Hausa animism
[1] Bòòríí is a Hausa noun, meaning the spiritual force that resides in physical things, and is related to the word for local distilled alcohol (borassa) as well the practice of medicine (boka).
The Bori spirit possession priestesses maintained nominal influence over the Sultanates that replaced the earlier Animist kingdoms.
[8] The Inna oversaw this network, which was not only responsible for protecting society from malevolent forces through possession dances, but which provided healing and divination throughout the kingdom.
Bori possession rituals survived in the Hausa refugee states such as Konni and Dogondutchi (in what is today southern Niger) and in some rural areas of Nigerian Hausaland.
The healing and "luck" aspects of the performances of Bori members (almost exclusively women) provide new social roles for their rituals and practitioners.
All these- people, animals, plants, and big rocks- have a permanent soul (quruwa), two attendant angels, and a bori of the same sex.
[17] There are other bori not directly connected to living people, such as those which are or are inspired by Muslim saints, well known jinn, embodiments of other tribes, ancestors, the spirits of infants, totems (such as animals), and gods.
[15] In Kano, Jangare, the city in which the Bori live, is ruled by a "Court of the East", with Sarkin Aljan as the head, and is a centralized authority compared to others' accounts of a more mild feudal organization.
[30] The sound of laughter attracts the bori, the merriment of laughing excites them, and the open mouth, just as with yawning, allows them entry.
Possession in this context is a family reunion that restores health and balance (lafiya), and spirit and human are complementary opposites.
[13] The illnesses they treat include clumsiness, impotence, infertility, rashes, boils, gastrointestinal trouble, headaches, insanity, leprosy, and paralysis.
[26] The spirit drinks the sacrificial blood and the meat is given by alms (sadaka) to Quran scholars and students, the homeless and destitute, or devotees and musicians.
The final stage of the cure is acting in a dance as mount during the kwanan zauen (the night spent sitting up), also called wasa na hira (entertainment for chatting).
[31] In instances where it is deemed impossible to cure someone, the individual is still encouraged to participate in Yan Bori events, and will be supported by the group.
The Yan Bori regard these cures as incomplete or worse, but outsiders view them as an effective alternative to full initiation.
Occasionally a participant will accept the invitation without gift if the intermediary or the host has a relationship with them, and may use this as a future bit of leverage or to satisfy a standing social debt.
The praise-shouter shouts the proceedings to a halt and says the praises and genealogy of the speaker, who he calls mai magana (owner of speech).
The main difference is in the latter case the host must present a gift of kola nuts, candy, and cash and ask the musicians to begin.
[45] The Yan Dandu often hang around the brothels associated with the possession-trance group for social and economic reasons, and attend the public dance ceremonies.
[31][46] The act of gift giving, which is one of the more obvious displays of generosity in Hausa culture, has added significance in accordance with the giver and receiver's respective positions in the social hierarchy when done publicly.
This is because exchanges between equals do not often occur at ceremonies (the exception being spirits giving each other ritual objects their attendants have to retrieve at the end).
Men play the garaya,[49] buta (bottle-shaped gourd rattle),[50] goge (fiddle),[51] kwarya (calabash basin),[52] and sarewa (cornstalk or bamboo flute).
The one that often takes the role as lead instrument is the masakin kadawa, aka the ganga, a large half calabash played with the hands, typically by a female professional musician.
The strings are artificial cat gut and pass over a compound bridge called a jaki (donkey), then tie to the forked end of the neck.
Vocal music consists of praise-epithets (which are fairly static), stories about a spirit (these are variable, but they tend to be short), and invitations for them to possess a particular devotee (which vary based on the singer's style and the pace of the instrumental).
This role is chosen by the possession-trance group based on an individual's experience as a medium and their popularity, and confirmed via the turbaning ceremony used for political offices in general Hausa society.
Normally, the Sarkin Bori is consulted as a boka, so musicians only fill this role when local leadership is weak or nonexistent.
[42] In addition to music and information about the Bori, young musicians are taught acceptable behavior in broader society, being more deferential and using more flattery due to their status.
[13][45] Male homosexuals, transvestites, transgender women,[13] those with psychological disturbances, and men of low occupational status[31] also are involved in the group.
[31] Musicians associated with the group (who are low in the occupational hierarchy) may be thought of as extortionists, as they receive gifts at ceremonies,[13] and are stereotyped as lazy, dirty spendthrifts.
