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Overview

Tremearne labels Ayu with the English animal name manatee and says that he drags down anyone caught in water. The same short notice explicitly reports that Ayu is not danced in North Africa. It therefore does not support treating him as an observed Tunisian dancer alongside the photographed water spirits.

The described representation calls repeatedly, holds the arms down at the sides, then raises them and slaps the face. The author compares the dragging action with a crocodile secret society’s executioners, but supplies no individual narrator or located Ayu episode proving that comparison. The passage supports a named water-being and attributed behaviour, while leaving the relationship between animal, spirit and performed role sparsely explained.

Manatee associationDragging underwaterReported absent North African performanceArms lowered then raisedFace-slapping gesture
01

Origins & earliest records

A. J. N. Tremearne combines interviews and descriptions of bori performances with comparative interpretation. These selected notices do not consistently name individual speakers; printed attributes are distinguished from his conjectures.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected spirit notice in chapter XXVIII, printed pp. 387; adjoining chapter context read.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    The Ban of the Bori: Demons and Demon-Dancing in West and North Africa

    A. J. N. Tremearne, collector and colonial-era interpreter · 1914

    XXVIII. Spirits of the Forest, Waters and Grove, pp. 387; ritual representation and attributed explanation.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Digitized historical ethnographic accountTremearne — AyuResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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