During the reign of Asfa Woosen, grandsire to Sahela Selassie, the
independent states of Shoa and Efat were of very inconsiderable extent.
Morat, Morabeitie, Giddem, Bulga, and other districts now appended, were
at that period distinct governments, as is now the case in Gurague where
there are more rulers than provinces. It is not therefore surprising,
that amid the perpetual quarrels of the Christian princes, the Galla
should have been left in undisturbed possession of the lands which they
had wrested from Southern Abyssinia. But no sooner had Asfa Woosen
subdued King Zeddoo, the usurper of Morabeitie and Morat, with whom sank
also those of inferior pretensions, than he began with his united forces
to make inroads upon the Galla tribes. The unsettled state of the
newly-conquered provinces precluded extensive operations; and the task
of reducing the Pagans to obedience was thus principally bequeathed to
Woosen Suggud, whose strong arm not only kept in submission the
territories conquered by his father, but added greatly to the western
limits of Shoa by the acquisition of Moogher on the Nile, and by the
conquest of the Abitchu, Woberi, and Gillan, so far south as the
mountains of Garra Gorphoo.
Conceiving that a youth who had scarcely numbered twelve years would be
unable to hold them in subjection, the tributary Galla revolted
immediately upon the accession of Sahela Selassie. But subsequent
events proved that they were mistaken in the estimate formed of the
monarch's military capacity. He vanquished King Hailoo, who still
asserted his dignity in Morat. Having amassed firearms from Gondar and
Tigre, as well as from the sea-coast of Tajura, he was enabled to quell
many successive insurrections, and for a number of years was fortunate
in the fidelity of the lion-hearted Medoko, who was even more feared
than himself by the surrounding Gentiles. He caused all the Galla of
the province of Shoa-Meda to be circumcised and baptised; and having
commanded them to wear about their necks the "_mateb_," or cord of blue
silk, to fast, and to eat neither with Mohammadans nor Pagans, nor to
touch meat that has not been killed in the name of the Holy Trinity,
they have thenceforth been denominated Christians.
Throughout his long reign, it has been the king's favourite project to
re-unite the scattered remnants of Christian population which still mark
the extent of the dominions of his forefathers. The countries to the
south and south-west have therefore always received the largest share of
His Majesty's attention, and in those directions he has attacked and
subdued in succession all the tribes on this side of the Hawash. The
Metta, Metcha, Moolo Falada, Betcho-Woreb, Betcho-Foogook, and
Charsa-Dagha, are all appended to Shoa. Moreover the royal arms have
crossed the Hawash, and to a certain extent accomplished the reduction
of the Soddo, of the frontiers of Gurague, of the Karaiyo, Loomi, Jille,
and other remote clans. In the north little progress has been made, and
many reverses have deterred further attempts upon the wild mountaineers;
but in the north-east the Selmi, the Aboti, and several other tribes
previously independent, have been reduced to feudal submission, and by
judicious management are made to secure the frontier from invasion.
But although Sahela Selassie has thus widely extended the limits of his
empire, he has adopted no efficient measures to consolidate his
conquests. As a contrast between the former and the existing
administration, it is said of the southern Galla, "where all was once
strength, there is now nothing save weakness. Of yore, tribute was paid
by all, whereas at the present day the possession of the dependencies
does but entail expense." Three annual expeditions, made, throughout a
period of thirty years, for the purpose of collecting the revenues of
the crown, have hitherto proved ineffectual to the preservation of
permanent tranquillity amongst the tribes subjugated by his ancestors;
and the Sertie lake, with other morasses, remain monuments of the dire
disasters which sometimes attend his usually successful arms. He
neither erects fortifications, nor does he establish outposts; and the
government being continued in heathen hands, the tributary tribes rebel
during each rainy season, only to be re-subdued as soon as it is over--
the insurgents sometimes tendering their renewed allegiance the instant
they perceive the crimson umbrellas of state, but more frequently
delaying until the locust-like army of the Amhara has swept their fair
fields, and like the devastating stream from the volcano, has left a
smoking desert in its train.
Chastised by two or three successful forays, the chiefs and elders of
the rebellious and ruined clan, finding the futility of further
opposition to the yoke, come in with the tribute exacted, and make
feudal submission, whereupon they are suffered to ransom their wives and
daughters who have been enslaved. It cannot fail to appear
extraordinary, that those who are unprepared for resistance should
occupy their beleaguered abodes one minute after they had become aware
of the presence of their ruthless and implacable foes; but in almost
every instance they are in blood feud with all the surrounding tribes of
their own nation, at whose merciless hands they would experience even
worse treatment than at those of the Amhara. Neither, during
persecution, could the tax-repudiating hope to find an asylum among
tributary neighbours, with whom they might perchance be on amicable
terms, since their reception would inevitably entail on those who
harboured the fugitives the last vengeance of the despot. Thus the
choice is left between precarious flight to the mountain fastnesses, in
the very teeth of the enemy, and the alternative of lurking in the
vicinity of the invaded hamlet, upon the slender chance of eluding the
keen scent of the bloodhounds.
The governor, or, in fact, the king of all the Galla now dependent on
Shoa, is Abogaz Maretch, who resides at Wona-badera, south of Angollala.
At first a bitter enemy of Sahela Selassie, this haughty warrior chief,
renowned for his bravery, was finally gained over by bribes, and by
promises of distinction and advancement, which have actually been
fulfilled. Partly by force, and partly by soft words and judicious
intermarriages with chiefs of the various tribes, he contrives to keep
in some sort of order the wild spirits over whom he presides; but he is
taxed with want of proper severity, and although still high in favour,
has more than once been suspected of divulging the royal projects.
Abba Mooalle, the governor of Moogher and of the surrounding Galla in
the west, was also formerly very inimical to Shoa; but being won over to
the royal interests by the espousal of his sister, by preferment to
extensive power, and by the hand of one of the despotic princesses, he
was four years since converted to Christianity, when the king became his
sponsor. The valuable presents which he is enabled to make to the
throne, owing to his proximity to the high caravan-road from the
interior, preserve him a distinguished place in the estimation of the
Negoos, to whom he is little inferior in point of state. At constant
war with the Galla occupying the country to the westward, between
Sullala Moogher and Gojam, he hastily assembles his troops twice or
thrice during the year, and making eagle-like descents across the Nile
at the head of ten thousand cavalry, rarely fails to recruit the royal
herds with a rich harvest in cattle.
Dogmo, who resides in the mountain of Yerrur, was educated in the
palace; and his undeviating attachment to the crown has been rewarded
with the hand of one of the king's illegitimate daughters. Botha,
Shambo, and Dogmo, are the sons of Bunnie, whose father, Borri, governed
the entire tract styled _Ghera Meder_, "the country on the left," which
includes all the Galla tribes bordering on both sides of the Hawash in
the south of Shoa. Bunnie was, in consequence of some transgression,
imprisoned in Aramba; and Botora, another potent Galla chieftain,
appointed in his stead. But this impolitic transfer of power creating
inveterate hatred between the two families, each strove to destroy the
other. Bunnie was in consequence liberated, and restored to his
government; but resting incautiously under a tree on his return, not
long afterwards, from a successful expedition against the Aroosi, whom
he had defeated, he was suddenly surrounded by the enemy, and slain,
together with four chiefs, his confederates, and nearly the whole of his
followers. His sons were then severally invested with governments; and
Boku, the son of Botora, was at his father's demise entrusted with the
preservation of the avenues to the Lake Zooai, long an object of the
royal ambition.
Among the most powerful Galla chieftains who own allegiance to Shoa, is
Jhara, the son of Chamie, _soi-disant_ Queen of Moolo Falada, who, since
the demise of her husband, has governed that and other provinces
adjacent. Sahela Selassie, who it will be seen relies more upon
political marriages than upon the force of arms, sent matrimonial
overtures to this lady, and received for answer the haughty message,
"that if he would spread the entire road from Angollala with rich
carpets, she might perhaps listen to the proposal, but upon no other
conditions!" The Christian lances poured over the border to avenge this
insult offered to the monarch of Shoa, and the invaded tribe laid down
their arms; but Gobanah, foster-brother to Jhara, and a mighty man of
renown, finding that His Majesty proposed burning their hamlets without
reservation, rose to oppose the measure. At this critical moment an
Amhara trumpeter raised his trombone to his lips. The Galla, believing
the instrument to be none other than a musket, fled in consternation,
and their doughty chieftain surrendered himself a prisoner at
discretion.
Upon learning to whom he had relinquished his liberty, Gobanah,
broken-hearted, abandoned himself to despair, and refused all sustenance
for many days. The hand of the fair daughter of the queen was
eventually the price of his ransom; and on the celebration of the
nuptials, the king, who, with reference to his conquest of Moolo Falada,
might have exclaimed, with the Roman dictator, "_Veni, vidi, vici_"
conferred upon Jhara the government of all the subjugated Galla as far
as the sources of the Hawash, and to the Nile in the west. Warlike,
daring, and ambitious, exercising his important functions almost beyond
the ken of his sovereign, and possessing from his proximity to Gojam and
Damot, the means of creating himself the leader of a vast horde, there
can be little doubt, although he has hitherto evinced strong attachment
to the crown, that, imitating the example of all pagan chieftains who
have gone before him, he will one day profit by his opportunities to
take up arms against Shoa, and may thus not improbably enact a most
conspicuous part in the history of the Galla nation.
Volume 3, Chapter VII.