LEAVING THE TAT,!, All. 347 



manner as before, until it has become thoroughly 

 scorched ; being kept the whole time well stirred to 

 prevent its burning. During this process, a small 

 jar containing a thin acid mixture of flour and 

 water, called waliaka, or leaven, to which the pow- 

 dered gaisho has been previously added, has been 

 standing to infuse in the warm wood ashes. The 

 meal being now removed from the fire, is put into 

 another jar, and sufficient water being added to 

 make it into a paste, the tvahaka is also added, and 

 the mixture remains for the rest of the day. On 

 the morrow, the whole contents of the lesser jar are 

 transferred into one much larger, capable of holding 

 at least thirty gallons of water, and which is now 

 brought and poured by successive jarsfull into it until 

 full. This is allowed to stand another day, when 

 the surface, showing evidences of a certain point in 

 the process of fermentation having been attained, 

 the whole is then decanted, and strained through a 

 large straw funnel into a number of lesser jars, each 

 of which, contains from four to five gallons. These 

 are carefully stoppered by large cakes of a dirty 

 mixture of the refuse of the strainings of the large 

 jar and of clay, and which are plastered over the 

 mouths of the jars. In about three days the ale is 

 ready for use, and if made properly, is most 

 excellent ; bright, sparkling, and potent, it re- 

 minded me, by a slight acidity, of the best 

 October of England. After nine or ten days, 

 Abyssinian ale gets too sour to be a pleasant 



