Bori is a spirit-possession tradition found across Hausaland, in Niger as well as Nigeria. Its devotees are “mounted” by spirits during ceremonies with drumming and the music of the goge, a one-stringed fiddle. While possessed they may speak with the voice of the spirit, give advice, heal and foretell. Titles are held by senior women, such as the Magajiya or Inna, who lead the cult.
Salamone and earlier authors note that most Bori participants in Muslim Hausa towns are women and people of low status, and that men attending may include musicians, butchers, and others at the margins. It has been described as a refuge from strict Islamic and patriarchal expectations, a place where the spirit, not the person, speaks. Adeline Masquelier’s study of a Nigerien town describes how possession offers women authority and a voice, and how it is also criticized by reformist Muslims.
The cult was pushed to the margins after the jihad of 1804. Today it survives in smaller numbers, sometimes as entertainment in media and sometimes under pressure from religious authorities who see it as incompatible with Islam. Spirit-belief and accusations of witchcraft can also feed real harm, so the subject is best approached with care.
Sources for this article
- Salamone 2010, ch. 2, pp. 9–12; ch. 9, pp. 88–105
- Masquelier 2001, whole book
- Unsigned overview (n.d.), section “Bori as Subaltern Strategy and Modern Conflicts” (outline)