Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/275

 or Enuarea, and all the other southern Galla states, Jimma-Kaka, or "Kingdom of Abba-Jifur," Gem, Yungaro, Sidumu, Eullo, Ghiraira, and the great state of Kaffa, the largest country peopled by Gallas which recognises the suzerainty of Abyssinia. Like the provinces of Abyssinia properly so called, all these states are variously divided into degas, vol'na-degas, and kwallas; but on the whole the intermediary zone is the most important, for in it are centred all the chief towns and market-places. In Jimma and Guma the lands belong mainly to the zone of the upland plateaux, and barley is here chiefly cultivated ; the lowlands occupy a larger extent in Innarya, Limmu, and Kaffa. The name of Innarya was formerly applied to a far more extensive region than that which has preserved this appellation. Like Abyssinia it wa.s a Christian kingdom, and for centuries its Sidama inhabitants successfully resisted the surrounding Pagans and Mohammedans. But the Limmu-Gallas, occupying the upper basin of the Orghesa, at last seized the country and, when they embraced Islam, forced their new religion upon the conquered Sidamas. The people of Innarya, now governed by a queen, are Mussulmans, although the name of Sidama, which has no longer any definite meaning, is still used as a general term for the Christians of the Abyssinian countries bounded north by the course of the Abai. Innarya, properly so called, no longer comprises more than the upper valley of the Gugsa, where this river still flows northwards. The lowlands and slopes of this valley are pre-eminently fitted for coffee culture, the shrubs being far finer than those of Kaffa, from which country the plant has received its name. Coffee-plants are said to be found in Innarya some 8 to 10 feet in circumference. Coffee is monopolised by the king, and his slaves alone have the right to gather and sell it for him in the market of Saka. The gold-dust, which was formerly the chief wealth of Innarya, is no longer found in sufficient quantities for exportation.

Although they have lost their ancient civilisation, the people of Innarya are still said to be the most civilised nation of southern Abyssinia, and to excel even the Abyssinians as artisans. The market of Gondar can show nothing superior to their embroideries, or to their weapons with carved silver-mounted hilts. They manufacture iron instruments, which are exported even as far as the tribes occupying the basin of the Sobat. A fortified custom-house defends from the north the approaches to Limmu from Abyssinia. Many of these upland states are almost entirely enclosed by a belt of double walls, moats, and drawbridges ; moreover a large moor, on which no one has the right to settle, spreads round the country, protecting it like the moat of a stronghold. Each kingdom resembles a besieged fortress. As can be well understood, communications in this country are a matter of groat difficulty. Whilst a pedestrian could traverse in four days the forty miles between the great market of BanHo, in Gojam, and that of Saha in Innarya, the caravans have even taken two years to accomplish this journey.