In the heart of the mountain range of Garra Gorphoo stood a large Galla
hamlet--for it has been since visited in wrath by the monarch--situated
in one of those sweet locations which the children of nature delight to
select. The deep valley is thickly clothed with the most luxuriant
cultivation, and its sides rise in a gentle slope, throwing out a
succession of verdant terraces, teeming with herbs and wild flowers. On
one of these stood the village of Mundeeda, the residence of Goma, the
great chief of the Abitchu. A bright green sward extended far in front,
and the steep mountain that rises behind afforded shelter from the bleak
blast of winter. A sparkling brook, after dashing in tiny cascades down
the craggy face, glides away in a quiet course over the enamelled
meadow, until lost in the grove of dark junipers which rest on the side
of a grassy knoll, where the sacrifice was performed in honour of the
deities, and where the listless heathen was wont to dream away the hours
of idleness.
The tenements, although low and rudely constructed of stakes and mud,
were warm and commodious; and the numerous posts which rose from the
clay floor to support the thatch, served as a resting-place for shields,
and spears, and crooked swords, which now imparted to the interior the
semblance of an extensive armoury. Every thing was in a state of utter
confusion and uproar. Large droves of wild shaggy horses, and clusters
of fiery savages were grouped on the plain outside. The ringing shout
of the warrior mingled with the neigh of his war-steed, and the din and
the clatter of household avocations resounded from the interior of every
hut. To add to the bustle, the Galla females were running from house to
house, with their long raven tresses streaming over their bare
shoulders; whilst their short leather petticoats, with embroidered
flounces, displayed the well-shaped limbs and the graceful form, for
which the tribe are so justly famed.
In every nook large earthen jars, and wicker baskets, filled with grain,
were stored in readiness to supply the demands for food, as each tribe
poured in to the general gathering of the clans. Black eyes peered
wildly over the grinding-mill and the cauldron; and the merry laugh at
the novel appearance of the motley throng, with the suppressed scream of
delight from the timid maiden, arose frequently from the dark corners of
the hovels. Preparations were making for hospitality on the most
extensive scale. A successful foray had that very morning returned
laden with spoil, and the king of the Amhara had for once amply supplied
the table of his revolted lieges.
Crowded around the cheerful blaze of a fierce fire that was crackling in
the centre of the largest building, sat a score of persons, who were
beguiling the time until the entertainment should be ready, by
discussing the daring escape of Medoko, and the success which would
assuredly attend the movement of the morrow. The dress of the greater
number of these men was the usual cotton cloth, black and soiled with
the grease of years; but the accumulated massive ivory rings upon the
arm, the ostrich-feather floating over matted locks, and the spoils of
the lion and the leopard dangling over the back, proclaimed the presence
of the chieftains of the land. Their gaunt frames and supple limbs
betokened a life of activity and endurance, and their restless eyes
gleamed over the fire with all the quick suspicion of the savage.
The black bull-hide formed the only covering to the host of attendants
that thronged behind their respective lords, and a few Amhara robes
flaunted in white and crimson, amidst the sombre vestments of the Galla
group. But Medoko and his sons, in stature above all their compeers,
appeared in the full costume of the Christian warriors of Efat.
Decked in silver gauntlets and armlets, with the graceful _akodama_
hanging in glittering clusters over their manly brows, the
master-spirits of the scene were easily to be distinguished. The usual
robe of peace had been well replaced by the skin of the tawny lion,
which nearly reached the ground. Fastened on one side around the sinewy
throat, it allowed full freedom to the right arm, and only partially
concealed the rich silk vest, and loose kilt-like trowsers, which hung
barely to the knee.
The kindling fuel of insurrection had indeed been well fanned--ancient
wrongs were fully brought to mind, and vengeance was liberally promised.
Few were there present who had not suffered either in person or in
property, from the midnight appearance of the Christian despot.
Hereditary feud and quarrel had therefore been laid aside on the
soul-inspiring words of the chief, and the weapons had been eagerly
seized in a common cause, at the thoughts of the devastation which ever
marked the bloody track of the Amhara host.
These Galla tribes dwell with their horses in boundless prairies,
engaged, some in the cultivation of the fruitful soil, and others in the
pasturage of their numerous flocks, but all are ever ready on the moment
to mount for the battle or the foray. Baggage and hospital are unknown
to the wild array, and rations are found when required among the
plundered herds of the enemy. A scrip of tobacco forms the only luxury
in camp. A greasy cloth enfolds by day and night the body of each
brawny savage. Lance, and sword, and shield, complete his equipment;
and the hardy host, leader and partisan, sleep without cover on the cold
bare ground.
The wild hordes from the boundless plains of the Hawash, under the
gigantic Wodage Girme, first poured in their warriors. The depths of
the Moolo Falada forests next swelled the numbers, and the heights of
Entotto and Sequala had completed the rebel force, eager for spoil and
for revenge, which was ready to cover the land with desolation on the
morrow.
The sacrifice to the Great Spirit had been that afternoon performed by
the priest with every favourable result, and the preparations for the
feast of departure were now completed. Bullocks and sheep were
slaughtered by the score on the green meadow, and beside each carcass an
abundance of bread and beer were deposited for the impatient guests, who
immediately grouped around the food, and with keen knives commenced the
attack. A long wicker table had been placed in the centre of the
largest apartment, and deep earthen vessels, filled with thick pepper
soup, were ranged in double line down the middle, whilst cakes of every
description thickly covered the surface. The chief took his station at
the top, and the guests were squatted on their hams on either side.
Slave boys, on their knees, supported huge jars of sour beer, and the
females, perched upon adjoining bedsteads, were ready to dole out the
more potent liquor.
The steam of the bowls, containing a decoction of fowls, red pepper,
onions, and grease, together with the more offensive effluvia from fifty
rancid heads and as many unwashed persons, were endured with the most
stoical indifference; and the feeble light of a few tapers that
glimmered faintly through the smoke, was just sufficient to reveal the
rows of eager faces in earnest preparation, and the gleam of the sharp
teeth whetting for the entertainment.
The hum of voices in low conversation ceased on the moment, when the
host, dipping a fragment of bread into one of the large bowls, dropped
the savoury morsel into his elevated mouth. Every hand forthwith felt
its way to the provender, and the loud smacking of satisfied lips
succeeded the suppressed chatter of tongues. Servants, bending over the
guests, amply supplied their wants, by tearing the bread with their
hands, and after a plunge into the porridge, consigning the dripping
morsel to the first empty fingers that were protruded. No fork or spoon
graced the festive board. No conversation now enlivened the scene. All
sat like silent wolves engaged in a plentiful repast, considering that
one thing at a time was sufficient for man.
The delicate raw meat was next introduced, and the dismembered limbs of
sheep and oxen were placed as a dessert upon the groaning board. The
servants threw themselves upon the flesh, and drawing their long crooked
knives from their girdles, cut and hacked the bloody joints into small
squares, which were received from their fingers, and bolted with the
greatest satisfaction, until nature cried enough. Then commenced the
deep carouse. Horn after horn was drained. The presiding deities over
the liquor jars were unceasingly employed in serving out their contents,
and as the brain reeled under the influence of strong old mead, the
words of contempt burst from every lip. "Who is the King of Shoa, that
he should trample upon men braver than himself? Here is our protector
and avenger. Medoko is our leader, and he alone shall be our king!"
But the uproar, which for a time rose wildly from the hut, gradually
died away as the horn was carried with a more unsteady hand to the
mouth. Warrior after warrior stretched himself to sleep beside the
cleanly picked relics of his reeking feast; and chief after chief,
staggering a few paces from the table, drew his garment over his head,
and resigned himself to a heavy slumber.
Volume Two, Chapter XVI.