John Hyacinth Stella’s Bilin and Amharic Historical Manuscripts
Introduction
These historical stories and accounts of battles were recorded by Abune Yohannes during the period around 1849–1855. They describe events and conflicts involving different communities of the Bogos region, particularly the Hadembes, Zamat, and Sekwina tribes. Through these narratives, we gain a glimpse into the historical events, tribal relations, and struggles that shaped Bogos society during the mid-nineteenth century. These accounts preserve an important part of the history and traditions of the Bilin people.
Zanta: ādi ḥādembesi
ድግም ፡ ብሊንቁ ፡ ሐደምበስ ፡ ኑቅ ።
ማሪውዲ ፡ ሃደምበስከውዲ ፡ ገደቢትኑቁ ፡ ተሻፈፉኑ ፡ ሰኝነ ኩ ፡ ቢቡና ፡ ዮሐንስትልድ ፡ ኒሕጣናትሲ ፡ ሺዊነ ፡ መናዱቅሲ፡ አድኖ ፡ ወረርኑቅ ፡ ማሪውሲ ፡ አሰልትልድ ፡ ማሪው ፡ አልሎ ፡ እትንነዲ ፡ ከሪነ ፡ ፭ግርዋስ ፡ ኩኑ ፡ ወሲ ፡ ገብኖ ፡ አድኖ ፡ ከረ ን ፡ አድኖንትንቅ ፡ አሺዲል ፡ በኒንኩ ። ደጃት ፡ ሃይሉ ፡ ሲም ፡ ዲዊቅ ። ኒድ ፡ ማመር ፡ ሲ ፡ ዑንቁ ፡ ወሰ ፡ ገሪው ፡ ወረርንቁ ፡ ዮሐንስቀ ፡ ዑኑቁ ፡ ገለ ፡ አባ ፡ እምነቱ ፡ ይ ። ስታቁ ፡ ቀሺራ ፡ ዲዊቅ ፡ ከረንሊ ፡ ዮሐንስዲ ፡ ኃይሉዲሲ ፡ ዑኖ ፡ ይድ ፡ ገብኑ ቁ ፡ ዮ ፡ ደመሎ ፡ ዲዊቅ ። ሹም ፡ ኖር ፡ ማሪውድ ፡ ሲም ፡ ከረ ን ፡ እንቶ ፡ ይወሲ ፡ ወንሰለ ፡ ይቁ፡ ፡ ሐደምበስከውሲ ፡ ነው ፡ ይ ቀ ፡ እማና ፡ ወረርናደምቢ ፡ ዋንሰንሰነሊ ፡ ይንቀሉ ፡ ሹም ፡ ኖርቲ ፡ ኒዲቀ ፡ አባ ፡ እምነቱዲ ፡ ካድነ ፡ አንቃ ፡ ከረንሲ ፡ ወረርዲ ፡ እ ንትቃ ፡ መናዱቁ ፡ ኩዲ ፡ ዮሐንስራዲትት ፡ አሊሊሰግላ ፡ ይቁ ሉ ፡ አባ ፡ እምነቱ ፡ ይቀ ፡ አጃ ፡ ወሪሪ ፡ ከረንሲ ፡ ይቀ ፡ ማሪው፡ እክብሰኖ ፡ ወረርንቁ ፡ ከረኑ ፡ ይቀ ፡ እክብሰኖ ፡ ዲዊነ ፡ ማሪው ሲ ፡ ፈህሲኒቁ ፡ ፶ኩኑቅ ፡ ናወሲ ፡ ዋንሰንቅ ፡ ገሪው ፡ ሲምከው ልድ ፡ ኩኑቅ ። ኮድኖ ፡ ማሪው ፡ መርባትል ፡ ፪ን ፡ ወረርንቅ ፡ ከረንሲ ፡ እማ ፡ ግብር ፡ ፍድሮ ፡ ገመቅ ፡ ፊተውራሪ ፡ ኰሪሪ ፡ ይሰታቅ ፡ ደጃት ፡ ኃይሉሩቅ ፡ ከረን ፡ ዲዊቅ ፡ ማሪው ፡ መናዱ ቅዲ ፡ እንተረውሲ ፡ ቋልኒዲ ፡ ትሩክ ፡ ተከሲ ፡ ዝባንትል ፡ ጊሪ ል ፡ እድግሩቅ ፡ ሐደምበስከውቃ ፡ ከለብርኖ ፡ ዋቂትንቁ ፡ እማ ፡ መሐመድ ፡ ሹም ፡ እጀልድቁራስ ፡ ኩኑቅ ። ማሪው ፡ ከርቲኑቅ ፡ ከረኑ ፡ መናዱቅሲ ፡ ማሪውልድ ፡ ሰልቢኒቁ ። ኰሪሪ ፡ መናዳናዱቅ ሲ ፡ ይድ ፡ ነቃ ፡ ይቁሎም ፡ ሐደምበስከውሲ ፡ እድግሩ ፡ ጊሪ ል ፡ እርጎማ ፡ መናዱቅሲ ፡ እድሮ ፡ ኡነሊሉ ፡ ይኑቅ ።
English translation
The Marya and the Ad Hadembas were at enmity and engaged in conflict. The Ad Hadembas requested firearms from the servants of Abba Yohannes, obtained them, and launched a raid. While returning through the territory of the Marya, they killed five men, emerged victorious, seized livestock, brought them to Keren, and divided the spoils among themselves. Dejazmach Hailu had been appointed [as a local ruler]; they offered him a share of the loot. They also seized a large number of cattle and gave a portion to Abba Yohannes. There was a priest in Keren named Abba Emnatu who had provided supplies to both Abba Yohannes and Dejazmach Hailu; he harbored a grudge because the raiders had taken his own livestock. The *Shum* (official) of the Marya came to Keren and demanded of the Ad Hadembas, "Return my cattle!" They replied, "Once we have seized [booty] in a raid, we do not return it. They said to the commander, "Stay." Following the advice of Abba Emnatu, he said, "I shall launch a raid on Keren; you, along with your riflemen and the men of Abba Yohannes, stay here." Abba Emnatu replied, "Very well." The Marya gathered their forces and raided Keren. After remaining there for a time, they withdrew toward the Marya territory; in the process, they killed 50 men, recovered their livestock, and slew many of the commander's men. Subsequently, the Marya launched a second raid on Keren. At that time, Fitawrari Koriri—an officer under Dejazmach Hailu—was stationed in Keren, having descended there to collect tribute. When Marya saw them approaching with rifles, he mistook them for a raiding party and fled to the mountains. However, the Ad Hadembas confronted them, a battle ensued, and they killed Muhammad, the leader of the group. Marya was defeated, and the people of Keren seized the rifles from him. Koriri asked the Ad Hadembas to give the rifles to him, but they refused, stating that they would not hand them over.
ድግም ኬሬኑ
ከረንሊ ፡ መለኮ ፡ ሰኘው ፡ ግብጩ ፡ ቀጢኑ ፡ ይሰተነኩ ። ደ ንብን ፡ ተርቀ ፡ ቁር ፡ እንትቁማ ፡ ጉልፋት ፡ ሃቢኒቁሎም ። ብራ ስ ፡ ለውኑቅ ፡ ግምሸሩ ፡ ተኩኑ ። የቁ ፡ ላግርዋ ፡ ግብጩኮቅ ፡ ብሪልድ ፡ መለከነኩና ፡ ኡነን ፡ ይን ፡ እቁቱግን ፡ ይናሻን ፡ አቅ ድነና ፡ ይኖ ፡ ኡኑቅ ።
English translation
There were two groups known as the "Gibchu" and the "Qetinu" who held dominion over Keren. Later, their descendants became assimilated into the Tigre [ethnic/social] group. While appearing to be poor, they became the masters. Someone suggested, "If we grant them the land of the Gibchu, they will become our subjects." They replied, "We are few in number; let them be our brethren.
Incursion by Abyssinians from Dembelas into Bogos territory
original text in Amharic manuscript
አንድ ፡ ጊዜ ፡ ደምበላስ ፡ ወደ ፡ በጎስ ፡ መጥተው ፡ ከብታቸ ው ፡ ዘረፍዋቸው ፡ ሌት ፡ እሳቸውም ፡ ብዙ ፡ ተዋግዋቸው ፡ ግ ን ፡ ከብቱን ፡ ደንበላስ ፡ ወስደው ፡ ሄዱ ። ከደንበላስ ፡ ብዙ ፡ ሞቱ ፡ በጎሶች ፡ ግን ፡ ራብ ፡ ነበራቸውና ፡ ሊዋጉ ፡ አልቻሉ ም ። በኋላ ፡ በጎሶች ፡ ከደንበላስ ፡ አሽከሮቹን ፡ ኢየሰረቁ ፡ ሲሼ ጡ ፡ ነበሩ ።
English Translation
On one occasion, the Denbelas came to the Bogos and raided their cattle during the night. Although the Bogos fought them fiercely, the Denbelas managed to make off with the livestock. Many of the Denbelas were killed; however, the Bogos were suffering from famine and were therefore unable to put up a proper fight. Subsequently, the Bogos began stealing the Denbelas' servants and selling them.
Historical Disputes Between the Hadembes and the Maria: An Amharic Manuscript
ከአቡነ ፡ ዮሐንስ ፡ ዘመን ፡ ዓድ ፡ ሐደምበስ ፡ ለማርያ ፡ ከሰ ልል ፡ ላይ ፡ ዘረፉዋቸው ። ረዳት ፡ በመጡባቸው ፡ ጊዜ ፡ ገድለ ው ፡ መለስዋቸው ፡ ከብታቸው ፡ ወስደው ፡ ከረን ፡ ገቡ ። ላቡ ነ ፡ ዮሐንስም ፡ ከከብቶቹ ፡ ከፍለው ፡ ሰጡ ። እንዲሁም ፡ ለደ ጊያት ' ፡ ኃይሉ ፡ ሰጡ ። በኋላ ፡ የማርያ ፡ ሹም ፡ ሹም ፡ ኖር ፡ ወደ ፡ ዓድ ፡ ሐደምበስ ፡ መጥቶ ፡ ከብቶቹን ፡ ይመልሱለት ፡ ዘ ንድ ፡ ለመነ ። እምቢነ ፡ አንመልሰልህም ፤ ብለው ፡ መለሱለት ። ከዚያ ፡ ወድያ ፡ ሹም ፡ ኖር ፡ ፈክሮ ፡ ወዳገሩ ፡ ተመለሰ ። አገ ሩ ፡ ማርያን ፡ ሁሉ ፡ ሰብስቦ ፡ ሊዋጋ ፡ ወደ ፡ ከረን ፡ እንደገና ፡ ተመለሰ ። አስቀዳድሞ ፡ ከብቶችን ፡ ዘርፎ ፡ ተነሣ ፤ የዓድ ፡ ሐ ደምበስ ፡ ረዳትም ፡ ከመጋርሕ ፡ ላይ ፡ ደረሱበት ። ከዚያም ፡ ተዋጉ ። ሲዋጕም ፡ ጊዜ ፡ ቅዱስ ፡ ጊዮርጊስ ፡ ከነጭ ፡ ፈረስ ፡ ላ ይ ፡ ተቀምጦ ፡ በመኻከላቸው ፡ በገባ ፡ ጊዜ ፡ ማርዮች ፡ ተሻ ሩ ። ብዞች ፡ ሞቱ ። የቀሩ ፡ ማርዮች ፡ ሸሹ ። ዓድ ፡ ሐደምበስ ፡ ግን ፡ ከብታቸውን ፡ አስመለሱ ፡ ይባላል ።
ሁለተኛ ፡ ጊዜ ፡ ደግሞ ፡ ሹም ፡ ኖር ፡ ማርያን ፡ ሁሉ ፡ እስ ከ ፡ ዓድ ፡ ጉልታና ፡ ድረስ ፡ ሰብስቦ ፡ ሊዋጋ ፡ መጣ ። ከመጋር ሕ ፡ ባለችጙ ፡ በቅዱስ ፡ ጊዮርጊስ ፡ ቤተ ፡ ክርስቲያን ፡ አጠገብ ም ፡ ሰፈረ ። ከርሱ ፡ ጋራ ፡ ናፍዕ ፡ የሚባል ፡ የዓንቀሩ ፡ ልጅ ፡ የዓይለት ‛ ፡ ሰውው ፡ ባለ ፡ ፲ር ፡ ጠበንጃ ፡ ተከትሎት ፡ ነበረ ። በቅ ዱስ ፡ ጊዮርጊስ ፡ ቤተ ፡ ክርስቲያንያን ፡ አጠአጠገብ ፡ ቁመው ፡ በዚ ህ ፡ ነው ፡ ያለ ፡ ገርጊሳቸው ፡ እያሉ ፡ ቤተ ፡ ክርስቲያኑን ፡ ሲያ ፈርሱ ፡ ሌት ፡ እባብ ፡ አንድ ፡ ሰወሰው ፡ ገደለላቸውደ ። እሱን ፡ ቀ ብረው ፡ እንመለስ ፡ አሉ ፡ ማርዮች ። በኋላ ፡ መሐመድ ፡ የሹ ም ፡ እጀል ፡ ልጅ ፡ መለሰላቸው ፤ ወደ ፡ ከረን ፡ ደርቼ ፡ የከብ ቴን ፡ ድምጥ ፡ ሰምቼ ፡ ሳልዋጋ ፡ አልመለስም ፤ አለ ። በኋላ ፡ ማልደው ፡ ተዋጉ ፡ ባለፈረስ ፡ ነጭ ፡ በማህከላቸው ፡ አስሮጠ ፡ እንደ ፡ ንፋስ ፡ ተመስሎ ፡ መታነ ፡ ሲሉ ፡ ነበሩ ፡ ለቅዱስ ፡ ጊዮ ርጊስ ። ማርዮች ፡ ሸሽተው ፡ ሔዱ ፡ ብዙም ፡ ሞቱ ። ማርዮች ፡ ግን ፡ ስለነበሩ ፡ ዓድ ፡ ሐደምበስ ፡ መቸ ፡ ሻሩና ፡ ቅዱስ ፡ ጊዮ ርጊስ ፡ ላቸው ፡ ነው ፡ የሻረነ ፡ እንጅ ፤ ብለው፡ይናገሩ ፡ ነበሩ ።
English Translation
During the time of Abune Yohannes, the people of Ad Hadembes raided the cattle of the Marya at a place called selil. When the Maria came to retaliate, they were defeated, and the Hadembes returned with the cattle they had taken and entered Keren.
They distributed some of the cattle to Abune Yohannes. They also gave some to Degiat Hailu.
Later, the chief of the Marya, Shum Nor, came to Ad Hadembes and asked them to return the cattle. They refused, saying, “We will not return them to you,” and sent him away.
After this, Shum Nor became angry and returned to his homeland. He gathered all the people of Maria to wage war and once again marched towards Keren.
First, he raided cattle and set out. However, the warriors of Ad Hadembes caught up with him at Megarih, where the two sides engaged in battle.
During the fighting, Saint George appeared among them, riding a white horse. When he entered between the two sides, the Maria were struck with fear. Many were killed, and the remaining Maria fled.
It is said that the people of Ad Hadembes recovered their cattle.
On another occasion, Shum Nor Maryan gathered forces from as far as Ad Gultana and arrived to engage in battle. He set up camp near the Church of Saint George in Magarh. Accompanying him was a man from Aylet named Naf’ the son of Anqeru who possessed ten rifles. While they were stationed near the Church of Saint George, dismantling the structure claiming that their "Gergis" (patron saint) was located within a snake appeared during the night and killed one of them.
The Marya people suggested, "Let us bury him and turn back." However, Muhammad, the son of Ejel, replied, "I will not return without a fight; I shall reach Keren and hear the lowing of my cattle." Subsequently, they engaged in battle at dawn. A white horseman galloped through their midst appearing like the wind and struck them down; it was said to be Saint George. The Marya fled, and many of them perished. Yet, the Marya would later remark, "It was not Ad Hadembas who defeated us; it was Saint George who defeated us."
Disputes between the Sucuneiti and Ad Hadembes, the Bejuk, and the Ad Temariam
ቤጁክና ፡ ዓድ ፡ ሰኮናይቲ ፡ ጠብ ፡ አድርገው ፡ ነበሩ ። በቴዎ ድሮስ ፡ ንጉሥ ፡ ዘመን ፡ ቤጁክ ፡ ለዓድ ፡ ሽቦትን ፡ ከመጋርሕ ፡ ዘረፉ ። በኋላ ፡ ገላይዶስ ፡ ሸካይ ፡ የሚባል ፡ ለዓድ ፡ ሽቦት ፡ ሹ ም ፡ ነበረ ። ወደ ፡ ሐማሴን ፡ ሂዶ ፡ ለደጃዝማች ፡ መርዕድ ፡ መ ርቶ ፡ ለቤጁክ ፡ አዘረፈ ፡ እስተ ፡ ዓድ ፡ ተክሌስና ፡ እስተ ፡ ዓማ ርያም ፡ ለቤጁክ ፡ ዘረፉ ። ፪ተኛ ፡ ጊዜ ፡ ደሞ ፡ ለቤጁክ ፡ ከአግ ዓሮ ፡ ክፉኝ ፡ ይዝዋቸው ፡ ሲሰማ ፡ ለቤጁክ ፡ ገላይዶስ ፡ ሸካይ ፡ ሒዶ ፡ ዘረፋቸው ፡ ዘርፎ ፡ በተመለሰ ፡ ጊዜ ፡ ለዓድ ፡ ሺቦት ፡ ክፉኝ ፡ ይዛቸው ፡ በፋንታው ። በኋላ ፡ ቤጁክ ፡ ደሞ ፡ ሰዋቸው ና ፡ ዓድ ፡ ትማርያም ፡ ሰብስበው ፡ መጥተው ፡ ሰው ፡ ወደ ፡ ዓ ድ ፡ ሐደምበስ ፡ ልከው ፤ እኛ ፡ ለኦና ፡ ብነዘርፍ ፡ አቱርዱነ ፤ ብለው ፡ ተናገሩ ፡ ቤጁክ ፡ ዓድ ፡ ሐደምበስም ፡ እኵሌታቸው ፡ ይህ ፡ ምክር ፡ አልሰሙም ፡ ነበሩ ፡ በኋላ ፡ ኦና ፡ የሰኮነይቲ ፡ ዘ ረፉ ፡ ከዚም ፡ ብዙ ፡ እንግዶች ፡ ከከሰላ ፡ የመጡ ፡ ጅአሎች ' ነበሩ ፡ ሞቱ ፡ ከብቱን ፡ ገፈው ፡ ከኦና ፡ ጻባብ ፡ ሲደርሱ ፡ የዓ ድ ፡ ሐደምበስ ፡ ረዳት ፡ አገኛቸው ፡ ተዋጉ ፡ ለቤጁክ ፡ ለዓድ ፡ ትማርያም ፡ ሻርዋቸወ˚ ፡ ዓድ ፡ ሐደምበስ ፡ የሰኮነይቲ ፡ ከብቶ ች ፡ ወደ ፡ ቤጁክ ፡ አገር ፡ ሲደርሱ ፡ መለስዋቸው ፡ ብዙም ፡ ገደልዋቸው ፡ መሳርያቸው ፡ ሁሉም ፡ ለሰኮነይቲ ፡ ሰጡ ።
English translation
The Bejuk and the Ad Sekonayti were in a state of conflict. During the reign of King Tewodros, the Bejuk raided the Ad Shibot a group belonging to the Ad Sekonayti seizing their livestock. Later, a man named Gelawdewos Shekay, who held the position of chief over the Ad Shibot, traveled to Hamasen. He guided Dejazmach Mer'ed to the Bejuk territory, where they launched a retaliatory raid, seizing the Bejuk's livestock as far as Ad Tekles and Ad Tmariam they raided the Bejuk. On another occasion, upon hearing that the Agaro had attacked the Bejuk, Gelawdewos Shekay went and raided the Agaro; however, while he was returning from this raid, the Ad Shibot attacked his people in their stead. Subsequently, the Bejuk gathered their forces along with the Ad Tmariam and sent representatives to the Ad Hadembas with the message:
"Do not intervene if we raid the Ona."
A portion of the Ad Hadembas, however, disregarded this counsel. Later, the Ona some guests from Kassala members of the Jial clan arrived in Sekoneiti. After raiding the livestock, they were intercepted by the Ad Hadembas as they reached Ona Tsabab. A battle ensued, and the raiders were driven toward the Ad Tmaryam territory of Bejuk. When the stolen cattle from Sekoneiti reached the Bejuk region, the Ad Hadembas managed to turn them back; they also killed many of the raiders and seized all their weapons, handing them over to the people of Sekoneiti.
Conclusion
The historical accounts recorded by Abune Yohannes and preserved in the Amharic and Bilin manuscripts provide valuable insight into the history of the Bogos region during the mid-nineteenth century. Through these narratives, we learn about the conflicts, alliances, and relationships among the Hadembes, Marya, Zamat, Sekwina, Bejuk, and other neighboring communities.
These stories reveal how disputes over livestock, territory, and political authority shaped relations between different groups. They also show the importance of local leaders, religious institutions, and traditional beliefs in the lives of the people. The accounts of Saint George's intervention during battles further demonstrate the role of faith and religious tradition in shaping historical memory.
Beyond their accounts of conflict, these manuscripts preserve the experiences, customs, and collective memories of the Bilin people. They offer an important opportunity to understand how communities interacted, resolved disputes, and maintained their identities during a period of significant change.
Preserving and studying these historical texts is essential for future generations. By bringing together the original Bilin and Amharic writings with their English translations, we can help protect an important part of the region's cultural heritage and ensure that the history and traditions of the Bilin people continue to be remembered and understood.
Refrences
BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF Henry W. Sage 1891.
ACTES DU e XIV CONGRES INTERNATIONAL DES ORIENTALISTES ALGER 1905.
Viaggio e missione cattolica fra i Mensâ, i Bogos e gli Habab con un cenno geografico e storico dell' Abissinia.
Comments