A G R 



A G R 



i: 



much intemiptod by the barbarity and fnud of both na- 

 tions. Bi^li'lcs what thfv L'H, and what thoy pay to the 

 ■ovtrnor of Damot, the Agows pivfcnt a tribute to the 

 iii,'; of looo dabra of honey, each dabra containing about 

 6o\h. weight ; 1500 o:;tn, and loco ounces of gold. Tlie 

 c' )thiiig of tlitf Agows confills of liides, whicli they foftcn 

 and manufafturc in a manner peculiar to themfclves. Oi 

 thefc they fonn a kind of fl<irt, which reaches down to their 

 feet, and is girded with k belt about their middle. The 

 lower part refeinbles a large double petticoat, one fold of 

 which they turn back over '.heir fhoulders, fa'lening it with 

 a (Itewer acrofs their breall before, and the married women 

 cany their children in it behind. The younger fort are 

 generally naked. Tiie women are commonly thin, and, like 

 the men, below the middle fize. Barrcnnefs is unknown 

 among them, "^rhey are marriageable at nine yeai-s of age ; 

 at TI they actually many and bear children ; and continue 

 child-bearing to the age of 30, and in fome inflances beyond 

 that period. 



With regard to religion the Agows are grofsly idolatrous 

 and fuperfiitious. The Nile, or the fpirit refiding in tliat 

 rivei-, is the objeft of their worfhip ; whom they addrefs under 

 the titles of " tlie everlalHng God, light of the world, eye 

 of the world, God of peace, tlieir Saviour, and Father of 

 the Univerfe." To this Deity they prcfent their fupplications 

 for fcafoTiable rain, plenty of grafs, and the prtfervation of 

 a 'particular kind of ferpcnts ; at the fame time deprecating 

 thunder ; and their prayers are pronounced very pathetically 

 with a kind of tone or long. The flium orpriell of the river, 

 with whom Mr. Bruce converfed, pretended to have inter- 

 courfe with a fpirit, wliich occafionally appeared to him, and 

 re\t!alcd to him future events. This fpirit, he faid, was of 

 the river, God, the father of mankind. Thunder was de- 

 precated, as the prieft informed him, becaufe it was hurtful 

 to the bees, and their chief revenue was honey and wax. 

 They prayed for ferpents, becaufe they taught the approach 

 of good or evil. ' Serpents are kept in fome of their houfes ; 

 and thev are fed with butter and milk before they undertake 

 a journey, or any affair of confequence ; and if they do not 

 eat, this is confidered as a bad omen. Before an invafion 

 of the Gallas, they fay thefe fei-pents difappear, and are no 

 where to be found. Fafil, a fagacious governor of the 

 country, who was additled to this fpecies of divination, 

 would never mount hishorfe, or go from home, if an animal 

 of this kind, which he had in his cullody, refufed to eat. 

 Once a year, on the firft appearance of the dog-ftar, or, as 

 others fay, 1 1 days after, their devotion is attended with 

 circumftances of peculiar folemnily ; on which occafion 

 thev facrifice a black iieifer, diftribute parts of it to feveral 

 ■clans, eat the careafe raw, and drink the water of the Nile. 

 The bones are then burnt to aflies ; and the head is carried 

 into a cavern, which they fay reaches below the fountains of 

 the river, and there they perform their fecret worfhip, which 

 no one is allowed to divulge. The Agows of Damot worfliip 

 the Nile ; and thofe of Lafla pay nearly the fame worfliip to 

 the Siris or Tacazze. Thefe lafl have a feparate language, 

 and are Troglodytes, who live in caverns. Mr. BrUce ap- 

 prehends that Agow is a compound of two words, Ag-oha, 

 i].d. the Siiepherds of the river ; and that the fpecits of 

 idolatry introduced by them is a proof that they originally came 

 from Canaan, where they imbibed materialifm initead of the 

 pure Sabtan worfliip of the Shepherds of Agaaz i, which 

 was at an early penod, the only religion of this part of 

 Africa. The mountains in all the diflrifts or clans of Agows 

 are perforated in caves of a very larg£ fize, which fome fup- 

 jpofe wcrt their ancie^it liabitaticns, wheti they were Tro- 



glodyted, or places of retreat when they were alarmed by the 

 approach of tlieir moil torniidable enemies, the Gallas. 

 Others think it not improbable, that thefe cavems were ufed 

 for religious purpofes ; that of Gfesh, in particular, was 

 without a doubt a place of fecret worfhip paid to the river, 

 as it is fUU appropriated to that ufe, not only by the inha-. 

 bitants of the vilbgv, but by the aiTembly of the clans in 

 general, who retire for the celebration of thofc rites, to 

 which none but the heads of families in the Agows country 

 are ever admitted. Bruce's Trav. vol. i. 401, vol. iii. p. 527. 

 AGRA, a kind cf fweet-fcented wood, found in the 

 ifland of Hainan, on the coafl of Chiin. 



Agra Caramli.i, is an)ther fweet-fcented wood, which 

 alfo comes from the ifland of Hainan. 



Agra, in Ancient Geo^rpphy, the name of a diftrfft of 

 Attica, near the fource of the Tliffus, where Diana hunted 

 for the firll time. Paufanias (Attic, lib. i. p. 45.) fays, that 

 file had a temple in this place, dedicated to Diana Agrellis. 

 Agra, was alfo a town of Suliana • — another of Arabi;i ; 

 — and another, an epifcopal fee of Nuniidia in Africa. 



Agra, called Agara by Ptolemy, in Geography, the 

 capital of a Subah, or province of the fame name, in Hin- 

 dollan. It Hands on the river Jemna, about 50 miles above 

 its confluence with the Tehamu, and 300 miles noith-eaH: 

 of Surat ; and from being an inconfidcrable town with a 

 fmall eaflle of earth, it became not only the capital of the 

 province, but the lh-(l city in India for magnificence and 

 commerce, during the long reign of the emperor Akbar, 

 and of his fon ; and it even now exhibits more numerous 

 monuments of former fplcndour than any city of Hindcrftan. 

 Akbar, pleafed with its iituation, veiy much enlarged and 

 adorned it, and in ij66 made it the feat of his court and 

 empire : and hence it has been often called ALbarabad, or 

 Akbar's habitation. The city is very long but not broad, 

 in the form of a crefcent ; and funounded by a wall of red 

 ftoue, and a ditch 100 feet wide. The ftreets, with the 

 exception of a few, are narrow and ill arranged ; the houfes 

 are generally lov/ and mean buildings ; and the fpace within 

 the wall is laid out in gardens and palaces, fo that it is lefs 

 populous than might be imagined, conlidering its extent. 

 The caftle and palace arc flrutlurcs of aftonilhing fize and 

 magnificence. The walls of the former confift of flone and 

 brick, terraffed in feveral places, and 20 cubits high. Be- 

 tween this and the river is a large fpace, defigned for the 

 exercife of the troops and other diverficns in the emperor's 

 view. The palace, which is within the caftle, contains 

 three courts, encompafied with porticos and galleries, all 

 painted and gilt ; ;"d fome pieces are faid to have beeii 

 plated with gold. Under the galleries of the firfl court are 

 the lodgings for the imperial guards ; thofe for the officers 

 are. in the fecond court ; and the third contains the flatcly 

 apartments of the emperor and his ladies. The completion 

 of the palace occupied above I coo labourers for 12 years, 

 and cofl nearly three millions of rupees. The emperor, for 

 the execution of his plan, collected together, by the promife 

 of ample rewards, the niofl fkilfiil architefts and the inoft 

 celebrated artills in evety branch, both of external ornament 

 and domeftic decoration. Beildes the royal palace, there are 

 feveral others ranged in a line, vvl.ich belong to the princes 

 and great lords of the court ; and before it tliere is a veiy 

 large fquare, and there are alio 12 other fquares in different 

 parts of the city. The Caravanferais are more than 60 in 

 number, and fome of them have fix large courts with their 

 porticos. There are at .Agra above 800 public baths, and 

 a great number of mofques, with very magnificent fepul- 

 chrcs. Among the latter is the maufoleum of Akbar him- 

 4 !«'»' 



