A B Y 



p. 424, &c. With If ffard to arts and fcienrcs, and general 

 literature, the Abyffimans are commonly very uninformed 

 an ' likely to continue fo, not only from tlie lonn of their 

 goremmcnt and natural indolence, liiit as long as they are 

 in a great degree fxluded from iiitercourfe with nations 

 that are better inflrufted than themfeWcs. 



As to their perfons, the AbyfTmiins are, in general, tall 

 and well made ; their feature.; arc duly proportioned, tlicir 

 eyes large, and of a fpnrkliiig black colour, their nofes 

 nither high than Rm, their lips finall, and thtir teeth ex- 

 tremely white and handfome. With refpert to their natural 

 temper, they arc faid to b-.- good-humourcl, mild, and pla- 

 cable ; unlefb we except thoie of Tigrc, who, according to 

 the accounts of the Jefuits, not indeed always to be cre- 

 dited, are of a fickle, cruel, treacherous, and vindiftive dif- 

 pofition. In their common conduft, they are fober and tem- 

 perate. They have both a capacity, and an inclination for 

 acquiring knowledge, but have hitherto wanted the necefTar^' 

 means. To religion, or rather to fnperftition and ceremonial 

 obfervances, they are much inclined, and deference to their 

 priefts is c.mlidered by them as one of their firft duties. But 

 inured as they are to war and fccnes of blood, and to feed- 

 ing on niw, and even living fiefh, they cannot avoid contracting 

 an obduracy of temper, and remaining in a ftate of barbarity. 



The drefs of perfons of quality, is a long fine veil either 

 of filk or cotton, tied about the middle with a rich fcarf. 

 Tlie common people have only a pair of cotton drav>-crs, 

 and a kind of fcarf, or piece of the fame linen with which 

 they cover the reft of tlieir body. In fome parts of the 

 eountr)', more efpccially near the coaR, and in the adjacent 

 provinces, men and women have no kind of covering. In- 

 deed, their drefs is fuited to the chmate, fo that the cloth 

 which covers their bodies, and their drawers, are made fo 

 wide and long, as to admit as much air as poffible. The 

 habit of the women, particularly of the fuperior clafs, is 

 formed of the richelt filks, garnilhed, according to their 

 rank, with trinkets and jewels, images, and relics of vari- 

 ous kinds. They arc allowed to ajjpear in public, and to 

 converfe freely with the men, without any of thofereftriftions 

 to which the Tiirkifh women are commonly fubjeft. The 

 women of fuperior conditii)n are not very guarded in their 

 conduft, but thofe of inferior rank are more faithful to their 

 hufbands ; and they alfo lubmit to the meaner and more la- 

 borious offices of domeftic life. It is their bufinefs to grind 

 com for the family, which they perform dailv by means of 

 hand-mills. Every kind of intercourfe (fays Mr. Bruce, vol. iii. 

 p. 304. ) is permitted with abfolute fi'eedom. In this particular 

 they refemble the Cynics of old, of whom it was faid: " Omnia 

 " qtu ndBacchum et Fenerem perlinuerintin publico facere."T\\<:y 

 bear children, and arc delivered with little pain and inconveni- 

 ence. Although we read from the Jefuits, continues this author, 

 a great deal about marriage and polygamy, yet there is no- 

 thing which may be averred more truly, than that there is 

 no fuch thing as marriage in AbylTinia, unlefs it be that 

 which is contracted by mutual confent, without other form, 

 fubfifting only till diffolved by diircnt of one or other, and to 

 be renewed or repeated as often as it is agreeable to both 

 parties ; who, when they pleafe, cohabit together as man and 

 wife, after having been divorced, and had children by others, 

 or whether they have been married, or had children by 

 others or not. Upon feparation they divide the children. 

 The eldeft fon falls to the mother's firft choice, and the 

 eldeft daughter to the father. If, after the firft eleftion, 

 the remaining number be unequal, the reft are divided by 

 lot. There is no fuch diftinftion as legitimate and illeo-iti- 

 mate children from the king to the beggar. The king in his 

 marriage ufes no other ceremony than this; he fends an 



A B Y 



Azage, or officer, to the houfe where the lady lives, wJia 

 annomiccs to her, that it is the king's pleafurc (lie (Tiould 

 inftantly remove to (he palace. She then drefl'es herfelf in 

 tiic bcft manner, and obeys. From this time an apartment 

 is affigned her in the palace, and a houfe is given to her 

 wherever elfc fhe chufes. When he makes her Iteghc, the 

 form fecms to be the neareft refcmblance to marriage : for, 

 whether it be in the court, or in the camp, he ordei-s one of 

 his judges to pronounce in his prefence, that he, the king, 

 has chofen his hand-maid, naming her, for his queen ; upon 

 which the rrowri is put upon her head ; but fne is not 

 anointed. Whatever be the forms of marriage in this coun- 

 tiy, and fuel; are entered into at a veiy early period, when 

 the males are ten, and the females younger ; polygamy is 

 allowed, divorces frequently occur, and adulter)- is com- 

 penfated bv an eafv fine. Their funerals are attended with 

 many fuperftitious ceremonies. The relations, friends, and 

 a number of hired mourners, bewail the dead for many days 

 together, with fhrieks and lamentations, clapping of hands, 

 fmiting their faces and breafts, and uttering a variety of af- 

 fecting expreffions in the moft doleful tone. They exprefs 

 their concern at hearing of the death of a relation or friend, not 

 only by violent exclamations, but by throwing themfelves on 

 the ground with fuch force as to do themfelves great injur)-. 

 Whenever a near relation dies, ever)- woman in Abyffinia, 

 witli the nail of her little finger, which fhe leaves long on 

 pui-pofe, cuts the flcin of both her temples, about the fize 

 of a fixpence ; and, therefore, you fee a wound, or fear, on 

 every fair face in the eountr)- ; and in the di-y fcafon, when 

 the camp is out, from the lofs of friends, they are feldom 

 allowed to heal till peace and the army return with the rains. 

 The food of the Abyfiinians is plain and coarfe. Their 

 bread, which is indifferently prepared, of wheat, peafe, 

 millet, tefF, or any other grain, is made into flat cakes or 

 apas, which ferve for difhes, plates, and fpoons, a-,d even 

 for napkins and table-cloths. They walh their hands before 

 the)- fit down to their meals, and this is the more neceffar)', 

 as they touch every thing they eat. The rich have their 

 viftuals cut for them, and conveyed to their mouths by- 

 pages, who attend them. All their fauces are rich, greafy, 

 and highly feafoncd. They never drink till they have 

 finiflied their meals, alleging an old rule, that you muft 

 plant firft and then water. When the tables are cleared, 

 they indulge themfelves freely in circulating the glafs. The 

 common liquor is hydromel, made of five or fix parts of wa- 

 ter to one o! honey, with a handful or two of parched bar- 

 ley meal, which caufes it to ferment ; to which they add 

 fome chips of a wood, called fardo, in order to take off the 

 lulcious tafte of the honey, and to make it palatable and 

 wliolefomc. At a feaft, which Mr. Bruce attended, there 

 was excellent red wine, brought from Karoota, which is the 

 wine country, good new brandy, hydromel, and a kind of 

 beer, called bouza ; both the lafl of which were fermented 

 with herbs or leaves of trees, and thus made very heady and 

 intoxicating. The Abyfiinians neither eat nor drink with 

 flrangers ; and they break, or purify, every vefTel which has 

 been ufed by them. This cuftom they feem to have de- 

 rived from the Egyptians. The Abyfiinians eat their-flefli 

 raw ; and they have a method of obtaining it, which at the 

 firft report feems to be hardly credible ; but, upon farther 

 enquir)', is an undoubted faft. In the neighbourhood of 

 Axum, Mr. Bruce met with fome travellers, who were 

 driving a cow before them. He afterwards found that they 

 cut rteaks from the higher part of the buttock ; they 

 then clofed the wound by drawing the fitin over it, and ap- 

 plied to it a cataplafm of clay. They then drove the ani- 

 mal before them, in order to fupply them aod their com- 

 panions 



