American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-12-07
AbySsinian Customs.
INTERNAL government is conducte

| INTERNAL government Is conducted by
| the rulers OF provinces, who receive from
| holders of land One-fifth of the produce,
| and who pay One-tenth to the King.
| Every man is bound to serve in the army.
| if wanted, and ali from their youth up are
| necessarily trained to arms, if only for the
purpose of their own defense from local
| invaders. About !. 400 inf;,ntry and cav
airy are employed as the Kings guard.
Each p. ince of the province maintains as
| many soldiers as he can. The soil of
Abyssinia is of Il most fertile nature. Red
| and black loan, heavy clay, chalk, sandy
soil and slate are found in different re
giOns. Land Is cultivated with a rude,
homemade pillow of wood tipped in ircr,
and drawn by two or four oxen. Farms
pass froE; father to son, the holder paying,
as already mentioned, one-tenth of the
produce to the King. and one-tifih to the
Governor of the province. Dwellings are
built to contain barn. stables. mill, kilcil-
en- or cooking place and living-room. all
under one roof. Light is admitted by
apertures indifferently protected but as
the climate is mild and warm, little. if
any, Inconvenience is felt from draughts.
Whole families eat, drink and sleep in the
same room. the beds of the different MEM
bers of the household being merely sepa-
rated by cotton curtains. Youths of both
sexes mix freely in sports in the villages.
but care is taxed 10 check immortality.
and, as rule, the Abyssinian Christians
seem to figure rather favorably in this re-
spect. The young women, especially
those of the Wooilah Gallas, are ha, d.
somely featured and well-formed, of from
five feet to five feet five in hghth, and
they have remarkably small hands and
feet, and well-rounded limbs. Their skins
are OF a warm, reddish cOpper-color. teeth
white and regular, hair black and plated
at the back. The interior women who are
employed in cooking. drawing water and
fetching WOO and In doing the druid gerry
of the household, seldom .'do their
hair'' more than once week. Ladies
of quality ''dO'' it at last once a
day. The regular dress of woman is
sheet of white cotton, covering all the
person from the neck to the ankle. The
match. or silk cord. is worn around the
neck as token of Christianity. Ladies of
higher rank wear a mantle as well, orna-
mented with jewelry of silver and gold.
and have shoes on their feet. The poorer
classes go barefooted. They are, in fact,
but two classes in the Countrywide gov
errors and the governed. The men are
wiry and agile. keen in the chase, and
clever in feats of horsemanship, but are
lazy in point of industry-the fruitful land
yielding them all that they require with
very little labor.
Marriages are arranged by the Parents
of bride and bridegroom. the young couple
being generally disposed of i'll matrimOny
about the ages of sixteen or seventeen.
A prime consideration is that each of the
contracting parties shall be able to bring
into the matrimonial engagement an equal
amount of possessions in cattle, horses,
grain and other property. These little
matters ueing settled satisfactorily be-
tween the parents, the consent of the
priest and elders of the village is obtaired
and day is fixed for the ceremony. On
that day feaSts are made at the houses of
the parents of the bride and bridegroom,
each party giving the best entertainment
they can afford, and inviting as many
friends as they can. After the feast the
bridegrOO n goes to the house of the bride,
where the priest gives her to him, and he
takes her home. A peculiar provision.
the prudence OF which in more civilized
countries might be doub'fully regarded.
is made in Abyssinian contracts OF MAJ
riage. If, after living together for some
time. the husband and wife do not agree.
the husband brings back the property the
woman brought with her, and then goes to
the priest and asks for Il separation but
so little is the liberty taken advantage of
that only two cases of separation came I'M
der the notice of General Kirkham during
his five years residence in the country.
When the married pair have taken the
sacrament, however, as they usually do
two or three years after marriage, no le
gal separation can take place between
them. In cases where families have come
before separation, the husband keeps the
boys and the wife takes away the girls.
A child born out of wedlock, if a boy,
must be supported by the father-when
he can be found If a girl. the mother is
burdened with the sole charge.
TeLeqraph