A B Y 



panions with another meal. At their feafts they have a bull 

 or cow, one or more, accordiig to the iiumbL'r of guefts, 

 which are tied at the door of th.; houle in which they are 

 a(lc:r.bled. After h'ttuig out a f.".v drons of Wood from 

 the dow-Iap under the thro.it, they cut tiuouv^h tlie (kin on 

 each fide of the fpine, and (Irippiug olf the hide of the ani- 

 nial half way down the nbs, and a.s far as the buttock, they 

 cut out the folid fle(h from the buttocks in fquare pieces, 

 and the .roaring of the animal, durint^ th's favagc operation, 

 is a fignal for tlie guefts to feat themil-lvcs at tabic. Tl-.efe 

 pieces arc ferved up on round cakes of unleavened bread uiadc 

 of tefi". Three or four of thefe cakes of a whiter fort are 

 placed uppcniioll, and defigned for food ; and four or five 

 of a blacker kind are under the others, and ferve the mailer 

 to wipe his fingers upon, and afterwards the fervant eats 

 them as br.'ad at his dinner. As no perfon of any fadiion 

 feeds hlmfclf, or touches his own meat, the women take 

 the (leak, whilll the motion of the fihrej is 'diilindly feen, 

 cut it into fmal! pieces, well pepper them, and wrap them 

 up in the te(r bread, like fo many cartridges. In this form 

 they arc put into the mouths of the gucils, who, like birds 

 fed by tlicir dam, arc opening their moutlis to receive the 

 jnorfsls that are reidy as faft as they can be prepared for them. 

 The females, after having llius fupplied the male guefts, eat 

 till they are fatisficd, and then all drink together. The 

 viclim is Hill bleeding, writhing, and roaring at the door. 

 When the animal has bhd to death, the cannibals tear the 

 remaining flefh from the thighs with their teeth like dogs. 

 Such, in brief, is the defcription of an Abyffinian feaft. 

 For a fuller account, fee Bruce's Travels, vol. iii. p. 

 302, &c. 



The offering of meat and drink in Abyffinia, is an alTur- 

 ance that your life is not in danger ; and it is alfo the con- 

 ftant praftice to wa(h the feet of thofe that come from 

 Cairo, and who are underdood to have been pilgrims at 

 Jerufalem. Many of the cuftoms in Abyfimia refemble 

 thofe of the ancient Perfians and Egyptians. For particu- 

 lar inftanccs, we refer to Bruce's Travels, vol. iii. p. 

 268 — 294. 



The capital puni(hments in AbyfTmia arc the crofs,hanging, 

 flaying alive, (toning to death, and plucking out of the eyes. 

 The deid bodies of criminals (lain for treafon, murder, and 

 violence on the highway at certain times, are feldom buried. 

 The ftreets of Gondar are llrewcd with pieces of their dead 

 carcafes, which bring the wild beails, ar.d particularly the 

 hyxnas, in multitudes into tlie city as foon as it becomes 

 dark, fo that it is hardly poffible to walk about with fafcty 

 in the night ; and the dogs bring pieces of human bodies 

 into the houfes and yards that they may devour them in 

 greater fecurlty. 



The AbylTmians have few manufaftures, though their 

 country produces, or is capable of producing, ample ma- 

 terials for them. Before the difcovcry of the Cape of Good 

 Hope, and before the Tarks took poiTelTion of the ports of 

 the Red Sea, there was a confiderable intercourfe of a com- 

 mercial kin.1 betU'Cen AbylTmia with its adjacent provinces 

 and various parts of Arabia and of Intlia. Mafuah was then a 

 harbour of great refort, and had a large quantity of exports 

 brought to it from an extenfive tra£l of mountainous coun- 

 try behind it, in all ages vei-y inhofpitable, and almoft inac- 

 ce(rible to (Irangers. Gold and ivory, elephants, and biif- 

 falo's' hide,^ ; and, above all, flavcs, of much greater value, 

 made the principal articles of exportation from this port. 

 There is ftill a confiderable trade earned on from this place ; 

 but the hand of power reftnilns and difco\n-nc;es every exer- 

 tion, and the interference of it renders ever)- kind of proper- 

 ty infecurc. The goods imported from the Arabian fide aje 



A B Y 



blue cotton. Sunt cloths, and cochineal ditto, fine cloth 

 from different markets in Lidia, cotton unfpuii in bales, Ve- 

 netian beads, cryftal, drinking and looking glaffes, and 

 crude antimony. Old copper h alfo a gainful article, and 

 imported in large quantities. To the wcrt.vard of Oond.ir 

 they wear bracelets of it ; and near the count-y of Gongas 

 and Cuba it has been fold, weight for wciglit witli gold. 

 The BaniiUH were once the principal merchants of this 

 port ; but their number is now reduced to lix, and they 

 Icarcely gain a fubfillcnce, as filverfmiths, by making ear- 

 rings, awd other ornaments for the women on the continent, 

 and alKiying of gold. The fame coin is current here as on 

 the Arabian fide, and it is valued by the Venetian fctjuin. 

 But glafs-bcads, called Contaria, of all kinds and colours, 

 pcrfeft snA broken, pafj for fmall money, and arc called, in 

 tiieir language, Borjooke. The Venetian fenuin is = 2'^ 

 pataka ; the pataka, or imperial dollar=28 harj or dahab ; 

 the harf=4. di.vani, or 120 grains of beads ; the diwani 

 = iokibecr; and the kibeer = 3 borjooke, or grains. They 

 hsve no gold in Abyfliaia ; and in lieu of fmall money, they 

 frequently make ufe of rock fait as white as fnow, and as 

 hard as flone. This fait is alfo applied to the fame purpofes 

 as common fait. With this mineral fait they purchafe 

 pepper, fpiccs, and filk (lu(rs, which are brought to them 

 by the Indians in their ports on the Red Sea. Cardamoms, 

 ginger, aloes, myrrh, calfia, civet, ebony-wood, ivor)', wax, 

 honey, cotton, and hnen of various forts and colours, may 

 be procured from Abydmia ; to which may be added, fugar, 

 hemp, flax, and excellent wines, if tlK'y had the art and in- 

 duftry to prepare them. The mcrchandifes above fpecified 

 are more for foreign than for inland trade. The emeralds 

 of this country have been eftimated at a high value. Their 

 domellic commerce confiUs chiefly in fait, honey, buckwheat, 

 grey-pea(e, citrons, oranges, lemons, and other provifions, 

 with fruits and herbage nccefiary for the fupport of life. 

 Antimony, large needles, goat (l<ins, coarfe Icidars, razors, 

 and ttecls for Itiiking fire, as well as bugles and beads, are 

 articles of barter in feveral of the provinces. Thofe places 

 which the Abyflinian merchants moflly frequent are Arabia 

 Felix and the Indies, particularly Goa, Cambayc, Bengal, 

 and Sumatra. With regard to their ports on the Red Sea^ 

 to which foreign merchants commonly refort, the mod con- 

 fiderable are thofe of Sua K em, Jidda, Mo cha,I.oheia,M A- 

 suAH, Suez, ^Vv.AE, and Mett. Tl.e trade of the AbylTi- 

 nians by land is inconfiderable. There are, however, bands of 

 them who arrive yearly in Egypt, particularly at Cairo, laden 

 with gold-dull, which they bring to barter for the merchandifea 

 of that countiy, or of Europe. Thefe cafilas, or caravans, 

 formed of a few perfons wiio affociate for their mutual 

 faiety, are commonly three or four months in thair route, 

 traverfing fortfts and mountains, in order to exchange their 

 gold for necefTarie.-! for their families, and return immediate-- 

 ly with the grcated part of their merchandife on their backs. 

 One of the principal branches of the Abyflinian commerce 

 is that of their flaves, who are highly clleemcd in India and' 

 Aiabia ; and who, entrufled by the merchants, as their 

 faftors, and found worthy of confidence, obtain their liberty 

 and a fuitable rccompcnce. 



The government of Abylfmia has been always monarch:^ 

 cal and defpotic, and it has esercifod an abfolute dominion 

 over the lives, hbertics, and fortunes of its fubjecis, and 

 iincontroulable autliority in all matters ccckfiallic.al as well 

 as civil. This empire has ever been dclVtutc of written 

 laws to reftrain the royal power, or tc fecure the property 

 and privileges of the fubjcft ; fo that the will of the fuvc- 

 reisMi is the unlvcifal law. The princes of Abylfinia claim 

 dei'ceut from Menikk, the fon of Solomon, by the queen 



