CHAPTER YII. 



SHOA, COUNTRY OF THE DANAKILS, NORTHERN GALLA STATES. 



HOA or Shawa, and the hilly country of the northern Gallas, form a 

 part of the Abyssinian plateaux. From a political point of view 

 Shoa, after having been independent for some length of time, has 

 again become attached and pays a regular tribute to the Abyssinian 

 empire, the king of Shoa humbling himself before the "king of 

 kings." South of the Abai most of the civilised or barbarous tribes have been 

 subjugated to Northern Abyssinia by victorious expeditions, and ambassadors bring 

 to Debra-Tabor or Makaleh a yearly tribute of ivory or other valuable commodities. 

 On this side the whole of southern Abyssinia even beyond Kaiîa is thus bounded by 

 fluctuating frontiers ; the area of Shoa has been increased threefold, and the king- 

 dom of Go jam has been enlarged in the same proportion, although the Abai 

 interrupts all communications between Abyssinia and the country of the Ilm- 

 Ormas for seven or eight months in the year. 



The peoples of these countries, mostly differing in origin, speech, religion, and 

 customs, should be studied apart. The lowland tribes, however, comprised between 

 the main Abyssinian range, the Red Sea coast, the Gulf of Aden, and the water- 

 shed south of the basin of the Awash, form a group clearly defined by the way of 

 life the soil and the climate compel them to follow ; but as intermediaries of the 

 trade between the plateaux and the sea, they are indispensable to the inhabitants 

 of Shoa. Thus, however different the two countries may be, they form a part of 

 the same social organization. 



The Shoa Highlands. 



South of the Angot and the Zebul the main Abyssinian range penetrates into 

 Shoa, here diverging slightly from the line of the meridian towards the south-west, 

 parallel with the course of the Awash. This part of the border-chain is called 

 Shakka, or Amba-Shakka, and, according to Beke, attains a mean height of from 

 8,000 to 9,000 feet, several of the crests even considerably exceeding this elevation. 

 The highest mountain, at least in the vicinity of Ankober, is Mount Metatiteh 

 (11,000 feet), which overlooks the greater part of the kingdom of Shoa lying at 



