Prof. Mahfuz Chowdhury The fact has remained that Bangladesh failed to uphold true democratic values even after forty years of existence. Sadly, the democratic process was halted by the very leader who had led the country to independence. Soon after freedom, his unilateral decision to establish a personal army and impose a one-party autocratic rule created a great setback for Bangladesh democracy. His heavy handed rule eventually cost him his life, and also brought fifteen years of successive military reign.
The election of 1990 was supposed to have paved the way to a democratic process. Instead, it has given rise to a different kind of authoritarian rule by establishing a dual family dynastic reign. At the center of it all now sit two politically inept ladies, Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Begum Khaleda Zia, who have inherited the leadership of the two dominating political parties in the country. They show no respect for democratic process and tolerate no dissension within their party, and government when in power.
The option people get in the election that follows is to choose one or the other party, thereby putting one or the other lady in power. While in power, these ladies often treat the country as if it were their family property; they rule autocratically, tolerate corruption, ignore or even sanction human rights abuse, and most importantly, promote and implement their personal agendas with little regard to general welfare. The existing system is best described as democratic authoritarianism since regular election only leads to an autocratic rule.
The ladies have their own army of die-hard supporters. Most are core supporters, while others came from different political spectrum, left, right or center, driven by their personal ambition. At times there is a race to join the winning party even by those who claim to be the champion of democratic rights. Their apparent goal for joining is simply to gain personal benefits. Incredibly, the country’s ex-President also came to line up behind the leader who sacked him from the highest office.
In addition to the unscrupulous politicians, the so-called intellectuals of the country are lending support to the present autocratic system in Bangladesh. To be fair, the country’s intellectuals would fall into three categories – two of which are advantageously aligned with the two parties who support and defend their policies. Of the third group, most prefer to keep quiet for fear of imminent reprisals, while a few who remain vocal fail to make much difference.
If a country’s progress is somehow attributed to its intellectuals or political thinkers, the blame for any failure should be shared by them as well. The corrupt politicians are indeed responsible for the failure to establish a functioning democratic system in Bangladesh. Yet, the intellectuals couldn’t escape their responsibilities for failing to properly resist, educate or warn the people on the impact of autocratic family dynastic rule. Those who continue to believe that something good might come out of the present scandalous system are clearly being dishonest to them and the nation.
Under Bangladesh’s unitary system of government all important decisions are made at the center. It would be impracticable to run a country of 160 million people with such a centralized system. For the smooth functioning of government and the fostering of economic growth, power decentralization into several provinces is well overdue. But neither of the country’s governing ladies is willing to decentralize the country’s administration for fear of losing their absolute authority.
The world is currently on a change mode where the younger generation is taking charge and using the internet to their advantage. Whoever thought that an unemployed college student in Tunisia could ignite the “Arab Spring” by sacrificing his own life? Once powerful autocratic rulers in the Middle East have fallen like houses of cards; even developed countries are feeling the pinch from the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. Could Bangladesh be too far behind?
The people are the source of power, and given the opportunity Bangladeshi people seem quite ready to exercise their power. In a recently held municipal election, people have shown their disdain for the current system by electing a courageous lady as their mayor who didn’t get a party endorsement. But, to hide their infamy, both political parties rushed to quickly embrace the winner – immediately before or after the election.
For better or worse, change is bound to come to Bangladesh. The obvious question is – what kind of change will that be, or at what price?
The options for the country are quite clear – either democratize and decentralize, or plunge into anarchy. Time is running out. As reported by the country’s news media, the level of dangerous violence, mysterious killings, political assaults and slayings that the country is now experiencing point to already a serious lawlessness situation. The escalation of such violence both within and outside of each party is constantly being fueled and encouraged by hostile acts of both parties where democracy has no footing.
Bangladesh has a great potential to forge ahead economically with minimal foreign help only if it had a functioning democracy in place. The two feuding leadership families, which control the country’s politics and governance, are engaged in promoting their personal agendas with no regard to national interests. They lack the integrity and conviction to politically do the right thing, or right the wrong. The current system is fundamentally flawed and must therefore be changed for the good of the country.
Bangladesh would plunge into an anarchical state like Afghanistan, Pakistan or Somalia unless the destructive policies of the two dominant parties are effectively reversed and true democratic reforms are put into place. It’s imperative that the key supporters of the present autocratic system realize this ominous fact and take appropriate action to save the country from the imminent gloom. Otherwise, the consequence would be dreadful from which no one in the country would escape unharmed. As the seventh largest country in population, the world order would also be enormously affected by such an outcome.
Dr. Wolassa Kumo The cradle of mankind, Horn of Africa, remains the land of untold human tragedy. While we still have a vivid memory of the 1984 famine in Ethiopia that killed over a million people, 12 million more people are facing agonizing famine once more. The death of over 29000 Somali infants during the past few months will always remain a scar on the conscience of Somali politicians, the leaders of Horn of Africa and the continent, as well as, the global community. While leaders of these countries bear prime responsibility for such calamities, lack of political will on the part of the international community, particularly the African continent, is ignominious. There is enough food in the world to feed everyone on the planet, but there is no political will to distribute it. It is, nevertheless, recognized that while continued relief aid by the global community can save lives it cannot prevent another famine and is, therefore, paradoxically undesirable.
The current famine is triggered by the most severe drought that hit the region in 60 years, but it is not caused merely by climate changes. The current famine in the region is the result of deeper structural and geopolitical anomalies. First, Somalia, the hardest hit by the current famine, does not have a functioning state, and hence a functioning market. Lack of functioning state and market undermines food security and expose the people to vagaries of nature. Nature just took toll of the already vulnerable people; it did not cause the vulnerability.
Second, economies of the Horn of Africa countries are characterized by severe structural weaknesses. Over 80% of the population in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya lives off traditional subsistence agriculture. However, no concrete measures have been put in place to improve the productivity of this vital sector by the governments of the respective countries during the past five decades. Subsistence agriculture in Horn of Africa is still today characterized by archaic technology, hand ploughing and oxen driven farming, with insignificant use of mechanization and irrigation technologies. According to IFAD (2011) only 1% of the land in the Horn of Africa region is irrigated, versus 7% in Africa and 38% in Asia. Thus underinvestment in agriculture and in adequate management of natural resources including soil, water and forestry are the main reason behind chronic food insecurity in the region and the recurrent famine we witness in the region today.
Agriculture contributes 44% of GDP and 85% of employment in Ethiopia; 33% of GDP and 80% of employment in Sudan; 21% of GDP and 75% of employment in Kenya; 22% of GDP and 82% of employment in Uganda; 17% of GDP and 80% of employment in Eritrea; and 65% of GDP and 71% of employment in Somalia. Clearly, Horn of Africa’s economy is predominantly agrarian and therefore the least developed economy in the world. Sustained and higher economic development in the sub region therefore depends crucially on the transformation of the predominantly traditional agriculture. The current famine haunting the sub region is therefore the direct consequence of decades of failed agrarian policies pursued by the countries in the sub region.
Key macroeconomic indicators provide further testimony to such failed economic policies. The combined GDP of the 7 Horn of Africa countries in 2010 was US$139 billion, while the total population of the seven countries in the sub region in 2010 was 222 million, with the implied average nominal per capita income of US$626. The sub region contributes 22% of the continent’s total population, but only 9% of the continent’s nominal GDP. The GDP of the 7 Horn of Africa countries is only about 60% of the GDP of Nigeria, itself not a shining economic star.
The much praised fast economic growth during the past decade in Ethiopia and Uganda has not made any dent on the level of underdevelopment and poverty either nationally or in the sub region. The major economic hub in the sub region, Kenya, is plagued with endemic corruption as well as low investment that for decades stifled any economic progress in this otherwise dynamic economy. According to the IMF World Economic Outlook Database (April 2011), Kenya’s average annual real economic growth for the period 2001-2010 was just 4% compared to over 7% recorded by Uganda and Ethiopia. Investment increased to 22 % of GDP in both Ethiopia and Kenya in 2010 slightly lower than Uganda’s 24%, but still falls far short of that needed to fundamentally transform the structure of the economy. In other smaller countries in the sub region, such as Eritrea, investment remains below 10% of GDP while the war-torn Somalia has not seen any meaningful investment in two decades.
Therefore, while undesirable, climate change was not the root cause of the current misery in Horn of Africa. It is the failure of the governments of the region to collectively or individually address the fundamental structural weaknesses in their respective economies and ensure political stability, in the case of war-torn Somalia, during the past decades that are behind the current malaise.
During the past two years most Horn of Africa countries, such as Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya and Uganda leased large chunks of fertile lands to investors from emerging economies of Asia and the Middles East to produce food for export or biofuel. While the host governments and foreign investors claim that this constitute proper investment in agriculture to ensure food security, civil societies in Africa and the west label it as “Land Grab” that is bound to further undermine food security in the continent. It is premature to conclude, given a relatively short period of time since global land lease began, that land lease contributed to the current worsening food insecurity in the sub region, but the signs are worrying that it may worsen food insecurity in the future. Leasing large portions of fertile land to few foreign conglomerates in countries where 80% of the population live under subsistence farming, does not fundamentally address the structural anomalies of these economies and is therefore bound to fail.
The transformation of traditional agriculture as an engine of growth and development was emphasized by Theodore Schultz (1964), who states that all resources of the traditional type are efficiently allocated, and hence the rate of return to increased investment with the existing states of the art is too low to induce further saving and investment. According to Schultz, therefore, the development of traditional agriculture depends on breaking the established equilibrium. Based on a theory of the price of income streams, he suggests that breaking such established equilibrium requires the introduction of modern inputs in the form of human and material capital, not leasing the most fertile land to foreign conglomerates whose primary concern is food or fuel security at their own homeland. We are not sure to what extent the recent massive land lease arrangements in Africa have been based on economic theories or pragmatism, what we are sure is that they are not the most innovative of the policies to address the structural imbalances in African economies.
Correcting such imbalances in African economies need African solutions; of course, with the right mix of foreign direct investments in all sectors of the economy, while the root causes of the chronic famine in the Horn of Africa can only be addressed by (IFAD, 2011):
• Protecting and restoring degraded land resources.
• Improving water management and expanding irrigation
• Improving animal, plant, and range management practices of small scale farmers to make them less vulnerable to hazards and climate variability
• Strengthening community-based animal health services.
• Identifying viable and acceptable alternatives to pastoral livelihoods.
Further, appropriate land use policy including tenure security, and agriculture development centered industrialization strategy are key to ensuring sustainable rural development in the sub region. Horn of Africa is a home for millions of pastoral farmers. As indicated in the last bullet above, recurrent rain failures and drought have made the survival of pastoral communities increasing precarious over the past five decades. It is time for governments of the Horn of Africa countries to act decisively to create a viable alternative livelihood to the pastoralists in the sub region. Governments must mobilise resources both domestically and globally to permanently address the pastoral problems of Horn of Africa. Such supports must be sustained and be backed by provision of other basic services such as education, health, clean water and economic infrastructure. Failing this, the governments of the region and the international community should brace themselves for the worst during the next drought cycle.
By: Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis [ Enlarge ] Continuing the series of articles on the insightful documentation provided by the Russian Military Officer, Explorer, and Orthodox Monk in his books about his deeds and excursions, observations and explorations in Abyssinia (undertaken over three years 1896 — 1899), I herewith republish a second part from his second book titled “With the Armies of Menelik II”; the part covers “Jimma”.
This excerpt offers a paradisiacal picture of the Oromo Kingdom of Jimma, and a magnificent portrait of the sublime mystic, the Oromo Moti (King) Aba Jefar. In striking contrast with all other words and sentences of his own text, Bulatovich insists on calling the noble king “half-savage”. This shows the extent and the depth of the European colonial evilness, Anti-African prejudice and zero-degree tolerance for any non Christian. Without knowing it, Bulatovich proves that European colonialism was the World History’s most terrorist, most antihuman, and most iniquitous political deed.
In many forthcoming articles, I will publish other parts of Bulatovich’s second book, and in addition, I will extensively comment on parts of his first book (notably History, Religion, Conclusion). Herewith, I make first available a recapitulation of the earlier nineteen (19) articles of this series, and then republish the excursion narrative.
All the Oromos, Ogadenis, Afars, Sidamas and others, who fight for their independence, and all the neighboring countries, not only Egypt and Sudan but also Somalia and Eritrea, which are threatened because of the evil, eschatological dreams of Greater Ethiopia, must study, understand and diffuse the insightful documentation available in the two books, which were published by the Russian explorer before 110 years; in and by itself, this documentation constitutes good reason for the world to be preoccupied with the source of every regional trouble and instability: the Amhara and Tigray (Tewahedo) Monophysitic Abyssinians who rule tyrannically over the lands they invaded and the nations they subjugated.
Recapitulation
Earlier articles of the present series can be found here:
1st Article: The Oromo Genocide Solemnly Confessed by Official Russian Explorer in Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia)– Selected and highlighted excerpts from a book — report published by a Russian explorer, military officer and monk, Alexander Bulatovich, who spent three years in Abyssinia, during the last decade of the 19th century. These excerpts undeniably testify to the Oromo genocide perpetrated by the invading Amhara and Tigray Abyssinian armies, and have therefore to be brought to the surface of political debate by the Oromo political and intellectual leaders at the local, regional and international levels.
2nd Article: Russia, the Oromos, Egypt, Sudan, Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia), Somalia, Islam & Orthodox Christianity — Republishing further excerpts from Bulatovich’s book, I focused on the possible reasons for Russia’s failure as colonial power in the region. As reasons I identified an inherent Russian quantitative approach to the colonial process and an overall misperception of the past and the present of Asia and Africa, which is due to the Russian academic, intellectual and ideological acceptance of the Anglo-French Orientalism, a bunch of disciplines elaborated by the French and the English academia in order to mainly promote and diffuse an interpretation of data that would suit the interests of the Anglo-French Freemasonry, namely the driving force of the Paris and London regimes.
5th Article: Oromo National Identity Diametrically Opposed to Amhara Manner, Russian Officer Bulatovich Reveals — Three chapters dealing with Oromo national identity, religion and language; all the preconceived concepts of the colonial era are herewith present, thus leading Bulatovich to erroneous interpretations. Certainly, the Russian explorer was not a linguist, historian or historian of religions; more importantly, academic exploration was not the primary interest of his travel which was kind of diplomatic reconnaissance. However, the chapter on the Oromo national character is greatly interesting because it demolishes the Ethiopianist myth of a supposed Ethiopian nation.
With no family, there is no Christian society. As a matter of fact, Abyssinian eschatology is a corrupt system at the very antipodes of Christianity.
7th Article: Outrageous Falsehood on Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia) Rejected: Solomonic Dynasty, Kingdom Do Not Exist — Further excerpts from the same volume of Bulatovich, providing with his description of the Abyssinians. Reporting accurately and truthfully, Bulatovich offered the Orthodox tsarist Russia’s top authorities a convincing presentation and analysis of how and why Abyssinian nobility does not exist — which consists in a formidable blow against the falsehood of the so-called Solomonic dynasty of Abyssinia, and their connection to the Ancient Hebrews. In fact, there has never been any post-Agaw Abyssinian ‘Kingdom’. The entire history of post-Agaw Abyssinia is a succession of uncivilized gangsters of incestuous origin, who were peremptorily called ‘noble men’, ‘kings’ or ‘emperors’; they were imposed as such to all the peoples and nations that, with Anglo-French permission and support, the Abyssinians invaded and subjugated.
11th Article: War Criminals of Abyssinia (fake Ethiopia), Their Atrocities Exposed by Bulatovich, Envoy of Russia — Chapter on the Abyssinian army; this part of Bulatovich’s text is also very critical because it highlights (see the section: ‘Conduct of War’) the inhuman practices of environmental disaster spread by the criminal robbers and inhuman soldiers of the Abyssinian state, which supported by England and France, perpetrated the worst atrocities ever attested on African soil and the world’s most appalling and multifaceted genocide.
12th article: The Nile, Egypt, Sudan Menaced by Evil Prophecy, Secret Expansion Plan of Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia) — Chapter on Menelik’s family, the ‘family of the emperor’. This chapter is of great importance for the diplomatic and national security services of Egypt and the Sudan, because it reveals what the heinous and rancorous Amhara and Tigray Monophysitic (Tewahedo) Abyssinians try to hide; namely that the regime, the elites and the upper classes of these incestuous and barbarous tribes act based on a secret program (that they call “prophecy” because of their sick, abnormal and perverse minds) to destroy Egypt and Sudan, and expand their cannibalistic tyranny throughout East Africa.
13th article: Amhara Pseudo-History of Abyssinia (fake Ethiopia), False Assumptions of Bulatovich, Envoy of Russia — Chapter on the Sidamas and the African peoples. This part is full of inaccuracies, inconsistencies and wrong terms; it is clearly the topic Bulatovich explored less and had a most vague idea about. The reason is simple; he did not have the time for direct contact with any of them, being thus the victim of the customary and idiotic Amhara lies.
14th article: Heretic Christianity in Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia): Russian Errors, Benefits for England and France — Chapter on the Abyssinian church and faith that Bulatovich erroneously names ‘Ethiopian’; the attribution of the national name of Ancient Kush (Sudan) to Abyssinia relates to the Axumite King Ezana’s partly invasion of Ethiopia and destruction of its capital, Meroe, ca. 360 — 365 CE. That event had however a partly and momentary character that does not justify any further use from any Abyssinian ruler because that country was always located out of the historical borders of real Ethiopia. This is the reason the modern state is called Fake Ethiopia; its right name is just Abyssinia.
15th article: England, France, Italy, Russia, Bulatovich and the Bogus Historical Dogma of Fake Ethiopia — Chapter on the History of Abyssinia that Bulatovich knowingly calls ‘Ethiopia’ erroneously. The lengthy text (5133 words) is a complete collection of Western academic mistakes and misperceptions based mainly, and very often exclusively, on Abyssinian unsubstantiated claims, racist fallacies, and paranoid lies.
16th article: Bulatovich’s Conclusions Support Egypt and Sudan: the Blue Nile Does Not Belong to Fake Ethiopia — Conclusion of Bulatovich’s first book; this is a text of the utmost importance for today’s diplomatic services of Sudan and Egypt, as well for the liberation fronts of the subjugated nations of Abyssinia, and more importantly the Oromos, the Bertas, and the Agaws who are the only inhabitants of the areas crossed by the Blue Nile in the monstrous tyranny of Abyssinia (fake Ethiopia) that must cease to exist.
The excerpt clearly demonstrates that the criminal, racist Amhara and Tigray Tewahedo (Monophysitic) Abyssinians never had any right to the Blue Nile waters prior to their illegal, criminal, colonial expansion and invasion of the annexed lands of the Oromos, the Bertas and Gumuz (Benishangul), and the Agaws.
18th article: Jewish Soviet Scholar Katsnelson’s Study on Bulatovich Underscores Russian Failure in Fake Ethiopia — Excerpts from a remarkable and insightful treatise elaborated by the Russian Jewish Communist Historian and Philologist Isidor Saavich Katsnelson (A.X. Bulatovich — Hussar, Explorer, Monk); Katsnelson was a leading Egyptologist and Africanist who also contributed to the then nascent Meroitic Studies, the academic research about the last period of pre-Christian History of Ethiopia, i.e. Sudan, when Meroe (today’s Bagrawiyah, nearby Ad-Damer and Atbarah in Sudan).
Katznelson’s contributions hit the final nail on the coffin of the fallacious use of the great historical name of Ethiopia by the barbarous Abyssinian tribes who proved to be the worst pestilence in Africa’s History of Tyranny, Persecution, Racism, False Eschatology, Anti-human Conspiracy, and Genocide.
Katsnelson was greatly interested in the personal history and explorations, spiritual and metaphysical search, travels and pursuits of Bulatovich; much of what we know now of Bulatovish is due to Katznelson. The selection of Bulatovich’s excerpts translated from Russian to English was made by the translator of Bulatovich’s two books, Richard Seltzer. Herewith, I reproduce it integrally.
Katznelson’s analysis, like Bulatovich’s book, demonstrates how erroneous the Russian and Soviet East African policy has always been and how it worked at the detriment of Russia (or Soviet Union) itself.
Despite the fact that the Russian Orthodox explorer, military officer and monk was accepted by the Abyssinian gangster and ruler Sahle Mariam (pseudo-royal nickname: Menelik) to heal him through use of Russian holy icons, the hidden conclave of the Amhara heretic, pseudo-Christian Satanists who rule the cursed country of tyranny and genocide, prevented Bulatovich from achieving his pious target, thus clearly demonstrating their alliance with the Anglo-French freemasons and their hatred of Christianity.
What was possible for a Russian monk to undertake in Romania, Albania, Greece, Palestine, and Egypt was absolutely out of the question in the pseudo-Christian state of Abyssinia.
The important document serves therefore as perfect refutation of the fallacy that Abyssinia (fallaciously and unlawfully re-baptized as Ethiopia) is a “Christian” country. The Amhara and Tigray Tewahedo (Monophysitic) Abyssinians are not Christian; under the coverage of a simulacrum of Christian heretic faith, an enormous number of anti-Christian traits and a deep-seated hatred of Egyptian Coptic Christianity, Russian Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism are the determinant factors of the incestuous Amhara society whereby fornication is overwhelming and the family concept does not exist.
The falsehood of the so-called “Christian Abyssinia” had been fabricated by Freemasonic and Zionist institutions of England, France and America in order to destroy African Islam, and consolidate the colonial control over all the subjugated and tyrannized African nations whose identity and existence have been targeted for extinction as part of the world’s most abominable genocide.
Throughout Bulatovich’s text is reflected the Abyssinian tyranny imposed on the Oromos little time before the Russian explorer’s travel. At the same time, Bulatovich makes clear that the treacherous and viciously anti-Oromo tribes of Gurage arrived to the South only following invasions and occupied their territory by right of conquest. The Amhara interlocutors of the tsarist envoy were naïve and idiotic enough to confess to Bulatovich their insightful about the Gurage’s original land in Tigray — something critical to bear in mind at the moment of Oromia’s liberation. The Gurage have no place in a free Oromia.
Ethiopia through Russian Eyes
An eye-witness account of the end of an era, 1896-98 consisting of two books by Alexander Bulatovich:
Journal of an expedition from Ethiopia to Lake Rudolf
by Alexander K. Bulatovich
With four diagrams, three maps, and 78 photographs by the author and Lieutenant Davydov; Saint Petersburg, “Artistic Press” Publishing House, 28 Angliyskiy St., 1900, 271 pages
Published with permission of the Military Science Committee of the Chief of Staff
Reissued in 1971 as part of the volume With the Armies of Menelik II, edited by I. S. Katsnelson of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. “Science” Publishing House Chief Editorial Staff of Oriental Literature Moscow 1971.
Translated by Richard Seltzer
II. Jimma
Jimma is situated on a long narrow ribbon of land that stretches from the southwest to the northeast along the course of the Gibye-Kake River. It is surrounded by mountains, from which many stream and rivulets run into the Gibye. These streams irrigate Jimma and make it one of the most fertile regions. The tops of the mountain ranges are hidden by thick ancient forest. The climate of the valleys is particularly moist. (There are two rainy seasons here — one in March and April, and another in July and August). The equable climate even favors the growth of the coffee tree, which in the Ethiopian highlands is found only in the southwestern region, in places contiguous to Kaffa. These excellent natural conditions have made Jimma one of the most populous and productive regions of Ethiopia. In addition, its central position among other rich regions have made it a major commercial center. Arabs, Abyssinians, and Galla throng here to exchange their foreign merchandise (cloth, weapons, and beads)for coffee, musk, elephant tusk, honey, wax, bread and horses from Jimma and its neighbors Kaffa, Kulo, Konta, and Limu. From here, valuable merchandise is sent through Gojjam and Tigre to Massawa; and through Harar to one of the ports of the Gulf of Aden, on the shore of the Indian Ocean.
Jimma is well known for its cotton and iron artifacts. Their agriculture is very intensive. The area under cultivation is very extensive, because it is intended not only to meet local needs and to pay taxes but also for the export of bread. There is almost no fallow land. Contact with foreigners has had an influence on the development of industry and the prosperity of the region, as well as its mode of life and religion.
Unfortunately, along with the commercial-industrial growth of Jimma came the flourishing of the slave trade and the triumph of Mohammedanism. For three centuries, the reigning dynasty and the whole people have zealously professed Islam.
The population of Jimma belongs to Galla or Oromo tribe. The people consider “Kake” as their ancestor — probably having come from Boranye, the cradle of all Galla. In general, by type or by morals, manners and customs, the inhabitants of Jimma are almost indistinguishable from their other fellow tribesmen. The Galla of Jimma are of large build, of exceptionally fine physique, with regular facial features. The women are renowned for their beauty. The color of their skin is chestnut. The men wear “shammas.”22 A woman of distinction wears a leather skirt and a brown jacket. A slave girl wears just a small leather skirt. Women’s hairstyles are very unique. Wealthy women wear wigs made of human hair, which resemble a large cap, plaited with parallel rows of horizontal slender braids.
Thanks to its wealth and commercial spirit, the people of Jimma do not distinguish themselves for warlike qualities. Prizing their prosperity, they have always been a tributary of their strongest neighbor — at first the King of Kaffa, then the Negus of Gojjam, and, finally, since 1886, the Emperor Menelik. Today, Jimma is autonomous in its internal government, pays tribute to the Empire, and observes the laws and edicts that are required for the whole empire. The highest court and the right of capital punishment belong to the Emperor of Abyssinia.
When the slave trade was suppressed by Menelik under pain of death, Jimma was one of the main centers of this business, and its prosperity was dealt a considerable blow. The Emperor likewise made it a criminal offense to turn convicts into slaves. (That used to be a wide-spread form of punishment in Jimma.) Formerly, those who underwent this punishment became the property of the king and furnished him with a source of considerable income. Now the continuation of prisoner-of-war status is limited to seven years, at the end of which the slave/prisoner-of-war becomes free. Thanks to these beneficial laws, slavery should be considered abolished, once and for all. But, in actuality, the descendants of former slaves find themselves still in a dependent condition today, analogous to the status of our peasants in the time of serfdom. Settled on lands of the king and obliged to work for him for eight days a month, the rest of the time they work only partly for themselves, and then their labor belongs to the local chief. Out of economic necessity, some former slaves stay at the court of the king, presenting themselves as a kind of manor serf.
At the head of the state government of Jimma is the hereditary king from the Kake dynasty, Aba Jefar, who inherited the throne from his father, Aba Dula.23 The kingdom of Jimma used to be in feudal dependence to Kaffa. When Aba Jefar ascended the throne, he acknowledged himself first as a tributary of the Negus of Gojjam and then, eight years later, of the Negus of Shoa — Menelik.24 Two years later, when Jimma was annexed to Abyssinia, Menelik punished Jefar (for inspiring excessive enthusiasm in his own standing army and trying to entice Abyssinian soldiers to his own service) by imprisoning him in Ankober for a year. When he was freed, Aba Jefar again received the throne of Jimma from Menelik, and after that lesson became one of the most obedient of vassals and one of the most regular in paying tribute to the Emperor.25
Near the King there is a high council made up of his relatives and representatives of prominent families. The King, with the elders, administers justice in all important matters, aside from serious crimes, which are scrutinized by the Emperor himself. But more or less minor offenses are decided by criminal courts or by local chiefs. From an administrative point of view, Jimma is divided into 60 small areas, governed by an aba koro — a duty entrusted to the oldest line of the oldest family in a given location. The aba koro names an assistant, aba genda, who has a small staff of lower functionaries, known as aba langa. It is interesting to note the special legal protection of merchants, who, by the way, control the king himself. Land is set aside for merchants, on which they erect their farmsteads — in short, for the development and maintenance of the commercial spirit in the country, merchants are given all imaginable privileges.
The duty to maintain the roads is considered very serious. Each landowner is entrusted, under penalty of serious punishment (in former times, that could even mean sale into slavery) with the obligation to keep the road in order. Thanks to this law, I never before saw any road like those there: wide, even, lined with trees, with bridges across ditches and swampy streams. On all roads that lead to Jimma, gates have been set up for surveillance of the movement of caravans, which are allowed free entry, but which cannot go back out without the permission of the King. After having arrived with his wares, a merchant informs the King of what he has brought with him, presenting gifts that are within their means.
Wishing to leave, a merchant requests royal permission for passage of his caravan. He is then escorted to the gates by specially designated people, armed with a unique spear with two blades. The tribute levied from merchants usually does not exceed ten percent of the value of the goods. At roadside bazaars, a passing caravan should bring as a gift several flat cakes made of bread, and boiled gudera (a kind of potato).
To the south-west of Jimma along the mountain range that divides it from the River Omo, resides the Janjero tribe, who formerly lived as an independent kingdom. On annexation to Jimma, the last king of this tribe acknowledged suzerainty to Menelik, but his successor in 1890 broke away from the Emperor. As a result of that, Ras Wolda Giyorgis together with the King of Jimma marched on the Janjero and annexed this territory to Jimma once and for all.
Janjero, both by its customs and its language, is sharply distinguished from neighboring tribes. Remarkable hunters and trappers, the Janjero are very brave, hardy, and extremely fierce. It is said that they even have human sacrifices.
January 2
We entered Jimma. Crossing the border forest, which stretches long the Gibye River, we climbed the high bank, on the steep ascent of which, in a ravine, was built an outpost, guarded by several Galla. The rock of Ali-Kela, a huge stone monolith, towers nearby, as if torn away from the high bank of the Omo River. Its sides are very sheer. On the summit is seen a small grove, in which the natives say there is a lake. Here, another rock rises almost in a row. This one resembles an obelisk and is called Tulu-Saytana, in other words “Mountain of the Devil.”
Having on this day made a twelve-hour march with a short halt at noon, we made camp. It was already getting dark. Having stopped near the farmstead of a wealthy Galla, we hoped to obtain grain, hay, or straw for the mules from him. But the host, a Mohammedan, was not particularly friendly to us. He refused us grain, hay or anything else, claiming that he had nothing. The grass in the immediate vicinity had all been burnt, and only the grass on the bank of the stream was still intact. It was too dark to pick grass from among thorny bushes. I decided not to send my people to do this work. Anyway, they were exhausted from the march. The mules, consequently, had to stay hungry until morning. But my ashkers showed themselves to be fine fellows. On their own initiative, with the oldest member of the detachment at the head, they set out along the stream and gathered enough grass for the night. As was to be expected, this excursion did not turn out well. They returned bruised and badly scratched. But this action of my ashkers, better than anything, gave witness to the good morale in my detachment.
January 3
We went along a very beautiful, heavily populated and well cultivated area. The road went along the high right bank of the Gibye-Kake River, crossing its numerous tributaries. The surroundings differed sharply from the lands we had passed through earlier on the left bank of the Gibye River. In plant life, soil and in the wealth of nature it vividly reminded me of Leka, with which I had acquainted myself in my previous expedition (1896-97). Here I almost didn’t see any mimosa or acacia, which are so often encountered in Shoa and between Addis Ababa and Gibye. A species of small trees, similar to peach trees, with bright green leaves, predominates. The soil is red clay; but in the valleys, lush black earth is found. As regards rocks, I most often observed reddish sandstone, and, here and there, granite. Basalt, which is often found in Abyssinia, I didn’t see here at all.
On the way, we out-distanced and met commercial caravans, for the most part carrying cloth into Jimma and returning primarily with coffee. Heavily loaded mules26 and horses walk in a herd, surrounded by drivers; behind them the owner, with an air of importance, sits on his mule with a felt hat, which he, on occasion, willingly sells to an Abyssinian, and with a straw parasol in his hands. Behind the caravan slowly walk the female slaves or wives of the drivers, loaded with all kinds of baggage. Caravans proceed very slowly, going not more than 12-15 versts [8-10 miles] a day. They set out early in the morning, and at noon set up bivouac, forming a picturesque scene.
Somewhere in the valley, on the banks of streams, under a canopy of immense fig trees, the merchants’ tents are pitched. The cargo is laid out in piles. Unsaddled and glittering with bright red padding on their backs, the mules graze on the sunny meadow. Here the drivers, half naked, their black skin and strong musculature shining, cut grass for the night with sickles. Around the campfires, women swarm, preparing food. For the night they take care of the animals on horse lines. The travelers, having dined on fresh flat cakes, seat themselves in a close circle around the campfire and spend the evening in endless conversation. Someone brings out a musical instrument that resembles a three-string harp, and, to the accompaniment of a monotonous rhythmic chord, draws out a sad and quiet song. The campfire is extinguished, and with it the melancholy melody dies down. The caravan arranges itself for the night’s shelter. Here silence reigns. All that is heard is the regular chewing of the animals and the cry of a night bird.
Along the road small marketplaces are often encountered. A dozen women sit somewhere under the shade of a large tree and wait for buyers. They sell bread (small round flat cakes) and thick sour beer.
Among the sellers you run into very good-looking young women, but they all have an oppressed, sullen look, the like of which I never saw among the Galla girls of other tribes. Was this gloominess a result of Mohammedanism?
January 4
We forded the Gibye River and in the evening, having marched for eleven hours, reached the capital of Jimma — the town of Jeren.27
As we got closer to Jeren, the countryside became more beautiful and brighter. Trees, which were planted close together on both sides of the road, were in flower and filled the air with fragrance. Zelepukin, to his great joy, found in the bushes his old favorite — blackberry plants with ripe berries. The town of Jeren lies at the foot of a mountain range that serves as the watershed of the Rivers Gibye-Kake and Gibye-Enareya. The palace of the feudal lord, Aba Jefar, stands in splendor on one of the highest hills. A wide street leads to the main gate of the palace. The farmsteads of relatives and retainers of the king, alternating with thick plantations of banana-like trees28 extend on both sides of that street. In the valley, several versts from here, you see dense settlements of local merchants and a large square, where twice a week is held the famous marketplace of Jimma.
The sun had already set when I arrived at the gates of the palace. On crossing the Gibye River I sent a rider to let Aba-Jefar know of my arrival, but the messenger somehow lingered on the way and got there almost at the same time we did. Our unexpected arrival caused some commotion. The chief azzaj (steward) ran out to meet us and apologized that because of the late news of our coming, he had not been able to prepare a lodging for us. In the name of Aba Jefar, he asked us to come and visit him.
Leaving the pack mules and some of the servants in the square, I and the other ashkers went to the palace, which was surrounded by a high and beautiful fence, made of split trunks of bamboo which were intricately interlaced, and divided into many separate courtyards. Each of these dwellings had its own special purpose: either for some section of the palace staff, or reception rooms of the king, or for his inner chambers.
Passing through a series of outer courtyards, we went into the inner chambers. Here we had to leave our mules and continue on foot. Finally, they led us into the courtyard where was located the sleeping chamber of Aba Jefar and the house of his harem — the place of incarceration of his two wives and two favorite concubines. The harem is a two-story building, of complex architecture, with narrow latticed windows and gaudily painted carved galleries. It is concealed behind a high wall and huge banana-like trees. Here I met Aba Jefar. The Moti (King) of Jimma sat on a folding chair near a large bonfire surrounded by several dozen of his retainers. Greeting me with a European-style handshake, he began to question me in broken Abyssinian about my journey, what I wanted to know, didn’t I get tired, etc. Behind his throne, his body guards and suite sat on the grass, spread out in a picturesque group. My ashkers stood in a half circle behind my chair with their guns at their feet. (By Abyssinian custom, servants should not sit in the presence of their master.)
Aba Jefar is still a young man — handsome, well-built, and somewhat in his prime. He has a typical face: a straight thin nose; bright, handsome eyes which shift suspiciously from side to side; a thick black beard; and black, short-cropped, curly hair. His hands are graceful. He wears large gold rings on all his fingers. Dressed in a white shirt and trousers, he has draped over his shoulders the thinnest white shamma. His feet are also very small and handsome, clad in leather sandals.
After a few minutes of conversation, Aba Jefar asked me to wait awhile, apologizing because this was the time for evening prayer. Accompanied by his suite, he walked a few steps to the side and started to perform the required ablutions. A slave boy brought a large silver pitcher with water, and Aba Jefar began to wash his hands, feet, chest, head, and shoulders in accord with all the rules of the Moslem ritual, at the same time uttering prayers in a low voice. Having finished the ceremony, he went up on a small white stone quadrangular patio, covered with a mat, and, turning to face the east, began to pray.
It was already quite dark… A marvelous, fantastic picture was presented by the prayer of a half-savage Mohammedan ruler in these circumstances so unusual to the eyes of European. The blazing bonfire lit up with its changing flames the intricate and fanciful harem building, through the latticed windows of which the imprisoned beauties now looked out in curiosity. It also lit up a picturesque group of men draped in white shammas, and the huge shape of the king sharply prominent against the somber background of night. Aba Jefar zealously prayed, fingering beads and bowing down to the earth. There was total silence. Only random gusts of wind, rippling through the huge foliage of the banana-like trees and rustling their green garments disturbed the reverential silence that reigned around.
Having finished his prayers, Aba Jefar, apparently satisfied that he had had the opportunity to show off to a European his knowledge of all the Moslem rituals, once again settled into his chair.
We renewed our interrupted conversation. The king asked me about Stambul (Turkey) and Mysyr (Egypt). He wanted to know if it was true that Stambul was the most powerful state in the world. Of course, I had to, to some degree, disillusion him and refute the biased tales that Arabs had told him.
Servants brought a large earthenware pot of coffee and sat down near us on the grass to pour it. From a wicker straw basket in the form of a column embroidered with beads, they took out about ten small cups without handles, wrapped in red calico, and spread them out on a wooden tray. They offered coffee to us first; and then, in order, the whole suite and my ashkers were served.
Having drunk coffee, I asked Aba Jefar to order his suite to lead me to my house. I sat on my mule and, surrounded by the suite and by my ashkers, set out for the place that had been prepared for us. Our way was lighted by a torch made of a piece of bamboo trunk, the inside of which was completely filled with wax, with a thick paper wick.
At our house, a whole detachment of slaves was waiting for us, with the oldest housekeeper in charge. They had brought us as a gift from Aba Jefar abundant durgo (honorary gifts), consisting of 130 pieces of injera (bread), six buckets of tej (mead), four rams, butter, hens, honey, milk, salt, and firewood, as well as hay and barley for our mules. My boys forgot both their weariness and the pain of feet worn out by the long journey and rejoiced anticipating abundant refreshments.
January 5
A day’s rest in Jeren. About nine in the morning, Aba Jefar sent to invite me to his quarters and sent along a guard detachment of 500 men to accompany me. Apparently, he wanted to compensate in this way for the ceremonial reception that had been planned for the day before but which hadn’t taken place because of the suddenness of my arrival.
The detachment formed a front in several ranks before the gates of my house. Before it stood officers who had dismounted from mules. In response to my greeting, the detachment bowed to the ground and then quickly reformed in two units that took their places — one in front of me and the other behind. In this order we, quietly and with ceremony, headed toward the court, accompanied by a crowd of people and children. I was very pleased with the warriors — mainly Abyssinians — who served as my convoy. They were well dressed and armed. Almost all of them had signs of distinction in battle: gold ear-rings, sabers mounted in silver, shields decorated with silver, cloaks made of leopard skins, and ribbons on the head.
They led me to a large interior court of the palace which had two purposes: as the place of the main court of justice and at the same time as the reception hall. The court was built in a semicircle, which could easily accommodate several thousand people. A wooden pavilion, trimmed with various motley colored decorations and covered with a tiled roof, was constructed in the middle. Its architecture reminds one of Indian buildings. The pavilion was erected by foreign experts — Arabs and Hindus. Three sides of it, facing the courtyard, were open, and on the fourth, in a solid stone wall, a bay was arranged, curtained off with multi-colored fabrics. The throne of Aba Jefar stands here, all covered with carpets. A small wall clock stands near one of the walls of the bay, on a little table.
A long, low wooden colonnade, covered with thatch is erected along the side opposite to the pavilion. A crowd of people, who had gathered in the palace, ceremoniously sat on low stools made out of a single piece of wood.
Aba Jefar received me, sitting on the throne cross-legged, Turkish-style. An Arab mullah — the most influential person in the kingdom — sat on the step of the throne. Old men — chiefs of Galla tribes — were seated on each side of the throne, in two rows, likewise on low stools. A well-built Europe chair was set out for me, opposite the throne.
To my greeting, Aba Jefar replied in Arabic, imitating the guttural Arabic pronunciation and piously rolling his eyes. Then he very animatedly began to question me in Arabic, incessantly smiling for the whole time of the conversation. Aba Jefar translated my answers to Galla for the old men, who represented a complete contrast from their intelligent and progressive king. Wrapped up in their long cloaks (shammas), they sat majestically and silently, listening with distrust to the stories about ships, iron roads etc., which sounded improbable to them. They looked with complete indifference at the white man, who was brought by fate to their distant land as if from another world. It seemed that it was all the same to them whether the alien who was before them spoke the truth or lied.
Aba Jefar hurled me questions about European states that he knew of — about their comparative size, population, etc. The King had heard that the largest of them was Russia, and when I mentioned that in an entire year one would not be able to walk across it from west to east, he was startled.
Knowing that I had a medicine chest with me, the king asked me to show it and to share with him some remedies, and also to treat his sick mother. I fulfilled the first request: I gave him soda for heartburn, iodoform, and sublimate for treating wounds and copal balm. As regards his mother, I said that I had to examine her before I could treat her. They sent to warn the sick woman that I would be coming, and after several minutes I went, accompanied by the head eunuch, to the apartment of the harem which the mother of the king occupied. They led me by a narrow, little court, enclosed with high fences, past a whole row of low little houses which were covered with thatch and locked. At all the gates, menacing and silent guards of the harem stood — beardless eunuchs, armed with long whips. Here and there beautiful slave girls appeared. They looked at us with curiosity and then quickly hid themselves. The whole situation had the smell of some mysterious eastern bliss.
The house where the mother of Aba Jefar lived was found in a separate little court and was a little bit larger than the others. The entrance to it was hung with white cloth, which hid the mistress of the house from our view. A chair was set for me on this side of the curtain, and, at first, our conversation, with the help of a translator, took place through the curtain. The patient complained of heartburn, cough, and headache. I had to see her and listen to her, so I went beyond the curtain.
On a divan covered with carpets, the queen mother sat, dressed in a black silk burnoose embroidered in gold, thrown over it was a white jacket, decorated with silk. The color of her skin was quite light. The features of her face were regular. Her eyes were remarkably beautiful. Despite her 40 years of age, she still seemed like a youthful woman. Her forehead, neck and chest were tattooed. Her fingers were painted red. Arms and legs, on which were worn gold bracelets, were so small that any Chinese woman could envy them. The queen mother was heavily scented with attar of roses and sandalwood. A crowd of pretty maids of honor in original little brown leather skirts and white cotton blouses, adorned with silver links, necklaces, copper and bone bracelets and rings, surrounded the queen mother. Several of the maids of honor were positively beautiful. My unexpected appearance produced on them diverse impressions. Some stood, with downcast eyes and did not dare to look at me. Others stared with curiosity at the white man, the likes of which they had never seen before, and whispered to one another and exchanged looks among one another.
To the horror of all except the patient herself, I listened to the queen mother’s chest. She had a little bronchitis, and I gave her some cough powder.
I had already made up my mind to leave, but the patient stopped me, proposing refreshments. They gave me honey mixed with water in a large horn glass. We began to talk. The queen mother surprised me with her intelligence, and the remarkable dignity and ease with which she conducted herself. It was evident that in spite of her closed life inside the walls of the harem, she did not remain a stranger to current events and, no less than her son, she knew both about the political position of nearby countries and also about distant European states. Animatedly and intelligently, the queen mother questioned me about our way of life and our governmental system. She was especially interested, of course, in the position of women. The freedom of women seemed to her quite incomprehensible, and the possibility of noble couples — husband and wife — appearing in public with uncovered faces surprised her extremely.
“Does this mean that in your country there are no budas” (werewolf, evil eye, who causes illness and bad luck), she asked, “since your noble people do not fear to show their wives to outsiders?”
I responded that among us the time has long since passed when we believed in budas. To that, the queen mother with a deeply convinced tone said, “But among us, even up until now, they still exist.”
Taking my leave, I photographed the queen mother and her maids of honor, but the photo, unfortunately, did not come out.
In the evening of that very day, Aba Jefar visited me with his numerous suite, having arrived at a gallop on a marvelous gray horse, glittering with rich silver, densely gilded gear, with a gold chain on its neck.
The king asked me to show him instruments, photographs and such and asked about the significance and use of each of the articles he examined. Of course, above all he liked the weapons: 3/8″ caliber rifle and saber, which he examined long and lovingly.
January 6
We set out into Kaffa. Aba Jefar gave me several bags of meal for the road and promised to send to Kaffa another ten, which should make up my food supply for the subsequent campaign. We went down from the hills on which was located the town of Jeren, and passing several thickly settled settlements of merchants and a large market square, went down into the valley of the Gibye-Kake River. At noon we halted on the bank of this river, in the shade of a huge sycamore, and toward evening, crossing the upper river, set up bivouac at the foot of the watershed mountain range between the Gibye and Gojeb Rivers.
A crowd of Galla cheerfully worked on the road near our lodging for the night. With a refrain that was inspired, and flying into a rage: “Ashana, ada, kho, kho, kho” (“Strengthen honey, ho, ho, ho.”) — about ten strong Galla deeply dug the earth, with wooden pitchforks, with iron bound on the end. They chopped large clods of earth in time to the song. A woman with a large pitcher in her hands sat near the group of those who were working the earth. She poured beer from it into horn glasses for those who were present. When we came up to them, the Galla crowded round us, entreating us to drink beer. At first I, then my ashkers took a large glass, which contained more than half a bottle. One pitcher was not enough, so they brought another from the neighboring house; and only after they had treated all of us did they let us go, parting with cordial wishes. They seemed to me in the highest degree likable — these wild, half-naked, remarkably cordial and hard-working people.
January 7
We crossed a mountain ridge, overgrown with enormous, marvelous forest, inhabited by many birds and monkeys. Trees of uncommon size are interwoven with lianas and overgrown with white moss, which hangs from the branches in long threads. The natives call this moss yazaf shebat, which means “gray hair of the tree.” The road was very busy. We met unending files of bearers — tall and strong Galla, carrying on their heads to Kaffa big skins of grain, or returning from Kaffa loaded with coffee and mead. Since a great shortage of grain has been felt in Kaffa after the recent war, all the surplus of bread from Jimma is now sent to there, where it is exchanged there for coffee and mead. For one piece of salt (20 kopecks) a bearer conveys a load of one to one and a half poods [36 to 54 lbs.] there and back. Going at a quick pace and making frequent stops, he easily goes 20 to 30 versts [14 to 20 miles] a day. The entire clothing of the bearers consists of a little leather apron on the hips. For weapons they have a dagger, which they wear on the waist. In their arms they hold long pipes, made of two hollow reed stems (the small one is filled with tobacco and the long one is the mouthpiece), stuck into a hollow little gourd half filled with water. I had observed this prototype of a hookah among all of the Galla tribes I had met up until then.
In addition to commercial caravans, we often passed soldiers of Ras Wolda Giyorgis who were going to the muster point. The most prosperous of them set out to war with their whole families. Several donkeys carry the household goods of the soldier and reserve rations. The wife carries field kitchen utensils in a sack on her shoulders. A boy who is a son or stranger is pressed under the weight of a gun that is one and a half times longer than him. And the master himself, with a straw parasol in his hands and a saber at his waist, who has probably already gone more than his first hundred versts [70 miles], light-heartedly and cheerfully walks toward troubles and deprivation, singing battle songs all the way. Soldiers who have assembled for the march treat the local populace rather impetuously. For example, they consider it their undisputed right to take everything edible from those they meet. So complained a Galla who had been robbed: Adera Menelik (“By the God of Menelik”), the soldier took from him a gourd of mead and a piece of bread — in a word, everything that caught his eye. And the soldiers’ wives kept pace with their husbands in this behavior. I happened to see how one of them, a small and frail Abyssinian woman, for some offense hit in the face a a big, strong Galla, who in response only mournfully lamented: Abyet, abyet, goftako (“Forgive me, forgive me, madam.”)
Even my ashkers became imbued with this military spirit… Finally I had to take strict measures to curb their impetuous outbursts, which were expressed, however, in rather harmless forms. For instance, I noticed that straw parasols had suddenly appeared in the hands of all my boys. In response to my question of where they got them, they answered me in the most open-hearted tone, “Galla gave them to us.”
At about noon, we saw a large crowd of people at one house. It turned out that the brother of Aba Jefar, General (Fitaurari) Aba Diga, was carrying out an order of Menelik to the effect that prisoners who had been captured in Kaffa in the last campaign should be returned there.
Learning that I was passing by, Aba Diga sent to ask me to visit him, and I complied. The Fitaurari treated me to a good lunch, for which he ordered one of my slaves, a Christian, to slaughter the ram that had been designated for me.29
Aba Diga is already elderly, but he is a handsome and intelligent man. His whole figure has the imprint of aristocracy. The general conducted himself very simply and with dignity, conversing intelligently and the only way which nevertheless a savage appeared was in begging.
“What do you bring with you? Do you have a watch? I need a watch. Give me one! Do you have silk, perfume, soap? Give me some!”
He rained these kinds of questions and requests on me constantly, despite the fact that I answered negatively. Finally, Aba Diga was satisfied by my promise to give him a watch when we returned from the expedition. On his side, knowing that Europeans are interested in local articles which might have significance for an ethnographic collection, the general proposed on my return to collect some of the things which are known in Abyssinia in the simple style of the Italians by the name of “antiques.” We parted as friends.
Having crossed the mountain ridge, we went along the northern slope, crossing, along the way, many streams and brooks which flow into the Gojeb. At first, the road went through a densely populated area, but the closer we got to the Gojeb, which constitutes the border between Jimma and Kaffa, we encountered settlements more and more rarely. Along the left side stretched a dense forest, which serves as a place reserved for the buffalo hunts of Aba Jefar, who built a hunting house near the road.
Having crossed the Gojeb River, we spent the night in a rather deserted place, on the bank of a beautiful brook, overgrown with date palms, the first of that kind of tree that I had seen in Abyssinia.
The Gojeb River begins in the mountains of Guma and flows into the River Omo. At this place its width is about 40 paces; its depth is one and a quarter arshins [35 inches]. Its current is so swift that fording it is very difficult. The valley of the Gojeb, surrounded by mountains of Kaffa, constitutes the border zone between these two regions and is uninhabited. It abounds in wild goats and antelopes. Leopards and lions are encountered here. Larger animals, such as elephants and rhinoceroses, stay lower on the river’s course, near to where the Gojeb flows into the Omo.
January 8.
Passing a series of frontier posts with various fortifications in the form of abattis, wolf-holes, and palisades, we entered the land of Kaffa.
From the Gojeb Valley, which was overgrown with high grass and sparse small trees, we climbed the mountains that surrounded it and entered a very dense forest, the trees of which are striking for their enormous size. At the summit of the mountain range, we saw bamboo groves; and in the foothills in the valley of rivers and streams, there were groups of beautiful date palms. The forest abounds in flowers which fill the air with fragrance. The sky was cloudless. The sun was almost at its zenith, but in the forest there was a cool breeze. The eye rested in the green of the surrounding thick foliage. In nature some kind of joy of living was felt — a surplus of strength hidden within it.
The charming beauty of the place carried one off to some place far away, to a magical world. It seemed as if you heard and saw a marvelous tale while awake… It was as if in front of you stood the enchanted forest from Sleeping Beauty. All that was missing were the princess, her palace, and her subjects. But instead of the poetic circumstances of a fine story, before us appeared the dreadful signs of death and destruction. Amid the green grass, the white of human bones shone here and there. Settlements were nowhere to be seen — only thick weeds, growing on plots of recently cultivated earth, bear testimony of the people who once lived here. An evil fairy of war destroyed them, and scattered their bones across the fields. The closer we came to the capital of Kaffa, the more noticeable became the signs of recent battles. Near the town itself, clearings were completely strewn with human bones.
At five o’clock in the afternoon, we entered the town of Andrachi. The Ras, having found out about my arrival shortly before, sent soldiers, led by his chief agafari (gentleman in attendance), to meet me.
Surrounded by his retainers and commanders of units, the Ras received me with ceremony. Having exchanged the usual greetings, he reproached me for not having warned him of my arrival ahead of time, because he had no chance to meet me as he would have liked. By Abyssinian etiquette, it is considered impolite to weary someone who has just arrived from a journey with long questions. Therefore, after a few minutes of conversation, the Ras suggested that I go rest in the lodging which had been set aside for me. In the evening, the agafari (gentleman in attendance) of the Ras came to me to ask about my health, and one of his elfin ashkers (pages), Gomtes, a favorite of the Ras, brought me various dishes prepared in the European manner: chicken cooked in butter, and meat cooked in little pieces. For my ashkers, the Ras sent abundant durgo: a bull, several rams, bread, beer, mead, pepper sauce, etc. They slaughtered the bull immediately. Around the tent campfires shone, songs resounded and it was as if the 70-verst [49 mile] march had never happened.
Today, I finished my separate, so to speak, mobilization. We arrived on time. My men were cheerful and happy. Although the animals had lost weight on the way, they were still in condition to continue the journey. (By the way, their backs still seemed full). As for me, thanks to some conveniences I had managed to arrange for the crossing from Addis Ababa to Kaffa, despite the forced pace of the march, I had significantly recovered from the illness which I had come down with during the first difficult trek.
In the course of 42 days from the moment of my departure from Addis Ababa to meet our mission, I had traveled more than 2,000 versts [1,400 miles]. All this time, my strength was strained to the limit. Not to mention the physical weariness, illness, and deprivation, it seemed inconceivable to have arrived at the sea coast, returned to the capital, equipped myself and with full transport, and made a 500-verst [350 mile] crossing in such a short time. I had been oppressed the whole time by the disturbing feeling that all my work might go to waste if I didn’t succeed in arriving at the mustering point on time. And only today could I fall asleep peaceful and satisfied.
17 B: Large white cloaks of cotton material, like a Roman toga.
18 B: From the fruit of the kusso a medicine for tapeworm is prepared.
19 B: By the way, I consider it appropriate to mention the different action of the three-eighths-inch-caliber rifle when shooting with a bullet with a filed end and an ordinary, whole bullet. The first goat I hit at a distance of 150 paces with an ordinary whole bullet, which pierced both lungs of the animal and went through a rib, taking out a square centimeter, the splinters of which appeared in the wound. Despite such a serious wound, the goat galloped two hundred paces and only then dropped dead. I shot another goat with a filed bullet at a somewhat greater distance.
This one also had both lungs pierced in the upper part, and its bones and heart remained unaffected. But this goat didn’t take another step. It fell on the spot.
20 K: Gurage is one of the peoples of Ethiopia who live in its central and south-west regions. There are Christians and Moslems among them. The Gurage engage in basic agriculture in combination with cattle-raising; they also have artisans. There are various theories regarding their origin. Some consider them descendants of Tigreans; others descendants of Sidamo, who took the Tigrean language and subjected it to some significant changes. In any case, the Gurage language belongs to the Semitic family. (M.V. Rayt, Peoples of Ethiopia, Moscow, 1965, p. 16).
21 S: An “express” is a rifle “possessing high velocity, flat trajectory and long fixed-sight range.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, 1911, vol. 23, p. 335.
22 B: A shamma is a white mantle with a red stripe. It is similar to a Roman toga. By custom, it is worn only by free Gallas.
23 B: Aba Dula and Aba Jefar are not the personal names of these individuals but the names of their war horses — Dula, Jefar; the word “aba” means “owner” or “rider”.
24 K: Apparently, Aba Jefar acknowledged himself to be a subject of Menelik II in 1881. (G. Sellassie, Chronique du regne de Menelik II, roi des rois d’Ethiopie, vol. I, Paris, 1930, p. 175, footnote 3.)
25 B: The tribute paid by the king consists of an annual payment in money of 7,000 talers and payment in kind of 5,000 to 7,000 skins full of honey, 300 to 400 ukets (an uket is one pood 28 pounds [64 pounds total]) of elephant tusk and, at the request of Menilek, civette (musk), iron artifacts, cloth, meal etc. Besides the income from his own lands, which is spent on the upkeep of the court and the army, Aba Jefar himself has some customs duties and income of about 100,000 rubles a year from marketplaces, and besides gets a significant sum from his subjects in the form of taxes — at the rate of 1 piece of salt (20 kopecks) a year from each household and 4 kuna (a basket of fixed measure) with a portion of each kind of grain.
26 B: They usually load 6-8 poods [216-288 lbs.] on a mule.
27 B: On the bank of the Gibye River, I killed a bird the like of which I had never before come across in Abyssinia. It was particularly large, with black feathers, and in general resembled a stork. The males had a unique crest on the head.
28 B: Kogo, a banana-like tree.
29 B: Both Christian and Mohammedan Abyssinians consider the meat of an animal slaughtered by a person of another faith to be a profanation.
By: Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis [ Enlarge ] Continuing the series of articles on the insightful documentation provided by the Russian Military Officer, Explorer, and Orthodox Monk in his books about his deeds and excursions, observations and explorations in Abyssinia (undertaken over three years 1896 — 1899), I herewith republish a first part from his second book titled “With the Armies of Menelik II”; the part covers Bulatovich’s excursion “From Addis Ababa to Jimma”.
Throughout Bulatovich’s text is reflected the Abyssinian tyranny imposed on the Oromos little time before the Russian explorer’s travel. At the same time, Bulatovich makes clear that the treacherous and viciously anti-Oromo tribes of Gurage arrived to the South only following invasions and occupied their territory by right of conquest. The Amhara interlocutors of the tsarist envoy were naive and idiotic enough to confess to Bulatovich their insightful about the Gurage’s original land in Tigray — something critical to bear in mind at the moment of Oromia’s liberation. The Gurage have no place in a free Oromia.
In many forthcoming articles, I will publish other parts of Bulatovich’s second book, and in addition, I will extensively comment on parts of his first book (notably History, Religion, Conclusion). Herewith, I make first available a recapitulation of the earlier nineteen (19) articles of this series, and then republish the excursion narrative.
All the Oromos, Ogadenis, Afars, Sidamas and others, who fight for their independence, and all the neighboring countries, not only Egypt and Sudan but also Somalia and Eritrea, which are threatened because of the evil, eschatological dreams of Greater Ethiopia, must study, understand and diffuse the insightful documentation available in the two books, which were published by the Russian explorer before 110 years; in and by itself, this documentation constitutes good reason for the world to be preoccupied with the source of every regional trouble and instability: the Amhara and Tigray (Tewahedo) Monophysitic Abyssinians who rule tyrannically over the lands they invaded and the nations they subjugated.
Recapitulation
Earlier articles of the present series can be found here:
1st Article: The Oromo Genocide Solemnly Confessed by Official Russian Explorer in Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia)– Selected and highlighted excerpts from a book — report published by a Russian explorer, military officer and monk, Alexander Bulatovich, who spent three years in Abyssinia, during the last decade of the 19th century. These excerpts undeniably testify to the Oromo genocide perpetrated by the invading Amhara and Tigray Abyssinian armies, and have therefore to be brought to the surface of political debate by the Oromo political and intellectual leaders at the local, regional and international levels.
2nd Article: Russia, the Oromos, Egypt, Sudan, Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia), Somalia, Islam & Orthodox Christianity — Republishing further excerpts from Bulatovich’s book, I focused on the possible reasons for Russia’s failure as colonial power in the region. As reasons I identified an inherent Russian quantitative approach to the colonial process and an overall misperception of the past and the present of Asia and Africa, which is due to the Russian academic, intellectual and ideological acceptance of the Anglo-French Orientalism, a bunch of disciplines elaborated by the French and the English academia in order to mainly promote and diffuse an interpretation of data that would suit the interests of the Anglo-French Freemasonry, namely the driving force of the Paris and London regimes.
5th Article: Oromo National Identity Diametrically Opposed to Amhara Manner, Russian Officer Bulatovich Reveals — Three chapters dealing with Oromo national identity, religion and language; all the preconceived concepts of the colonial era are herewith present, thus leading Bulatovich to erroneous interpretations. Certainly, the Russian explorer was not a linguist, historian or historian of religions; more importantly, academic exploration was not the primary interest of his travel which was kind of diplomatic reconnaissance. However, the chapter on the Oromo national character is greatly interesting because it demolishes the Ethiopianist myth of a supposed Ethiopian nation.
With no family, there is no Christian society. As a matter of fact, Abyssinian eschatology is a corrupt system at the very antipodes of Christianity.
7th Article: Outrageous Falsehood on Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia) Rejected: Solomonic Dynasty, Kingdom Do Not Exist — Further excerpts from the same volume of Bulatovich, providing with his description of the Abyssinians. Reporting accurately and truthfully, Bulatovich offered the Orthodox tsarist Russia’s top authorities a convincing presentation and analysis of how and why Abyssinian nobility does not exist — which consists in a formidable blow against the falsehood of the so-called Solomonic dynasty of Abyssinia, and their connection to the Ancient Hebrews. In fact, there has never been any post-Agaw Abyssinian ‘Kingdom’. The entire history of post-Agaw Abyssinia is a succession of uncivilized gangsters of incestuous origin, who were peremptorily called ‘noble men’, ‘kings’ or ‘emperors’; they were imposed as such to all the peoples and nations that, with Anglo-French permission and support, the Abyssinians invaded and subjugated.
11th Article: War Criminals of Abyssinia (fake Ethiopia), Their Atrocities Exposed by Bulatovich, Envoy of Russia — Chapter on the Abyssinian army; this part of Bulatovich’s text is also very critical because it highlights (see the section: ‘Conduct of War’) the inhuman practices of environmental disaster spread by the criminal robbers and inhuman soldiers of the Abyssinian state, which supported by England and France, perpetrated the worst atrocities ever attested on African soil and the world’s most appalling and multifaceted genocide.
12th article: The Nile, Egypt, Sudan Menaced by Evil Prophecy, Secret Expansion Plan of Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia) — Chapter on Menelik’s family, the ‘family of the emperor’. This chapter is of great importance for the diplomatic and national security services of Egypt and the Sudan, because it reveals what the heinous and rancorous Amhara and Tigray Monophysitic (Tewahedo) Abyssinians try to hide; namely that the regime, the elites and the upper classes of these incestuous and barbarous tribes act based on a secret program (that they call “prophecy” because of their sick, abnormal and perverse minds) to destroy Egypt and Sudan, and expand their cannibalistic tyranny throughout East Africa.
13th article: Amhara Pseudo-History of Abyssinia (fake Ethiopia), False Assumptions of Bulatovich, Envoy of Russia — Chapter on the Sidamas and the African peoples. This part is full of inaccuracies, inconsistencies and wrong terms; it is clearly the topic Bulatovich explored less and had a most vague idea about. The reason is simple; he did not have the time for direct contact with any of them, being thus the victim of the customary and idiotic Amhara lies.
14th article: Heretic Christianity in Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia): Russian Errors, Benefits for England and France — Chapter on the Abyssinian church and faith that Bulatovich erroneously names ‘Ethiopian’; the attribution of the national name of Ancient Kush (Sudan) to Abyssinia relates to the Axumite King Ezana’s partly invasion of Ethiopia and destruction of its capital, Meroe, ca. 360 — 365 CE. That event had however a partly and momentary character that does not justify any further use from any Abyssinian ruler because that country was always located out of the historical borders of real Ethiopia. This is the reason the modern state is called Fake Ethiopia; its right name is just Abyssinia.
15th article: England, France, Italy, Russia, Bulatovich and the Bogus Historical Dogma of Fake Ethiopia — Chapter on the History of Abyssinia that Bulatovich knowingly calls ‘Ethiopia’ erroneously. The lengthy text (5133 words) is a complete collection of Western academic mistakes and misperceptions based mainly, and very often exclusively, on Abyssinian unsubstantiated claims, racist fallacies, and paranoid lies.
16th article: Bulatovich’s Conclusions Support Egypt and Sudan: the Blue Nile Does Not Belong to Fake Ethiopia — Conclusion of Bulatovich’s first book; this is a text of the utmost importance for today’s diplomatic services of Sudan and Egypt, as well for the liberation fronts of the subjugated nations of Abyssinia, and more importantly the Oromos, the Bertas, and the Agaws who are the only inhabitants of the areas crossed by the Blue Nile in the monstrous tyranny of Abyssinia (fake Ethiopia) that must cease to exist.
The excerpt clearly demonstrates that the criminal, racist Amhara and Tigray Tewahedo (Monophysitic) Abyssinians never had any right to the Blue Nile waters prior to their illegal, criminal, colonial expansion and invasion of the annexed lands of the Oromos, the Bertas and Gumuz (Benishangul), and the Agaws.
18th article: Jewish Soviet Scholar Katsnelson’s Study on Bulatovich Underscores Russian Failure in Fake Ethiopia — Excerpts from a remarkable and insightful treatise elaborated by the Russian Jewish Communist Historian and Philologist Isidor Saavich Katsnelson (A.X. Bulatovich — Hussar, Explorer, Monk); Katsnelson was a leading Egyptologist and Africanist who also contributed to the then nascent Meroitic Studies, the academic research about the last period of pre-Christian History of Ethiopia, i.e. Sudan, when Meroe (today’s Bagrawiyah, nearby Ad-Damer and Atbarah in Sudan).
Katznelson’s contributions hit the final nail on the coffin of the fallacious use of the great historical name of Ethiopia by the barbarous Abyssinian tribes who proved to be the worst pestilence in Africa’s History of Tyranny, Persecution, Racism, False Eschatology, Anti-human Conspiracy, and Genocide.
Katsnelson was greatly interested in the personal history and explorations, spiritual and metaphysical search, travels and pursuits of Bulatovich; much of what we know now of Bulatovish is due to Katznelson. The selection of Bulatovich’s excerpts translated from Russian to English was made by the translator of Bulatovich’s two books, Richard Seltzer. Herewith, I reproduce it integrally.
Katznelson’s analysis, like Bulatovich’s book, demonstrates how erroneous the Russian and Soviet East African policy has always been and how it worked at the detriment of Russia (or Soviet Union) itself.
Despite the fact that the Russian Orthodox explorer, military officer and monk was accepted by the Abyssinian gangster and ruler Sahle Mariam (pseudo-royal nickname: Menelik) to heal him through use of Russian holy icons, the hidden conclave of the Amhara heretic, pseudo-Christian Satanists who rule the cursed country of tyranny and genocide, prevented Bulatovich from achieving his pious target, thus clearly demonstrating their alliance with the Anglo-French freemasons and their hatred of Christianity.
What was possible for a Russian monk to undertake in Romania, Albania, Greece, Palestine, and Egypt was absolutely out of the question in the pseudo-Christian state of Abyssinia.
The important document serves therefore as perfect refutation of the fallacy that Abyssinia (fallaciously and unlawfully re-baptized as Ethiopia) is a “Christian” country. The Amhara and Tigray Tewahedo (Monophysitic) Abyssinians are not Christian; under the coverage of a simulacrum of Christian heretic faith, an enormous number of anti-Christian traits and a deep-seated hatred of Egyptian Coptic Christianity, Russian Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism are the determinant factors of the incestuous Amhara society whereby fornication is overwhelming and the family concept does not exist.
The falsehood of the so-called “Christian Abyssinia” had been fabricated by Freemasonic and Zionist institutions of England, France and America in order to destroy African Islam, and consolidate the colonial control over all the subjugated and tyrannized African nations whose identity and existence have been targeted for extinction as part of the world’s most abominable genocide.
Ethiopia through Russian Eyes
An eye-witness account of the end of an era, 1896-98 consisting of two books by Alexander Bulatovich:
Journal of an expedition from Ethiopia to Lake Rudolf
by Alexander K. Bulatovich
With four diagrams, three maps, and 78 photographs by the author and Lieutenant Davydov; Saint Petersburg, “Artistic Press” Publishing House, 28 Angliyskiy St., 1900, 271 pages
Published with permission of the Military Science Committee of the Chief of Staff
Reissued in 1971 as part of the volume With the Armies of Menelik II, edited by I. S. Katsnelson of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R.”Science” Publishing House Chief Editorial Staff of Oriental LiteratureMoscow 1971.
Translated by Richard Seltzer
I. From Addis Ababa to Jimma December 27 and 28
After long, but necessary musters, we finally set out. The mules, in high spirits, won’t let themselves be saddled. One of them even breaks loose and dashes away with a pack on its back. With some difficulty, we catch the runaway and put it back in line. Everything is settled. The caravan is ready. With loud and joyful songs, at noon we leave the city. A little later, the city disappears behind us and, in front, boundless spaces spread. There, in the distance, lie unexplored regions full of unsolved riddles. I keep the aim of the trip a secret. I tell my ashkers that we probably have an elephant hunt in store for us.
We walk very quickly. The people sing, not falling silent. The animals are getting excited. The detachment is cheerful, happy, like a young thoroughbred horse which, when led onto first snow, breaks into the open with a neigh. The surplus of energy so overbrims. God grant that this state of mind last! I know by experience how you shouldn’t count on these first invigorating impressions, how fast this energy abates, if squandered. The time is perhaps not far off when both man and beast will be counting every step. On this first day, we make a short five-and-a-half hour march, and set our bivouac at the foot of Mount Wochech, near a Galla farmstead. On December 28, we go down the valley of the Awash River; and after an eleven hour march with an hour and a half break on the bank of the River Berga, we camp for the night in the village of Gura.
The valley of the Awash is very beautiful and relatively densely populated. It is fertile, abounding in water, but completely treeless. Cow dung that is piled around each farmstead in regular heaps serves as fuel here. The inhabitants are Galla who, apparently, have recovered after their recent subjection. They stand up strongly for their property. For instance, one Galla raised a racket and came to me to complain that my cook, Ikasu, had taken three stones for our hearth from a heap that lay near his house.
The village where we stopped is called “Gura.” There are about 20 farmsteads in it. The houses are large, round, with conical straw roofs. Near the houses are low, wattled-brushwood storehouses, slightly elevated above the ground to protect against termites, the dreadful enemies of all who live here.
In their way of life and in their clothing, the inhabitants are noticeably influenced by Abyssinian culture. The men wear trousers of abujedi (English shirt cloth) and shammas,17 and the women wear long Abyssinian shirts. A black silk lace, a matab — sign of christening appears on the necks of all of them.
Twenty years ago, the beautiful wide plain of the Awash, on the horizon of which are visible mountains of enormous mass, was the scene of the bloodiest cavalry battles.
The Galla who inhabit it were famous for their horsemanship and bravery, and the subjugation of them cost the Abyssinians much trouble and sacrifice. Not so long ago, it was a rare and remarkable feat for an Abyssinian to water his horse at the Awash River. But blow after blow struck by Ras Gobana, Menelik’s celebrated commander, broke the resistance of the brave tribe. Ras Gobana is by birth a Shoan: his father was a Galla, and his mother an Abyssinian. All the best fighting elements of Shoa thronged under his banners. Where Ras Gobana was, there too were success and plunder. At the call of Gobana, tens of thousands of warriors assembled. In the field, the celebrated Ras was courageous and indefatigable. His time was the epoch of the flourishing of the cavalry spirit and of mounted battle in Abyssinia. Firearms were almost unknown at that time. The lance, the ardent steed, the impact and the speed of the raid, numerical superiority — that is how Gobana triumphed.
He usually invited the Galla to submit, threatening to destroy them if they did not. Gobana sent such admonitions to all the neighboring tribes, but few of them submitted voluntarily. Then Gobana launched raids on the unsubmissive. He didn’t take caravans of transport carts with him — these were raids of ten-thousand-man detachments. No one knew when the Ras would set out, where he would go, or when he would return. At night, the order was given to set out, and by morning all communications between the detachment that had moved into the field and the base was severed. Finally, after a long wait, those who stayed at home would see a column of dust on the horizon and say that Gobana was returning…
Approaching the domain of an unsubmissive tribe, the Ras surrounded the border by night. At dawn, his huge horde was already flying like the wind in all directions, destroying everything that fell in its path. This was the time of personal heroism, of epic warriors, when guns and smokeless powder had not depersonalized the soldier — when enemies met face to face to measure strength. Here each warrior sought glory and plunder for himself. The Ras was situated with the reserves, somewhere on a high central hill, from which a view of the horizon opened up. At the decisive moment, he set his reserves in motion. The Galla used temporizing tactics. They retreated and escaped from the onslaught of the Abyssinians. But when the Shoans returned to the rallying point, burdened with plunder, tired, on exhausted horses, entire cavalry detachments of Galla, who had hidden in the rough terrain or in empty cattle pens, unexpectedly darted out of ambush. Singing “Joli Aba Rebi” — “I the son of Aba Rebi” (the leader of the tribe) — they attacked the Abyssinians, retaking the plunder from them. Many Abyssinian and Galla bones lie in this valley.
The essence of Gobana’s style of warfare is expressed by his two favorite words: “Hid bellau!” — “Off with you, get going!” This remarkable fighting cavalryman died several years ago, having badly hurt himself in a fall from a horse. With his death, cavalry activity in Abyssinia began to die away. However, there were other reasons for this. Everyone acquired guns; and, owing to the loss of livestock and constant wars, many no longer had horses. Meanwhile, the theater of military operations shifted: rocks and narrow, wooded mountain ridges replaced the plateaux and plains which formerly were the scene of mounted battles.
My guide, a participant in the expeditions of Ras Gobana, showed me the place from which the Ras unleashed his detachment in one of his many raids. This was at the foot of Mount Wochech. Many from the Ras’s detachment reached the Chobo Mountains that day and managed to return to the rallying point by evening. Fighting and seizing plunder, they covered 80-100 versts [53-66 miles] in a single day.
December 29
Crossing the Barbari-Medyr land, which is densely populated by soldiers of Menelik, we climbed Mount Dendi. At the summit of one of the spurs of this mountain huddles a small town, or rather, the fortified residence of the governor-general of this region — Dajazmatch Haile Maryam.
Strongholds of this type are very characteristic. They are usually built on some hard-to-reach hill which commands the surrounding area and on which the Abyssinian ruler builds his eagle nest. The strongholds are surrounded by a high palisade, in front of which is a deep ditch. The interior of the stronghold is divided into several separate courtyards, built up with all sorts of structures related to the household economy, and a large square where court is held. In the center is located the elfin, or inner chambers of the leader. On a neighboring hill, in the shade of huge fig trees is hidden a round church with a conical roof and a star made of reed sticks, with ostrich eggs stuck on the ends of the sticks. The low little houses of numerous clergy and soldiers are huddled around the church and the little town.
Governor-general Haile Maryam was away. He and his soldiers had taken the field with the detachment of Ras Makonnen. A significant part of the male Galla population had also gone with him.
By eleven in the morning, we climbed the crest of the former crater of Mount Dendi (3,000 meters above sea level), inside which is found the lake of the same name. The foot of the mountain is completely built-up with Galla farmsteads, buried in the verdure of banana plantations. Its very steep slopes are overgrown with huge coniferous trees teda — a type of cypress — and leaf-bearing kusso trees.18 From the crest of the mountain there opens up a view that is rare in beauty and in the combination of colors. Far below sparkles the sky-blue, brilliant surface of the lake, surrounded by the dense green of huge trees. Around it, wild, plantless, forbidding gray rocks cluster. This lake seems to consist of two little lakes which touch each other at their circumferences. It may be that there used to be two craters here. From the southern lake flows the River Uluk, a tributary of the Blue Nile. Dendi in Galla means “great water,” and Uluk means “passing through.” Not far off from Dendi towers another mountain — Chobo — with a lake at the summit named “Wonch,” from which flows Walga, a tributary of the River Omo. According to local inhabitants, Walga flows some distance under the ground then, piercing the crater, appears outside.
On the shores of the Dendi, stuck to the foot of a cliff, stands the farmstead of Fitaurari Abto Giyorgis, commander of the entire guard of Menelik II.
My path to Jimma went through his possessions; and, by order of the Emperor, Abto Giyorgis was supposed to give me guides. The General came to meet me and invited me to his home where dinner was already prepared for us. We sat on spread carpets and in front of us servants stretched a wide curtain that hid us from outside eyes. One of the ashkers brought a copper wash-stand of intricate form (with the brand of a Moscow factory), and we, in accordance with Abyssinian custom, washed our hands before the meal. One of the cooks, a beautiful young Galla girl, having washed her hands and having rolled the sleeves of her shirt to the elbow, kneeled in front of our basket and from little pots began to take out on slices of injera (a flat cake) all kinds of foods and to put them on the bread which was spread out on the basket. What an array of foods: hard-boiled eggs cooked in some unusually sharp sauce, and ragout of mutton with red pepper, and chicken gravy with ginger, and tongue, and ground or scraped meat — all abundantly seasoned with butter and powdered with pepper and spices — and cold sour milk and sour cream… In the corners of the fire in front of us, cut into little pieces, tebs meat was roasting. And the chief of the slaughter-house held over our basket a huge piece of beef. We ate with our hands, tearing off little petals of injera and collecting with them large amounts of all sorts of foods. My mouth burned from the quantity of pepper. Tears came to my eyes. My sense of taste was dulled. And we devoured everything indiscriminately, cooling our mouths, from time to time, with sour cream or by drinking a wonderful mead — tej — from little decanters wrapped in little silk handkerchiefs. They also invited Zelepukin to dinner. When we were full, they called the officers of the Fitaurari and my ashkers. They sat in close circles around ten baskets with injera, over which servants held large pieces of raw meat. Wine bearers served mead to the diners in large horn glasses. All ate decorously and silently. At the end of the meal, just as decorously, they all got up and left at the same time, not bowing to anyone. General Abto Giyorgis is one of the most outstanding associates of Menelik today. He is the son of the chief of a small tribe.
When the Abyssinians subdued this tribe, in accordance with custom, they took the children of the best families of the conquered tribe to educate them. Among the pupils was Abto Giyorgis, who found himself at the court of Menelik. He spent all of his childhood and youth in the suite of the Negus. Here he went through the entire course of Abyssinian sciences, studied Holy Scripture and legislation; and, thanks to his intelligence, uprightness and knowledge of laws, Menelik made him one of the chief lecturers on judicial affairs. In the recent war with Italy, he distinguished himself at Adowa, and Menelik assigned him to replace a guards leader who was killed in that battle, Fitaurari Bobayu, and who is now glorified by bards as an Abyssinian hero. Abto Giyorgis now has the post of personal fitaurari attached to the person of Menelik and commander of all his guard. Under his command there are an eleven-thousand-man regiment of snayder-yaji (i.e., bearers of “Remingtons”), and several thousand of his own soldiers. These troops are deployed (due to the convenience of supplies) in a long band, from Chabo along the left bank of the River Gibye-Omo, then along the shores of Lake Abasi, or Walamo, southward to Lake Stephanie and the lands of Boran. The latter were conquered by Abto Giyorgis in 1897.
The origin of the armies of Menelik is interesting. At the beginning of his reign, the Emperor had a severe shortage of both guns and soldiers. The nucleus of his armed forces consisted of the armies of Emperor Tewodros, known as gondari — men of Gondar — that had gone over to his side. They are still called gondari and are stationed along the borders of the empire. They are about twenty thousand men strong. This army is divided into thousand-man regiments distributed among various leaders. Soldiers who mustered under the banner of Menelik at another later time were known by a name that corresponded to their armament. Those armed with muzzle-loaded guns were called neftenya. Those who had flint-lock guns were tabanja-yaji. Those with breech-loaded guns were snayder-yaji”.
At first, Menelik supplied his personal guards with breech-loaded guns. They were subsequently divided into a separate corps and transformed into the Guard of Menelik. The snayder-yaji, as a picked army, is supposed to be in front of all the armies of the Emperor in campaigns and battles. The tabanja-yaji number over five thousand. They are under the leadership of Likamakos (adjutant general) Adenau. The neftenya number ten regiments distributed among various leaders. They are now all armed with breech-loaded guns although they keep their old names. Abto Giyorgis holds the very important post of “personal fitaurari.” In a march, he is always in front. In battle, he is obliged to attack the enemy first and always from the front. The men appointed to this high post are usually outstanding for their bravery.
December 30
At eight o’clock in the morning, we set out again. At parting, I gave the Fitaurari a good gold-hilted blade that he liked very much.
The morning was exceptionally cold. A strong west wind blew, and the temperature was only 5o Reamur [43o F], and clouds quickly swept past over the peaks of Dendi. Unaccustomed to this temperature, our arms became numb. To warm up, my bare-footed and half-naked, shivering ashkers ran in line with my mule.
The General gave me guides to Jimma: some soldiers and the son of the former Galla King Cholye-Byru, which means literally “ardent silver.” This was an elderly, gray Galla of enormous build, with a masculine, but at the same time naive-childish face. In a picturesque white cloak, with a straw hat on his head, a small straw parasol in his hand, and a long spear on his back, he accompanied me on the back of a little mule. For him, a boy servant carried on his head a little bag with provisions.
The road followed the valley of the River Walga — along the region of Amaya, which is rich and densely populated by Galla, and which was recently subdued by the Abyssinians. The large number of streams flowing from Mountains Rogye and Tobo give this locale a rare fertility. The fields are completely under cultivation, and farmsteads stretch along the entire road, uninterrupted by any street.
The Galla of Amaya are very beautiful, of large build, well formed. Their women are especially beautiful — some have a perfectly Gypsy type of beauty. They dress in an ox-hide that girds the hips like a skirt, trimmed from above with little frills. Huge bracelets of copper and ivory are displayed on their arms and legs. Their pierced ears have earrings. Around the neck, they wear beads. Men wear trousers and shammas. In its domestic structure, this tribe differs very little from other Galla tribes. It surpasses them only by its trade and industrial development. Amaya abounds in markets at which one can get excellent cotton fabric.
Along the road, I killed a jackal. The bullet pierced both forelegs above the knee, completely breaking the bones. At this time, a Galla came up to me who turned out to be the son of the former king of Amaya-Moti — Bonti-Maya. The strong action of the small-looking bullet from my 3/8-inch-caliber rifle struck my new acquaintance and seemed supernatural to him. He looked over the gun for a long time with wonder, praising it.
Crossing the River Walga, which flows in rocky, sheer banks, we set up camp after a nine and a half hour crossing. At night there was a powerful storm. Two mules and a horse broke away from the convoy; and by morning, Galla from the neighboring village were already trying to steal them. My ashkers, however, overtook the malefactors and turned them over to the local judge. To my consternation, the judge considered it necessary to arrest not only the guilty parties, but also the animals, thus lessening my already insignificant caravan.
December 31
We set out onto an almost uninhabited plain, which stretches in a wide band along the River Gibye and is overgrown with acacias of a type which is rarely seen in Abyssinia. These are small trees with light bark, almost without leaves. The upper part of their trunk is very branched, and the branches are studded with thorns which, at its base, are swollen into complete little balls, almost all of them with little wormholes. When the wind blows, these little balls give out a strange noise like a whistle. This plain, which is rich in game, bears the name mocha, which means “thicket.”
At noon, we stopped for rest near a small Galla farmstead. A young good-looking Galla girl came out to meet us. She lived at the home of her parents, having recently run away from her husband.
I asked her, “But your husband can take you back. Didn’t he pay your parents a ransom for you? What will you do then?”
“What’s there to do? I am his slave… Against my wishes, I will submit myself,” she answered. “Then I will run away again.”
I cite this conversation because it seems to me characteristic of the position of women among the Galla.
Having thus accomplished a twelve-hour march, we bivouacked at the Galla farmstead. At this bivouac, Zelepukin killed a wild goat with a Winchester rifle. Thanks to that, we greeted the New Year with an excellent supper, consisting of soup, cooked from the dead goat, and good coffee with a glass of liqueur. However, having turned our attention to our future business, we meanwhile noticed on one of the pack animals a sore which my ashkers cauterized that very evening.
January 1, 1898
We for the second time crossed the River Walga, which in this place flows through a deep and narrow ravine. There was a lot of game on the plain leading to the river. Not leaving the path, I killed four wild goats.19
A long the River Walga stretches the settlement of Adale, bounded from the side of the Mocha by a wide thick fortification (abattis), built by the Galla for defense against cavalry raids from the Gurage.
This warlike tribe lived on a plateau, which lies between the Rivers Gibye and Awash, on the banks of several lakes. The Gurage are Semitic in origin and believe that they come from Gura in Tigre. The Galla invasion in the sixteenth century, when the Galla conquered the entire basin of the Gibye and the Awash Rivers, isolated the Gurage from other tribes who were related to them and forced them to wage for three centuries an unequal but desperate battle for independence with the Galla.20
They preserved their uniqueness, language, and Christian faith. Even today, subdued by Menelik, they have not lost their warlike spirit. During the war with Italy, when Menelik was in Tigre with his armies, the Gurage carried out a series of attacks on neighboring Galla, and among others, on the inhabitants of Adale. The people of Adale met them with the above described fortification, which is very awkward for mounted battle. The skirmish which took place here ended with the retreat of the Gurage.
The leader of the region, Basha Metaferya, was away. He is commander of a regiment of snayder-yaji which is posted here. The temporary commanding officer came to meet us, accompanied by a crowd of Abyssinians and Galla. With low bows, he begged us to take honorary gifts (durgo) — bread, honey, butter, rams, hens, eggs, milk and salt (customarily brought together by order of the Emperor as a gift to an honored traveler who is passing through) — and to stay at the home of Basha. It was much too early to stop for the night (there were still three hours of daylight left). So we had to decline this kind invitation.
Passing the village, we went down a very difficult path from a high steep plateau, rising 800 meters above the River Gibye. An inexperienced person could get dizzy from such steepness, which all the more seemed impassable for a loaded mule. But the mules demonstrated their agility and hardiness. For them, such slopes are an ordinary matter. Stepping quietly and carefully, only rarely squinting toward the abyss spread out almost under its feet, the mule confidently steps from rock to rock. But here it stops… An obstacle appears on the road. A moment… The mule makes a bold, strong jump and safely makes its way to an apparently unreachable spot. From the edge of the plateau, a remarkably beautiful view of the river opens up. Somewhere deep below, it twists among the enormous stone masses which press in upon it, framed with a thick green leaf-bearing forest, a narrow ribbon running away along its banks far, far… The valley of the river is uninhabited. Around it reigns a dumb silence, only rarely disturbed by the loud snorting, almost roar of hippotamuses playing in the water.
The Gibye begins in the Guder Mountains, which stretch across the left bank of the Blue Nile. Near the place where we passed, the Gibye takes, to the right, two of its main tributaries — Gibye-Enerea and Gibye-Kake, and to the left — the River Walga. Here, squeezed from both sides by mountains, it flows in a narrow channel. Farther on, as if digging through the mountain range, it runs to the south by a wide low-lying valley. Here already it takes the name not of Gibye, but of Omo.
We had to cross the river. The guides showed us the place, and we forded there. Here the Gibye has a width of 180 paces, and depth of one arshin [28 inches]. It flows at a speed of greater than eight versts an hour. On the other bank of the river we hunted large chamois-bulls (orobo), which from the mountain we mistook for buffalo. For the first time since my illness, I tried to walk and run during this hunt. My ashkers got very excited, shot quickly and therefore missed. Finally, only one orobo was killed, hit by two shots of mine from an express22 rifle at a distance of 50 paces. The first bullet hit it in the thigh, and the wounded beast, making several steps forward, stopped, and turned halfway around toward me. I shot him with a second bullet, which pierced its cheek, and the orobo fell down.
There were many hippopotamuses in the river. Shooting them turned out to be a fine training exercise. This is because hippopotamuses commonly luxuriate themselves in the water, sticking their heads out of its surface. A bullet which doesn’t reach a hippopotamus or that flies beyond it, falls in the water and throws up spray and, only if you hit the target do you not leave a trace on the surface of the water. Thus you get a clear indication of whether the sight of your rifle is true.
That evening, the leader of Adale came to our bivouac at the head of a long file of Galla, carrying durgo; and looking forward to an abundant dinner, my people rejoiced.
The place where we spent the night teems with predatory animals. As a precaution, we set large campfires for the night and placed sentries at the ends of the convoy.
By: Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis [ Enlarge ] From a confidential letter sent by B. Chermerzin, charge d’ affaires of the Russian Embassy in Abyssinia to A. A. Neratov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, on December 15, 1911, we get an insightful about Bulatovich’s later travel to Abyssinia whereby he had the ambition to establish a monastic order.
Despite the fact that the Russian Orthodox explorer, military officer and monk was accepted by the Abyssinian gangster and ruler Sahle Mariam (pseudo-royal nickname: Menelik) to heal him through use of Russian holy icons, the hidden conclave of the Amhara heretic, pseudo-Christian Satanists who rule the cursed country of tyranny and genocide, prevented Bulatovich from achieving his pious target, thus clearly demonstrating their alliance with the Anglo-French freemasons and their hatred of Christianity.
What was possible for a Russian monk to undertake in Romania, Albania, Greece, Palestine, and Egypt was absolutely out of the question in the pseudo-Christian state of Abyssinia.
The important document serves therefore as perfect refutation of the fallacy that Abyssinia (fallaciously and unlawfully re-baptized as Ethiopia) is a “Christian” country. The Amhara and Tigray Tewahedo (Monophysitic) Abyssinians are not Christian; under the coverage of a simulacrum of Christian heretic faith, an enormous number of anti-Christian traits and a deep-seated hatred of Egyptian Coptic Christianity, Russian Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism are the determinant factors of the incestuous Amhara society whereby fornication is overwhelming and the family concept does not exist.
The falsehood of the so-called “Christian Abyssinia” had been fabricated by Freemasonic and Zionist institutions of England, France and America in order to destroy African Islam, and consolidate the colonial control over all the subjugated and tyrannized African nations whose identity and existence have been targeted for extinction as part of the world’s most abominable genocide.
In many forthcoming articles, I will extensively comment on parts of this book (notably History, Religion, Conclusion), and in addition, I will republish Bulatovich’s second book in its entirety (in several parts). Herewith, I make first available a recapitulation of the earlier eighteen (18) articles of this series, and then republish the confidential letter translated to English.
Recapitulation
Earlier articles of the present series can be found here:
1st Article: The Oromo Genocide Solemnly Confessed by Official Russian Explorer in Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia)– Selected and highlighted excerpts from a book — report published by a Russian explorer, military officer and monk, Alexander Bulatovich, who spent three years in Abyssinia, during the last decade of the 19th century. These excerpts undeniably testify to the Oromo genocide perpetrated by the invading Amhara and Tigray Abyssinian armies, and have therefore to be brought to the surface of political debate by the Oromo political and intellectual leaders at the local, regional and international levels.
2nd Article: Russia, the Oromos, Egypt, Sudan, Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia), Somalia, Islam & Orthodox Christianity — Republishing further excerpts from Bulatovich’s book, I focused on the possible reasons for Russia’s failure as colonial power in the region. As reasons I identified an inherent Russian quantitative approach to the colonial process and an overall misperception of the past and the present of Asia and Africa, which is due to the Russian academic, intellectual and ideological acceptance of the Anglo-French Orientalism, a bunch of disciplines elaborated by the French and the English academia in order to mainly promote and diffuse an interpretation of data that would suit the interests of the Anglo-French Freemasonry, namely the driving force of the Paris and London regimes.
5th Article: Oromo National Identity Diametrically Opposed to Amhara Manner, Russian Officer Bulatovich Reveals — Three chapters dealing with Oromo national identity, religion and language; all the preconceived concepts of the colonial era are herewith present, thus leading Bulatovich to erroneous interpretations. Certainly, the Russian explorer was not a linguist, historian or historian of religions; more importantly, academic exploration was not the primary interest of his travel which was kind of diplomatic reconnaissance. However, the chapter on the Oromo national character is greatly interesting because it demolishes the Ethiopianist myth of a supposed Ethiopian nation.
With no family, there is no Christian society. As a matter of fact, Abyssinian eschatology is a corrupt system at the very antipodes of Christianity.
7th Article: Outrageous Falsehood on Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia) Rejected: Solomonic Dynasty, Kingdom Do Not Exist — Further excerpts from the same volume of Bulatovich, providing with his description of the Abyssinians. Reporting accurately and truthfully, Bulatovich offered the Orthodox tsarist Russia’s top authorities a convincing presentation and analysis of how and why Abyssinian nobility does not exist — which consists in a formidable blow against the falsehood of the so-called Solomonic dynasty of Abyssinia, and their connection to the Ancient Hebrews. In fact, there has never been any post-Agaw Abyssinian ‘Kingdom’. The entire history of post-Agaw Abyssinia is a succession of uncivilized gangsters of incestuous origin, who were peremptorily called ‘noble men’, ‘kings’ or ‘emperors’; they were imposed as such to all the peoples and nations that, with Anglo-French permission and support, the Abyssinians invaded and subjugated.
11th Article: War Criminals of Abyssinia (fake Ethiopia), Their Atrocities Exposed by Bulatovich, Envoy of Russia — Chapter on the Abyssinian army; this part of Bulatovich’s text is also very critical because it highlights (see the section: ‘Conduct of War’) the inhuman practices of environmental disaster spread by the criminal robbers and inhuman soldiers of the Abyssinian state, which supported by England and France, perpetrated the worst atrocities ever attested on African soil and the world’s most appalling and multifaceted genocide.
12th article: The Nile, Egypt, Sudan Menaced by Evil Prophecy, Secret Expansion Plan of Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia) — Chapter on Menelik’s family, the ‘family of the emperor’. This chapter is of great importance for the diplomatic and national security services of Egypt and the Sudan, because it reveals what the heinous and rancorous Amhara and Tigray Monophysitic (Tewahedo) Abyssinians try to hide; namely that the regime, the elites and the upper classes of these incestuous and barbarous tribes act based on a secret program (that they call “prophecy” because of their sick, abnormal and perverse minds) to destroy Egypt and Sudan, and expand their cannibalistic tyranny throughout East Africa.
13th article: Amhara Pseudo-History of Abyssinia (fake Ethiopia), False Assumptions of Bulatovich, Envoy of Russia — Chapter on the Sidamas and the African peoples. This part is full of inaccuracies, inconsistencies and wrong terms; it is clearly the topic Bulatovich explored less and had a most vague idea about. The reason is simple; he did not have the time for direct contact with any of them, being thus the victim of the customary and idiotic Amhara lies.
14th article: Heretic Christianity in Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia): Russian Errors, Benefits for England and France — Chapter on the Abyssinian church and faith that Bulatovich erroneously names ‘Ethiopian’; the attribution of the national name of Ancient Kush (Sudan) to Abyssinia relates to the Axumite King Ezana’s partly invasion of Ethiopia and destruction of its capital, Meroe, ca. 360 — 365 CE. That event had however a partly and momentary character that does not justify any further use from any Abyssinian ruler because that country was always located out of the historical borders of real Ethiopia. This is the reason the modern state is called Fake Ethiopia; its right name is just Abyssinia.
15th article: England, France, Italy, Russia, Bulatovich and the Bogus Historical Dogma of Fake Ethiopia — Chapter on the History of Abyssinia that Bulatovich knowingly calls ‘Ethiopia’ erroneously. The lengthy text (5133 words) is a complete collection of Western academic mistakes and misperceptions based mainly, and very often exclusively, on Abyssinian unsubstantiated claims, racist fallacies, and paranoid lies.
16th article: Bulatovich’s Conclusions Support Egypt and Sudan: the Blue Nile Does Not Belong to Fake Ethiopia — Conclusion of Bulatovich’s first book; this is a text of the utmost importance for today’s diplomatic services of Sudan and Egypt, as well for the liberation fronts of the subjugated nations of Abyssinia, and more importantly the Oromos, the Bertas, and the Agaws who are the only inhabitants of the areas crossed by the Blue Nile in the monstrous tyranny of Abyssinia (fake Ethiopia) that must cease to exist.
The excerpt clearly demonstrates that the criminal, racist Amhara and Tigray Tewahedo (Monophysitic) Abyssinians never had any right to the Blue Nile waters prior to their illegal, criminal, colonial expansion and invasion of the annexed lands of the Oromos, the Bertas and Gumuz (Benishangul), and the Agaws.
18th article: Jewish Soviet Scholar Katsnelson’s Study on Bulatovich Underscores Russian Failure in Fake Ethiopia — Excerpts from a remarkable and insightful treatise elaborated by the Russian Jewish Communist Historian and Philologist Isidor Saavich Katsnelson (A.X. Bulatovich — Hussar, Explorer, Monk); Katsnelson was a leading Egyptologist and Africanist who also contributed to the then nascent Meroitic Studies, the academic research about the last period of pre-Christian History of Ethiopia, i.e. Sudan, when Meroe (today’s Bagrawiyah, nearby Ad-Damer and Atbarah in Sudan).
Katznelson’s contributions hit the final nail on the coffin of the fallacious use of the great historical name of Ethiopia by the barbarous Abyssinian tribes who proved to be the worst pestilence in Africa’s History of Tyranny, Persecution, Racism, False Eschatology, Anti-human Conspiracy, and Genocide.
Katsnelson was greatly interested in the personal history and explorations, spiritual and metaphysical search, travels and pursuits of Bulatovich; much of what we know now of Bulatovish is due to Katznelson. The selection of Bulatovich’s excerpts translated from Russian to English was made by the translator of Bulatovich’s two books, Richard Seltzer. Herewith, I reproduce it integrally.
Katznelson’s analysis, like Bulatovich’s book, demonstrates how erroneous the Russian and Soviet East African policy has always been and how it worked at the detriment of Russia (or Soviet Union) itself.
Confidential letter from B. Chermerzin, Charge D’affaires of the Russian Embassy in Ethiopia to A. A. Neratov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs — December 15, 1911 http://www.samizdat.com/cherm.html
Dear Sir, Anatoly Anatolyevich!
The broadly conceived plans of Father Antoniy (Bulatovich), as could have been foreseen, were not implemented.
After his illness, which lasted about two months, this monk immediately wanted to get to work healing Emperor Menelik II, for which aim he had brought with him several wonder-working icons, consecrated oil and holy water. However, to penetrate the “Dzhankhoy” which was strongly defended against contact with Europeans, turned out to be by far not so simple as Farther Antoniy had imagined. In spite of the formal authorization given in my presence by Lidzhem Yasu for an official audience, admittance was postponed from one day to the next, and the cherished desire of Father Antoniy was fulfilled only in the fourth month of his stay in Addis Ababa.
At last admitted to see the sick man, Father Antoniy with his companion Monk Ieronim held church services, sprinkled and even rubbed the body of the emperor with holy water and holy oil, applied wonder-working icons, but no improvement in the health of Menelik resulted. The only result of their visit was that it was evidently established that the emperor is alive and that all the rumors about the substitution of the long-since dead man by the “Dzhankoy” with an Abyssinian who resembles him were false.
Having carried out one of the aims of his visit to Abyssinia, Father Antoniy then tried to ascertain the attitude of the local government to his other preconceived plans for the establishment of a Russian Orthodox spiritual mission and an Athonite “podvor” in Abyssinia.
Here disappointment awaited him: both members of the government and well-known natives in general, who every minute poured out to Father Antoniy their feelings of love toward everything Russian and toward Russian clergy in particular, as soon as the question turned to a concession for the building of a “podvor” of a Russian monastery on an island in Lake Khoroshal (which lies three days journey south of Addis Ababa and was chosen by Father Antoniy on this trip as the designated site), found a mass of objections, and Father Antoniy thus did not succeed in securing a definitive promise of a concession for the plot of land selected by him.
Foreseeing this turn of events, I avoided providing any help to the undertakings of Father Antoniy, all the more because I explained to him in conversations that his plans were very vague and were not taking definite shape.
As far as I can determine, in general, his intentions amount to the following:
Building on a plot of land granted by the Abyssinian government a modest “podvor” of the St. Andrew Skete of Mount Athos, in which would live Father Antoniy himself and five or six other monks, selected by him from a number who had already expressed their desire to form the brotherhood of the said “podvor.” At the podvor he would establish a school for children, in which to provide elementary education for young natives.
Monetary means, which, in an approximate account, to begin with would be needed at a rate of 2000 rubles per year, and with the development of the school activities and the possibility of developing it into a seminary at 8000 rules per year, Father Antoniy intended to find by way of voluntary contributions from his former friends and acquaintances, who sympathize with the effort to enlighten Ethiopia, and the largest part of it he would bring in himself from the money his mother now sends him. The activities of the brothers at the podvor would be exclusively religious-moral and instructive, without any political tendencies.
For my part, I noted to Father Antoniy as a criticism of these assumptions, that the hopes of a flood of contributions for such a special purpose as the construction of a “podvor” in Abyssinia, were scarcely well-grounded and that, in case of approval of his plans by the Holy Synod, he would have to rely exclusively on his own personal means. Aside from that, in my opinion, there is another weak side — this selection of associates. You could hardly doubt that the majority of his brothers, now attracted to live in Abyssinia by his passionate tales of bliss, would scatter soon after they became acquainted with all the difficulties that they had in store for them on this island devoid of fresh water, in a region that is not renowned for its healthy climate, far from any human habitation.
Finally, Father Antoniy himself, who was a man of strong spirit, was at the same time in very weak health (he suffered from malaria and problem with his eyes) and very ignorant in worldly matters, which could by no means not have an affect on his activity.
Moreover, the ecclesiastical leadership of Saint Andrew’s Skete apparently disapproved of his enterprise and told him in an urgent summons to return to Mount Athos. Clearly, the skete was reluctant to part with this well-educated, deeply believing and wealthy associate.
On December 8 Father Antoniy Bulatovich left here for Mount Athos, taking with him only hopes and not having a single definite promise from the side of the authorities.
Time will tell whether he tries to accomplish his plans.
Please be assured, sir, of my deep respect and devotion.
