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

Overview

Hankaka is named as the white-breasted crow spirit. Like Angulu and Gauraka, its representative squats and flaps the arms. The voiced call imitates the bird and includes a line about fearing armed men from Ilorin, which Tremearne explains through imported guns. The notice associates the spirit with illness among people in the bush.

The song mentions watching flour being ground and journeys to Katsina and Sokoto. Its final line concerns an expelled enslaved youth. Although a speaker gives an explanation involving the youth’s bori and a master’s daughters, Tremearne admits he cannot connect that story confidently to Hankaka. The profile leaves the obscure line unresolved and does not fuse this possession role with the differently collected execution tale explaining a crow’s white breast.

Crow associationImitated bird callWing-like arm gesturesTravel and grain imageryUnresolved final song line
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. 390; 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. 390; 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 — Hankaka, the Crow SpiritResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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

FT·3096 · RESEARCH EDITION 01Back to top ↑