressed, of which Zeïla has hitherto been one of the principal centres.
Tasurah, Onok, Assab.
The route between Shoa and Tajurah Bay does not enjoy, like that of Zeïla, the advantage of a midway station such as the city of Harrar; still the principal town of the Aussa district, situated near the southern bank of a fresh-water lake, which receives the waters of the Awash, may be regarded as a veritable town. It is a ​collection of more than a thousand huts where are settled the merchants and camel-drivers of the Modaïto Danakil tribe, and was once the capital of the Mussulman kingdom of Adel. From Aussa to Tajurah Bay follow in succession several other groups of cabins also belonging to the Afar tribes, and the northern shore of the bay is bordered by widely scattered hamlets and villages. Amongst others is that of Sangalo, which served till recently as the port whence the Galla slaves were shipped to Arabia, and which was annexed to France in 1882 by the French explorer
Solelliet. Still farther cast the hamlet of Ambabo stands on a beach whence slaves have also been frequently shipped in spite of the French or English cruisers which are stationed on the shores of the Indian Ocean. Beyond Ambabo stands the town of Tajurah, which has given its name to the great bay reaching some 36 miles into the interior. Like Sangalo, this village has been ceded to France by the chief of the Ad-Ali tribe, but neither of these hamlets were formally taken possession of till the year 1884. The beach of Tajurah is unfortunately almost level; the port is ​badly sheltered, and not of sufficient depth to admit vessels of small tonnage. The only part of the coast where the French have at last founded a permanent station, after having ignored the deed of concession, which was signed in 1862, for over twenty years, is on the eastern peninsula of the Danakil country, between the Bay of Tajurah and the mouth of the Red Sea. The hamlet of Obok, in the immediate vicinity, has given its name to the whole of the annexed territory, and here in 1881 the first commercial house was opened by Arnoux, a merchant who later on perished in a tribal feud.
Obok offers great advantages as a port of call for steamers. Situated near the
Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, it commands the passage to much greater advantage than the town of Aden, and transports could here put in for coal without altering their course. Although this port cannot be compared to that of Aden, yet it possesses a good anchorage, which might be completely sheltered at small cost. It is separated from the high sea by coral reefs, in which are openings accessible to large ships; the north and north-easterly winds, so feared by sailors, are deflected from the harbour by Râs-el-Bir, or "The Promontory of Wells," which projects into the sea north of Obok. The gradually widening valley, where the buildings of the growing village are beginning to replace the thickets of acacias and other trees, is commanded by a coraline cliff about 60 feet high, the ravines by which it is ​intersected serving as channels for the floods during the rare rainfalls. The upper terrace is itself separated from the plain of the Danakils by a second somewhat less elevated cliff. Although the station of Obok suffers greatly from drought, the district might be reclaimed, and travellers, comparing the vegetation of Obok with the naked and burning rocks of Aden, describe this new station as an oasis. On sinking wells in the valley water is everywhere found at a depth of from 3 to 5 feet, a little brackish near the shore, but perfectly sweet farther inland. King Menelik has granted a formal concession to a French explorer to build a narrow-gauge railway between Ankober and Obok. Many of the caravans coming
from Shoa have already commenced trading with this settlement. The extent of the lands on the northern shore of Tajurah Bay that have been conceded to France is estimated at 1,200 square miles.
36 miles from Bab-el-Mandeb, north of a long littoral indentation. Numerous islets scattered at the entrance of the harbour shut out the sea, excepting to the north-east, and are continued by reefs which the sand, mud, seaweed and coral are gradually causing to encroach on the bay, so that these islands must sooner or later become a peninsula of the mainland. The well-protected port, situated on
the beach of Bouïa, about half a mile south of Assab, affords anchorage to the largest vessels within 500 feet of the coast. The territory of Assab is a shifting dune or hard rock nearly destitute of vegetation. Near the neighbouring village of Margahleh are a few pools of water fringed with verdure; here and there the Afar huts are shaded by some clumps of palms, while along the intermittent streams the brushwood is matted together by a network of creeping plants. The ​ town of Assab, having to obtmn pure water by distillation, and possessing no arable lauds or agricultural industries, cannot expect a great commercial future ; its only product is salt, and even this cannot be worked in safety. But the few Italians in Assab, round whom are grouped some five hundred Arabs, Afars, and Somalis, are making great efforts to establish permanent relations between their station and the towns of Shoa. Although at a great distance from the rich countries of the interior, being at least twenty-two and usually twenty-five days' march from Ankobcr, Assab has begun to import some merchandise, such as coffee, hides, and other products, thanks to the efforts of Antonelli, Bianchi, and other travellers. But this slight trafiic can only be carried on under the guidance and protection of the natives. The explorer Giuletti and several companions, hoping to pass through under the safe conduct of the neighbouring tribes, were assassinated at seven or eight days’ march into the interior. Nearly all the trade carried on with Aden and Hodeidah, is conducted by means of sambucs ranging from seven to ten tons burden, and the annual movement which takes place in the port numbers some four hundred vessels. The town of Raheifa, situated farther south, is the residence of a sultan, who is also a wealthy dealer in mother-o'-pearl, ostrich-feathers, incense, myrrh, and other products of this coast region. The littoral town of Baibul, to the north, is the residence of another sultan under the protection of the Italian Government.
Debra-Libanos, Rogeh, Dildilla.
In the western region of Shoa, the most important place is the commercial town of Ficheh, built at the angle of a plateau, between deep kwallas. Near here stands the famous monastery of Debra-Libanos, or Mount Liban, built on a trachytic terrace from which runs a little rivulet, looked upon as holy by Christians, Pagans, and Mussulmans alike. Pilgrims come from all parts to bathe in these miraculous and healing waters, which were created by the voice of Tekla-Haimanot, the legendary saint of the Abyssinians. At the time of the voyage of Combes and Tamisier, the monastery was occupied by three thousand monks, two-thirds of whom were old soldiers mutilated during their expeditions into the Galla country. No other place of refuge is more respected than Debra-Libanos. Before crossing the escarpments of the sacred mountain the pilgrims must cleanse themselves from their sins in the waters of the Ziga Wodiem—that is, " flesh and blood "—which flows through a deep gorge. On a neighbouring height, whence a view over the valley of the Abai can be had of the Gojam and Damot mountains, stands an ancient fortress which served as a place of refuge for one of the ancestors of Menelik, at the time of the conquest of the country by the "Left-handed." Zena-Markos, another monastery situated north-west of Ficheh, on a plateau surrounded by ravines, is almost as opulent and as much frequented as that of Debra-Libanos. To the north the plateaux, as far as Magdala and the sources of the Takkazeh, are occupied by the "Wollos and other Galla peoples. The "Wollos, who are divided into seven tribes, are immigrants come from the south in the sixteenth century, at the ​ time of the invasion of Grafiheh. But on settling down they adopted many of the customs of the Amharinians, whom they had disjwssessed; abandoning their nomad life they became agriculturists and adopted the toga, although they retained their Mohammedan faith. In the northern part of WoUoland, on a rock {mssessing excellent natural defences, the King of Shoa has founded the stronghold of Woreilla, near the confines of Abyssinia properly so called. This place has become a very important market for exchanges between the two realms, and here the Emperor Johannes usually gives receptions to his vassals.
All the territory south-west and west of Shoa belongs also to the Ilm-Ormas, and possesses large collections of buildings almost worthy the name of towns. The barren northern slopes of Mount Hierer, or Jerrer, are covered with the huts of the large Mussulman village of Rogeh, or Rogieh, which, situated on one of the affluents of the Awash on the confines of Gurageh, in the territory of the Galla tribe of the Galen, has a large trade in coffee, and is still the chief slave-market in southern Abyssinia. This traffic is officially forbidden in the possessions of King Menelik, and the captives are not publicly exposed, but they are secretly sold and sent to the sea-ports, whence they are exported to Arabia or Egypt. In 1878, the explorers Chiarini and Cecchi found the "current price" of the Galla slave to vary from thirty or forty Maria-Theresa crown-pieces for a young and good-looking girl, to four for an old woman. All the inhabitants of Rogeh, numbering some 10,000, claim to be of Tigr^ stock, and are said to descend from two Mohammedans who immigrated some centuries ago. The plain of Finfini to the west, near the sources of the Awash, and at the mouth of a formidable gorge, is frequently selected by the sovereigns of Shoa as the rallying-point where the armies assemble for expeditions into the Galla country. Hot springs, at which the cattle drink, spout forth in the plain, and the neighbouring mountains furnish an iron ore from which nearly all the Shoa hardware is manufactured. The rocks in the vicinity are honeycombed with grottoes, one of which has several naves with elliptical vaults, separated from each other by square pillars which grow thinner towards the middle. These works of art, in a country now occupied by the miserable dwellings of the Katelo Gallas, are a standard by which the decadence of civilisation can be measured. On the solitary Mount Eudotto, west of the plain of Finfini, formerly stood a capital of the kingdom of Shoa, and here the tombs of its ancient kings are still to be seen. It is now the residence of a r&s, or chief. In this region, one of the most fertile in Abyssinia, the French explorer, Amoux, obtained from Menelik a grant of 250,000 acres of land, on which he intended to establish a European colony. When easy routes through the valley of the Awash are opened between it and Tajurah Bay, this region will doubtless become one of the most productive in Africa. Meanwhile the graftings of wild olives and the chinchona plantations are preparing the future wealth of the country. The King of Shoa has recently chosen as his residence the village of Dildilla, west of Finfini ; it is one of the temporary capitals of the kingdom, and is moreover placed in an excellent strategic position to watch over the Galla populations.
Beyond the Awash stretch the Galla republican confederations and small ​ monarchical states, with uncertain frontiers, mostly divided from each other by desert tracts, or "hernes," as D'Abbadie calls them on his map. Gurageh, on the upper affluents of the Waisa and Wabi, is one of these states, an upland region separated from the Awash and the kingdom of Shoa by the Soddo country. This state is looked upon as holy by the Abyssinians, because, according to a legend, the five islets in Lake Zwai are said to be the only Christian land which was left unconquered by the terrible Grauheh, whose soldiers were afraid to venture on the rafts built to transport them to the archipelago. On these islets are convents in which some ancient MSS. are preserved. All the people of Gurageh still claim to be Christians, although they have neither priests, churches, nor religious tenets. They content themselves with repeating the names of a few saints, and cursing the Pagans and Mohammedans. Although relapsed into barbarism, the people of Gurageh have still preserved the art of building far more elegant dwellings than those of all other Abyssinians, excepting those of Gondar. In order to protect themselves against the Soddos and other nomad Gallas, the people of Gurageh have excavated pits here and there in which they conceal themselves on the approach of the enemy, whose passage they watch, often attacking them unawares, and even occasionally cutting off their retreat when in sufficient numbers. Gorieno is the capital of the country and Ghebisso its chief market, although a less important place than Mogar, which lies farther westwards in the Kabena country. Gurageh and Kabena, often held as belonging to the same political group, differ entirely in manners, religion, and speech. The Kabena are fanatical Mussulmans, and were the King of Shoa not to keep good order, they would be continually warring against their Christian neighbours; they are the chief slave-hunters for the markets of Rogeh and Abderasul. The Kabena country produces the best tobacco in all southern Abyssinia.
The Galla region, where the Awash rises, and which separates the two great curves of the Blue Nile and the Gugsa, is mainly occupied by Liben communities. Farther west the valleys overlooked by the lofty Jimma-Lagamara Alps are peopled by republican tribes, as are also the plains of Gudru, tributaries of the Blue Nile. Beyond this point, towards the region of the Bertas, follow in succession the Alatus, "Wobos, Washitis, and Wasas, all tribes of Oromo origin, concerning whom travellers have hitherto collected the most contradictory accounts. The Italian Cecchi is as yet the only traveller who has succeeded in crossing at this point the large river Ghibeh, a northern affluent of the Gugsa. This formidable watercourse, some 4,000 feet broad after the rains, is crossed in narrow canoes hollowed out of tree-trunks. The portion of the country stretching westwards to the mountains of Jimma-Lagamara towards the sources of the Jabus, is covered with vast forests.
To the south the two kingdoms of Guma and Limmu are still mainly in the basin of the Orghesa or Didesa, one of the largest but one of the least known rivers in the Abai system. The town of Chora, capital of Guma, is situated on an affluent of this watercourse; whilst Saka, the great market of Limmu, stands on a rivulet flowing to the Indian Ocean. Similarly situated are the towns in Innarya ​ or Enuarea, and all the other southern Galla states, Jimma-Kaka, or "Kingdom of Abba-Jifur," Gem, Yungaro, Sidumu, Eullo, Ghiraira, and the great state of Kaffa, the largest country peopled by Gallas which recognises the suzerainty of Abyssinia. Like the provinces of Abyssinia properly so called, all these states are variously divided into degas, vol'na-degas, and kwallas; but on the whole the intermediary zone is the most important, for in it are centred all the chief towns and market-places. In Jimma and Guma the lands belong mainly to the zone of the upland plateaux, and barley is here chiefly cultivated ; the lowlands occupy a larger extent in Innarya, Limmu, and Kaffa.
Innarta.
The name of Innarya was formerly applied to a far more extensive region than that which has preserved this appellation. Like Abyssinia it wa.s a Christian kingdom, and for centuries its Sidama inhabitants successfully resisted the surrounding Pagans and Mohammedans. But the Limmu-Gallas, occupying the upper basin of the Orghesa, at last seized the country and, when they embraced Islam, forced their new religion upon the conquered Sidamas. The people of Innarya, now governed by a queen, are Mussulmans, although the name of Sidama, which has no longer any definite meaning, is still used as a general term for the Christians of the Abyssinian countries bounded north by the course of the Abai. Innarya, properly so called, no longer comprises more than the upper valley of the Gugsa, where this river still flows northwards. The lowlands and slopes of this valley are pre-eminently fitted for coffee culture, the shrubs being far finer than those of Kaffa, from which country the plant has received its name. Coffee-plants are said to be found in Innarya some 8 to 10 feet in circumference. Coffee is monopolised by the king, and his slaves alone have the right to gather and sell it for him in the market of Saka. The gold-dust, which was formerly the chief wealth of Innarya, is no longer found in sufficient quantities for exportation.
Although they have lost their ancient civilisation, the people of Innarya are
Yangaro.
Yangaro (Janjero, Zinjero), south-east of Innarya and east of Gimma-Kaka, comprises a portion of the hilly slopes draining to the Gugsa. In no other country are the "rights" of the reigning house better safeguarded by legal guarantees. Excepting the king, his children, and the low-caste peoples who are too much despised to be feared, Beke was unanimously informed that all the males were partially mutilated, so as to incapacitate them for the throne. One of the king's thousand privileges is the use of certain medicines which are forbidden to his subjects. The people having no other animal food than beef, all suffer from tape- worm like the northern Abyssinians ; but the king destroys this parasite by the use of a decoction of kusso, while the common people, not daring to touch the "king's medicine," have to content themselves with bitter herbs. Amongst other strange stories told of this mysterious Yangaro country, the missionaries Isenberg, Krapf and Massaya, relate that human sacrifices are veiy common, a new-born child being frequently immolated to their divinities. Immediately after their birth the males are said to have their breasts cut off, so that the future warriors may in no way resemble the "soft sex." When the slave merchants take captives of this country they never fail to throw the most beautiful into a lake, so as to render fate favourable to their voyage; but they rarely succeed in capturing males, who usually commit suicide rather than accept slavery. The name of Yangaro has often been ironically confounded with that of Zinjero, which signifies "monkeys" in Amharinian; hence the reports often heard of a race of enslaved monkeys existing in Africa. Jimma-Kuka, or Kingdom of Abba-Jifar, is one of the regions which supply most slaves to the merchants or jibberti. According to Beke, nearly all the slaves brought from the northern and eastern Galla territories are made eunuchs by dealers settled in the town of Folia. {{c|Kaffaland. The country of Kaffa is one of those whose people still claim to be Christians, although a long isolation has effected a marked change between their practices and those of the Abyssinians. There are said to be only six or eight churches in the country, centres of widely extended parishes and sanctuaries for the criminals and oppressed classes; the kings are buried under one of these sanctuaries. According to Massaya, the Kaffa Christians are ignorant even of the nanie of Jesus Christ, and worship the three saints, George, Michael, and Gabriel. Exceedingly scrupulous in the observance of their customs, which chiefly apply to the nature of their food, the people of Kaffa never eat com of any description, and to call them " graminivorous " is considered an insult. Their only vegetable food consists of the stalk of the ensete banana, which is cultivated around all their villages. The ordinary grains, such as wheat, barley, and haricots, are used merely as food for cattle and the brewing of beer. They are no legs exclusive as to meat-eating, the ox being the only quadruped whose flesh they are allowed to eat. But the men, more ​ fortunate than those of Yangaro and other neighbouring states, are also allowed to eat poultry. According to custom, if the women eat this latter food they loose their liberty and are immediately sold as slaves, the traffic in human flesh not being forbidden to the Christians of Kaffa, as it is to those of northern Abyssinia. Their clothing is also rigorously regulated, skins, tanned or untanned, being forbidden; their garments are made of cotton tissues or coarse stuffs woven from the fibres of the ensete. Although Donga, the capital of Kaffa, may be "the largest town existing in Abyssinia," and an active market, money was hardly known there in the middle of this century. The only mediums of exchange were glass beads and the salt imported from Sokota. To the south-west, in the Sheka or Siaka country, the natives collect gold-dust from the sands of the rivers. The sovereigns of Kaffa maintain a ceremonious etiquette nearly as rigorous as that of the kings of Yangaro. According to Soleillet, who has recently penetrated into this country, the ministers and grandees of the kingdom cannot speak to their master unless covered with fetters like slaves, although they are separated from the royal presence by a curtain. To shun recognition the king himself goes out shabbily clothed and mounted on a miserable horse; but his escort is observed from afar, and everyone hides so as to escape the consequences of meeting him. In this country of etiquette the formula of salutation is, " I hide myself under the earth." When the Christian priests still resided in the country, the faithful were bound never to let them touch the ground between the mission-house and the church, so they were carried on the shoulders of strong men. It is related that these priests being unable to go to Gondar to receive consecration from the abuna, had brought to them by caravan a precious box which the " father " had filled with his sacred breath.
South of Kaffa, on the watershed of the Indian Ocean, stretch the forests peopled by the mysterious Dokos, that is to say, in Galla, the " Ignorant," or the "Savages." According to Krapf, Isenberg, and most other explorers, the Dokos are dwarfs, like the Akkas of the Welle River, whilst D'Abbadie asserts they are in no way different iToro their neighbours, the Swaheli.
The King of Shoa, absolute in his kingdom, exercises only an indirect influence over the small tributary Galla states, and the southern kingdoms have been induced to accept the suzerainty of the "king of kings," less through his influence than that of the râs of Gojam, who controls the trade routes leading from Gondar and Sokota to Kaffa. However, the material power of the King of Shoa over the surrounding countries has greatly increased during the last few years, thanks to the organisation of his army, which already comprises a body of pennanent troops amounting to a thousand riflemen. In time of war, when the great tiaf/an't, or war-drum, is beaten, this corps is followed by crowds of warriors and plunderers. According to Chiarini, the armed rabble occasionally amounts to nearly a hundred thousand persons. The tribute paid to the negus by the kings of Shoa and Gojam is very considerable. Besides a present of Maria-Theresa crown-pieces, the sovereign of Shoa is said to be obliged to supply his master with a hundred thousand oxen, two thousand horses, and two hundred leopard skins.