- THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^15 



Each of the three divifions of Galla eleft a king, that is, 

 there is a king for every feven tribes. There is alfo a kind 

 of nobihty among them, from whofc famihes alone the fo- 

 \'ereign can be chofen. But there are certain degrees of 

 merit (all warlike) that raife, from time to time, their ple- 

 beian families to nobility, and the right of fufFrage. No one 

 of thefe nobles can be elected till paft forty years of age, 

 imlefs he has flain with his own hand a number of men 

 which, added to his years, makes up forty. 



The council of each of the fcvcn tribes firfl meets Sepa- 

 rately in its own diftridt : Here it determines how maay are 

 neceflary to be left behind for the governing, guarding, and 

 cultivating the territory, while thofe fixed upon by mod 

 votes go as delegates to meet the reprcfentatives of the 

 other nations at the domicil, or head-quarters of the king, 

 among the tribe from which the fovereign of the laft fcvea 

 years was taken. Here they fit down under a tree which feems 

 to be facred, and the god of aJl the nations. It is called 

 Wanzey* ; has a white flower, and great quantity of foliage, 

 and is very common in Abyflinia. After a variety of votes, 

 the number of candidates is reduced to four, and the fuf- 

 frage of fix of thefe nations go then no farther ; but the 

 feventh, whofe turn it is to have a king out of their tribe, 

 choofe, from among the four, one, whom they crown with 

 a garland of Wanzey, and put a fceptre, or bludgeon, of that 

 wood in his hands, which they call Buco. 



E e 2 The 



* See th€ arlick Wanzey in the Appendk, 



