INNAEYA. 213 



or Ennarea, and all tte other southern Galla states, Jirama-Kaka, or " Kingdom of 

 Abba-Jifar," Gera, Yangaro, Sidama, Kullo, Ghimira, and the great state of Kaffa, 

 the largest country peopled by Gallas which recognises the suzerainty of Abys- 

 sinia. Like the provinces of Abyssinia properly so called, all these states are 

 variously divided into degas, voina-degas, and kwallas ; but on the whole the 

 intermediary zone is the most important, for in it are centred all the chief towns 

 and market-places. In Jimma and Guma the lands belong mainly to the zone of 

 the upland plateaux, and barley is here chiefly cultivated ; the lowlands occupy a 

 larger extent in Innarya, Limmu, and Kaffa. 



Innarya. 



The name of Innarya was formerly applied to a far more extensive region than 

 that which has preserved this appellation. Like Abyssinia it was a Christian 

 kingdom, and for centuries its Sidama inhabitants successfully resisted the sur- 

 rounding Pagans and Mohammedans. But the Limmu-Gallas, occupying the 

 upper basin of the Orghesa, at last seized the country and, when they embraced 

 Islam, forced their new religion upon the conquered Sidamas. The people of 

 Innarya, now governed by a queen, are Mussulmans, although the name of Sidama, 

 which has no longer any definite meaning, is still used as a general term for the 

 Christians of the Abyssinian countries bounded north by the course of the Abai. 

 Innarya, properly so called, no longer comprises more than the upper valley of the 

 Gugsa, where this river still flows northwards. The lowlands and slopes of this 

 valley are pre-eminently fitted for cofPee cidture, the shrubs being far finer than 

 those of Kaffa, from which country the plant has received its name. Coffee-plants 

 are said to be found in Innarya some 8 to 10 feet in circumference. Coffee is 

 monopolised by the king, and his slaves alone have the right to gather and sell 

 it for him in the market of Saka. The gold-dust, which was formerly the chief 

 wealth of Innarya, is no longer found in sufficient quantities for exportation. 



Although they have lost their ancient civilisation, the people of Innarya are 

 still said to be the most civilised nation of southern Abyssinia, and to excel even 

 the Abyssinians as artisans. The market of Gondar can show nothing superior to 

 their embroideries, or to their weapons with carved silver-mounted hilts. Thej^ 

 manufacture iron instruments, which are exported even as far as the tribes 

 occupying the basin of the Sobat. A fortified custom-house defends from the north 

 the approaches to Limmu from Abyssinia. Many of these upland states are almost 

 entirely enclosed by a belt of double walls, moats, and drawbridges ; moreover a 

 large moor, on which no one has the right to settle, spreads round the country, 

 protecting it like the moat of a stronghold. Each kingdom resembles a besieged 

 fortress. As can be well understood, commimications in this country are a matter 

 of great difficulty. Whilst a pedestrian could traverse in iour days the forty miles 

 between the great market of Basso, in Gojam, and that of Sa/ca in Innarya, the 

 caravans have even taken two years to accomj)lish this journey. 



