Leave Ankobar.--Arrive in Aliu Amba.--Musical party.--Durgo.--
Arrangements with Tinta.--Remarks upon internal Government of
Shoa.--The authority of Sahale Selassee. His virtues.
Having slept well during the night, in spite of the very numerous
fleas, and similar trifling annoyances, to which I had become in some
measure accustomed, as must every traveller in Abyssinia, I arose,
like a giant refreshed; for one comfort, amidst all the disheartening
circumstances that oppressed me was, that every other day was one of
rest, on which I was, comparatively speaking, well. A few beads to
Eichess and Mahriam, repaid them for their attention, and my mule being
brought, before the sun had cast his first beams over the ridge in
front of Ankobar, I was following Walderheros along a narrow winding
lane, between high banks, on which grew the broad-leaved banana-like
Ensete plant, and the thick coarse foliage of a dwarf tree called,
“y’ shokoko Gwomen,” the rock rabbit cabbage. In a short time, we
emerged into the regular road to Aliu Amba, called the lower road, in
contradistinction to the one that leads through Ankobar above, and
after an hour’s ride, I arrived upon the market-place portion of the
rock of Aliu Amba, long before Walderheros, but the mule took me direct
to my old quarters at Miriam’s house, along the labyrinth of lanes that
would otherwise have sorely puzzled me. Here I was received by a crowd
of women, who announced my arrival with a loud and long-continued cry
of “La, La, La,” a customary welcome, never omitted on the return home
of any one who has been absent for a time. I subsequently observed,
that the more chance there was of receiving an ahmulah to spend in ale
afterwards, the more joyous was the cry, and more numerous was the
assembly. Two native fiddlers also presented themselves, immediately
that I had seated myself in the house, bringing with them their
instruments, and a little doll dressed up to represent an Amhara
soldier, with small but well-made models of spear, shield, and the
peculiar crooked sword of the country.
Their fiddles were clumsy-looking affairs, consisting of a long handle,
a lozenge-shaped parchment body, and one string formed of a loose
bundle of horse-hairs, that at the upper extremity of the handle were
secured to a moveable pin of wood three or four inches long, and after
being carried over a bridge which stood upon one of the parchment
faces, were looped down to a little projection beyond. The string
thus formed, was tightened at pleasure, by simply twisting it upon
the stick pin. The bows were caricatures of the European ones, being
little tough boughs of some tree or other, bent into a semicircle, the
two ends being connected by a loose band of horse-hair of the same
character as the fiddle-string. A piece of _attan_, or the frankincense
of Arabia, served the musicians instead of resin, and was kept in
little bags that were suspended by strings from the handles of their
instruments. A sharp pointed stick being pushed into the ground,
the doll was fixed upon it so that it could move freely about. It
was then connected by a long string with the bow of the fiddle, the
motion of the one whilst playing, making the other jump about in the
most approved Jim Crow fashion, to the great delight of the naked,
chattering, dark-skinned children, who pushed their faces and little
limbs among their equally amused, but more staid elders, who thronged
the house to witness the performance. When the musicians departed, a
present of two ahmulahs made them quite happy, and after they were
gone, and the greater part of the company with them, Sheik Tigh and
Hadjji Abdullah came in to ask the news, and to hear about the success
of my journey to Angolahlah. Miriam, by dint of a great deal of puffing
at a little stick fire, before which she knelt, managed at length,
to prepare some coffee. My pipe was filled, and Walderheros, who in
the mean time had come in, was sent to borrow another for Hadjji
Abdullah. Sheik Tigh, having some Wahabbee notions, did not indulge
in the fumes of tobacco, so he sat upon one of the boxes, commenting
upon and endeavouring to explain by sundry guesses, the motives that
could have induced the Negoos, in the first place, to order me out
of the kingdom, and then treating me so well when I went up to see
him. It was concluded, at last, that I was on the high way to state
preferment, which was presently confirmed by my balderabah Tinta, much
to my surprise, making his appearance, bringing a message, not only
to me, but to Sheik Tigh. Three affaroitsh, or distributors of durgo,
accompanied him, bringing presents of white wheaten bread, honey, and
butter. The two latter were in large earthenware jars containing ten
or twelve pounds each. The message from the Negoos for me was to the
effect that I must learn the Amharic language as quickly as possible,
and to take plenty of medicine so that I might be quite well to visit
his majesty, on the occasion of his visit to “Michael wans,” which
would be during the fast of Felsat, (the ascension of the Virgin
Mary,) about the beginning of the next month, August. Sheik Tigh also
received an order to act as my “duptera,” or teacher, and received a
small piece of parchment like the one I had received in Angolahlah, and
which awarded to him in return for the duty of attending to my Amharic
education, ten _cuna_ of grain every month.
As I had then no more than sixteen dollars, all of which I might be
called upon to pay at any moment to different parties of my escort and
Kafilah friends, I was in some measure obliged to be dependent upon the
hospitality of the Negoos, upon whom the information that I was very
poor had a very contrary effect to what was intended by the embassy.
In fact, the chief object of Tinta in following me was, to arrange
with me in what manner I would receive the durgo of bread and wine
which he, as Governor of Aliu Amba and my balderabah, had to provide.
Walderheros, upon whose sagacity and honesty I could depend, advised me
that I should make a composition or agreement with Tinta, that instead
of receiving all the rations of bread, honey, butter, &c., to deliver
which, daily, at my house would have been very inconvenient to him, I
would take the same quantity of grain as Sheik Tigh, and although three
times more than I should actually require for making bread, that which
would remain, Walderheros remarked, he could easily exchange in the
market for fowls or sheep.
The proposition being both reasonable and convenient, Tinta agreed
immediately, but added, that the honey and the butter coming direct
from the stores of the Negoos, he had nothing to do with them, and they
would be continued every month in the same quantities that I had just
received them, and if this were not done, I was to complain to him.
During the nine months I remained in Shoa, however, this maintenance,
which is considered equivalent to the gift of a village, was supplied
to me monthly, as regularly as if I had sent my own servant for it.
The only deviation in this first arrangement was when Sheik Tigh was
taken away upon some duty to Bulga, the ten cuna of grain which he
had received was then given to me for the purpose of paying a fresh
schoolmaster.
Tinta was a good-hearted man, very cautious in his manner, and most
faithfully attached to his _gaitah_, Sahale Selassee, than whom,
in his eyes, there could not be a better or a greater monarch. For
several days he remained in Aliu Amba, and on some pretence or other
always came accompanied with Sheik Tigh as his interpreter to spend
the afternoon with me. I soon perceived that the real object of these
visits was to learn the motive that had induced so many Europeans to
visit Shoa of late. About this time, it must be observed, information
had arrived of the approach of M. Rochet de Hericourt bearing presents
from the King of France to Sahale Selassee. I scarcely knew how to
answer Tinta, except by complimenting him upon the able character of
the Negoos, of which we had heard in our country, and, induced us to
desire a more intimate acquaintance with a monarch of whom report spoke
so highly. This not appearing satisfactory, cupidity, the national vice
of Abyssinia, I thought might be excited favourably for the explanation
desired; so I entered largely upon the great commercial benefits that
would accrue to the Shoans by a communication being kept up between
their country and the sea-coast. The very supposition of a road being
opened for this purpose seemed, however, to astound Tinta, who, with a
deal of sincerity in his manner, begged of me, if I wished to remain on
good terms with the Negoos, not to mention such a thing; for “how would
Sahale Selassee,” he asked, “be able to preserve his people, if they
could escape to countries so rich as yours.” To remove the Adal and
Galla tribes, Tinta considered would be to break down the “hatta,” or
fence, that alone secured the Shoans at home, for they dare not leave
their country under present circumstances, except with the greatest
danger to their lives.
This subject-preserving principle appears to be the most important
one in the home policy of the government of Sahale Selassee, It also
appears to have been the foundation of many ancient systems of social
communities, and the representatives of which, preserved in their
original purity, have yet to be discovered in the unknown oases that
stud with desert-surrounded islands intertropical Africa.
In Shoa this principle is carried out for the sole benefit of the
monarch, and Paley’s metaphor of the lording pigeon, over the
productive wealth of the whole dovecote, typifies exactly the
respective conditions of the Shoans and their Negoos. The strictly
selfish and monopolizing rule, established by the sagacious monarch,
has reduced all his people to the most abject state of submission,
dependent upon him for every kind of property they possess. Most
fortunately for them, he is a just and good man, for he can give and
take away at pleasure; and thus holding wealth and honour in one hand,
and poverty and wretchedness in the other, he has made himself the
point upon which turns human happiness; and that kind of demon worship
which propitiates spirits supposed to have the power of inflicting evil
is, in consequence, paid to Sahale Selassee, who could at any moment
reduce to a beggar the richest, and most powerful of his slaves.
It is no fiction of the Shoan law, that everything in the country
is the positive property of the monarch. He can, without assigning
any reason, dispossess the present holder and confer his wealth upon
another, or retain it for his own use. He can demand the services of
all his people at all times, who must perform everything required of
them, to build palaces, construct bridges, till the royal demesnes,
or fight his enemies. They are, from first to last, both rich and
poor, the mere slaves of one sole lord and master, and scarcely a day
passes over but in some way or other the most wealthy are obliged to
confess it, or run the risk of being denounced as an enemy to the
sovereign, which would be followed by confiscation of all property, or
incarceration in Guancho, the State prison, with a heavy fine imposed.
Nor do the Shoans, born and educated in this servile condition,
consider such exercises of power as acts of tyranny; on the contrary,
with loud protestations of their own loyalty, all the neighbours and
late friends of the unfortunate individual so punished would with one
accord ejaculate, “Our good King! Our good King! alas! alas! to have
such an ungrateful servant!” meaning the dispossessed man of course.
Samuel’s expostulation with the Jews[9] when they demanded a King,
often recurred to me at the various instances of what I at first
considered to be undue demands for ploughing, or gathering in the
harvest, or building store-houses for the Negoos, which were made upon
the people whilst I was in the country, and who, at the bidding of the
overseers appointed to see the required work done, were obliged to
leave their own business, find their own tools, material, and cattle,
to perform whatever was required.
“And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked
of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of the king that
shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them for
himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run
before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands,
and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to
reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments
of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries,
to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your
vineyards, and your olive-yards, even the best of them, and give them
to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your
vineyards, and give to his officers and to his servants. And he will
take your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your goodliest
young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the
tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out
in that day because of your King which ye shall have chosen; and the
Lord shall not hear you in that day.”
Samuel very probably spoke from a knowledge of the customs and
practices of the kingly courts in the countries surrounding Judea; and
in that case the principles of home policy which direct the Sovereign
of Shoa in governing his people, appear to have come down to him from
a very remote time; nor can the unfair balance of power we observe
between him and his people be charged to his own cunning and selfish
intrigues. With the prejudices inseparable from his education as a
king, he always feels jealous of his prerogative and of his power,
and the threatened diminishment in the extent of either arouses his
attention immediately. He is perfectly aware that man’s nature will not
allow him to submit entirely to the arbitrary rule of even the most
just superior, and that some spirits will always be springing up among
his subjects, the more numerous the greater the opportunities may be,
and who will endeavour to escape from the bondage to which they have
been born.
It is just possible to conceive the relation between the monarch of
Shoa and his people by comparison with the state and condition of the
household of some rich and powerful nobleman in England; with this
difference, that in the latter case it is optional on the part of the
dependents to continue their servitude; whilst the Negoos possesses
the stronger hold upon the services and property of his subjects,
and consequently a greater power of exercising his will, because
they have no means of removing themselves away from his power. If
opportunities of escaping from this authority were afforded by allowing
free intercourse with other countries, this would at once destroy that
principle of dependence which is the foundation of the kingly power in
Shoa, and which is perfectly understood to be so by the Negoos, and
every Shoan is also well aware of the fact.
It can never be expected, therefore, that any freedom of intercourse
will be encouraged by Sahale Selassee that is not connected with an
increase of his dominion. Give to him the ancient empire, and he is our
intelligent and useful ally; but this clever prince of a petty kingdom
will never afford facilities for its being absorbed in any other
empire. The proffered friendship of a lion will always be suspected by
a sagacious old antelope.
A stranger, at first annoyed with the petty restraints upon unlimited
personal freedom, readily excuses it when he finds this to be, part
of the cautious policy dictated by the exigences of a government so
constituted; and another thing which leads him to feel more satisfied
with his situation in Shoa is, that he soon perceives Sahale Selassee
to be superior to the temptation of abusing that power which he
possesses. The contemplation of such a prince in his own country is
worth the trouble and risk of visiting it. During a reign of thirty
years, save one or two transient rebellions of ambitious traitors,
who have led, not the subjects of Sahale Selassee, but those of his
enemies, nothing like internal dissension or civil war have by their
ravages defaced his happy country; whilst gradually his character for
justice and probity has spread far and wide, and the supremacy of
political excellence is without hesitation given to the Negoos of Shoa
throughout the length and breadth of the ancient empire of Ethiopia. To
be feared by every prince around, and loved by every subject at home,
is the boast of the first government of civilized Europe; and strangely
enough this excellence of social condition is paralleled in the heart
of Africa, where we find practically carried out the most advantageous
policy of a social community that one of the wisest of sages could
conceive--that of arbitrary power placed in the hands of a really good
man.
Although now experiencing the advantages of virtue and wisdom directing
the actions of Sahale Selassee, the Shoans of the last generation were
exposed to the evils arising from the very opposite character, and have
had opportunities of comparison between the disposition of the present
Negoos and the severe and merciless tyrant who preceded him. All the
older men who recollect the rule of Wussen Saggad abound with tales of
the severe punishments, often unmerited, or inflicted for moral faults
of omission in duty, rather than for the commission of actual crimes;
which, in fact, as might be naturally expected under such a tyrant,
were often perpetrated by those of his courtiers, who more particularly
shared his favours. I saw some horrid cases of the excision of noses,
and of obliteration of sight; unfortunates who had been doomed to these
punishments by their tyrannical master, intruding themselves upon the
traveller who visits Shoa, in the vain hope of receiving some medical
relief. In one instance, I was requested by Sahale Selassee himself
to do what I could to relieve one of these objects of his father’s
cruelty, in whom the rude excision of the nose had been followed by a
spreading cancerous sore over the whole face.
By these reflections and observations, noted down when I was more
than usually put out of my way by certain little acts of my servant;
led me at last to reconcile the apparent anomaly of a very rascally
proceeding, according to our ideas of social propriety, being quite
compatible in Shoa with real fidelity, for my servant, the best that
any man by good fortune could have fallen in with, reported every
day to Tinta, whilst he remained in Aliu Amba, every visit I made or
received, and I could not propose to go even to the next town for a
morning’s walk, but some reason would be found to defer it until after
a consultation with my balderabah, or at least my intention made known
to him.
This system of _surveillance_ was most unpleasant to me, because of the
groundless suspicions it seemed to betray; but I was sensible that my
best policy was to pretend not to see this jealous care, but by every
endeavour on my part, to deserve and secure the confidence of a prince
whom I admired for his virtues, and the respect of a people, none but
the most depraved themselves, could help liking for their simplicity,
and for the extreme goodness of their disposition.
FOOTNOTES:
[9] 1 Samuel viii. 10-18.