G98 Report on Shoa [No. 140. 



that angels are the governors of all sublunary things, and that a man 

 in every country has a guardian angel for protection and direction. 

 The Abyssinians carry this belief even further. They confidently anti- 

 cipate the intercession of saints and angels m all spiritual and secular 

 concerns. They invoke and adore them in even a higher degree than 

 the Creator ; all their churches are dedicated to one in particular, and the 

 holy ark is regarded as the visible representative of the respective 

 patron. Without this talot the church is not Christian, and heretics 

 alone doubt of its wonderful virtues and inherent power. Prayers and 

 vows are offered to the box, and the kiss of adoration is held sufficient 

 to bring down the desirable blessing. The ark of St. Michael accom- 

 panies all military expeditions to ensure success against the Gralla, and 

 that of Tekla Haimanot stands the palladium of the North, to preserve 

 the empire from the attacks of the Mahomedan prince of Argobba. 



Like the Pagans of ancient and modern times, who placed between the 

 most High God and themselves a species of inferior deity, the Abyssinians 

 observe this species of idolatary, although the names of their tutelar 

 spirits have been changed. St. Michael and the Holy Virgin are here 

 venerated as in no other country of the world ; the former as the mar- 

 tial leader of all the choirs of angels, the latter as chieftainess of all the 

 saints, and queen of heaven and of earth. Both are considered as the 

 great intercessors for mankind, and the prayer arises to their name, and 

 the honor is ascribed to their memory, which belongeth only to the 

 one Eternal. 



The detrimental influence of this superstition is fully exemplified in 

 the conduct of the nation. The mediator is ever employed when indi- 

 vidual courage fails in impudent assurance or insatiable beggary. Time 

 is uselessly wasted in importunity, which all believe must in the end 

 prove successful, and the practice of invocation and intercession thus 

 exerts the most baneful tendency even upon the daily dealing of life. 



Like the Jews of old, the Abyssinians weep and lament on all occa- 

 sions of death, and the shriek ascends to the sky, as if the soul could be 

 again recalled from the world of spirits. The hired mourner of the 

 Israelites raised the piteous wail. Here the friends and relatives of the 

 departed assemble for the same purpose, and the absence of any from 

 the scene is ascribed to want of love and affection. As with the Jews, 

 the most inferior garments are employed as the weeds of woe, and the 



