Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

GALLAS

Online Encyclopedia

Originally appearing in Volume V11, Page 414 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.

Encyclopedia Home :: GAG-GEO

Spread the word:

del.icio.us it!

GALLAS , or more correctly GALLA, a powerful Hamitic See also:

PEOPLE

people of eastern See also:

Africa, scattered over the wide region which extends for about r000 m. from the central parts of See also:

ABYSSINIA (officially ETHIOPIA)

Abyssinia to the neighbourhood of the See also:

RIVER

river See also:

SABAKI

Sabaki in See also:

BRITISH

British See also:

East Africa. The name " Galla " or " Gala " appears to be an Abyssinian See also:

NICKNAME

nickname, unknown to the people, who See also:

CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call themselves Ilm' Orma, " sons of men " or " sons of Orma," an See also:

EPONYMOUS

eponymous See also:

hero. In See also:

SHOA

Shoa (Abyssinia) the word is connected with the river Gala in Guragie, on the See also:

banks of which a See also:

GREAT

great See also:

BATTLE

battle is said to have been fought between the Galla and the Abyssinians. See also:

ARNAUD, HENRI (1641-1721)

Arnaud d'See also:

Abbadie says that the Abyssinian Moslems recount that, when summoned by the See also:

PROPHET (Irpo4i ri7s)

Prophet's messenger to adopt See also:

ISLAM

Islam, the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief of the Galla said " No,"—in Arabic kal (or gal) la,—and the Prophet on See also:

HEARING (formed from the verb " to hear," O. Eng. hyran, heron, &c., a common Teutonic verb; cf. Ger. Koren, Dutch hooren, &c.; the O. Tent. form is seen in Goth. hausjan; the initial h makes any connexion with " ear," Lat. audire, or Gr. &Kobew very doub

hearing this said, " Then let their very name imply their denial of the Faith." Of all Hamitic peoples the Galla are the most numerous. Dr J. See also:

Ludwig Krapf estimated them (c. 186o) at from six to eight millions; later authorities put them at not much over three millions. Individual tribes are said to be able to bring 20,000 to 30,000 horsemen into the See also:

field. Hardly anything is definitely known as to the origin and See also:

early See also:

home of the See also:

RACE

race, but it appears to have occupied the See also:

SOUTHERN

southern See also:

PART

part of its See also:

PRESENT

present territory since the 16th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century. According to Hiob See also:

LUDOLF (or LEUTHOLF), HIOB (1624-1704)

Ludolf and See also:

James See also:

Bruce, the Galla invaders first crossed the Abyssinian frontiers in the See also:

YEAR

year 1537. The Galla of Gojam (a See also:

DISTRICT

district along the See also:

NORTHERN

northern See also:

side of the river Abai) tell how their See also:

savage forefathers came from the See also:

south-east from a See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country on the other side of a See also:

BAHR

bahr (See also:

lake or river), and the Yejju and Raia Galla also point towards the east and commemorate the passage of a bahr. Among the southern Galla tradition appears to be mainly concerned with the See also:

EXPULSION (Lat. expulsio, from expellere)

expulsion of the race from the country now occupied by the Somali.

Their See also:

ORIGINAL

original home was possibly in the district east of See also:

Victoria See also:

NYANZA (from the ancient Bantu root word anza, a river or lake)

Nyanza, for the tribes near See also:

MOUNT, WILLIAM SIDNEY (1807-1868)

Mount See also:

KENYA

Kenya are stated to go on periodical pilgrimages to the See also:

mountain, making offerings to it as if to their See also:

MOTHER

mother. A theory has been advanced that the great See also:

exodus which it seems certain took See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place among the peoples throughout eastern Africa during the 15th century was caused by some great eruption of Kenya and other volcanoes of See also:

EQUATORIAL

equatorial Africa. As a See also:

GEOGRAPHICAL

geographical See also:

TERM

term Galla-See also:

LAND

land is now used mainly to denote the south-central regions of the Abyssinian See also:

EMPIRE

empire, the country in which the Galla are numerically strongest. There is no See also:

sharp dividing See also:

LINE

line between the territory occupied respectively by the Galla and by the Somali. In any See also:

case the Galla must be regarded as members of that vast eastern Hamitic See also:

FAMILY

family which includes their neighbours, the Somali, the See also:

AFARS (DANAK;L)

Afars (Danakil) and the Abyssinians. As in all the eastern Hamites, there is a perceptible See also:

STRAIN (through O. Fr. straindre, estraindre, mod. i treindre, from Lat. stringere, to draw tight, related to stress, stretch, string, &c.)

strain of See also:

NEGRO (from Lat. eager, black)

Negro See also:

BLOOD

blood in the Galla, who are, however, described by See also:

Sir See also:

Frederick See also:

LUGARD, SIR FREDERICK JOHN DEALTRY (1858- )

Lugard as " a wonderfully handsome race, with high foreheads, See also:

brown skins, and soft wavy See also:

HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

hair quite different from the See also:

WOOL, WORSTED AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES

wool of the Bantus." As a See also:

RULE

rule their features are quite See also:

EUROPEAN

European. Their See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour is dark brown, but many of the northern Galla are of a See also:

COFFEE (Fr: cafe, Ger. Kaffee)

coffee and See also:

MILK (0. Eng. meoluc; from a common Indo-European root, cf. Lat. mulgere, Gr. ?t dXyetv)

milk tint. The finest men are to be found among the Limmu and Gudru on the river Abai. The Galla are for the most part still in the nomadic and See also:

PASTORAL (from Lat. pastor, a shepherd)

pastoral See also:

STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage, though in Abyssinia they have some agricultural settlements. Their dwellings, circles of rough stones roofed with See also:

GRASSES

grasses, are generally built under trees. Their See also:

WEALTH

wealth consists chiefly in See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle and horses. Among the southern tribes it is said that about seven or eight See also:

head of cattle are kept for every See also:

man, woman and See also:

child ; and among the northern tribes, as neither man nor woman ever thinks of going any distance on See also:

FOOT

foot, the number of horses is very large.

The See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary See also:

food consists of flesh, blood, milk, See also:

BUTTER (Lat. butyrum, Gr. 0obrvpov, apparently connected with $ous, cow, and rvpbs, cheese, but, according to the New English Dictionary, perhaps of Scythian origin)

butter and See also:

HONEY (Chin. me ; Sansk. madhu, mead, honey; cf. A.S. medo, medu, mead; Gr. p Xt, in which 0 or b is changed into X; Lat. mel ; Fr. miel ; A.S. hung ; Ger. Honig)

honey, the last being considered of so much importance by the southern Galla that a See also:

RUDE, FRANCOIS (1784–1855)

rude See also:

SYSTEM

system of See also:

BEE (Sanskrit blza, AS. ben, Lat. apis)

bee-keeping is in See also:

VOGUE, EUGENE MELCHIOR, COMTE DE (1848- )

vogue, and the See also:

HUSBAND

husband who fails to furnish his wife with a sufficient See also:

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply of honey may be excluded from all conjugal rights. In the south monogamy is the rule, but in the See also:

north the number of a man's wives is limited only by his wishes and his wealth. See also:

MARRIAGE

Marriage-forms are numerous, that of See also:

BRIDE (a common Teutonic word, e.g..Goth. bruths, O. Eng. bryd, O. H. Ger. prs2t, Mod. Ger. Bract, Dut. bruid, possibly derived from the root bru-, cook, brew; from the med. latinized form bruta, in the sense of daughter-in-law, is derived the Fr. bru)

bride-See also:

CAPTURE (from Lat. capere, to take; Fr. prise maritime; Ger. Wegnahme)

capture being See also:

COMMON

common. Each tribe has its own chief, who enjoys the See also:

STRANGE, SIR ROBERT (1721-1792)

strange See also:

PRIVILEGE

privilege of being the only See also:

MERCHANT (O. Fr. marcheant, modern marchand; from Lat. mercari, to trade, merx, goods, merchandise)

merchant for his people, but in all public concerns must take the See also:

ADVICE (Fr. avis, from Lat. ad, to, and visum, viewed)

advice of the fathers of families assembled in See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council. The greater proportion of the tribes are still See also:

pagan, worshipping a supreme See also:

god Waka, and the subordinate god and goddess Oglieh and Atetieh, whose favour is secured by sacrifices of oxen and See also:

sheep. With a strange liberality of sentiment, they say that at a certain See also:

time of the year Waka leaves them and goes to attend to the wants of their enemies the Somali, whom also he has created. Some tribes, and notably the Wollo Galla, have been converted to Mahommedanism and are very bigoted adherents of the Prophet. In the north, where the Galla are under Abyssinian rule, a See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of superficial Christianization has taken place, to the extent at least that the people are See also:

FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar with the names of See also:

MAREMMA (a corruption of Marittima, " situated on the sea ")

Maremma or See also:

Mary, Balawold or Jesus, Girgis or St See also:

George, &c.; but to all See also:

PRACTICAL

practical intents paganism is still in force. The See also:

SERPENT (Lat. serpens, creeping, from serpere; cf. "reptile " from repere, Gr.4 ml-eta)

serpent is a See also:

SPECIAL

special See also:

OBJECT

object of See also:

WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

worship, the northern Galla believing that he is the author of the human race. There is a belief in were-wolves (buda), and the northern Galla have sorcerers who terrorize the people. Though cruel in See also:

war, all Galla respect their pledged word. They are armed with a See also:

LANCE

lance, a two-edged See also:

KNIFE (0. E. cuff, a word appearing in different forms in many Teutonic languages, cf. Du. knijf, Ger. Kneif, a shoe-maker's knife, Swed. knif; the ultimate origin is unknown; Skeat finds the origin in the root of " nip," formerly " knip "; Fr. canif is a

knife, and a See also:

shield of See also:

BUFFALO

buffalo or See also:

RHINOCEROS

rhinoceros hide.

A considerable number find employment in the Abyssinian armies. Among the more important tribes in the south (the name in each instance being compounded with Galla) are the Ramatta, the Kukatta, the Baole, the Aurova, the Wadjole, the Ilani, the Arrar and the Kanigo Galla; the Borani, a very powerful tribe, may be considered to See also:

mark the See also:

DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division between north and south; and in the north we find the Amoro, the Jarso, the Toolama, the Wollo, the Ambassil, the Aijjo, and the Azobo Galla. See C. T. See also:

BEKE, CHARLES TILSTONE (1800-1874)

Beke, " On the Origin of the Gallas," in Trans. of Brit. Assoc. (1847); J. Ludwig Krapf, Travels in Eastern Africa (186o); and Vocabulary of the Galla See also:

LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

Language (See also:

LONDON

London, 1842); Arnaud d'Abbadie, Douze A ns dans la Haute-Ethio See also:

pie (1868); Ph. Paulitschke, Ethnographie See also:

NORD

Nord-Ost-Afrikas; See also:

Die geistige Kultur der See also:

Dan'akil, Galla u. Somdl (See also:

Berlin, 1896) ; P. M. de Salviac, See also:

Les Galla (See also:

Paris, 190I).

End of Article: GALLAS

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
GALLARS [in Lat. GALLASIUS], NICOLAS DES (c. 1520-c...

[next]
GALLAS, MATTHIAS, COUNT OF CAMPO, DUKE OF LUCERA (1...