384 
CIVILIZED ETHIOPIANS. 
sinia, until the engrafting of Judaism and subsequently 
Christianity, presented numerous proofs of this con- 
nexion with the Egyptians, from whom they had borrowed 
many of their customs and laws, some of which even 
remain, though modified, to the present time ; but the 
long interval, with its several mutations, leaves us in 
obscurity as to the actual extent to which that influence 
was exerted. The manner in which both Herodotus 
and Diodorus Siculus refer to Ethiopians, civilized and 
barbarous, show that the habits and manners of some 
were changed, and we must incline to the opinion of 
the learned Bowdich, that the transition of some of 
the former to the southward, is proved, in the numerous 
coincidences still existing between the ancient Abys- 
sinian customs and observances and those of the 
Ashantis and some other Africans. Nor is it improba- 
ble that the expeditions of Ptolemy Ev'ergetes, Corne- 
lius Balbus, and Septimius Flaccus, had also their share 
in obliging the negroes to move south and west. Be 
that as it may, the tide of emigration has been gra- 
dually setting in these directions, and the traditionary 
statements of many of the West African tribes, lead 
to the presumption, that scarcely any of them had 
their origin in the localities they now inhabit, but much 
further to the north and east*. 
* Vide an Essay on the Superstitions, Customs, and Arts, common 
to the Ancient Egyptians, Abyssinians, and Ashantees, by T. E. Bow- 
dich, Esq., 1821. Page 11 to 18. 
This valuable, but unfortunately very scarce publication, we were 
