OCR Text |
Show Odd Origin of Custom, In Abyssinia the emperor Is commonly com-monly called "Jan hoy," meaning "his majesty." The words have a strange history. It Is given by a passage In the chronicle of Mahdara Maryam. Tho King Sarga Dcngel while engaged In a military expedition camped In Dambya, was surprised to hear tho Inhabitants shout "Jnn hoy," which means "HI, elephant!" at an elephant which was destroying a field of corn, and lied when thus accosted. Then the king said that whenever he went to pillage corn, If tho people cried "Jan hoy!" ho would consider their claims and redress their wrongs. Prom this aroso the custom of addressing ad-dressing the king as "Jan hoy," ns an equivalent for asking for Justice, the expression gradually losing Its special spe-cial significance and becoming tho ordinary or-dinary term of address when speaking of his mnlosty. |