Tradition asserts that prior to the invasion of Graan, "the mighty Adel
monarch," who overran and dismembered once-powerful Ethiopia, the
eastern limit of the empire was Jebel Aiulloo, known to the Abyssinians
as Mount Azulo. But although frequently invaded, no portion of the wide
plain of the Hawash has been reconquered, whether by Sahela Selassie, or
by his ancestors. The relatives of certain of those in authority have
been made prisoners by treachery, and as hostages are held in close
durance by the king, but the boasted influence of the Abogaz is
principally supported by conciliation, and by the annual presentation of
cloths and specie to the various chiefs and elders--a measure having for
its object to preserve the avenues to the sea-coast and to the Bahr
Assal, whereon Shoa and Efat are almost entirely dependant for foreign
wares, and for salt, which the country does not produce.
The powerful independent chieftain of the principal section of Gibdosa,
who occupy the detached hill of Rasa, across the Robi river, northward
of Dinomali, is one of those in nominal alliance with the Negoos; but
his wild Moslems make constant predatory inroads upon the frontier of
Argobba, slaying Christians and Mohammadans of either sex, without any
compunction; and the policy of His Majesty prohibiting retaliation,
however aggravated the outrage, Anbassa Ali, or "the Lion," who like
Esau of old is said to be covered with hair from the crown of the head
even unto the sole of the foot, not unfrequently makes hostile
demonstrations in person, which require all the Wulasma's tact and
diplomatic cunning to avert.
From Hao, on the eastern side of the Hawash, to Farri, the intervening
tract, under the nominal jurisdiction of Mohammad Abogaz, is in
occupation of a mixed nomade population, not remarkable for their
honesty, and composed from numerous subdivisions of the Danakil, but
principally from the Burhanto or Adali, under ibn Hamed deen Hassan.
This latter, which takes Adaiel in the plural, is the clan of the
reigning Sultan of Tajura; and being in days of yore the most powerful
and important tribe in the nation, its name has been imparted to the
entire country, now corrupted into Adel.
In time of war with the adjacent Galla on the south, or when called upon
to repel the predatory invasions of the Mudaito, the tribes westward of
the Hawash assemble with the Tukhaiel, the Debeni, the Dermela, the
Rookhba, the Woema, and the Hy Somauli, the extent of whose respective
territories has already been defined. These, with the Abli or Dinserra,
under Mohammad Ali, surnamed Jeroa, or "the Thief," which is the tribe
of Hamed Bunaito, present wuzir and heir-apparent to the throne of
Tajura--the Adaneito and Nakur, under Shehem Mulakoo--the Dondametta,
the Duttagoora, and the Hassoba, led respectively by Ahmed Kamil, Sheikh
Deeni, and Deeni ibn Ibrahim--collectively assume the title of
Debenik-Woema, _k_ being the Dankali conjunction.
Adalo bin Hamed, who leads a section of the Gibdosa encamped at Haode
and Dunne, occasionally unites with the Debenik-Woema in the time of
their need, but he is held virtually independent. The fourth and last
section of the Debeni, under the authority of Mahmoodi, has its tents at
the isolated volcanic mountain of Fantali, southward of Dinomali, where
reside also the united Adaiel clans Uluaito, Muffa, and Eyrolasso, under
the great "brave" Lamullifan.
These tribes occupy the whole extent of country between Abyssinia and
Mirsa Raheita, near the entrance to the Red Sea, the head-quarters of
Roofa Boorhan, sheikh of a subdivision of the Duttagoora. Thence they
stretch along the coast to the south-eastward, and from Goobut el
Kharab, between the parallels, bounded on the south by the Eesah and
other Somauli tribes, and flanked on the north by the Mudaito.
The Adaiel or Danakil population, which, including the Mudaito, extends
as far as Arkeeko, entitles itself Afer, and claims to be descended from
Arab invaders, who, in the seventh century of the Christian era, overran
and colonised the low tract which forms a zone between the Abyssinian
Alps and the coast of the Red Sea. To a certain extent the northern
tribes are subject to the Nayib of Arkeeko, whose authority is
recognised in much the same proportion as that of the feeble Sultan of
Tajura by the southern clans; but although speaking the same language,
they can hardly be said to constitute a nation, being so widely
dispersed, that for many days together not a trace of man is to be
discovered over the joyless deserts which form the lot of his
inheritance, scorched by an ardent sun, and alive only with "moving
pillars of sand."
From time immemorial every individual has been his own king. Each
marauding community is marked by a wild independence; and the free
spirit of the whole is to be traced in the rapine, discord, and
bloodshed which universally prevails. Theirs is "an iron sky, and a
soil of brass," where the clouds drop little rain, and the earth yields
no vegetation. It is no "land of rivers of water," nor have the "lines
fallen in pleasant places." The desert stretches far on every side,
strewed with black boulders of heated lava, and enveloped by a glowing
atmosphere. In this country of perfidy and vindictive ferocity, the
proprietors of the barren land murder every stranger who shall intrude;
and the common benefits of water are an object of perpetual contest.
Reprisal and revenge form the guiding maxim of all. Monsters, not men,
their savage propensities are portrayed in a dark and baleful eye, and
the avenger of blood is closely dogging the footsteps of one half the
population.
As laziness is the chief source of African misery at large, so is it
with the Danakil in particular. They possess that "conceit in their
misery" which induces them to despise the labours of the cultivator; and
such is the characteristic want of water, that, excepting at Aussa,
agriculture is unknown, even in its rudest form. A pastoral, itinerant,
and belligerent people, divided into endless clans and ramifications,
under divers independent chieftains, their mode of living entitles them
to rank only one step in civilisation above the positive savage who
depends for daily subsistence upon the chase and upon the spontaneous
productions of nature.
Born to the spear, and bred in eternal strife with his predatory
neighbours, each lawless member of the straggling community inherits the
untameable spirit of the descendants of Ishmael; and it is made
subservient to all the worst vices and passions inherent in the
semi-barbarian. In his very attitude and bearing there is that which
proclaims him in his own opinion Lord of the Universe, entitled to
enjoy, with a thankless heart, all that he is capable of enjoying. No
favour claims his gratitude--nothing demands a thought beyond the
present moment. Unlike the Arab Bedouin, he is too indolent and
improvident during seasons of plenty, to convert the produce of his
flocks and herds into a store against the coming day of drought and
famine. Gorged to repletion, the residue is suffered to go to waste;
and so long as his belly is full, his licentiousness gratified, and he
has leisure to lounge about in listless idleness, the measure of his
happiness is complete, and the sun may rise and set without his
troubling his head as to the mode in which the day has been passed, or
how the next meal is to be provided.
Many of the Adaiel are extensive owners of camels, and deal largely in
slaves--a trade which yields three hundred per cent, with the least
possible risk or trouble to the merchant; but when not upon the journey
periodically undertaken to acquire the materials for this traffic, all
lead a life of indolence and gross sensuality--eating, sleeping, and
indulging in the baser passions, according to the bent of their vicious
inclinations. Their delight is to be dirty and to be idle. They wear
the same cloth without ablution until it fairly drops from the back; and
abhorring honest labour, whether agricultural or handicraft, pass the
day in drowsiness, or in the enjoyment of a quiet seat before the
hamlet, where the scandal of the community is retailed. Basking in the
sun, and arranging their curly locks with the point of the skewer, they
here indulge in unlimited quantities of snuff, and mumble large rolls of
tobacco and ashes, which are so thrust betwixt the under lip and the
white teeth, as to impart the unseemly appearance of a growing wen, and
if temporarily removed are invariably deposited behind the left ear. No
race of men in the world stink more offensively; but whilst polluting
the atmosphere with rancid tallow and putrid animal intestines, they
never condescend to approach a Christian without holding their own
noses!
Amongst the Danakil are to be found some of the most scowling,
ill-favoured, and hideous-looking savages in the universe, but the
features of the majority have an Arab cast which supports the legend of
their origin; and notwithstanding the influence exerted upon the
lineaments by passions uncontrolled, the expression of many is pleasing,
and even occasionally intellectual. All are muscular and active, but
singularly scraggy and loosely knit, and to an easy shuffling gait is
added a national addiction to standing cross-legged. Young as well as
old take infinite pains to disfigure the person, and thus to render it
ferocious in appearance. Scars obtained in brawls and conflicts from
stones and cold steel are esteemed the highest ornaments, and the breast
and stomach are usually seamed with a mystic maze of rhombs and
reticulated triangles, produced by scarification with a sharp fragment
of obsidian, so as to resemble the plan of a fortified town of days gone
by.
The upper lip is denuded with the creese, and the scanty beard suffered
to flourish in curls along the cheeks and over the chin; whilst the
hair, coarse and long, saturated with grease and mutton fat from
infancy, and exposed during life to the fiercest sun, becomes crisped
into a thick curly mop, like a counsellor's wig, which is shaved behind
on a line between the ears, and constitutes the first great pride of the
proprietor. The picking it out into a due spherical form affords
employment during his ample leisure, and the contemplation of its wild
perfection is the predominant object when the mirror is placed within
his grasp. Baldness commences at an early age, and many of the ancient
dandies seek protection from the solar influence under sheep-skin
perukes of preposterous size, their artificial curls, in common with
those that are natural, displaying an ornamented wooden spike or bodkin,
which serves as a comb, and is often fancifully carved and provided with
two or even three prongs.
The operation of greasing this wig without the aid of the barber is
original. A lump of raw fat, cut from the overgrown tail of the Berbera
sheep, having been some time masticated and mumbled, is expelled into
the hands, betwixt the palms of which it is reduced by rubbing to a
suitable consistency, and then transferred _en masse_ to the crown.
Exposure to the fierce rays of a tropical sun soon conveys the desired
nourishment to the roots of the hair. A number of jets and brilliants,
which first adorn the periwig, are presently fried into oily shreds, and
the liquid tallow, adulterated with dirt, trickling in streams adown the
swarthy visage and over the neck, exhales the most sickening of odours.
All, however, cannot afford this luxury of the toilet, nor is it every
one who can resist the temptation of swallowing the dainty morsel when
once consigned to the mouth; and hence is seen many a poll of sun-burnt
hair, in colour and consistency resembling the housemaid's cobweb broom
which is quaintly denominated "the Pope's head."
The simple costume of the Bedouin consists of a piece of checked cloth
wrapped loosely about the loins, and descending to the knees so as to
resemble a kilt or short petticoat; whilst a cotton robe is thrown over
the shoulder after the manner of the Roman toga. Miserly in
disposition, few outward ornaments grace his person, save an occasional
necklace of fat, and a few armlets and bracelets composed of potent
passages from the Koran either stitched in leather, or enveloped in
coloured thread. A thong adorned with a metal button girds to the right
hip of old and young a creese two feet in length, the wooden hilt of
which is decorated with a pewter stud, whilst the scabbard is ornamented
with an aromatic sprig, employed as a tooth-brush, and masticated for
hours together.
Three inches broad in the blade, and possessing a truly murderous crook
in the centre, the creese is doubtless a most formidable weapon at close
quarters. With it the Danakil builds his house; with it he slays the
animal, and flays the carcase. It is his sword in battle, his knife at
the table, his razor at the toilet, his hatchet, and his nail-parer. A
savage desirous of illustrating the most approved exercise, after
whetting the blade upon a stone, capers about describing a series of
flourishes and cuts, both under and over the shield, stabbing and
parrying to the right and to the left, until at length comes the last
grand touch of disembowelment, when a ripping motion is accompanied by a
bound into the air, and a howl of perfect satisfaction such as might be
conjectured to issue from the jaws of the glutted vampire.
The spear, which is seldom out of the hand of the Danakil, is some seven
feet in length, a shaft of tough close-grained wood called "_adepto_"
being heavily poised with metal at the butt, and topped by a blade from
ten to fifteen inches long, by three broad, reduced to as keen an edge
as constant scouring with sand and grease can impart. Great aversion is
entertained to this weapon being stepped over, and its fall to the
ground, independently of the damage that might be sustained, is regarded
as an evil omen, and believed to destroy its power over the flesh and
blood of an enemy. The spear of a chief only is mounted with bands of
brass and copper wire, but the points of all are graced alike with a
lump of sheep's-tail fat. Although sometimes employed as a missive, the
pike exercise is more usually resorted to--the warrior stealing onward
in a crouching position, and springing suddenly with a yell and a
cat-like bound to transfix the body of his foe. "None but a woman would
retain the spear in the hour of battle," quoth one of the braves--"the
creese is the hand to hand weapon!"
The shield, fashioned out of the stiff hide of the Baeza, or of the wild
buffalo, is a perfect circle, of from one to two feet in diameter, with
the rim turned outwards, and the centre convexed, for the purpose of
checking the flight or launch of the missive. A button or boss which
forms the apex is usually adorned with some proud trophy of the chase,
in addition to the red beard of a he-goat, undeviatingly attached as a
charm. A small bag, slung in the interior of the buckler, contains the
portable wealth of the proprietor, and a forked stick is annexed to the
hand strap, to admit of suspension to a tree. Engaged, the warrior
keeps the shield in a continual revolving motion, in strict accordance
with the movement of the eyes, which in fierce and violent frenzy are
rolled in the sockets during the continuance of the conflict.
Cruel, bloodthirsty, and vindictive, the Danakil do not possess that
spirit of individual enterprise or chivalry, or that reckless disregard
of personal danger which, to certain races of men, imparts the stamp of
military habits; but a season of scarcity dooms every neighbouring tribe
whose pastures are more favoured than their own, to invasion, massacre,
and pillage. A fiendish whoop is the signal for the gathering of the
clan; and, obedient to the call, each man at arms, grasping spear and
shield, abandons his wretched wigwam with truly savage alacrity. His
fierce and untamed passions now riot uncontrolled, and those who during
the foray are guilty of the greatest enormities, strut about on return
amongst their fellows, bedecked with ostrich plumes, and other badges of
distinction, reciting each to some wild tune, the tale of his bloody
exploits.
Morose, and possessing little perception of the ridiculous, witticisms
and hilarity in conversation are restricted to the ribald jest; but
brawls are frequent, and the bivouac is often cheered by the wild chorus
selected from a choice collection breathing in every line
self-sufficiency and defiance to the foe. Accompanied by savage
gestures and contortions--now menacing, now mincing, and now furious--
these strains are chanted during the livelong night with clear and
energetic throats, chiefly with the design of intimidating, by the noisy
clamour, any hostile party that may be lurking in the vicinity of the
encampment, intent either upon the requital of injuries done, or the
acquisition of fame by aggressions unprovoked.
Superstitious to the last degree, the itinerant Bedouin takes the field
arrayed in a panoply of amulets, designed as a defence against
witchcraft, and to be thrown towards the enemy in the hour of battle. A
verse from the Koran, sewn up in leather, and hung about the neck,
secures him against all incorporeal enemies. No whirlwind ever sweeps
across the path without being pursued by a dozen savages with drawn
creeses, who stab into the centre of the dusty column in order to drive
away the evil spirit that is believed to be riding on the blast. All
have firm faith in the incarnation of the Devil, who is described as a
monster with perpendicular eyes, capable of rolling along the ground
with the rotatory motion of a ball; and Ibrahim Shehem Abli, a most
unblushing liar, and no less notable a necromancer than warrior,
confidently asserted his individual ability to raise seven hundred of
these demons for evil, during any moonlight night of the entire year.
The mosque and the muezzin have no existence in the interior, where
religion gradually shades away; and, unlike the people of Tajura, there
is here little external display of Islamism observable, save in the
bigoted detestation evinced towards those of every other than the
Mohammadan creed. But although prostrations are wanting, and rosaries
are untold, the vagrants still preserve their knavish reputations
unblemished. The white feather, which in Europe is the emblem of
cowardice, is appropriately placed in the head of these midnight
assassins, and the neighbouring tribes have not ill-portrayed the
national character in the assertion, that "the tongues of the Adaiel are
long for the express purpose of lying, that their arms are long but to
admit of their pilfering the property of others, and that their legs are
long in order that they may run away like poltroons in the day of danger
and retribution."
Volume One, Chapter XXXIX.