Henry Salt

“ In the evening Baharnegash Yasous, who had attended me during my whole stay in the country, took his leave. Among all the men with whom I have ever been intimately acquainted, I consider this old man as one of the most perfect and blameless characters. His mind seemed to be formed upon the purest principles of the Christian religion; his every thought and action appearing to be the result of its dictates. He would often, to ease his mule, walk more than half the day ”

“ These are the general rules which guide the conduct of the great body of the people. The chiefs of high rank, and women of quality, [6] may be considered, in a certain degree, as exempt from all rule, their conduct in these respects being restrained by scarcely any other laws than those which the power and consequence of their respective relatives imposes, who always interfere on such occasions as parties concerned. There exists, as I have before mentioned, a more holy kind of marriage, practised in the country, where the parties take the communion together, which is sanctioned by the priests. ”

“ If the husband should subsequently find just cause to doubt the integrity of his wife, the union is immediately dissolved, and the girl is sent back to her family in disgrace: on the contrary, if the proof required by the custom of the country can be produced, it is given over on the following day to the mother or nearest female relative of the bride, and is preserved as a testimony in favour of the wife, to be brought forward on any future quarrel with the husband. ”

“ From the high province of Giralta, we descended the steep pass of Atbara; and about half way down arrived at a beautiful spot, whence a spring of water rises, which successively falls into several basons in the rocks, formed, in the lapse of years, by the perpetual action of the stream. These waters are held in great repute throughout the country for their sanative properties; many people of consequence resorting to them from the distant provinces; and, while we remained in the neighbourhood, an Abyssinian nymph and some of her attendants, were observed bathing in one of the basons. ”

“ I go on muddling in the dark, until I produce something, but under such circumstances, it is not likely to prove very good." All classes of people in Abyssinia, it may be observed, are fond of pictures; the inner walls of their churches being filled with them, and every chief considering himself fortunate, if he can get one painted on the wall of his principal room. As I felt desirous of bringing home a specimen of Abyssinian art, I engaged the person above mentioned to paint me one of his best pictures during my stay at Chelicut, which he completed in about
six days ”

“ When the relations are people of consequence, an image is dressed out in rich garments to represent the deceased, which, being placed on his favourite mule, is carried in procession through the town or village near his residence to the tomb, all his other horses and mules following, decked out in gay ornaments and apparel, collected during his life time, according to custom, for this particular purpose. ”

“ The retired manners and modest behaviour of the latter, confirmed me strongly in the opinion, that the females in Abyssinia are generally well educated, and, before marriage, very superior in character to those of maturer years, who, after marriage, have been accustomed to mingle with greater freedom in society, and to allow themselves, perhaps, too great a latitude of conduct. ”

“ The Abyssinians administer the holy Sacrament of communion in both kinds, with leavened bread always prepared fresh for the occasion, and with wine made of a red grape, common in some parts of the country; while in others, they are obliged to use as a substitute, a liquor made of dried grapes squeezed in water. After the consecration of the bread and wine, just before they are delivered to the people, a bell is rung, and all those who are present bow themselves to the earth ”

“ On the contrary, if the same custom as the one which is now general in Abyssinia, at that time prevailed in Egypt, it will be seen that Potiphar acted justly, according to the established rule of the country, it being always considered as a sure proof of guilt, which requires no further evidence to be adduced, if a man, after being once laid hold of, runs away and leaves his garment behind. ”

“ The number of slaves exported, may be computed annually at about a thousand, part of whom are sent to Massowa, and the rest to the small ports northward of that place, whence they are privately shipped off by the natives, for the purpose of avoiding the duties levied by the Nayib. The provinces to the south of Adowa chiefly abound in cattle and corn, which, together with the salt procured on the borders, constitute their chief articles of barter. ”

“ The town of Axum itself is very agreeably situated in a corner of the plain sheltered by the adjacent hills. On approaching it, the first object which excites attention is a small plain obelisk, at the foot of a hill, on the right hand, at the top of which stands the monastery of Abba Pantaleon, and immediately opposite is found the large square stone with the inscription in Greek which I had before deciphered. ”

“ The town of Adowa is situated partly on the side, and partly at the bottom of a hill, a circumstance very unusual in Abyssinia; and the houses, which are all of a conical form, are pretty regularly disposed into streets or allies, interspersed with wanzy trees and small gardens, some of which are cultivated with considerable care ”

“ There is a manufactory of small carpets carried on in the province of Samen, some of which were shewn to me at Adowa: and they really were much superior to what might have been expected, as the production of Abyssinian workmanship. At Axum, and in its neighbourhood, the inhabitants are celebrated for the manner in which they prepare skins for making parchment: and they likewise particularly excel in finishing this article for use. The working of iron and brass is general throughout the country ”

“ The disease with which he had been afflicted, is called Tigre-tér, a species of fever, for which the remedy in use among the Abyssinians is somewhat extraordinary. On a person being seized with this complaint, the relatives expose to his sight all the ornaments of gold, silver, and fine clothes which their respective friends can collect, making at the same time as much noise as possible with drums, trumpets and vociferous outcries, which is practised with a view, as far as I could ascertain, "of driving the devil out of the patient;" ”

“ The Hazorta speak the same language, and their chief tribes are called Assa-karré and Assa-lessan; both of which are evidently derived from some connection with the salt-plain; "assa," in the Geez language, signifying "salt."
To the north of the Shiho, are found people called Mara, Boja and Manda: beyond these are the Juma-jum, the Taguié, and Beja-rubroo; and these last border on the tribes in the neighbourhood of Suakin. The inhabitants of Massowa are accustomed to make trading excursions among these different nations, and the Nayib keeps up a pretty regular intercourse with their chiefs. ”

“ Should the parties agree to separate, terms of accommodation are settled between them; but, if the lady prove unfaithful, then the husband possesses the right of dismissing her from his house, and of retaining her dowry for his own use. Adultery, however, must be clearly proved before a husband can venture to repudiate his wife, as nothing less than being caught in the fact can justify a recourse to this extremity. ”

“ In the course of this day's journey, we met with several large droves of cattle, which, on enquiry, I found were proceeding to Walkayt, where they are said to be very advantageously exchanged for a coarse kind of cloth, manufactured in that province. At a few miles from Adowa, we discovered a new and beautiful species of amaryllis, which bore from ten to twelve spikes of bloom on each stem, as large as those of the "bella donna," springing from one common receptacle. ”

“ The founder of this monastery, Abba Asfé, whose name it still retains, was one of the nine priests who went into Ethiopia from Egypt, during the early part of the sixth century, in the reign of the Emperor Ameda, one of the predecessors of Caleb, as recorded in the Abyssinian chronicles; though some later authors have attributed this event to a different period, an opinion which I myself was led to adopt in my former journal, owing to my having relied too hastily upon the assertions of others. ”

“ With respect to the tribe of the ΒΟΥΓΑΕΙΩΝ, the conquest of which constitutes the main subject of this inscription, it appears that it is still found under the name of the Boja, inhabiting a district two days journey northward of Hamazen, and is partially under the influence of the Nayib of Massowa and of a Christian chief; the natives themselves being half Musselmauns, and half Christians. Still farther to the north, resides a people called Taguié, which in all probability answers the "ΤΟΚΑΕΟΥ," mentioned in the inscription. ”

“ The remarks made by Cosmas on this subject, and the deductions they lead to, are likewise of considerable importance, from their tending to give a more correct notion of the pronunciation of those particular Greek letters, employed in spelling these words, than we before possessed; as the Abyssinian language, from its peculiar formation, (every sound being exactly expressed in the writing,) is not liable to the same corruption which has attended the Greek. ”

“ The exports which are carried down to the coast in return, most of which pass through the hands of the traders at Adowa, consist of ivory, gold, and slaves; a very considerable quantity of the first article is procured in the province of Walkayt, and in the low country northward of Shiré: and the sale of it is so certain at Massowa, that the price at Adowa only differs in the expenses of carriage being deducted. A great part of the gold collected in the interior finds also its way through Adowa ”

“ The boy afterwards, according to the custom of most of the Eastern churches, was admitted to partake of the Holy Communion. [3] On our return from the church, the high priest accompanied us home, and continued with us nearly an hour. He paid me many compliments on what had passed, and declared, that "I had done an act which would for ever be recorded in their books; as the baptism of the boy most clearly proved, that the English were not "Franks" (alluding to the conduct of the Jesuits about baptism,) but that we adhered to the pure religion of the Apostles." ”

“ Here, as I was given to understand, the ordinary ceremony of baptism concludes; but as the boy had been a Musselmaun, he was, in addition, crossed with the consecrated oil over every joint and limb, or altogether, thirty-six times in different parts of his body. After this, he was wrapped in a clean white linen cloth, [2] and placed for a moment in my arms, the priests telling me, that "I must henceforth consider him verily as my son." The high priest did not take any active part in this ceremony, but the whole was conducted with great decorum, and a due degree of solemnity. ”

“ This spot was distinguished by a large clump of wild date trees, a circumstance somewhat remarkable, as that plant does not appear to be indigenous in the country: the monastery of Bisan at the time bore from us about due west. Hence our course formed a complete traverse among loose blocks and ridges of granite, which brought us at last to a beautiful grove of trees situated by the side of a stream, where we pitched our tent for the night. ”

“ The wife never changes her name: and the property received in dower is kept apart from the husband's as the wife becomes entitled to the whole of it, should any misbehaviour on his part compel her to quit his house. ”

“ The subject represented is that of two Abyssinian horsemen engaged in battle with the Galla. The dress of the warriors and the accoutrements of the horses are very faithfully delineated, and there appears to me something very characteristic in the expression on the countenances of the retreating Galla, who, notwithstanding they have witnessed the extraordinary prowess of their companion, (who keeps his post perfectly disregardless of the spear run through his body) begin to think it high time to quit the field. ”

“ The road to Adowa passes over several ridges of hills, and is in parts extremely difficult of ascent. In the middle of the day we stopped for an hour under a grove of daro trees, where I shot a beautiful species of Upupa, nearly allied to the Erythrynotos. At one o'clock we reached Adowa. At this place I was surprised to find that an Englishman had arrived from the coast only a few days before, which, on enquiry, proved to be Mr. Stuart. ”

“ He told me, "that great remains of an old town could still be traced near Zulla, which had been called 'Azoole;' that the houses appeared to have been larger and more numerous than those at Massowa; immense masses of square stones, four or five feet in breadth, lying heaped confusedly together in the bed of a 'gorf' or 'torrent;' by the sudden overflowing of which, it was traditionally reported, the town had been destroyed." He represented these ruins as being at no great distance from Zulla; and he added, that the inhabitants of this town were by no means so bad as the natives of Arkeeko ”