Descended from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18091, 26 February 1927, Page 17

Descended from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

R.as Tafari a Simple Courteous Gentleman

(From Jack Baum, Special Correspondent of the “Star” and the N.A.N.A.)

'T'AFARI MAKONEN, Prince A Regent and heir to the Throne of Ethiopia, Eion of Judah, Prince of the oldest reigning dynasty in the world, direct descendant of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, whose word is absolute law lo his eight million s u b j e c ts , arose from his seat, took a step forward, and with a smile, most attractive in its disarming cordiality, extended his hand in tvpical English fashion to each member of the North American Newspaper Alliance Abyssinian expedition. We had expected to meet the usual tvpe of eastern prince, cold, disdainful, austere. We were prepared to find him surrounded by a bodyguard several hundred strong, armed to the teeth, rifles agleam. curved swords swinging at their sides, long knives in leather girdles. We supposed that he would be seated upon a richly em-

broidered couch, that we should be compelled to stand while he reclined in the most approved moving picture fashion, and possibly, if we were luckv, to be allowed to shake a languid hand. Instead of all this scenery and stageproperty we entered a smajl room, almost Spartan in the simplicity of its furnishings; panelled walls, two ordinary sized windows, an attractive but by no means expensive rue on the floor, and a set of well matched nyala horns on the wall. Our Abyssinian escort halted at the door and as we entered P afari Makonen stood up, advanced towards us, extended an unusually small hand and told the interpreter to ask us if we had had a pleasant journey. We shook hands all round and the great Ras smiled cordially. He had that rare faculty of making each of his callers feel at home.

I> OvSgood replied that we had had a pleasant but very long journey, that we were glad to be here and liked the country more than any we had seen

for a long time. Ras Tafari showed his pleasure at this. He turned to the interpreter and said, sincerely: “ I am very glad to welcome you fo my country and glad you like it." There were not enough chairs for us all and while more were being carried in Ras Tafari remained standing, a piece of courtesy not too common with monarchs. Not until chairs had been provided for everyone did this absoj lute regent with the power of life and ' death over eight million people allow the man behind him, the only other Abyssinian in the room besides the interpreter, to pull up his chair. Then we all sat down together. Our reception by Tafari Makonen had been the welcome you might expect from a polished English gentleman in his own home. There had been nothing barbaric or “ eastern ” about it. In fact, j after we had passed the guards at the j outer gate we had not encountered a j single armed man ! , Ras Tafari had not kept us waiting for an audience; we had not had time to finish a cigarette before a tall Abyssinian had motioned us to follow. As we passed through the courtyard we saw perhaps a thousand retainers, trusted henchmen, standing in groups. But there was no military formality and not one of that thousand had so ”_A u . cll as sword or knife in his belt. I his is the more remarkable for no Abyssinian of consequence ever passes through the streets of Addis Ababa without arms and without a retinue of armed fnen at his heels. We did not have to run the gantlet between two savage chained lions at the door of the reception hall as we had read was customary. There was a single lion in the courtyard, but he j

was taking things easy in a big strong cage and could not have caused a child any uneastness. These things surprised us. The plain serviceable furnishings of the audience chamber with its utter disdain of gingerbread Oriental fopperv was also a pleasant shock, but the most astonishing thing of all was Tafari Makonen’s quiet, likeable, pleasant _ personality and his genial disengaging smile. You would not expect to meet a man of this type in one who had ridden up to the plateau of Addis Ababa at the head of his troops a few years ago and bold!}' proclaimed himself Regent of the Empire when Lidj Yasu, the boy king, had shown Moslem sympathies. Rather you would have been braced, as we were, expecting to meet a man of rough, soldierly bearing, hard, relentless, narrow; one not in the least interested in scientific pursuits. After the greetings had been exchanged, Dr Osgood turned to the interpreter and explained to him the objects of the expedition. Ras Tafari had been advised of these before our arrival, but Dr Osgood gave them more in detail. The Regent listened closely and when the interpreter had finished, said, I am very much pleased that the North American Newspaper Alliance is to the world a true account of Abyssinia, its people, customs and animals. AbySsinia is just beginning to learn about the world and it is right that the world should lea'rn about Abyssinia. lam glad you are doing this.” The Ras then went on to express his interest in natural history: “ I am much interested in the study of animals. It is an educational work

you are doing and I am pleased to be able to assist you. It is very interesting.”

Dr Osgood answered, “We thought you would be interested in the study of animals and birds, and therefore we have brought _ you a book of photographs of the Field Museum to give an idea of the work we are doing. Dr Fuertes has brought for you a book of his paintings, ‘ The Animals of North America,’ and for Queen Zauditu a book of North American birds, also done by himself. The ‘ Chicago Daily News’ has sent you some reels %f motion picture films showing views of Chicago and things of interest round the city, horse races, and so forth. These things are small. They are of almost no value as Royal gifts go, but we hope they will interest you ” Here Tafari Makonen flashed 'he most delightful smile and answered slowly: “ The thought you have given to their selection makes them of great value.” A courtier of the time of Louis XTY. could not have said anything neater or more apt. Ras Tafari went on to say that he would be glad to give us every assistance in travelling through Abyssiria, and asked us to write out for him a , list of the provinces, we wished to visit and said he would have our passports made out at once. “ But,” he added, “ you will find travelling by horse and mule-back in my country somewhat more difficult than your luxurious methods at home.” Dr Osgood assured him that we were all experienced travellers and that mule-back locomotion was not new to us. Tafari immediately asked: “ Where have you travelled?” “ Dr Fuertes and I,” Dr Osgood replied. “ have covered pretty much all the South American Andes by mule. We have done much collecting in Mexico, Central America and Alaska. Mr Cutting spent last year with Kermit and Theodore Roosevelt on the heights of Tibet and the Himalayas. Baum and Bailey have travelled and hunted in Alaska. Mexico, and all over the mountains of our own west. We are all fairly experienced.” “ 1 am glad of that,” the Regent answered, “and I want very much to see you all again soon, informally.” The interview was over. Copyright. By the “Star” and the North American Newspaper Alliance. All Rights Reserved.