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

Overview

Ba-Gobiri, the Man of Gobir, is also called Mai-Kurada, the One with the Hatchet. The account makes him enslaved to Yerima while describing him as a warrior who also enslaves others. His equipment includes a sword and spear as well as the hatchet. The song contrasts an apparently princely bracelet with his dependent status; it does not erase that status because he carries valuable ornaments.

In the dance the representative poises a spear and thrusts down on either side, circles the ring, begs and strikes the ground. The accompanying praise is ambivalent, declaring affection while also naming curses and ruin. Its question whether he is one spirit or several is explained by the collector as mockery of gestures borrowed from different spirits, not an explicit multiplication into several independently named beings.

Yerima’s enslaved warriorHatchet, sword and spearPrincely bracelet in songBorrowed performance gesturesAmbivalent praise
01

Origins & earliest records

A. J. N. Tremearne reports interviews and ritual performances during four months in North Africa, alongside comparisons to Nigeria. His foreword credits local assistance and photography but these passages do not identify an individual speaker for every statement.

02

Records & interpretation

The Ban of the Bori, chapters XXI–XXII, complete selected account pp. 318–319; foreword pp. 13–14 and catalog publication date checked.

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

    Chapters XXI–XXII, pp. 318–319; role descriptions, performed representation and attributed explanations.

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 account with interviews and performance descriptionsTremearne — Ba-GobiriResearch access: 2026-10-05
  2. Library catalog metadataInternet Archive catalog — The Ban of the BoriResearch 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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