3-021-406 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Abyssinian Expedition: funeral of the widow of King Theodore at Aikhullet, 1868. '...the unfortunate Queen or Empress of Abyssinia, the mother of the little boy, Dejatch Alameo...died on May 15...She had long been ill of pulmonary disease [ie TB] "...in front of the tent where the corpse was lying I found all the Queen's female attendants going through the custom of wailing for their mistress...At times they tore their hair and rubbed or scratched their foreheads till the blood flowed...The body was placed upon a bier...[and was] carried by four Abyssinians; a richly-ornamented red umbrella was held before the bier; the large cross also had a conspicuous place, and the dresses of the priests gave a very fine effect to the procession. The Alika, a sort of bishop of Chelikut, was present...He is the little man, with the large white head-dress, shown to the left hand...As the procession moved off...the band played "The Dead March in Saul", which always has a solemn effect...The late Queen was not much above eighteen years of age...her proper name was Tiroowark, which means "pure gold"; but at her baptism she was called Walata Tekla Haimanout, or Daughter of Tekla Haimanout an Abyssinian saint. She bore the title of Itighé, or Empress".' From "Illustrated London News", 1868.