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Overview

Tremearne identifies Magajin Yaura as the heir of Yaura, also called Abubakar or Ismaila, and the youngest in one four-child foster-family list. He is a patron of chacha, the gambling activity also associated with Yaura. The account links him to bodily irritation and gives an uncertain interpretation connecting that irritation with awakened desire. The uncertainty belongs to the author’s explanation and is not made into a fixed separate power.

In the dance, the performer rubs the body all over, conveying a skin complaint which the author distinguishes from severe itch. The accompanying song uses both Abubakar and Ismaila and describes a young dependent soliciting kola-nuts with a calabash. This named heir is kept separate from the Ismaila called Almajiri elsewhere in the same collection: shared naming does not establish that their genealogies and performances are identical. The comparison appendix says Magajin Yaura was not reported from Northern Nigeria in the author’s surveyed material.

Heir of YauraGambling associationBody-rubbing performanceCalabash-bearing song personaAlternative names in song
01

Origins & earliest records

A. J. N. Tremearne records this member of the samari spirit class in his 1914 account, drawing on Hausa-associated Bori communities in North Africa and comparing Northern Nigerian reports. This passage does not name an individual narrator for this spirit. Its differing foster-family lists and regional comparisons are historical evidence, not a single uniform present-day genealogy.

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Records & interpretation

The Ban of the Bori (1914), chapter XXVI, pp. 366, 368–369; comparison appendix pp. 482–486.

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

    The Ban of the Bori (1914), chapter XXVI, pp. 366, 368–369; comparison appendix pp. 482–486.

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 1914 — Magajin YauraResearch 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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