The Nile, which the natives call Abavi, that is, the Father of
Waters, rises first in Sacala, a province of the kingdom of Goiama,
which is one of the most fruitful and agreeable of all the
Abyssinian dominions. This province is inhabited by a nation of the
Agaus, who call, but only call, themselves Christians, for by daily
intermarriages they have allied themselves to the Pagan Agaus, and
adopted all their customs and ceremonies. These two nations are
very numerous, fierce, and unconquerable, inhabiting a country full
of mountains, which are covered with woods, and hollowed by nature
into vast caverns, many of which are capable of containing several
numerous families, and hundreds of cows. To these recesses the
Agaus betake themselves when they are driven out of the plain, where
it is almost impossible to find them, and certain ruin to pursue
them. This people increases extremely, every man being allowed so
many wives as he hath hundreds of cows, and it is seldom that the
hundreds are required to be complete.
In the eastern part of this kingdom, on the declivity of a mountain,
whose descent is so easy that it seems a beautiful plain, is that
source of the Nile which has been sought after at so much expense of
labour, and about which such variety of conjectures hath been formed
without success. This spring, or rather these two springs, are two
holes, each about two feet diameter, a stone's cast distant from
each other; the one is but about five feet and a half in depth - at
least we could not get our plummet farther, perhaps because it was
stopped by roots, for the whole place is full of trees; of the
other, which is somewhat less, with a line of ten feet we could find
no bottom, and were assured by the inhabitants that none ever had
been found. It is believed here that these springs are the vents of
a great subterraneous lake, and they have this circumstance to
favour their opinion, that the ground is always moist and so soft
that the water boils up under foot as one walks upon it. This is
more visible after rains, for then the ground yields and sinks so
much, that I believe it is chiefly supported by the roots of trees
that are interwoven one with another; such is the ground round about
these fountains. At a little distance to the south is a village
named Guix, through which the way lies to the top of the mountain,
from whence the traveller discovers a vast extent of land, which
appears like a deep valley, though the mountain rises so
imperceptibly that those who go up or down it are scarce sensible of
any declivity.
On the top of this mountain is a little hill which the idolatrous
Agaus have in great veneration; their priest calls them together at
this place once a year, and having sacrificed a cow, throws the head
into one of the springs of the Nile; after which ceremony, every one
sacrifices a cow or more, according to their different degrees of
wealth or devotion.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 54 of 79
Words from 28075 to 28604
of 41322
