724 A B Y S S I N I A .
M jïsnïks
C ustoms.
•traveilets woüldfoarcely hél etêdiblè,-'whc®rthey affare. us.that,' at'an
Abyflrnian banquet, 'üfe flèÖr is*1 cütffom thé live.Gxeh. »ifllfek itów*.
cvëf pnly Mifm tïiat «tëe natives ate fond of raw fleÉi', a tafte not un-
Tmow'n and other countries. Even religion
fomêtimes bends before" the influence.of climate, and polygamy is not
-unknown among thefe chnftims; the kings in particular having; frequently
many wives and concubines^' By a Angular cuftom the wife
is punifhed if the hufband prove falfe. The’ only meal is commonly in
the evening, and the abftinence of Lent is carefully preferved ; nay, according
to Alvarez the clergy and monks only eat three times a week.
Thé common beverages are mead and a kind of beer.3 The neguz or
king, for the-title of emperor is'ridiculous,. is-Jcqnfidered ;as.-the fedepco-
!prietor of the laid, whale private property is reftridted to moveable
■ goods. The language is regarded as an ancient offspring of the Arabic,
and 'ö;idivided into various niiale&s, among which«he ql»e£: si® |||e
Tigrin or that of thé province of Tigri, and the Amharic. , The '||a-
lanic is alfo widely diffufed, the -.Galas being a: numerous 'adjacentpeople,
-who -frequently difturb the public, tranquillity. ■ ,T4ei^.b^4ian
language is illuftrated by the labours, of Ludolf, .andlffy^al^^ona^ips;
and is pfobably neatly > allied tO;;the (Coptic, (t^^gyppsyi^a^ng
from-the -north ,of andent Arabia, and thev Abyffinians ^rp^ffhe
Louth. ’
The chief city in modem' times is Gondar, fituated tuppnj a hill.
According to Bruce it contains , ten thoufand families, that is about fifty
thoufand fouls; bat in the.time óf Alvarez none of the cities was fup-
pofed to exceed fifteen hundred houfes. . The palace, or rather houfe
■ of the neguz, is at the weft end, flanked with fquarè towers, from the
fummit of which was a view of the fouthern country, . as. far as .the lake
of Tzana or Dembea. Axum, the ancient capital? is ftill known, -by
extenfive ruins, among which are many obelilks of granite, but without
hieroglyphics. The other towns are few and unimportant. On the
rock of Gefhen, in the province of Amhara, were formerly confined the
Abyffinian princes ; and Abyflinia in general is remarkable, for detached
... 3 Akar.ez, fol. 200. Lobo, p, 54-!
pre-
A B Y:S S I N IA,.. n s
precipitous rock's, appearing at a diftance like -raftles and towns, a feature C ities.
alfo u!ual in New Granada,, and other. north-eaftern parts of South
America. The rock of .Ambazel, in the fame province^ has alfo been
dedicated to the fame political; purpofe, both being near a final! river '
whicfffldy^ppjphBe Bahr'el Azjek«* *P\e manufactures,^.nd;cppnmd^e. Manufao
are oftfmall iconfequence, »thedatler*b&ing chiefiwagenfined to Mafua on. b*res <md
, ^ , 4 • : HB .. r2 " J Commerce1.
the Ked -oea. 1 ke eaithen • ware is deti|t; bm though, (^dfrno^de
Medici, ailtoUg ©theri a>rtifans? fontjmanufadt;ur©f,ajgl|||lafsttct tbe|pqguz*
the, Abyffmians ftifl-.;fe%naji'fl:r^jtgpr:,s to this? ap(d- man® Q%yr| common
, fah^icsl .$« -
i'HThe climate is'ktt-empeBed h^lthe-smouSitlfcous .natucehlf J?h«fepuntry.
Frbm AprihtBtSe^tbdlbdy“ there btfeqheavyjfaih'si; ■ and';j|dit;fe*dry
of the fi^'tfuccefeding mouth's' the night® atfeidblcE. qas
Remarked that the rife of-the f>S3e fifelEgyp t f c afi one d by-the yipjent
bains, wM£b,-d;uring‘the'fixmrner, dejugeribe'fouthern't§ggion$; }and he*
might'1 pethaps have 'added the'aneltihg*©£ithe fnoffk’ infthe' African
which give-fourcfe t© the real Nile .;the, Bahr JeLAbiadt for as-theAtlas;
is dovered'with perpetual fnow, whicbialfo creryns, the, And.es Undjer^the
eqdator,'it is prbfehle Ahat the’central.,ridge. of Africatprefeut^the fame
features, ^tap’ that an ancieitt geographer‘mightj^iav^slhlfroyeb to
death in his toFrid'zone. ’AbyffiniaAls ondtoBihe mb ft, jm!Oii»taikfets
and precipitous countries in the .world*; tbutlin aifew vale^'Ahe foil* is
ilpd'ek khd Tfertil A T The chief river is?-the BahrelcAzEefe,?, or.Abyffinaan n.yers>_
Nile, vAfich has a fpiral" origin life the .OrirloeoV/- The /fejpjfjsfesj'wferej
in fheTeventeenth tehtuby, accurately deforibddTy- Liya, ra Portugfiefe
IhMionary, wlftfeiaccount wis piuMifh’ed by>Kitfcherai^Efak<;^V<i{lius,
and'has in' ouf’times been very' msriutely copied'' by^Brupe^tSas. Hartma-ri
has explained by printing the two accounts in parallel columns. The,
chief fpfing'bf the -Bahr el-Azrek is in a ;fin$t hillock,'fitu’atedftn a marfh;
The fources of the real Nile or Bahr el Ab.iad, in the alps: of Kumri, '
remain to be explored. Receiving no auxiliary ftreams on its long
progrefs through Egypt, the Nile is fiUguiarly narrow, and fhallow,
when compared with other rivers'fof far fhorter . Gourfe. The B'ahr el
Az.rek'.is ftyled- byrthe Abyfliniansv Abawi, ,ah R uncertain prigin^
And is followed'by1 the:Tkenz3:<&f T a C t l ^ ^ ^ I t M ^ c i b h t s y
I | l| i .■ mi a*:.