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

Overview

Mallam Dan Sangammi belongs to the white-clad praying spirits and is junior to Alhaji and Alkali. In the described scene he waits until those elders finish their prayers rather than praying with them. He then strikes his left forearm with the right hand three times and reverses the movement, representing sword strokes caught on a shield.

The song links him with Gajera, who is not otherwise identified, and calls him a horse-breaker. Tremearne interprets that name through the mistreatment of displeasing human mounts. The entry attributes illness to him, but the suggestion of back lumps or deformation is the collector’s deduction from the song. A hump mentioned in its paired husband-and-wife language is therefore not silently made a securely observed bodily feature of the spirit.

Junior mallam rankWaits for elders’ prayersForearm striking and parryingHorse-breaker praise titleCollector’s uncertain song interpretation
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. 305–306; 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. 305–306; 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 — Mallam Dan SangammiResearch 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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