386 SIGNIFICATION OF THE WORD ZINGERO. 



present day, that there cannot be any reasonable 

 doubt, but that both have resulted from similar 

 popular rumours that have continued to us, from 

 the time of Ludolph. A plate in his very interesting 

 " History of Ethiopia," actually gives the presumed 

 character of these so-called dwarfs, and who are re- 

 presented in several situations characteristic of their 

 habits, among which appears as most prominent that 

 of being employed in devouring ants, which we 

 are told also forms the principal food of the Doko. 

 Ludolph, however, has so much respect for human 

 nature as not to picture these dwarfs as men, but 

 in every respect has delineated them as monkeys ; 

 and when it is understood that the word Zingero in 

 Amharic signifies baboon, as well as the name of a 

 large kingdom in the south of Shoa, the connexion 

 of words and the confusion of ideas will be allowed 

 to be quite natural, when we consider the ignorance 

 of the Abyssinian informants, and the imperfect 

 knowledge of their language, more especially of 

 its synonymes, by even the most learned of the 

 travellers from whom had been received any account 

 of that country. It was this which misled Ludolph, 

 although from the cautious note upon the map 

 respecting the King of Zingero being stated to be 

 a monkey, it appears that he had certain 

 doubts, but his fidelity as a closet geographer and 

 historian did not allow him to throw aside the infor- 

 mation, merely because his own opinion did not 

 accord with that which he was told to be the fact. 



