HIRA
neutralMonster
Hira designates, in the folklore of the Songhai and the Bozo along the Niger River, a legendary variety of buffalo famed for its extreme strength and brutality. This monster ravages the countryside and serves as adversary to the hero Moussa Gname in an epic narrative mingling metamorphoses and animal ruses. It is known through tales collected by A. Dupuis-Yacouba at the beginning of the twentieth century. No reference source attaches this Hira to the Shilluk tradition of South Sudan, contrary to what its classification sometimes suggests: it belongs to the West African traditions of the Niger River, not to the Nilotic world.
Powers & Attributes
Role in the ROHO universe
Voice of its pantheon. HIRA carries the memory of its tradition and weaves a thread into the Mabioni. Bound to the Shilluk pantheon. Its alignment depends on the invoker's protocol.
Sacred Mask
An ancient ritual mask of sacred wood, old metal and black stone, engraved with symbols of the enormous, embodiment of the power of Hira
Era
Ancient cycle
Frequently asked questions
To which tradition does the Hira really belong?
To the Songhai and Bozo folklores, along the Niger River, in West Africa. No reference source attaches it to the Shilluk mythology of South Sudan.
How is the Hira described?
As a legendary variety of buffalo, of extreme strength and brutality, which ravages the countryside and confronts the hero Moussa Gname in an epic narrative.
Where does what we know of the Hira come from?
From tales collected by A. Dupuis-Yacouba at the beginning of the twentieth century, the principal source documenting this creature in the oral tradition of the Niger.
Related spirits
Sources and references
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hira_(mythical_monster)
- Stephen Belcher, Epic Traditions of Africa (1999)
- Auguste Victor Dupuis-Yakouba, Les Gow ou chasseurs du Niger : légendes songaï de la région de Tombouctou (1911)