The disparaging reflections cast by the chivalrous people of Shoa, in
consequence of our refusal to slaughter defenceless pagans during the
murderous expedition to Entotto, rendered it imperative that some
decided step should be taken by which to wipe out the stain, and restore
the tarnished lustre of the British name. The destruction of an adult
elephant, which is reckoned equivalent to that of forty Galla, is an
achievement that had not been accomplished within the memory of the
present age, although mentioned in traditions connected with the
exploits of the most renowned Ethiopic warriors. I accordingly
solicited permission to visit the distant wilderness of Giddem, on the
northern frontier of Efat, in the dense forests of which the giant of
the mammalia was reported to reside--a pretext which further afforded
plausible grounds for exploring a portion of the country reputed to be
amongst the most fertile and productive in Abyssinia.
The king opened his eyes wider than usual at this unprecedented
application. "My children," he returned deliberately, "how can this be?
Elephants are not to be slain with rifle balls. They will demolish
you; and what answer am I then to give? The gun is the medicine for the
Galla in the tree, but it has no effect upon the _zihoon_." [Elephant.]
Finding me resolved, however. His Majesty's most gracious permission
was finally accorded to depart forthwith, and orders were issued to a
royal messenger who was appointed to accompany us, commanding the
governors of provinces through which the route lay, to afford every
assistance in their power to "the strong strangers of the Negoos." But
all assertions relative to the possibility of destroying the monarch of
the forest were still received with an incredulous shake of the head;
and whilst not the smallest expectations were entertained at court of
the success of the Gyptzis, the greatest ridicule attended an
undertaking which, by all classes at the capital, was considered certain
to prove alike foolhardy, dangerous, and futile.
Instructions had been issued that the king's guests were to be conducted
by the royal road over the Gorabela mountain, a singular mark of
condescension, partaken but by few in the realm. This permission
enabled us to enjoy a most extensive panorama from the heather-grown
heights. Mamrat reared her stupendous head perpendicularly from the
dark-wooded bosom of the valley, and seemed half buried in the clouds.
The palisaded buildings of the palace covering the slope of its isolated
hill frowned in pride over the numberless circular houses of the
straggling eastern metropolis. Clumps of the sombre juniper, and
spreading cossos hung with red garlands of mast, formed vistas on every
side. On the one hand rose the lofty blue range of Bulga, and on the
other the eye ranged uncontrolled over the boundless plains of the
savage Adaiel, spread out below like a great chart, and embracing a
prospect of many hundred square miles. In the centre soared the stern
crater of Abida--the beacon which, in days long gone, marked the
dominions of the proud emperors of Ethiopia, when, according to the
traditionary couplet, "their sceptre swayed from Azulo to the Bashilo,
and from Errur to Gondar."
The porters at the royal lodge were on the alert, and adjurations by the
king's life were not wanting to deter our advance to the Airara. "_Bu
Negoos_," "_Bu Sahela Selassie amlak_," were talismanic words
energetically vociferated, and a heavy staff was thumped across the path
in earnest of its being closed to plebeian transit. But where is the
Abyssinian who is proof against bribery and corruption? Beads will
force a passage when the mandate of the throne is received with
incredulity, and the dollars of Maria Theresa, if possessing all the
requisite marks, will insure participation even in a crown monopoly.
An exceedingly steep path conducts to the summit of the Chaka; but it is
here paved throughout with boulders, so supported at intervals by
transverse beams, as to form a succession of clumsy steps, constituting
the only made road in the kingdom of Shoa. The heather ceases with the
Gorabela mountain; and from the summit of the now bare range the route
we were to follow strikes off near the residence of a petty governor,
who bears the singular name of "_Mout bai nore legne_."
"Oh, that there were no death for me!" is the interpretation thereof;
but judging from the appearance of the lord of the manor, who numbers
some threescore years, he is not likely long to find his wish realised.
Engaged in earnest conversation with the old man, was Ayto Guebroo, who,
in consequence of inability to check the repeated rebellions of the
Loomi, by whom he so recently was wounded, had at last been deprived of
his government and of his silver sword, and was on his way to the
presence of the despot in deep disgrace.
The Abyssinian verdure is singularly evanescent, a month without a
shower being sufficient to dry up the rich herbage, and to darken the
hue of the foliage; but the "rain of Bounty," which usually falls in
February, giving a fresh impulse to vegetation, the hills and valleys
again teem with abundance. November was fast drawing to a close, and
the aspect of the country generally was brown and withered. The best
pastures were covered with the sleek beeves swept off from Finfinni, and
the cornfields were yellow with the royal crops now under the sickle,
whilst in the numerous threshing-floors muzzled oxen were already
treading out the grain.
Our route led across Motatit and the Toro Mesk, through dales and over
hills abutting upon the face of the bluff frontier of Shoa, in which are
the sources of many of the more distant tributaries to the blue Nile.
Never was there a tract more destitute of birds or wild animals, a few
plovers and larks, with some of the more common species of _Rodentia_,
being the only objects of natural history observed during a march of
twelve miles, which led to the halting ground in the centre of the
little village of Asophee, opposite to the frowning mountain Kooromania.
Under our flimsy cotton awnings, the night proved intensely cold; and on
resuming the journey at an early hour the ensuing morning, over a
swelling country thickly dotted with Christian hamlets, we found the
more sheltered pools by the road-side covered with a thin coating of
ice, the first witnessed since our arrival in Abyssinia. At the village
of Amarague, hospitable entertainment had been prepared by Ayto Egazoo,
whose name signifies, "May they buy." This notable warrior had, prior
to the late foray, introduced himself to me, somewhat k-propos of his
title, by an ingenious but abortive attempt to sell an unsound horse.
Dismounting on the right side from the identical straw-coloured steed,
he now placed himself, with shoulders bared, in the middle of the road,
and by the life of the king adjured us to enter his abode, in order to
partake of a sheep that had been expressly slaughtered.
Wulleta Selassie, his comely partner, daughter to Shishigo, the governor
of Shoa-meda, had kindled in the dark hall the fiercest of fires, and
immediately on the termination of complimentary inquiries, an ox-hide
being spread, the heavy door was barred to exclude the evil eye. Raw
collops having been steadily rejected, bones, singed in a somewhat
cannibal-like fashion, were rapidly circulated by the attentive host.
"Take the eye," he repeated, coaxingly, to each in turn, presenting at
the same time betwixt his finger and thumb the extracted orb of the
deceased mutton--"do, the eye is the daintiest part. No!--well you
_must_ eat this marrow," crushing the uncooked shank with a
grinding-stone handed by a slave girl, and extending the splintered
fragments to be sucked. Overflowing bumpers of sour beer having been
filled in a gloomy corner at a huge earthen jar, each horn was tasted by
the cup-bearer from the hollow of his palm, in demonstration of the
absence of poison. The surplus repast, fluid as well as solid, quickly
disappeared under the united efforts of the retinue; and a bead necklace
having been hung about the neck of the lady's hopeful son and heir, we
finally effected our escape from the ovenlike apartment, with the aid of
divers promises made to both master and mistress, and sundry pieces of
silver disbursed to silence a host of importunate menials.
Ayto Egazoo rode forth, in accordance with etiquette, "to see the party
off." From the courtyard of his snug but dirty domicile, Tegulet, and
the blue hills of Argobba and of the Wollo Galla, bounded the extensive
prospect. Regaining the road, we crossed in succession the
Tekroos-Bado, Moosh, and Goodawurud rivers, all remote sources of the
blue Nile. On the banks of the latter stands the monastery of Saint
George, famous as having been left unmolested when the district was in
the hands of the Galla, many of whom are even said to have been
converted to Christianity. Goodawurud was the title of a potent
chieftain, who, with Merkurri, Amadich, and Logo, held the country after
Graan's desolating visit, until expelled by Asfa Woosen; and a
considerable portion of the revenues are now applied to the maintenance
of the monastery of Medak, whose superior, the Alaka Amda Zion, has
charge of the heir presumptive.
Nothing could exceed the beauty of the position selected by the cowled
fraternity of Saint George; large bands of whom, lounging away their
hours of idleness beneath the funereal junipers in which the retreat is
deeply embosomed, were for once aroused from listless apathy by the
passing cavalcade of white strangers. The land swarms with friars,
monks, and anchorites, who are habited in yellow dresses, as the badge
of poverty, or in the prepared skin of the antelope. Usually licentious
in their manners, they roam through the country a perfect pest and
plague to society. Men become monks at any period of life. Those who
are afflicted with grievous sickness, vow that in event of recovery they
will abandon the world, and transfer all their moveables to the church.
The rich often deliver over their property to their children, who are
bound to support them until death. The poor subsist upon the bounty of
the king and of the community; and many never enter the cells of the
monastery at all, but with their wives reside at ease in their own
homes, having assumed the counterfeit piety of the order solely for the
sake of defrauding their creditors--since, however deeply involved, all
former scores may be cleared off with the ease and rapidity of the most
indulgent court of insolvency, by the simple process of "putting on
angels' clothing."
The skin of the Agazin is usually adopted as the garb of humiliation;
and this emblem, together with the unwashed person, is intended to
commemorate the legend of their great founder Eustathius, who boasted of
having performed no ablution during a long term of existence, and who
miraculously crossed the river Jordan, floating securely upon his greasy
cloak. The prophet Samuel is also sometimes referred to as affording
another notable example of the advantage extended by the mantle of hide,
in the asserted fact of his having sailed seven days across a great sea,
borne in safety, with his disciples, upon his leathern robe.
Throughout Shoa, lakes are believed to form the great rendezvous of evil
spirits; and in one called Nugareet-fer, at the foot of the hills, the
drum of the water kelpie is frequently heard, to the no small terror of
the superstitious auditors. Shortly after crossing the stony bed of the
Daimadamash, a road branches off to Angollala and Debra Berhan, past the
monastery of Maskalie Ghedam, a title signifying "My cross is a
convent." Beyond the Dewasha, a second strikes northward to Gondar,
past the seat of government of Zenama Work, the Queen-dowager, which
occupies a beautifully rounded tumulus styled Zalla Dingai, "The rolling
stone."
"Bad people," saith the tradition attached to this spot, "were one day
seated upon a rock that formerly occupied the summit of the hill. They
were telling lies, and busied in contriving tricks by which to
circumvent their neighbours. Suddenly the mass gave way, and all who
sat thereon, being precipitated into the deep torrent that rolls beneath
to join the river Mofa, were crushed to atoms for their evil doings."
After fording the Goor river, and ascending a high ridge, the Queen's
white palace forms a striking object in the landscape; and beyond it is
a square eminence, where, under the eye of the erudite Alaka Woldab, the
reigning monarch passed his earlier years, until the assassination of
his sire opened to him the accession. From this point we obtained an
extensive view over Geshe and Efrata, with the Great Saka mountains
stretching towards the Nile. A little further on the heather-grown
range suddenly terminates in an abrupt descent of full three thousand
feet, at the foot of which lies the rugged province of Efat, blending
into the blue plains of the Adaiel. The great beacon Azulo, with the
wide crater of Abida, hazy and hot, were visible in the east. Afrubba,
and the high hills of the Ittoo Galla, rose in the distance, and a
perfect chaos of rude disjointed mountains lay piled towards Ankober,
seeming as though they had been gathered from many countries, and
pitched together by giant handfuls, to fill up the deep intervening
chasm.
Hitherto the road had been rough and stony--the eminences steep and
bare; and after passing the sombre groves of Saint George, the only
redeeming feature was the church dedicated to "Our Lady," reposing
quietly amid the rich foliage of the "cosso," and other large-leafed
forest trees. In many respects the face of the country now resembled
the sides of the great Indian Ghauts--masses of light brown, chequered
with pale yellow; but stubble or standing corn in every accessible nook
and corner usurped the place of the wild grass, with which nature so
prodigally clothes the mountain scenery of the East. Numerous parties,
consisting of twenty or thirty peasants, carrying on their heads bales
of coarse cotton cloth as tribute to the king, passed us at intervals--
the sword by their side and the spear in their hand, indicating that the
frontier along which they journeyed was in a far from settled state.
This tract of high land, which forms the watershed between the Nile and
the Hawash, is richly cultivated and abundantly irrigated--a fresh
stream, on its course to the former river, intersecting the western side
of the range, and forming a deep valley every second or third mile.
After leaving the Goor, however, the face of the country, becoming more
sterile, is covered with heather, and for the last few miles to the top
of the Turmaber pass, neither village nor cultivation is to be seen.
During the descent, which passes through a gap in the precipitous trap
rocks, and is steeper and even worse than that of the Chaka, the bleak
and lofty peaks of Aramba, Gaifaiyetto, Woti, Mamrat, Kondie, and
Wofasha, are severally revealed to view; these forming a continuation of
the great mountain range which fortifies the whole eastern frontier of
Shoa, from Bulga to Worra Kaloo, and extends thence through Ambasel,
Yedjow, and Lasta, to Simien, the highest point of Abyssinia. From the
foot of this pass the road leads across the Telunko, close to Debra
Sena, a small eminence covered as with an inverted bowl, by a dense,
cabbage-shaped clump of junipers, concealing Saint George's church--a
celebrated shrine for the performance of vows and orisons, which is
visited from great distances. Hence the route winds to the bottom of a
deep wooded dell, rich in botanical specimens, where the clear stream of
the Telunko is again crossed, to the face of a steep acclivity leading
to Dokaket, the ancient capital of Emmaha Yasoos, third monarch of Shoa.
The sun was dipping below the opposite range as a halt was proclaimed by
the King's guide at the house of Ayto Abaiyo Gurwa, the governor of the
district, whose hospitality proved unbounded. For a full hour he
continued shouting and scolding, ordering and countermanding; and whilst
he expressed the greatest mortification at my declining to appropriate
two fat oxen, in addition to liberal supplies of sheep, bread, mead, and
beer, he was with difficulty prevailed upon to accept a present that I
had prepared in acknowledgment; a piece of self-denial rarely
experienced at the hands of a native of Southern Abyssinia.
"But," he added, "henceforth you may know me as your friend; therefore
send to me frequently, and I will tell you when I have any concern.
Wolda Mariam, my henchman, who is here, is in my confidence.
Furthermore, he will visit you on my part. Appoint now a _baldoroba_,
who may introduce him, that access be not impeded." The party nominated
as the medium of communication stepped to the front, and the two, baring
their shoulders, and bowing the one to the other, fell back into their
respective places.
Ankober is the capital of the eastern division of the kingdom of Shoa,
in which are comprised the provinces of Basso, Dabdabo, Karaba, Kawt,
Mans, Giddem, Abomesa, Mahhfood, and Dokaket. The last-named especially
forms the scene of constant inroads from the savage Adaiel, whose
country lies little more than a cannon shot below; the Amhara, who on
the Farri boundary are severely punished by the politic monarch for
taking a life, even in retribution, flocking hither to entitle
themselves to wear the decoration of the "akodama," the _ne plus ultra_
of their ambition. And such is the bitter hatred subsisting between the
two nations so closely bordering upon each other, that but for the lofty
hills and cold climate of Ankober, the Moslems, who are the far braver
race, would doubtless have paid its Christian population a hostile visit
long ere now. On the adjacent northern frontier, the intricate
labyrinth of broken ravines, over which our view had ranged in the
morning, forms a strong natural barrier against the Wollo Galla, whose
incursions are nevertheless frequent; whilst the Tulema, residing in the
Saka range, entertain as decided a disinclination to descend from their
own bleak hills, as do the Amhara to visit the hot valleys and forests
of the Adaiel, which stretch beyond the borders of Efat.
Volume Two, Chapter XXXVII.