BARBARIC POMP.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 18761, 27 December 1930, Page 20

BARBARIC POMP.

CORONATION IN ABYSSINIA. Five thousand cattle were slaughtered to provide a feast of raw meat for the multitude. Fourteen nations, including the United States, sent official representatives to the celebration. A quarter of a million barefooted, black - feeted tribesmen, camping in manyhued tents about the city, gave it the appearance of an “African Coney Island.” Three million dollars was spent to stage this never-to-be-forgotten coronation in Abyssinia. For seven days the multitude indulged in games and feasting. The climax came when a three-pound crown, with an estimated value of 500.000 dollars, was placed upon the head of a frail little man with black hair and whiskers, and he thereby became: “Emperor, Lord King of Kings of Ethiopia, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Elect of God. the Light of the World.” Thus, “amid barbaric splendour and lavish pageantry, Ras Tafari Makonnen, the thirty-nine-year-old prince who has been Regent of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) for fourteen years, was crowned at dawn on November 2 as Emperor Haile Selassie I.” “Simultaneously the Royal consort, Princess Waziru Menen, a short, rotund woman of forty, was crowned as Queen Etega Menen, Queen of Queens of Ethiopia. This was virtually the Queen’s ‘coming-out’ party, as she has been confined heretofore to her housewifely and motherly duties in the Royal household. She has five children, one of them married, and has taken no active part in Court and State affairs.” Then follows a vivid description of the coronation of Ras Tafari. who claims direct descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and who, in turn, is claimed as their own by negroes throughout the world: “The coronation ceremony, performed by the venerable Coptic Arch-

! bishop of Ethiopia, was unparalleled in modern times for quaintness, colour, and magnificence. As their Majesties rode to the church through the dusty streets of the mountain capital, which were packed with tens of thousands of their braves and chieftains, the masses uttered savage cries of acclaim. Scores of natives were trampled in the dust as the crowd surged to catch sight of , the coronation party, i “On each side of the potentates, ■ | acting as escorts of honour, were olive- j ! skinned, black-bearded, and curly- ■ headed Ethiopian princes and tribal chiefs. They wore multicoloured costumes of silk and satin, embroidered in gold and silver. Their shields were of hippopotamus hides. They carried medieval swords and scabbards. “Behind the monarch and his queen : were the high priests in vestments of scarlet, green. yellow, or purple, j carrying gold and silver croziers and incense lamps. Following the ecclesi- j astics were groups of princes and grandees in black silk ceremonial ' capes, and the members of the Cabinet I and Government in their national j shammas. “Ras Tafari and his queen rode in ; the Imperial coach, which one was ( owned by former Kaiser Wilhelm of j Germany. The carriage was drawn by six snow-white horses.” Their coronation robes of scarlet and gold glittering in the sun, they alighted ! at the Church of St. George, whose interior was “murky, almost suffocating with incense and the thick stifling smoke of tallow candles. Small of , stature, thin and frail, with delicate |

almost feminine, features, Ras Tafari nevertheless assumed a look of great dignity and solemnity as the archbishop placed the crown upon his head. Yet the Emperor seemed dwarfed by Queen Waziru Menen, who is of Amazon proportions. "The crowns, fashioned of pure gold encrusted with diamonds, emeralds, and pearls, are superb examples of native Ethiopian craftsmanship. The Emperor’s crown weighs 31b. That of his consort is but little lighter. Both are surmounted by crosses of diamonds as Ethiopia has been a Christian country for 1600 years. “When the royal couple left the church they were driven, amid fresh outbursts of applause, to a great, lavishly decorated coronation dais in the big square in front of the palace. Before them, tethered to the platform and growling like captive beasts in a Roman arena, were a quintet of fiercelooking lions with beautiful goldenbrown manes, guardians of the throne of Ethiopa, and national symbols of power. “The most striking of the day’s festivities was a gargantuan open-air feast of raw meat and tej. or wine made from fermented honey and flavoured with herbs, which the Emperor gave to 25,000 of this tribesmen. Five thousand cattle were slaughtered on the spot for the feast.” The young emperor ascended the throne after twenty years of almost continuous bloodshed in Abyssinia, says the United Press, which also tells us that his throne is far from secure, because he is much too progressive for the majority of his people, and not progressive enough for others. Among the costly gifts reseived by Ras Tafari from all over the world were the following: “An electric refrigerator, a red typewriter, a combination of radio and phonograph with records to fit, SUO rose busnes, a bound set of American magazines, a one-ton cake, 50J bottle of Rhine wine, and an airplane.”