Que signifie le nom Mahalbiya?

En haoussa, il désigne une chasseresse ou une femme qui tire à l'arc, féminin de mahalbi ou maharbi, le chasseur. L'esprit est présenté comme une markswoman.

Quel mal Mahalbiya est-elle réputée envoyer?

Selon Tremearne, sa flèche invisible laisse une petite plaie qui grandit et se creuse si on la gratte. Elle frappe la nuit et dort le jour.

À quel ensemble spirituel appartient-elle?

Aux iskoki, les esprits du culte bori des Hausa, où elle est présentée comme fille de l'esprit Jigo et proche des esprits chasseurs comme Sarikin Bakka.

Back to the Codex

MAHALBIYA

neutral

Spirit

☥ SpiritHausa →Hausa — HausaElder

Gender: Masculine/FeminineSign: maladie

Mahalbiya, whose Hausa name means "the huntress" or "she who shoots", is an iska spirit of the bori possession cult of the Hausa, in use in northern Nigeria and Niger. The ethnographer A. J. N. Tremearne describes her in 1914 as a daughter of the spirit Jigo and a close companion of Sarikin Bakka, the chief of the hunters. A feminine spirit, she sleeps by day and strikes by night: it was said that shaking one's clothes after nightfall exposed one to her invisible arrow. Her wound leaves a small sore that grows and deepens if scratched. To appease her, any fowl was offered to her in sacrifice. Like the other iskoki, she manifested herself during the ritual dances through a possessed adept, her gestures recalling those of the spirit Jigo. She belongs to a system in which each spirit is attached to a precise affliction that the rite makes it possible to ward off.

Powers & Attributes

disease

Role in the ROHO universe

Keeper of the two hands. MAHALBIYA sends the fevers and withdraws them as the measure demands. Bound to the Hausa 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 disease, embodiment of the power of Mahalbiya

Era

Ancient cycle

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Mahalbiya mean?

In Hausa, it designates a huntress or a woman who shoots with a bow, the feminine of mahalbi or maharbi, the hunter. The spirit is presented as a markswoman.

What ill is Mahalbiya reputed to send?

According to Tremearne, her invisible arrow leaves a small sore that grows and deepens if scratched. She strikes by night and sleeps by day.

To which spiritual ensemble does she belong?

To the iskoki, the spirits of the bori cult of the Hausa, where she is presented as a daughter of the spirit Jigo and close to the hunter spirits such as Sarikin Bakka.

Related spirits

MAKERI TAIKI RAKO GARAKHE

Sources and references

A. J. N. Tremearne, The Ban of the Bori: Demons and Demon-Dancing in West and North Africa, Londres, Heath Cranton, 1914, p. 346.