The source of the Blue Nile

by Arthur J. Hayes

Bruce talked with “the Shum, the priest of the river, whose title was Kefla Abai, or ‘Servant of the river.’ He was a man of about seventy. The honourable charge which he possessed had been in his family, he conceived, from the beginning of the world; and as he was the happy father of eighty-four children, it appeared that his race was likely to flow as long as the Nile itself. He had a long white beard; round his body was wrapped a skin, which was fastened by a broad belt. Over this he wore a cloak, the hood of which covered his head, his legs were bare, but he wore sandals, which he threw off as soon as he approached the bog from which the Nile” (Abai) “rises—a mark of respect which Bruce and his attendants were also required to perform.” The Shum very obligingly presented his comely and sprightly daughter Irepone, aged sixteen, to the Scottish traveller as housekeeper.

Bruce says that at this time the people of the place called the Spirit of the River “The Everlasting God, Light of the World, Eye of the World, God of Peace, Saviour and Father of the Universe.” He asked the Shum if he had ever seen the Spirit, and the old man answered without hesitation, “Yes, very frequently.”[95]

The Abai mentioned above is the main tributary of the Blue Nile, but a glance at the map will show that Lake Tsana receives many other rivers, and the surrounding mountains, of course, add the volume of innumerable torrents and small streams to its waters in the rainy season. For practical purposes the source of the Blue Nile is the lake fed by all the affluents which collectively determine the amount of the discharge into the river.

To return to the camp at Bahardar Georgis. The survey work of the expedition was now completed, and our subsequent stages were upon the homeward journey. On February 3 we visited the village church. I obtained a clear photograph of some of the paintings in the interior. Unfortunately, as I am no archæologist, I cannot pretend to say whether the clothing of St. George, either in his combat or his victorious return, or the conception of the other figures, gives an indication of the origin of the Abyssinian school of ecclesiastical art. I hope that some of my readers who are better informed may be able to throw light upon the subject. It is, perhaps, of considerable interest for the following reason: If the usages of the Abyssinian church, which is strictly conservative, represent a really primitive form of Christianity, they show that the observance of ritual ceremonies was, in the early days, at least as much a matter of concern as the condition of the individual conscience. And the style of the Abyssinian pictures of sacred subjects may help to determine the date when the accepted liturgy took its present form.

In the afternoon the guns of the party added some venison, poultry, and game to the larder, and in the evening we were serenaded—against our will and at our expense. A band of singers and dancers from the village—both men and women—came into camp. They had no intention of showing their skill without remuneration, and as it would have caused ill-will among them and disappointment to our own boys and escort if we had sent them away, we endured their performance and paid for it. One of the instruments which they use is a piece of board, over which strings are stretched, so that it looks like a rude archaic forerunner of the violin. They twang the strings with their fingers, but do not “stop” them to obtain different notes from the same string. Our troupe also played the tomtom and sang in the high nasal voice which is characteristic of the race. We heard the last of them, thankfully, at half-past nine.

While we were at Bahardar Georgis, the Waitos near our camp drove a brisk trade in courbashes.[96] I bought of them some hippo tusks, which they were glad to sell, as they live in great poverty. If I had had some more small change (salt) I could have purchased a quite considerable stock.

INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH AT BAHARDAR GEORGIS.

See [p. 153.]

Insects are an annoying pest in this part of the lake side. Hosts of mosquitoes and small beetles of a peculiar species appeared on the flat ground at sunset, and swarmed throughout the neighbourhood for an hour afterwards. The beetles settled upon us in throngs, and crawled into our noses and ears and under our clothes, and we could not even crush them on account of the unendurable smell which their bodies then gave forth. When the first hour after sundown is past, the temperature falls very rapidly, and one sees no more of these insects.