Idle legends form the delight of the people of Shoa. The Ethiopic saint is nothing inferior to his western brethren. He performs yet more marvellous miracles, leads a still more ascetic life, and suffers even more dreadful martyrdom; whence he is proportionably adored in the native land of credulity, superst.i.tion, and religious zeal. Between apocryphal and canonical books no distinction is made. Bel and the Dragon is read with as much devotion as the Acts of the Apostles, and it might be added, with equal edification too; and Saint George vanquishing his green dragon is an object of nearly as great veneration as any of the heroes in the Old Testament.

But the stores of literature being wholly bound up in a dead letter, few excepting the priests and _defteras_ can decipher them, and many of these learned men are often more indebted to the memory of their early youth than to the well-thumbed page in their hand. The ignorance of the nation is indeed truly deplorable; for those children only receive the rudiments of an education who are designed for the service of the church; and the course of study adopted being little calculated to expand the mind of the neophyte, a peculiar deficiency is presented in intellectual features. The five churches of Ankober have each their small quota of scholars, but the aggregate does not amount to eighty out of a population of from twelve to fifteen thousand!

Abyssinia, as she now is, presents the most singular compound of vanity, meekness, and ferocity--of devotion, superst.i.tion, and ignorance. But, compared with other nations of Africa, she unquestionably holds a high station. She is superior in arts and in agriculture, in laws, religion, and social condition, to all the benighted children of the sun. The small portion of good which does exist may justly be ascribed to the remains of the wreck of Christianity, which, although stranded on a rocky sh.o.r.e, and buffeted by the storms of ages, is not yet wholly overwhelmed; and from the present degradation of a people avowing its tenets, may be inferred the lesson of the total inefficacy of its forms and profession, if unsupported by enough of mental culture to enable its spirit and its truths to take root in the heart, and bear fruit in the character of the barbarian. There is, perhaps, no portion of the whole continent to which European civilisation might be applied with better ultimate results; and although now dwindled into an ordinary kingdom, Habesh, under proper government and proper influence, might promote the amelioration of all the surrounding people, whilst she resumed her original position as the first of African monarchies.

Volume 3, Chapter XXI.

THEOLOGICAL CONTROVERSIES.

Ever since the arrival of the British Emba.s.sy in Shoa, the king's attention had been occupied with controversies, which, during a period of sixty years, have perplexed the Abyssinian divines. The doctrines which His Majesty conceives to be most conducive to salvation are, unfortunately, diametrically opposed to the historical facts and clear evidence of the Gospel; but as summary deposition and confiscation of property is the sure meed of heresy, he bids fair in due process of time to promulgate a most curious creed of his own.

At the expense of a b.l.o.o.d.y civil war, Gondar, with Gojam, Damot, and all the south-western provinces of Amhara, have long maintained the three births of Christ--Christ proceeding from the Father from all eternity, styled "the eternal birth;" his incarnation, as being born of the holy Virgin, termed his "second or temporal birth;" and his reception of the Holy Ghost in the womb, denominated his "third birth." The Tigre ecclesiastics, on the other hand, whose side is invariably espoused by the primate of Ethiopia, deny the third birth, upon the grounds that the reception of the Holy Ghost cannot be so styled--the opinions of both parties being at variance with the belief of the Occidental churches, which, on the evidence of the Gospel, believe that our blessed Saviour received the Holy Ghost at his baptism in his thirtieth year, immediately prior to the commencement of his preaching.

Further, the Gondar sectarians a.s.sert that Christ received the Holy Ghost by the Father, whilst those of Tigre affirm that, being G.o.d himself, he gave the Holy Ghost unto himself. This creed has obtained for the latter faction the opprobrious epithet of _Karra Haimanot_, "the Knife of the Faith," in allusion to their having lopped off an acknowledged scriptural truth.

Asfa Woosen, grandsire to Sahela Sela.s.sie, being a.s.sured by his father confessor, a native of Gondar, that in event of his embracing the doctrine of the three births, the district of Morabeitie, already conquered by Emmaha Yasoos, but not at that period completely annexed to Efat, should be permanently secured to him through the spiritual influence of the church, adopted it without hesitation. Until within the last few years the belief was limited to the monarchs of Shoa; but the hospitality of the reigning sovereign attracting to his dominions numerous visitors from the north and west of Abyssinia, the latent flame was quickly fanned; and the dispute reaching a great height, was at length brought before the despot, who put an end to it by issuing a royal proclamation, under the solitary tree at Angollala, "That he who should henceforth deny the three births of Christ, should forfeit his property, and be banished the realm."

Aroe, a eunuch from Gondar, shortly disseminated another curious doctrine, which a.s.serts that the human soul possesses knowledge, fasts, and worships in the womb, and immediately on separation from the body renders an account on high. On the recent nomination of the Alaka Wolda Georgis to be head of the Church, and of Kidana Wold to be the Alaka of Debra Libanos, three monks set out to Gondar for the purpose of denouncing them, as being opposed to this creed. Ras Ali, erroneously concluding that they denied the three births, sent to Sahela Sela.s.sie to inquire how it happened that he had seceded from the faith of his forefathers by the appointment of the two individuals in question.

Hereat the Negoos waxing wroth, exclaimed, "Am I then the va.s.sal of Ras Ali, that he thus interrogates me?" But reflection showed him the propriety of avoiding a dispute which must have involved serious consequences, and with his usual temporising policy he sent a reply declaratory "that he had not abjured the belief of his ancestors."

The monks of Debra Libanos having thus failed in their attempt to remove the newly-appointed Alakas, next sought to accomplish their purpose by the establishment of their creed throughout the kingdom, and gaining numerous proselytes, the disputes had soon reached the climax. After fruitless efforts to satisfy the interests of all concerned, His Majesty sought to escape partic.i.p.ation in the quarrel, by referring the parties to Gondar; but Zenama Work, the Queen-dowager, well a.s.sured that Ras Ali and the head of the monks would decide against the sect whose doctrines she espoused, denied a pa.s.sage through Zalla Dingai, and thus compelled the whole to return to Ankober.

As had been antic.i.p.ated, this step resulted in the complete triumph of the Gondar eunuch, and the consequent dismissal with disgrace of the Alaka Wolda Georgis, chief of the church of Shoa, the Alakas of Saint Michael, Saint George, Aferbeine, Kondie, Aramba, Debra Berhan, and Angollala; of the king's confessor; of Wolda Haimanot, great Alaka of Mans, chief of thirty-eight churches, styled _Bala Wamber_, "the Master of the Chair," from his possessing the privilege of sitting in the royal presence on an iron stool; and of numerous other priests, whose property was confiscated by the crown, and who received sentence of banishment from the kingdom.

On the herald proclaiming under the palace gate at the capital that the belief of the knowledge of the human soul in the womb should henceforth be received by all cla.s.ses, under similar pains and penalties, public thanksgivings were offered in the victorious churches; and the priests, forming triumphant processions through every street of the town, chanted psalms amid the shrill acclamations of the women, and the din of the sacred drums. The defeated party, on the other hand, complained loudly that they had been dismissed without an impartial hearing; the monarch having simply observed that the fact of their not proceeding to Gondar, as commanded to do, sufficiently proved their error. This they disclaimed, and after requesting to be convinced upon the Scriptures, added, "Will the king adjudge the faith as he adjudges moveables and lands?" But the despot cut the matter short in these words:--"Enough, you are dismissed; and since you will not receive the faith of my forefathers, by their manes, and by the holy Trinity, I swear that you may beg your bread through the land, rather than that one of your creed should be received again into the bosom of the church."

The success of the Debra Libanos sectarians was speedily followed by discussions relative to the equal adoration due to the holy Virgin and her Son, whilst the despotic and ill-advised proceedings of His Majesty raised a storm throughout the entire realm. The ban of excommunication was instantly resorted to--the curse of the church was p.r.o.nounced upon the triumphant party--the priests who pa.s.sed it, after having been seized and compelled to accord absolution, were expelled the kingdom-- and a brave and courageous leader seemed alone wanting, to induce those who had been defeated to raise the standard of revolt once more in a religious war.

Volume 3, Chapter XXII.

CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES.

Abyssinia had for fifteen years been left without an archbishop, when Abba Salama, a Coptic youth, nominated by the hundred and ninth occupant of the chair of Saint Mark, arrived at Gondar to enter upon the functions of his sacred office. Oubie, the tyrannical ruler of Tigre, had, with diplomatic sagacity, despatched an expensive mission to the Alexandrian Patriarch, to solicit a successor to the post so long vacant by the death of Abba Kerlos--a wily measure, involving the sacrifice, indeed, of lands and ecclesiastical revenues, but securing to himself a sure political preponderance among the manifold rulers in the North, who know no law but that of the strongest. Heretofore the dignity had invariably been conferred on some bigoted old monk, extracted from one of the convents of Saint Anthony--the only monastic order recognised by the Coptic church. Much against his will, the patriarch elect was often dragged by force from his cloister, where he had pa.s.sed years of abstinence and mortification, and being duly exalted to the episcopal throne, on which the residue of his days were to be pa.s.sed, he never failed to impart a full share of ignorance and superst.i.tion. But the new primate, raised at the early age of twenty-two years to the pontificate of Ethiopia, and invested with despotic powers, proved, fortunately for the country, to be possessed of abilities of a very superior order, whilst his mind had been expanded by a liberal education at Cairo under the Reverend Dr Lieder, a pious and learned missionary of the Church of England.

One of the first steps of the new Abuna was to depute a confidential servitor to Shoa, as the bearer of a letter of compliments to myself, expressive of his desire to cultivate a friendly understanding, and urging on me a speedy visit to his court. War had for some months past been raging on the western frontier betwixt Goshoo, the ruler of Gojam, and his son Birroo, who had risen in open rebellion, and the messenger brought a confirmation of the long-rumoured defeat of the former, and of the forces of Ras Ali, which had been sent to his a.s.sistance. The return of killed and wounded is in this country never suffered to fall short of the reality, and on the present occasion it had certainly not lost by the distance it had travelled.

"It was a little before nightfall," said the turbaned priest, "that the rival armies, countless as blades of gra.s.s, came in sight of each other at Ungatta, on the banks of the Suggara. Before the morning dawned, Birroo, who occupied the upper ground, moving down to the attack, secured the fords of the river. The action presently opened with a heavy fire of musketry and matchlocks, which did great execution. Five thousand warriors were slain--two thousand five hundred stand of arms were captured--Liban, who commanded, was, with several of his princ.i.p.al chiefs, taken prisoner--and Goshoo was compelled to seek the inviolable sanctuary afforded by the monastery of Dima Georgis. Five governors were hewn alive down the middle; and the conqueror, after standing up to his neck in water for three days, as an atonement for the slaughter he had committed among a Christian people, sent to Ras Ali a horse with its mane, tail, and ears cut off, and a pair of new trousers greatly soiled, with a haughty message to the effect, that these were but types of the fate that yet awaited his liege lord!"

The month of January had now come round; and the arrival of queen Besabesh, who invariably precedes the movements of the court by one day, proclaimed the advent of the Negoos to celebrate at the capital the festivities of the Abyssinian Christmas. Her Majesty had become extremely indisposed from the long journey, and was desirous of receiving medical aid; but it being contrary to the court etiquette that the royal consort should be seen by any male, an interview could not be accorded. Seated in a small closed tent, the hand of the ill.u.s.trious patient was pa.s.sed outside through a tiny aperture; and, although eunuchs further embarra.s.sed conversation, a condescending voice inquired, in reply to some common-place civilities, on the part of Dr Kirk, "If I did not befriend the foreigners, pray who is there else to do so?"

Entertaining such a bigoted aversion to every Mohammadan custom, it cannot fail to appear singular that the licentious court of Shoa should have preserved one of the most objectionable--the seclusion of females.

Yet such is the extreme jealousy on this point, that although from our first arrival the queen had expressed herself in the most friendly terms, and almost daily sent me through her maids of honour trifling presents of mead or bread, coupled with complimentary inquiries, an introduction, under any circ.u.mstances, was quite impracticable.

From day to day, however, the most curious applications were still preferred for beads, trinkets, cloth, and perfumery, and the utmost disappointment was evinced at my making no demand in return. "I possess honey and I possess b.u.t.ter, and have fowls and eggs in abundance," was the undeviating message. "Why do not my children ask for what they want? All I have is theirs, for all that they have is mine!"

Even when residing at a distance, I continually received laconic notes on scrolls of parchment varying in breadth from one inch to three, bearing neither signature nor superscription, and tightly rolled up in wax. Their contents revealed some newly conceived fancy, such as might have been expected from a queen that eats raw beef. "The bra.s.s in your country is like gold," formed the sum and substance of one epistle, "and you might therefore order the bracelets to be made of the pattern sent by the hands of d.i.n.kenich;" [i.e. "She is beautiful."--One of Her Majesty's Abigails.] and again, "May this letter come to the hands of the English commander. Are you well? are you well? are you quite well?

That the soap may not end quick, you will send it in large quant.i.ties, saith Besabesh."

Not long after Her Majesty's arrival, she sent me an unfortunate child, recently purchased from a Gurague slave caravan, with a request that _Hubsheeri_ might be exchanged for some clear salad oil which had met with special approval "for medicine for the face;" and great surprise was elicited by my reply, "that such a course of proceeding would involve disgrace and criminality, inasmuch as the unchristian-like traffic in human beings was held in abhorrence beyond the great water."

But in this matter the Emabiet was not singular. Certain of the courtiers, who considered themselves under obligations, had previously tendered us "strong Shankela slaves" as a Christmas gift, and all had been equally at a loss to comprehend our motives in refusing.

Amongst the followers that I had brought from India was a native of Cabool, who acted in capacity of tailor, and his proficiency in the needle involved a most unreasonable tax upon his services. Day after day for weeks and months had he been in attendance at the palace; and when at length, under the royal eye, he had completed a sumptuous _burnoos_ [cloak], on the elaborate embroidery of which half the treasures in the _gemdjia_ house were lavished, the king, in the plenitude of his munificence, sent by the hands of Ayto Melkoo a shabby cotton cloth, value three shillings and sixpence, with a half-starved goat, and a message that "it was Christmas, and the tailor might eat."

Hajji Mirza was furious. "Take back these gifts to your Shah," he growled indignantly; "I want none of them. By the beard of the prophet, I'm the son of a Pathan; and praise be to Allah, the meanest overseer of a village in Afghanistan is possessed of greater liberality than Sahela Sela.s.sie."

This _tirade_ had fortunately been delivered in a tongue not familiar to the ears of the king's Master of the Horse, who was meanwhile diligently occupied with the Pathan's needle and scissors. Having taken the bag out of his hands, and extracted a sc.r.a.p of red cloth, he had carefully fashioned a minute cross, which, with elbows squared, he was now proceeding to st.i.tch over a hole in the lower part of his striped cotton robe.

"Why do you do that?" inquired the tailor, peevishly, in broken Amharic, not relishing the interference in his department, and anxious also to exhibit his own talents. "Let me darn it for you, and then there will be no blemish."

"No," replied the party addressed, with great gravity declining the proffered a.s.sistance. "Don't you know that the hole has been burnt, and therefore that it _must_ be repaired with another colour?"

In Abyssinia, as in other parts of Christendom, the festival of the nativity is a season of frolic and rejoicing, during which people display the strength of their piety by the quant.i.ty of beef that they can consume; the princ.i.p.al difference being, that it is here eaten raw instead of roasted. Our cook, a Portuguese from Goa, had been frequently summoned to the palace for the royal edification in culinary matters, but although he was a _bona fide_ Christian, and wore a "mateb"

too, the king could never persuade himself to partake of any of the viands prepared by his hands. Loaf sugar being now employed in the manufacture of a Christmas cake, His Majesty, after attentively watching operations, enquired, as a matter of course, "How they made it white?

Was the ox whose blood was employed killed in the name of the holy Trinity?"

"Certainly not."

"Then it might remain," was the abrupt rejoinder. "_Ye noor_--I don't want it; it doth not please me."

The Abyssinians, a.s.signing to the world an existence of 7334 years, refer the birth of Christ to the five thousand five hundredth after the creation. Thus eight years have been lost in the computation of time, and their Anno Domini 1834 corresponded with the Christian era 1842.

On the 4th of January, which was Christmas eve, the usual contest took place on the king's meadow between the royal household and the dependents of the Purveyor-General and the Dedj Agafari. A cloth ball having been struck with a mall, a struggle for its possession follows, and the party by which it is thrice caught in succession being declared victorious, enjoys the privilege of abusing the vanquished during the ensuing two days of festivity, the first of which is celebrated by the male, the second by the female portion of the population. Every tongue is unloosed; and the foulest slander may be heaped upon the most ill.u.s.trious, as well as upon the holiest personages in the land, the monarch alone excepted.

His Majesty's partisans gained the day, and we were summoned to the palace to witness their Christmas exhibition. Filling the courtyard, they danced and recited before the throne couplets defamatory of all the princ.i.p.al functionaries present, not omitting the Lord Bishop, who appeared to consider himself infinitely complimented by the vices whereof he stood accused. Bodily imperfections were not overlooked; a.s.ses and dromedaries afforded frequent comparisons; and the fat of the corpulent State-Gaoler, who sat a witness to the festivities, was declared sufficient to light the entire capital during the approaching public entertainment, which, given at the expense of the defeated chiefs, closed the disgraceful Saturnalia in riot and debauchery.

Volume 3, Chapter XXIII.

FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY.

But by far the greatest holiday of the Abyssinian year is held on the Epiphany, styled Temkat, [i.e. Baptism] when the baptism of our Lord, by John, in the river Jordan, is commemorated with extraordinary pomp. He who neglects to undergo the annual purification enjoined on this day by the Ethiopic church, is considered to carry with him the burden of every sin committed during the preceding twelve months, and to be surely visited by sickness and misfortune, whereas those who perform the rite, are believed to have emerged thoroughly cleared and regenerated.

On the evening preceding this festival, the priests of all the churches in Ankober and the environs, carrying the holy _tabots_ under gaudy canopies, a.s.sembled in the open s.p.a.ce, termed Arada, immediately in front of the palace. Here, according to custom, they were received by the governor of the town, who, after falling prostrate on his face before the arks, escorted the procession to the river Airara--the clergy dancing and singing, whilst the female portion of the inhabitants lining the hill-side, indulged in the shrillest vociferation. A tent for each church had been erected on the bank; and a temporary dam being thrown across the stream, the night was spent in chanting appropriate hymns and psalms.

Long before dawn, the pent up waters having been blessed by the officiating priest, the entire population, the young, the old, the wealthy, and the indigent, gathered from many miles round, casting off their habiliments, flocked promiscuously into the pool--even babes who were unable to totter being thrown in by their naked mothers. Not the slightest modesty was evinced by either s.e.x, all mingling together in a state of perfect nudity, and affecting, under the light of innumerable torches and flambeaux, which shed the broad glare of day over the disgraceful scene, to believe that a supernatural veil concealed each other's shame.

The sacrament of Christ's supper was then administered, accompanied by rites and ceremonies highly unbecoming the solemnity of this most sacred of Christian inst.i.tutes. The mult.i.tude next proceeded to devour a pile of loaves, and to drain acc.u.mulated pitchers of beer, supplied by the neighbouring governors. Here too the most indecent excesses were committed. Declaring themselves to have swallowed a specific against intoxication, the clergy indulge to any extent they please, and each priest vying with his brother in the quant.i.ties he shall quaff, avers that if "the whole of the Lord's bread and the Lord's wine" be not consumed on the spot, a famine will arise throughout the land!

Festivities terminated, the officiating dignitaries, robed and mitred, preceded the holy arks and canopies in grand procession to the capital, singing hallelujahs. Holding in their left hands cymbals in imitation of David, and in the right the ecclesiastical staff, wherewith various absurd gesticulations are described, they danced and sang for some time in front of the palace gate. As usual, the performance displayed the most uncouth att.i.tudes, and the least graceful figures. The beard and the crutch, and the aged face, and the sacred calling, were but ill in unison with the mountebank capers undertaken; and the actors rather resembled masks at the carnival than holy functionaries of the church.

"The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests," is a pa.s.sage of Scripture which the clergy of Shoa interpret to their own advantage. "Who are the foxes," they invariably inquire, "but the kings and the governors of the land, who seek only after worldly vanities? and who the birds but the priests and bishops, who in hymns and hallelujahs thus fly upwards, and build their nests in heaven?"

The clergy are distinguished from the laity by a beard, and by a monstrous white turban enc.u.mbering the head. This is designed to typify Moses covering his face on his descent from the Mount, when he had received the tables of the law. Their sacred persons are usually shrouded in a black woollen cloak, studded with emblems of the faith, and furnished with a peaked hood. The sacerdotal vest was first embroidered by command of Hatze David, the father of Saint Theodorus, to commemorate the arrival from Jerusalem of a fragment of the true cross on which Christ died; and officiating priests are expected to appear in one of these, composed either of scarlet or party-coloured cloth.

A silver or brazen cross and a slender crutch are the never-failing accoutrements of the priest; and on all occasions of ceremony, the mitre, the censer, and the great umbrellas are conspicuous objects.

Long rods, furnished with streaming pennants, manufactured of the light pith of the juwarree, in alternating bands of red and white, were carried by the host of dirty boys who swelled the procession; and after the labours of the day were over, these emblems of regeneration were hung up in the churches as votive offerings. On the conclusion of the exhibition, the clergy dispersed under a salvo of musketry to their respective churches, and individuals who, from any unavoidable circ.u.mstance, had been precluded from partic.i.p.ating in the general immersion, were then privately baptised, males and females being alike divested of every portion of apparel, and plunged into a large reservoir prepared for their reception.

Four years have elapsed since Sahela Sela.s.sie underwent this l.u.s.tration, wherein he was wont annually to partic.i.p.ate, but from which he is now held exempt, in consideration of the height of his power. Although in a state of perfect nudity, a cloth was held around him during the ceremony--a privilege to which neither virgins nor females of the highest rank are ever admitted.