Bori: Hausa cultural practice being spirited away
The practice called Bori, which involves trances, exorcism and other supernatural elements in Hausaland is being obliterated by Islam, colonialism and modernity, as Daily Trust found out. Since the advent of civilization, human societies emerged with the gradual evolution of their cultures and religious practices which give every human society its identity. As time went […]
The practice called Bori, which involves trances, exorcism and other supernatural elements in Hausaland is being obliterated by Islam, colonialism and modernity, as Daily Trust found out.
Since the advent of civilization, human societies emerged with the gradual evolution of their cultures and religious practices which give every human society its identity. As time went on, more advanced cultures and civilizations inundated and gradually obliterated various aspects of the cultures and religious practices of other societies which they dismissed as primitive or heathen.
Hausaland, for instance, over the ages preceding the advent of Islam and colonialism, evolved Bori as its sole religion and one of its main identifying cultures. It is divided into two: Bori the religion and Bori the cure.
Bori the religion was characterized by the worship of Jinn (Aljanu or Iskoki in Hausa) described as supernatural spirits, as the deities. Bori worshippers believe that the Jinn possess all the powers possessed by God or Allah. They believe that these supernatural spirits give or withhold health, offspring, rain and bountiful harvest, peace and security and all forms of powers and fortunes and unleash wrath in the form of epidemics on their adherents if and when they sin against them.
It is said that a little population of Bori worshippers still exist in Hausaland to this day.
The culture of Bori the Cure is practiced principally for the cure of ailments. This practice takes place for various reasons and at various times such as during specific seasons, festivities and wedding, naming or other ceremonies with the ‘Yan Bori (those possessing the spirits) performing abnormal or ‘supernatural’ feats when they are possessed by the spirits, following provocations by specific music or panegyrics. Supernatural
There are, however, numerous other reasons, such as protesting or revolting against any decisions carried out against him or her for the individual Dan Bori or ‘YarBori to get provoked into the supernatural situation with the intention of attracting appeasement for, or the reversal of the decision by whoever is responsible.
Bori approves, or disapproves of marriage between a man and a woman. Thus, for example, to facilitate wedding between a spinster and her suitor, the parents of the spinster can be heard to say: “Bori ya hadasu” (‘the Jinn has joined them together’, implying that their marriage is approved), or “Bori bai yarda da auren ba” (‘Bori does not approve the marriage’).
Even a passerby Dan Bori or ‘YarBori can be provoked to collapse instantly with the seizure of Bori by the simple hearing of music that is provocative to the Jinn he or she possesses. He or she may instantly be seen performing the abnormal feats of the spirit.
The reasons for the individual Dan Bori or ‘YarBori to be provoked into getting possessed by his or her spirit in the daily life of the people are so numerous in the broad gamut of the social life of Hausaland. Under the Bori culture, it is believed that each Jinn has its name.
For example, there is the Barahaza (the Fulani milk maid), the Babule (the one which sets locations or objects ablaze), the Arne (pagan of heathen), the Kuturu (leper), ‘Yarmairo (which shares out sugary items), the Nakada, and so many others spread across the different parts of Hausaland and its neighbours sharing such common cultural practices.
It is characterized by the belief that the Dan Bori (the male) or ‘YarBori (the female), during the festival, event, or any other time and for whatever reason, is possessed by the spirit, which moves him or her to behave or speak abnormally and in that situation, perform some mysteries.
In this situation of possession by the spirits in whatever circumstances, it will be said of the ‘Dan Bori’ ‘Ya hau Bori’ (he has been provoked into a Bori trance, implying that he is possessed by the spirits). For example, it will be said: ‘Ta hau Barahaza’ (she has been provoked into the trance of Barahaza, implying that she has been possessed by Barahaza, the Fulani milkmaid).
Any ‘Dan Bori’ provoked into the situation of the Jinn ‘Kuturu,’ which implies that he is possessed by the Jinn ‘Kuturu,’ will be heard speaking nasally or gutturally like the leper and seen to fold his fingers so tightly that no other ‘ordinary’ person, however powerful, can straighten them. The fingers can only be straightened when the spirit leaves the Dan Bori, freeing him into normalcy.
Both forms of Bori are magical and declared by Islam as heathen practices. The advent and rapid propagation of Islam in Hausaland, the colonization of Hausa land from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries, heralding modernity and the current massive descent of modern technology on all cultural practices of traditional societies seem to have obliterated Bori in most Hausa communities and reduced its practice greatly.
Dr. Muhammad Tahar Adamu, the Deputy Director, Literature and Folklore at the Ibrahim Yaro Yahaya Centre for Research in Nigerian Languages and Folklore of Bayero University Kano, is a leading authority on Bori. “Bori is a form of traditional religion. Before the advent of Islam the world over, every people had a deity they worshiped. We in Hausaland worshipped the Jinn – people regarded them as deities. But with the advent of Islam, this was completely debunked. It is now preached that there is one God Allah, and He is the only God that deserves to be worshipped.
“People prayed to the Jinn for protection against all adversities like famine, as they also prayed to him to bless them with all fortunes like offspring and bountiful harvest. That gave birth to Bori. The intermediaries between the adherents and the Jinn were the people called ‘Yan Bori.’ Those ‘Yan Bori’ prayed to the gods of those times, the Jinns, for all fortunes and against all misfortunes. That is Bori.
“With the advent of Islam, Bori the Religion was virtually abolished. People then turned to Bori the Cure. Bori the Cure means assuming the situation of Bori, that is the Dan Bori being possessed by the Jinn, in order to obtain cure for some ailments related to epilepsy or any unfathomable ailments believed to be inflicted by the Jinn.
“The advent of Islam in Hausaland virtually abolished Bori the Religion, but Bori the Cure still exists. We have among Muslims in Hausaland people practicing Bori the Cure, declaring the oneness of God, Allah, saying their five daily prayers, going on pilgrimage to Mecca, marrying according to Islam, but they are ‘Yan Bori. But among the Hausa people, the Maguzawa (heathens) still exist practicing Bori the Religion, worshipping the spirits.
“The only difference between the two forms of Bori is the intention. In Bori the Religion the intention is to worship the Jinn. Those practicing it mix it with magic. This has been the practice right from Tsumburbura (in ancient Kano) to Nakainafar in Birci (in ancient Katsina). Those worshipping these two still exist, practicing their traditional religion of Bori.
“But in Bori the Cure, people believe in one God, Allah, but they also believe that the Jinn possesses some powers to afflict you with some ailment or any form of adversity, just as the practitioners of Ruqqiyya now believe that Jinn has the power to enter the body of the human and cause some ailment.
“But in Bori the Cure, it is believed that the spirits possess the power humans beings lack. Humans can, therefore, venture through them to obtain cure for any ailment. It is believed here that the Jinn can inflict epilepsy, barrenness and other ailments in the humans. Even the practitioners of Ruqqiyya among Muslims believe in this.
“The Bori you see in yearly or seasonal festivals or any other events is because there are people organizing festivals called Bikin Salla for them every year or seasonally. For instance, after the harvest season, such festivals can be organized by the ‘Yan Bori, or even the Muslim festivals of Sallah.
“In such festivals, crowds of people will be gathered from all directions. ‘Yan Bori will be invited, each possessing his or her feats. It is a cultural festival to showcase feats among the ‘Yan Bori. Every Dan Bori or ‘YarBori will display his feats in terms of his or her closeness to and amity with the Jinn possessing him or her to impress the spectators.
“In such festivals you will see a Dan Bori falling into and rolling in raging fire orlive coal, falling down from a tall tree or plunging into a deep well. You will even see a Dan Bori, when he is possessed by the spirit, raising his empty hand and then lowering it clutching some leaves which he will present as cure for some ailment. If a Dan Bori is possessed by the spirit of Sarkin Rafi, he can mysteriously present fresh fruits such as tomatoes, pepper, garden egg, carrot, mango and guava, as though they have just been sourced from the riverside, even if it is not their season.
“At the end of the showcasing of feats, there will be Shan Kabewa (eating of the pumpkin) for which a pumpkin will be placed on the ground under a tree and a Dan Bori will climb the tree and then fall with his buttocks on the pumpkin to burst it. This marks the end of the festival. The pieces of the ruptured pumpkin then become cure for some ailments.
“In regular ceremonies, such as wedding ceremonies, the celebrant can invite ‘Yan Bori to come and display their feats to commemorate the event. In such events, if, for instance, the Sarkin Rafi Jinn is invoked, the Dan Bori will be seen mysteriously presenting fresh fruits not obtainable in that particular season, by simply stretching his hands either upwards or towards a particular direction.
“If Barahaza is invoked, the lady possessed by the Jinn so called, clad in white Fulani attire, because Barahaza is ‘Yar Fulani, will place an empty guard at the centre of the arena, and Nono (milk) will mysteriously be seen to fill the guard. You ask why the culture of Bori is in gradual extinction. This is not the fate of Bori alone. Most cultures are in gradual extinction. Every activity associated with mysteries is gradually diminishing.
“Those practicing them die without bequeathing the secrets to their offspring. They would not bequeath them to the offspring because with the olden people, skills are bequeathed not on the basis of blood relationship but on the basis of reverence, loyalty and numerous other acts of good conduct to the person possessing the secrets of the art by the person to whom the secrets are bequeathed. For example, someone could be so impressed and thankful to you that he would bequeath the secrets of some skills to you for always relieving him of his load and helping him to carry it to the specific destination.
“The implication of the extinction of Bori is that all medicines sourced from Bori are rapidly becoming unknown. These even include the majority of traditional medicines, because those endowed with their knowledge and practice have died, giving room for the emergence of cheats and liars in a situation where some will market a traditional medicine with the claim that it cures a hundred ailments. In the past, a medicine man only possessed a single medicine with the claim that it cured only one ailment, and that medicine proved to be efficacious cure for the ailment.
“That is why, in the past every medicine man was famous far and near to possess cure for a particular ailment, and there was no doubt about its efficacy. Because he was sure of the efficacy of his medicine, you would not see the medicine man going about markets and streets hawking it; and he would not step out of his own into any other medicine.
“Most of the cultures were in practice before the advent of Islam. With the advent of Islam, they were discovered to be at conflict with Islamic culture. So they had to be abolished or gradually abandoned to die for the Islamic culture to get established and prosper.
“Culture is dynamic. There are important cultures that do not disappear, and there are those that disappear with time. The fact is bigger cultures inundate and gradually or even rapidly obliterate smaller ones. Since the advent of colonialism, some cultural practices in the colonies began to diminish. Bori is one of such cultural practices obliterated by Islamic culture, colonialism and modern technology.”