Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/194

 The Felashas, or "Jews of Abyssinia," variously estimated at from 10,000 to 20,000, are very probably of the same stock as the Agau. They are found throughout the plateaux, and even in Shoa and Gurageh, divided into three religious sects, each with its high priest. In southern Abyssinia they are called Fenjas, but are no longer found in the Siraen mountains, where they still predominated towards the close of the sixteenth century. The national name, Felasha, signifies "exiles," and in point of fact they claim descent from the ten tribes banished from the Holy Land. On the other hand, they are fond of quoting legends to prove that their ancestor was Menelik, the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Of the explorers who have visited them, several consider their type similar to that of the eastern Jews ; but observers have generally failed to notice any striking difference in features between them and their neighbours, except perhaps that their eyes are a little more oblique than those of the Agau. Their language, the kuara, huara, or huaraza, said to be dying out, also resembles that of the Agau, and lends additional force to the hypothesis of the two peoples springing from a common stock. But their religious zeal connects them so closely with the Jews that it would not be surprising to find other Israelites regarding them as of kindred race. In any case, there was a complete religious cohesion between the numerous Jewish communities of Palestine and Abyssinia at the period when uninterrupted communications existed between the Moriah of Jerusalem and the numerous "Mount Sinai's" of the African plateaus. Intercourse was maintained chiefly by means of the powerful Jewish republics then occupying a large part of the Arabian peninsula. One of these states still existed in the Himyaritic country fifty years before the birth of Mohammed. Their religion was spread from the east beyond the Red Sea, and at the period of their decadence the "chosen people" held their ground best in the west. The Felasha religion no longer predominates in Abyssinia, and their dynasties survive only in the popular traditions; still, unlike the Arabian Jews, they are not a hated race persecuted by the other sections of the community.

In nearly all the provinces they hold themselves aloof from the Abyssinians, occupying separate villages or else separate quarters in the towns. The mosques are divided into three compartments of unequal sanctity, like the primitive Jewish tabernacles, and are recognised from a distance by an earthenware vessel placed on the highest pinnacle. Desirous of preserving the purity of their race, the Felashas never marry women of alien religions ; they are even forbidden to enter Christian dwellings, and when they have been polluted by such a visit, are bound to purify themselves before returning to their own homes.

Polygamy is not practised, and marriage is much more respected by them than by the Abyssinians, although the women have more personal freedom. Early marriages, so common amongst the Christian families, are rare amongst them, the men marrying between the ages of twenty to thirty, and the women from fifteen to twenty. Like the Mohammedans, their morals are generally superior to those of their Christian masters, but unlike other Jews, they have no taste for trade. They