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

Overview

Gajjimare is described as something like a snake, with a red male part and a blue female part. The account calls the spirit double-gendered and associates it with the rainbow. It lives in wells, emerges to drink water, crosses the sky and descends into an ant-hill. Its water-drinking name, Ma-Sha-Ruwa, appears again in the song, which also credits it with breaking stones and rocks.

The notice names Daura as its association and says that Tunis accounts do not make it related to Kuri. Some nevertheless call it the father of Uwar-Dowa, so the varying relationships are not harmonized. Water left in a house is said to satisfy it; otherwise it steals money. At the performance the mount stands still until incense is used, falls on the back, and rolls beneath a black cloth while asking for water. Receiving water signals a sneeze and departure, without a dance or jump.

Red male and blue female partsWell-to-sky-to-ant-hill routeHousehold water or money
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 notice in chapter XXIII, printed pp. 340–341; chapter read through its ending.

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

    Chapter XXIII, printed pp. 340–341; complete attributed spirit notice and representation.

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 — GajjimareResearch 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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