• CHAPTER VIII.
OF THE RACES OR PEOPLE BORDERING ON ABYSSINIA
TOWARDS THE WEST AND THE NORTH.
^ S e c tio n I .—Of the Shangalla.
They are the inhabitants of the forests which lie alohg the
feet of the Abyssinian Alps, particularly on thè western and
north-western side of the kingdom of Gondar and thehountry
°f Dembea. The people termed Shangalla are, however, not
confined to the ; western side of Habesh ; tribes ^ comprehended?
under the same designation inhabit various tracts
towards the north and beyond the eastern frontier of Abyssinia
The Doba are a Negro- tribe towards the «south-east :
they occupy an extensive, uncultivated plain'below WojjerRt)
and between the Tigran province of Énderta and theMxmntry
of the Asubo Gallas. They were visited by Mr. Pearce, who
could not understand their language. They were formerly a
fierce and warlike people, and were -described _as'_ such .by
Dom. Francisque-Alvarez in 1520* I have already extracted
Mr. Bruce’s account of the moral and physical traits of the
Shangalla in general, and I shall now merely"add some geographical
notices respecting their country from another part of
his work.
“ The Shangalla,” says Mr, Bruce, “ surround all the
N. N. W. and N. E. of Abyssinia, by a belt scarcely sixty
miles broad. This is called by the Abyssinians, Kolia, "or
the Hot Country, which is likewise one of their names for
* Mr. Salt has cited the account given by Alvarez, which is as follows ; cc Ces
hommesAe Dobas sont fort braves et vaillatts gens : ayant une telle loy que personne
d’entre eux ne s’y peut marier sans premièrement faire foy, et déclarer par
serment d’avoir privé dé vie douze Chrétiens ; qui rend ces chemins tant décriez et si
fort dangereux que personne n’y ose passer, si ce n’est en caravarme.” Historiale
Description de l’Ethiopie. Anvers. 1558. Mr. Salt’s Travels, p. 275.
Mr. Salt has given various particulars relative to the history of the Shangalla
tribes in many'of the countries round Abyssinia. See Salt’s Travels, p. 378, &c.
hell. Two gaps or sparc^!,bh®^)%«f®i! the ^sakerof commerce, in
this belt, theft,be/at Tchelg#,, th^,other Ras-el-Feel,<have been
Settled and pos^®efdvb,y stran^feife^ to khepdhese.'SlhangaBas in.
awe, and here^tlt&UB'td^l^Klfs'^^djplacedlfor the mutual
interest'of ftftth kingdoms, ibefoferall intercourse was inters
mptcd byi'the .ifapolitic,expedition of Ydsous^against Sennaar.
Ras-el-Feelidivides hthis nations ofiv^oolky-headed blacks into
two, t h ^ ^ w e s t belowyisnK^^ op; Fazuclck
part of the kingdom M t\ Sennaar, as ^lsp^dh^the^dountry of
iAgows.; These are th e Shangallai that traffic%in gold, which
■they,’find in the earth where torrents, have fallen from the
mountains ^ fo r therebis no si^ch>. thing as mines in any part q |
.their icouhtry^ nor any wayidf ‘dolsle,ctic!:g.;goI{|ibut this. The
other*' nation^! on the frontiers; of; Sennaar) hns5dl.as-el-Feel on
the easfj about jtHree days’ journey from tthe .Saoambot.The
natives<are * called Ganjar; a, very numerous1 and jformiilably
nationdof hunters, consisting ofiseyqfal 'thau^^df horsey',The
origin of these is said* to have been, that when the Fungi-or
black natioiC now occupying Sennaau dispossessed ;the Arabs
from that part of the country, the black slaves that were in
• S e rv ic e among these Arabs aSk fled) and,took possession? of th e
'districts they now hold ; where they .have 'greatly increased in
numbers, and continue independent to this day. They are,the
•natural enemies of Ras-el-Feel) and much blood has been shed
between them, while making.inroads one.upon another, murdering
the men, and carrying the women, into1 slavery;”
Section l i—0 / the Shilhkh and the Fungi, or People
of Senndar.
The Abiad or White River, after cutting its channel through
the mountainous border which runs westward from, Fazoclp)
passes among the hills and forests of Byre and Tojjggoula and
enters a vast plain. There it receives the waters of a great
number of rivers never yet seen by Europeans, but of which
the names are given by Dr. Seetzen, from information cok
lected from Negro pilgrims.* Here it also receives the waters
of the Maleb, which descends, according to Bruce, from the
* Mqnath'liche Correspcmdeni!. Februar. 1810,