Unexplored Countries to the South.
Divided into endless houses, the majority of the independent Oromo tribes, to the south of Shoa, are governed by hereditary chieftains; and it is only where the Moslem slave-dealer has successfully commenced the work of conversion to the creed promulgated by the Prophet, that this wild heathen race have been brought to bow the neck to the yoke of kings. Of this Enárea affords a most striking example, for there one-half of the entire population have abandoned idolatry, whilst despotism has taken root, and flourishes under a line of Mohammadan rulers.
Surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains, this kingdom embraces an extensive table-land, which separates the waters to the north and south, and ranks among the most elevated regions of Africa. Menchilla, stretching from east to north-west, is the principal range, and a spur to the south-west is described as joining the so called Mountains of the Moon. Sáka, the capital, contains from ten to twelve thousand inhabitants, mixed Pagans and Mohammadans, who inhabit houses of a circular form, somewhat better constructed than those of the Amhára.
Sáeed was the son of Ascári, a Mohammadan, and his sister Elikkee wedding a Galla, bore a son, Téso, who was brought up in idolatry, and conquered Enárea. His son Bóko also died a Pagan; but Bófo, “the serpent,” who succeeded on the death of his father, was converted to Islamism by Mootár, his uncle, the nephew of Elikkee. Abba Bókibo, the present and fourth monarch, is represented to be just and merciful, but his ancestors were monstrous and relentless tyrants, who “caused rivers of blood to flow, and slew the people like cows.” Arrayed in a black mantle of goat’s hair, His Majesty dispenses justice in the market-place, sitting on the trunk of a tree with a bullock’s hide spread beneath his feet. Sáka contains upwards of one thousand moolahs; but in the absence of mosques, prayers are held at the tomb of Bófo, the first convert to the faith. Twice during each year, great military expeditions are undertaken, which rarely extend beyond eight or ten days. Every soldier carries a small supply of bread, and trusts for further subsistence to pillage and plunder. Many bloody battles are annually fought with the surrounding tribes, and wide tracts of country thus annexed to the royal possessions.
The Agállo, Yelloo, Betcho, Sudécha, Chora, and Nono, are all subject to the Suppéra, or king, of Enárea, whose sway extends to the Sóddo, Metta, and Maleema Galla, about the sources of the Háwash, which rises in Adda-Berga. Limmoo, whereof the capital is Sobitcha, is a province annexed of old to Enárea; and Abba Bókibo, desirous of subjugating Gooderoo, and the countries to the north as far as the Nile, sent to propose an alliance with Dedjasmach Góshoo, the ruler of Gojam. “You sell slaves,” was the reply of the Christian potentate, “and are a Mohammadan to boot. It cannot be.” One hundred horns of civet and fifty female slaves which had been sent by the Suppéra, were nevertheless accepted, and thirty matchlocks, with persons versed in the use of firearms, were forwarded in return.
Little sickness of any sort prevails, and mendicants, the pest of Abyssinia, are said to be unknown in the land. The wild vine flourishes, and bears abundance of grapes. The “gosso” tree, which attains a vast height, is covered during the season with delicious berries, and is ascended by means of the tendrils of the vine bound around the stem. Coffee grows wild in every wood, to the height of eight and ten feet, and bends under the load of fruit. A large skin full is purchased for twopence-halfpenny sterling, and the decoction, prepared as in Europe, is invariably presented to the stranger, as is an infusion of the “chaat,” a coarse species of the tea-plant, which there flourishes spontaneously, and is cultivated in Shoa.
The civet cat is a native of Enárea, and being caught in gins, is kept in the house and fed on meat and boiled maize. The cages are daily placed before the fire preparatory to the operation of removing the secretion, which is performed with a wooden spoon. A lump about the size of a small filbert is yielded at each baking, and it forms a considerable article of export. Myrrh and frankincense are also produced in great quantities, and are employed in religious ceremonies, burnt sacrifices of incense being made to the guardian genius.
Notwithstanding the conversion to Mohammadanism of so large a portion of the population, sacrifices are still made to “Wák” on the festival of Hedár Michael, which, together with the Sabbath, is strictly observed by all the Galla tribes. The Woda tree is at Betcho; no woman is suffered to come near it; and under its sacred shade all priests are ordained—even the followers of the Prophet placing blood upon it as a superstitious oblation. Thousands upon thousands of the heathen having assembled, the Lúbah sprinkles over the crowd, first beer, then an amalgamation of unroasted coffee and butter, and lastly, flour and butter mixed in a separate mess. A white bull is then slaughtered, and its blood scattered abroad to complete the ceremonies, which are followed by eating, drinking, and drunkenness.
Zingero, which is visible from the high land of Enárea, was, until within the last two years, at constant war with the Galla states. Jimma and Limmoo uniting, then overran the country; and having dethroned Amno Zérmud, the occupant of the throne, annexed the ancient kingdom to the dominions of Abba Bókibo. It is bounded on the south by a great river called the Gochob. Anger, the capital, is situated on the summit of a very high mountain; and the whole country, which sinks to a much lower level, is rich and fertile.
In days of yore, fourteen kingdoms are said to have been tributary to the sovereign of Zingero. The succession to the throne was determined from amongst the nobles, who, at the demise of the monarch, were wont to assemble in an open field, when he over whose head a bee or a vulture first chanced to fly was elected by the unanimous voice of the people. Although no portion of the population professes the Christianity of Ethiopia, and none of its fasts are observed, the rite of circumcision is universal, and the Sabbath is respected, together with the Abyssinian festivals of Kidána Meherát and Saint Michael.
Prior to the conquest of Zingero, no male slave was ever sold,—a practice which is said to have originated in the conduct of one of the daughters of the land. A certain king of old commanded a man of rank to slaughter his wife, her flesh having been prescribed by the sorcerers as the only cure for a malady wherewith His Majesty was grievously afflicted. Returning to his house for the purpose of executing the royal mandate, the noble found his fair partner sleeping, and her beauty so disarmed him, that his hand refused to perpetrate the murderous deed. Hereat the despot waxing wroth, directed the lady to slay her husband, which she did without any remorse or hesitation, and thus brought odium upon the whole sex, who have since been considered fit only to become slaves and drudges.
Immediately upon the birth of a male child the mammae are amputated, from a belief that no warrior can possibly be brave who possesses them, and that they should belong only to women. This fact is fully corroborated in the persons of the few prisoners of war who reach the kingdom of Shoa. Since the overthrow of the ancient dynasty, the country has been ravaged for slaves by all the surrounding states, but few will deign to survive the loss of liberty; and suicide is so frequent in captivity, that the males are hardly considered worth the trouble of exporting.
Human sacrifices have ever been, and still are, frightfully common in Zingero. When carrying off slaves from that country, the merchant invariably throws the handsomest female captive into lake Umo, in form of a tribute or propitiatory offering to the genius of the water. It is the duty of a large portion of the population to bring their first-born as a sacrifice to the deity, a custom which tradition assigns to the advice of the sorcerers. In days of yore it is said that the seasons became jumbled. There was neither summer nor winter, and the fruits of the earth came not to maturity. Having assembled the magicians, the king commanded them to show how this state of things might best be rectified, and the rebellious seasons be reduced to order. The wise men counselled the cutting down of a certain great pillar of iron which stood before the gate of the capital, and the stock whereof remains to the present time. This had the effect desired; but in order to prevent a relapse into the former chaos of confusion, the Magi directed that the pillar, as well as the footstool of the throne, might be annually bathed in human blood; in obedience to which a tribute was levied upon the first-born, who are immolated upon the spot.
Of the independent Galla tribes lying immediately contiguous to Enárea, Góma, under Abba Rébo, is the principal. This king is also a convert to Mohammadanism; and the life of his father having been saved by a vulture, which, according to the legend, plucked out the eyes of a host of Gentiles by whom the royal person was assailed, he retains a domesticated bird, which, with a tinkling bell around its neck, invariably accompanies the army on all predatory expeditions. At the termination of the first march, Abba Rébo, with his own royal hands, slays a white bull, and if the wild vultures of the air join the trained bird in the repast, the omens are esteemed to be fortunate.
The Mohammadan Galla tribes, those on the border especially, are uniformly the most savage and barbarous. The Alaba are dire monsters, and more dreaded than the wild beasts, whom they far exceed in ferocity. The cruelties practised by the chief of the Góma are almost incredible. Offenders are deprived of hands, nose, and ears; and their eyes having been seared with a hot iron, the mutilated victims are paraded through the market-place for the edification of the populace. The sight of all prisoners taken in war is similarly destroyed; and a stone having been tied about the neck, they are thrown by hundreds into a river formerly styled Daama, but now denominated the Chuba, from a belief that its waters are composed solely of human blood. It rises in Utter Gudder, where is a tributary tribe called Mergo, subsisting entirely upon the chase of the elephant and wild buffalo. In Góma the Moslem faith is universal. Every man is a warrior; and retaining a number of Shankela slaves to cultivate the ground, remains idle himself, unless when engaged in war or in the chase.
The Boono are a republican tribe of Pagans, bordering on Enárea, and who, acknowledging no king, are governed by a council of the elders. Inhabiting lofty mountains to which there is only one accessible road, strongly fortified by nature as well as art, none venture to invade this commonwealth, whilst the Boono make war with impunity upon all the s............