777

Comment
Michael Lynch
Research Center

Limnological
Pillsbury Hall
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis
55455
References

BROOKS, J. L., AND S. I. DODSON. 1965. Predation, body size, and composition of the plankton. Science 150: 28-35.
DODSON, S. I. 1974. Zooplankton
competition
and predation:
An experimental
test of the
size-efficiency
hypothesis.
Ecology 55: 605613.
C. EDWARDS, F. WIMAN, AND J. C. NORMANDIN.
1976. Zooplankton:
Specific distribution
and
food
abundance.
Limnol.
Oceanogr. 21: 309313.
HRBAEEK, J. 1962. Species composition
and the
amount of zooplankton
in relation to the fish
stock.
Rozpr.
Cesk. Akad.
Ved 72( 10) :
116 p.

Predicting

KNOECHEL, R., AND J. KALFF.

1976. Track autoradiography:
A method for the determination
Limof phytoplankton
species productivity.
nol. Oceanogr. 21: 590-595.
MACARTHUR, R. H. 1972. Geographical
ecology.
Harper and Row.
MAY, R. M.
1975. Some notes on estimating the
competition
matrix,
LY. Ecology
56: 737741.
NEILL, W. G. 1974. The community matrix and
interdependence
of the competition
coefficients.
Am. Nat. 108: 399-408.
-.
1975. Experimental
studies of microcrustacean competition,
community
composition and efficiency
of resource utilization.
Ecology 55: 809-826.
SCHOENER, T. M.
1974. Some methods for calculating
competition
coefficients
from
resource-utilization
spectra.
Am. Nat. 108 :
332-340.
SPRULES, W. G. 1972. Effects of size-selective
predation and food consumption on high altitude zooplankton
communities.
Ecology 53 :
375-386.

the future with lakes and rivers:

The Azoda Negast is an Ethiopian book

of fortune telling. The Italian scholar, Conti
Rossini ( 1941)) published a description of
two manuscript versions of it, together with
a portion of one of them (in Ethiopic, or
Geez) and a partial Italian translation in
1941. From internal evidence he concluded
that it was probably written in the 15th
century.
More recently
an Ethiopian
scholar, the late Zemenfes-Kedus Abraha,
published an Amharic version along with a
variety of other magical and religious material (Abraha 1958). Otherwise the book
probably exists only in manuscript and
seems to be little known outside Ethiopia.
The words Awda Negast mean Circle
of the Kings. According to Conti Rossini
the book is also referred to in Eritrea as
Metsehaf Bahr which means roughly Book
of the Seas. The word Bahr can be applied to any fair-sized body of fresh or salt
water, or even to a river,
The main part of the book is a series of 16
circular diagrams. Figure 1 is a rendering

A note on the Awda Negast

of the first of these, partly translated,

based on Abrahas version; Conti Rossinis
is very similar. The figure consists of five
concentric circles, with 16 equally spaced
lines running from the rim of the next-to-innermost circle to the rim of the outermost.
The lines are red and black in the original;
the two colors are badly out of register in
my copy of the book.
In the outermost 16 of the sections thus
formed are written, clockwise from the top,
the first 16 characters of the Ethiopian syllabary (seven vocalizations of H, seven of
L, and two of a second form of H).
These are printed in red in the original. In
the next ring of 16 sections are the figures
representing 1 to 16, also running clockwise
from the top, printed in black in the original
except for the figure 1, which is in red.
In the following chart (not shown), the
outer positions are occupied by the 17th
to 32nd characters, and so on. Since however there are only 202 characters the last
positions are occupied by numbers (l-20;

Comment

778

Fig.

1.

The first chart of the Au&z

Negast

(after

30, 40, . , .) 100; 200, , . .) 1,000; 2,000, . . .)

16,000. Both 100 and 1,000 appear twice,
written in different ways).
The numbers in the second ring keep the
same positions on all 16 charts.
Any interest the book may have for Iimnologists lies in the contents of the truncated segments between the third and
fourth circles. These refer, insofar as they
can be shown to refer to anything, to

Abraha

1958; angel after

Conti

Rossini

1941).

Ethiopian lakes and rivers. In addition, they

list topics about which the user might presumably hope to obtain predictions.
The
topic referred to in the first segment is repeated in the little inner circle, together
with the character representing the figure
1 .j
In succeeding charts the names of the
Bahr and the topics they govern move
counterclockwise,
except that the topic

Comment
about what is wanted remains in the topmost position throughout.
Since this also
travels around the chart with Tana, the
topic in the second position on any chart is
forced out of sequence on the following one,
but appears in the inner circle.
In Abrahas version, but not in Conti
Rossinis, a superscription at the top of each
chart contains, in addition to the name of
the Bahr in the first position on the chart,
a compass direction (in the sequence E, W,
N, S ) and a word which for the first 12
charts is shown by other material in the
book to be the name of one of the signs of
the zodiac. These are given in their usual
order beginning with Aries, and are identical with the Arabic names (Allen 1899). I
cannot determine the meanings of the words
in the corresponding positions on the last
four charts.
The names of the identifiable bodies of
water (again, clockwise from the top) are
as follows1. Tana: Lake Tana, source of the Blue
Nile.
2. Kuera: According to Conti Rossini,
Lake Abaya, or Margherita, in the Ethiopian Rift Valley.
3. Ela: Possibly Lake Elena, a small lake
south of Addis Ababa, now submerged beneath Koka Reservoir.
4. Shehla: Perhaps Lake Shala, deepest
lake of the Rift Valley.
5. Zwey: Lake Zwey, most northerly lake
of the Rift Valley.
7. Wenj: Perhaps Lake Wonchi, a crater
lake on a mountain west of Addis Ababa.
8. Gwajjam : Name of a province in central Ethiopia, but according to Conti Rossini
it refers here to the first part of the Blue
Nile.
10. Hayq: Lake Hayq, a crater lake in
Wollo Province.
12. Shemazebe:
Means Its name is
Zebe, Conti Rossini believed it to be the
Ghibi River.
13. Hawash: Awash River.
15. Takaze: Name given to the Ethiopian part of an important Nile tributary,
probably better known as the Atbara.
16. Abaye: The Blue Nile.

779

More conventional limnological and geographical information about most of these

lakes and rivers can be found in Baxter and
Golobitsh (1970), Baxter et al. (1971),
Cheesman ( 1936), Grove et al. ( 1975),
Guidu dell Africa Orientale Italianu (1938),
Last (1965), Woldemariam
(1972), and
standard reference works.
The charts are preceded by a set of instructions, but the manner in which they are
to be used is still far from clear. The principle appears to be more numerological
than astrological. Numerical values are assigned to the characters of the syllabary,
and the values of the characters in the subjects name are added up, together with
those of his mothers name, and the date
of his birth. If the total exceeds 16, it is
divided by 16 and the remainder is taken,
so that a number from 1 to 16 is obtained.
It appears that this is used to select the
appropriate chart. I cannot understand how
the appropriate section of the chart was
selected, but once one of the 256 sections
had been chosen it was only necessary to
refer to a table following the charts to obtain the subjects fortune. Thus for the first
section of the first chart, the prediction is
somewhat as follows : You will obtain
what you want. Good things will come to
you, which will gladden your heart. Do
not fear. Peace, honor, and grace have come
to you. Hasten to do what you desire.
The Awda Negast has never enjoyed
much of a reputation.
Conti Rossini regarded it as bassa letteratura and adds
that such works are held in low esteem by
cultured Ethiopians; his interest in it was
chiefly linguistic. Harris, who visited Ethiopia in the 1840s found the book to be
banned in the province of Shoa at that time
(Harris undated).
A contemporary Ethiopian scholar, the Alaka Imbakom Kalewold, in discussing the contents of the
traditional
Ethiopian educational curriculum (Kalewold 1970) stated (p. 2) that the
Awdu iVega& is not included, although
many scholars have studied and used it.
Elsewhere however (p. 31) he said that the
young scholar studies it. He emphasized

780

Comment

that it can be used either for good or for

bad ends.
In any case it is an interesting curiosity.
R. M. Baxter-l
Canada Centre for Inland Waters
P.O. Box 5050
Burlington, Ontario
References
ABRAHA, ZEMENFES-KEDUS. 1958 (Ethiopion
calendar;
1965-1966
Gregorian
calendar ) .
Hateta menafist we-awda negest, 5th ed. 11
Poligrafico,
Asmara.
ALLEN, R. H. 1899. Star names, their lore and
meaning.
Dover:
1963.
BAXTER, R. M., AND D. L. GOLOBITSH. 1970. A
1 am indebted
to my children
for linguistic
assistance. This paper was not prepared in the
course of my duties as an employee of Environment Canada.

note on the limnology of Lake Hayq, Ethiopia.

Limnol. Oceanogr, 15: 144-149.
BAXTER, R. M., E. IS. URBAN, AND J. F. TALLING.
1971. Ethiopia,
p. 161-164.
In H. Luther
and J. Rzoska reds.], Project Aqua: A source
book of inland waters proposed for conservation.
IBP Central Office.
CHJXESMAN, R. E. 1936. Lake Tana and the
Blue Nile.
Frank Cass: 1968.
CONTI ROSSINI, C. 1941.
LoAwda
Nagast.
etiopico.
Rass.
Stud.
Scritto
divinatorio
Etiop. 1: 127-145.
GROVE, A. T., F. A. STREET, AND A. S. GOUDIE.
1975. Former lake levels and climatic change
in the Rift Valley
of southern
Ethiopia.
Geogr. J. 141:177-202.
Guida dell Africa Orientale Italiana.
1938. Consociazione Turistica
Italiana,
Milano.
HARRIS, W. C. Undated.
The highlands of Ethiopia.
J. Winchester,
New World Press.
1970. Traditional
EthiKALEWOLD, IMBAKOM.
opian church education [Transl. : Menghestu
Teachers College Press, New York.
Lemma].
LAST, G. C. 1965. A geography
of Ethiopia.
Min. Educ., Addis Ababa.
WOLDEMARIAM,
MESFIN.
1972. An
introductory
geography
of
Ethiopia.
Berhanena
Selam, H.S.I. Press, Addis Ababa.