ABSTRACT
In spite of the large and varied literature dealing with Ethiopia, this country remains one of the least known regions of Africa to this day. The reason lies partly in the physical difficulties of travelling in the country, and partly in the attitude of its rulers to the foreigner. But these are not the only reasons. Numerous travellers and several expeditions have written accounts of most aspects of Abyssinian life and conditions; surveys have been made ; European armies have fought at least four wars in Abyssinia ; and the country was under Italian rule for a short period in the 'thirties of this century. Yet the maps are still only approximately accurate, and in the sphere of ethnography our knowledge is still very far from adequate. This is especially true of the Galla, an important people who during the last 400 years have spread over half Ethiopia. It is possible to produce a general picture of the Galla, fairly full in the sphere of political organization and religion, but still far from complete. Outstanding contributions have been made by great scholars like Guidi, Conti Rossini, and Cerulli. Of this band, however, none but Cerulli has been an anthropologist, and it is to him especially that we owe the most detailed accounts of various aspects of Galla ethnography.
