Human representatives of Mai-Lema’s companions including Sa’idi in photograph55, 1914
The caption names Sa’idi, printed Sa’idi in this witness, among the seated companions of Mai-Lema. This is a historical group performance photograph rather than an individually identified supernatural portrait.
Overview
Tremearne places Sa’idi among Yerima’s sons in an alternative six-child foster-family account. The source associates him with children’s unexplained ailments and represents him as persistently pursuing women. His praise-name calls him one of Allah’s chosen; this is a performed attribution in the collection, not the author’s identification of the spirit with Allah.
The described dance is brief: the performer sits for a little while, sneezes and leaves. The song emphasizes numerous partners, refusal to desist and a relationship to the celebrated dancer Bagiro. That song’s wording supplies a performance persona without giving a separate birth, death or transformation narrative for Sa’idi. The comparison appendix records no Northern Nigerian report under this name in the author’s material.
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.
Records & interpretation
The Ban of the Bori (1914), chapter XXVI, pp. 366, 370; comparison appendix pp. 482–486.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
The Ban of the Bori: Demons and Demon-Dancing in West and North Africa
The Ban of the Bori (1914), chapter XXVI, pp. 366, 370; 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.
- Digitized historical ethnographic accountTremearne 1914 — Sa’idiResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Historical ritual performance photographHuman representatives of Mai-Lema’s companions including Sa’idi in photograph55, 1914
The caption names Sa’idi, printed Sa’idi in this witness, among the seated companions of Mai-Lema. This is a historical group performance photograph rather than an individually identified supernatural portrait.