Items

• Ajzāʼ al-Qurʼān

  Fragmentary African Qurʼān
• An incomplete African Qurʼān mixed up with fragments of other religious works

  An incomplete African Qurʼān mixed up with fragments of other religious works
• Prayers

  8 folios inscribed in the Arabic character in an African hand with what appear to be prayers in some African language.
• An African prayer-book

  1 copy of An African prayer-book
• Ḥuṣn al-muḥāḍarah fī akhbār Miṣr wa-al-Qāhirah

  1 copy of Ḥuṣn al-muḥāḍarah fī akhbār Miṣr wa-al-Qāhirah by Suyūṭī, 1445-1505. History of Cairo.
• Risālah fī bayān faḍl Nīl Miṣr

  1 copy of Risālah fī bayān faḍl Nīl Miṣr by Ibn al-ʻImād al-Aqfahsī, Aḥmad, ca. 1349-1405. Nile River - Arab Geography
• al-Ṭirāz al-manqūsh fī maḥāsin al-ḥabūsh

  copy of al-Ṭirāz al-manqūsh fī maḥāsin al-ḥabūsh by Bukhārī, Muḥammad ibn ʻAbd al-Bāqī, fl. 1583
• Lacunose manuscript containing traditions of the Prophet

  Lacunose manuscript containing traditions of the Prophet
• African manuscripts with texts on the names of God and their virtues, magical squares and alchemy

  1 copy of African manuscripts with texts on the names of God and their virtues, magical squares and alchemy
• African prayer-book

  African prayer-book. Ther first portion begins with an account of the rijal al-ghayb.
• Futūḥ Ifrīqīyah

  An anonymous history of the conquest of Africa by the Muslims
• Prayers and talismans

  A leather case, fastened by a strap, containing two sheets of paper inscribed with Arabic prayers, verses of the Koran, and two talismanic figures, one containing the "Most Comely Names of God", written in a Maghribī hand, and apparently from West Africa.
• Dalāʼil al-khayrāt

  Summary of Contents: A copy of the the Dalāʼil al-khayrāt from Hārer (Ethiopia) A collection of prayers for the prophet Muhammad, including a description of his tomb. It is the most popular work of Muslim devotion in Africa, used both for private prayer and meditation and for recitation at public festivals and ceremonies.
• Ethiopian History

  History of Ethiopia
• Chronology of the Kings of Ethiopia

  Contents: f. 1 a Drawing completely erased by overpainting. f. 1 b Painting: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive." f. 2a Painting of an angel {without legend). f. 2b Painting: "How they imposed the cross upon our Lord." f. 3 a Beginning: The names and years of the reign of the kings of Ethiopia, from the "restoration" of the so-called Solomonic dynasty by Y ;)kuno Amlak in 1268 till the reign of King Menelik II at the end of the 19th cent. From the rubrication of Menelik' s name it would appear that he was the reigning monarch when this MS. was written. Also, no date for the end of Menelik' s reign is mentioned. f. 8 b Colophon effectively erased. £ 9 a Crude design. f. 9b "Yohannes Gabra-Maryam of Gondar wrote this MS."
• History of King Theodore

  Contents: History of King Theodore in the version of Alak' a Walda Maryam-identical with the text published by C. Mondon Vidailhet, Paris, 1904. The book begins with the year 1852/3 and ends with the events leading to the death of King Theodore in 1868. The last line explains that the book was written in 1897 (Ethiopian era) = 1904/ 5 (European era) which somewhat conflicts with a note by C. H. Armbruster (attached to the back of the volume), dated 1911, according to which the MS. was acquired in Ethiopia by H. Weld-Blundell "some twelve years ago" - might not be a good fit.
• Joseph ben Gorion's History of the Jews

  Contents: The History of the Jews, ascribed to Joseph hen Gorion. On f. 174b is a long colophon, saying that the book was written in the eighth year of the reign of Sus~nyos (1607-32). The MS. was written for Hafa Kr~stos
• An Amharic tract and miscellaneious magical writings
• Miracles of Abba Garima (fragment).

  Miracles of Abba Garima. Ff i, ii contain a note in German about Abba Garima and his church near Adwa, signed Schimper ( a botanist from Mannheimcf. Budge, History of Ethiopia, II, 491), dated Adwa, April '73 (1873).
• Miracles of the Blessed Virgin mary; Hymns etc.

  Hymns and prayers. Headings, proper names, and many catchwords in red throughout.
• Magical Scroll

  Owner: Beratu (a woman) Full of magical words and drawings
• Amulet

  Contents: Prayers against sickness, for the owner Amata Gabr'el. Various words and sentences are in Amharic, and there are many magical words. Some of the headings, names, and some other words are in red. A crude design of five faces in quincunx pattern occurs three times.
• Amulet

  Magical prayers and incantations, for the owner Bimeer Yohannes, whose name is written over that of the previous owner's erased name. There are many Amharic and magical words. Five pictures of demons in red, yellow, and black
• Amulet

  Contents: Prayers against devils and sickness, for the owner Walatta Sellase. Some of the headings, owner's name, and some other words are in red. At the top is a picture of two saints; lower down an angel, and lower still a saint, all very crudely drawn.
• LJefafa S' edek

  A Lefafa S'adak', similar to Or. 587 (but not in the usual strip-form equal to the length of the corpse). Ten prayers. Pages 1-20 numbered in Abyssinian numerals