146 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. 



The Felashas. 



The Felashas, or " Jews of Abyssinia," variously estimated at from 10,000 to 

 20,000, are very probably of the same stock as the Agau. They are found throughout 

 the plateaux, and even in Shoa and Gurageh, divided into three religious sects, each 

 with its high priest. In southern Abyssinia they are called Fen j as, but are no 

 longer found in the Simen mountains, where they still predominated towards the 

 close of the sixteenth century. The national name, Felasha, signifies "exiles," 

 and in point of fact they claim descent from the ten tribes banished from the 

 Holy Land. On the other hand, they are fond of quoting legends to prove that 

 their ancestor was Menelik, the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Of the 

 explorers who have visited them, several consider their type similar to that of the 

 eastern Jews ; but observers have generally failed to notice any striking difference 

 in features between them and their neighbours, except perhaps that their eyes are 

 a little more oblique than those of the Agau. Their language, the kuara, huara, or 

 huaraza, said to be dying out, also resembles that of the Agau, and lends additional 

 force to the hypothesis of the two peoples springing from a common stock. But 

 their religious zeal connects them so closely with the Jews that it would not be 

 surprising to find other Israelites regarding them as of kindred race. In any case, 

 there was a complete religious cohesion between the numerous Jewish communities 

 of Palestine and Abyssinia at the period when uninterrupted communications 

 existed between the Moriah of Jerusalem and the numerous " Mount Sinai's " of 

 the African plateaus. Intercourse was maintained chiefly by means of the power- 

 ful Jewish republics then occupying a large part of the Arabian peninsula. One 

 of these states still existed in the Himyaritic country fifty years before the birth 

 of Mohammed. Their religion was spread from the east beyond the Red Sea, and 

 at the period of their decadence the " chosen people " held their ground best in 

 the west. The Felasha religion no longer predominates in Abyssinia, and their 

 dynasties survive only in the popular traditions ; still, unlike the Arabian Jews, 

 they are not a hated race persecuted by the other sections of the community. 



In nearly all the provinces they hold themselves aloof from the Abyssinians, 

 occupying separate villages or else separate quarters in the towns. The mosques 

 are divided into three compartments of unequal sanctity, like the primitive Jewish 

 tabernacles, and are recognised from a distance by an earthenware vessel placed 

 on the highest pinnacle. Desirous of preserving the purity of their race, the 

 Felashas never marry women of alien religions ; they are even forbidden to enter 

 Christian dwellings, and when they have been polluted by such a visit, are bound 

 to purify themselves before returning to their own homes. 



Polygamy is not practised, and marriage is much more respected by them than 

 by the Abyssinians, although the women have more personal freedom. Early 

 marriages, so common amongst the Christian families, are rare amongst them, the 

 men marrying between the ages of twenty to thirty, and the women from fifteen to 

 twenty. Like the Mohammedans, their morals are generally superior to those of 

 their Christian masters, but unlike other Jews, they have no taste for trade. They 



