114 
REPORT—1847. 
occupied by the descendants of the invaders. Even the government of the empire of 
the ^eged descendants of king Solomon and the queen of Sheba, has become here¬ 
ditary in the family of Ras Guksn, a Yedju Galla, whose grandson, Ras 'Ali, mleiit 
the present day in the name (and scarcely in the name) of the titular emperor, tbo 
is a mere puppet in the hands of his powerful reprosantative. 
In the year ld2l, that is to say, ne-irly a century after the first appearance cf the 
Galios in tbo south of Abessinia, Father Jerome I.obo met with tribes of tlwmuipn 
at Jubo, on the eastern coast of Africa, almost under tlte line* ; and alllitttiiireilioic 
tribw bad conquered and held posseseiou of Melindah, sitnatc abont threed^rea 
furtliar to the aoutli. Fi-ora the recent explorations and researches of 0r. Krapf, *e 
learn that vast tribes of nomadic hpaihen Gallas, in numbers estimated (hot jnbiUj 
over-estimated) by him at from eight to feti millions, arc tpi-c.<»d over the entire coot 
^m (he oquator as far as tito four th parallel of south latitude, and that ihcynKid 
into the interior, whore more powerful tribes nf tlie nation reside on whomlbwerf 
the coast are dependent, as far as a jouniey of thirty or forty davs of a carscso—pro¬ 
bably about 300 to tJflO miles f. ' 
A nation wjiich is thus found to occupy, even if not exclusively, regions eTtendin? 
over sixwn degrees of latitndi? (about 1000 miles), must natiirally be dcseiriog d 
the consideration of scholars in numerous points of view. Yet little is kuotmof the 
O&llas except thoir language, and even with this we have become acqucintwl onlj’ 
during Ae last few yeare througli the labours of Dr. Krapf and Dr. TuticliA. Of 
Uioir origin aud history wo kuoiv really notliing positive. And iinfyrtnnatelylke 
tmly tmirecs whence wo mnv hope to derive information on those suWeets are th* m- 
Uve artel Abessiniaii traditirms. 
The earliest Abesstiriaii tradition is th«t recorded by the learned Job Lu(lolfI,«> 
llie outbority of Ahhii Gregorius, tlin intclligeut native who was of so bidc!) wrvke W 
Imn in the prejmration of Iris standard wovks rm the history and literature of Abeai- 
iita. Acco.'di«g to Gregorius, the Gallus are the desceiulantsof anuniberofdwMrf 
a certain nohlemati of Abessinia named Mnlthaius, who being harshly treated by itdr 
master, ned Into tbo districts to the south of that countrv, where they were joined by 
nuuiy other fiigiiives and persons of bad character, till they at length iicquirsJ sutb- 
cient strength to Invade Abessinia. / e i 
Abba Gregorius was h natiro of Shos, and in that country the legend, wbirliiit 
nu umu (lbeond of tho soventeenlh century) existed in tlw form slated above, sppefif* 
o have iMw since tlien devclopifd with unieh more narriculftritv. Fr«n Dr- 
we learnf that the ancestress of the Gallas u said to have been'* wfiisoro (prinwrf) 
Inc imperuil family of Ethfoida, at the time when the court resided on Mian* 
bnUrto m the neighbourhood of This princes* was given In marntgew 
♦I "• 'r 1 **^ •uulh of Gui-figie, by whom sliu had seven sous. The mui* 
tl»eirralhcr«l.ingu«gvand cusfoins, and followed bis occupation, which was tiuiol 
1 j ® “f them were named Tiiloma, KariUyu and Mt^cha {Mdtiba). 
.u tho tribe* of those names. These sons of iht 
JHanhoiKl, becaniij great robbers; and having gstlrerrd wny 
length found ihemKclves powerful eiioueh loaiteclitbf Abn- 
frcqufiiily vanquished, and cspceiany, on^hc occssiou 
Gnrdgio. These particulars Ur. Krapf ioi-wa « 
.. . * ^ treatise of which he ha.^ succeeded in obtsiuing s c»*py. 
. ‘‘ ”>ay he observed, that as the Onlla inb^ *«« 
% centuries ago, not less than they are at the present d»y, spro^ '* 
fwi’intrJT» ^'u*^ countries extending at least three degrees to the «julli«f*^ 
l>kely that their original seat should have been any*’aH< 
Jw.r.ww southern limit of which empire, even in its m»t 
P** me*, cannot bo placed further south than about the eighth, or iMrbfll« 
* liivt KtM morgenlandischen (jeselhehaf, vol. i. n. 43. 
♦ “I'l. vkthlop. nil. I. Clip. XV. 
J Aewdiu* to \i Iwonhprg and Krapf, p. 234. .... 
'ol. i 1} -la till • At’essiniennndriie cvangeiischc Missien'iBovBj I I" 
In the fourtcentli ccnulJy^^ emperor Ltbna (.Vebl»J 
