Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/240





HOA or Shawa, and the hilly country of the northern Gallas, form a part of the Abyssinian plateaux. From a political point of view Shoa, after having been independent for some length of time, has again become attached and pays a regular tribute to the Abyssinian empire, the king of Shoa humbling himself before the "king of kings." South of the Abaï most of the civilised or barbarous tribes have been subjugated to Northern Abyssinia by victorious expeditions, and ambassadors bring to Debra-Tabor or Makaleh a yearly tribute of ivory or other valuable commodities. On this side the whole of southern Abyssinia even beyond Kaffa is thus bounded by fluctuating frontiers; the area of Shoa has been increased threefold, and the kingdom of Gojam has been enlarged in the same proportion, although the Abaï interrupts all communications between Abyssinia and the country of the Ormas for seven or eight months in the year.

The peoples of these countries, mostly differing in origin, speech, religion, and customs, should be studied apart. The lowland tribes, however, comprised between the main Abyssinian range, the Red Sea coast, the Gulf of Aden, and the watershed south of the basin of the Awash, form a group clearly defined by the way of life the soil and the climate compel them to follow; but as intermediaries of the trade between the plateaux and the sea, they are indispensable to the inhabitants of Shoa. Thus, however different the two countries may be, they form a part of the same social organization.

South of the Angot and the Zebul the main Abyssinian range penetrates into Shoa, here diverging slightly from the line of the meridian towards the south-west, parallel with the course of the Awash. This part of the border-chain is called Shakka, or Amba-Shakka, and, according to Beke, attains a mean height of from 8,000 to 9,000 feet, several of the crests even considerably exceeding this elevation. The highest mountain, at least in the vicinity of Ankober, is Mount Metatiteh (11,000 feet), which overlooks the greater part of the kingdom of Shoa lying at