Rahielo
Amhara–Tigrinya highland folk religion · numen · Amhara–Tigrinya highland folk religion traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Rahielo is a female zar of the Gondar possession cult, named among the spirits that mounted the healer Malkam Ayyahou. Michel Leiris records a sacrifice orchestrated on her behalf during his 1932 fieldwork; like other zar she is propitiated with blood offerings, perfume and her own distinctive songs, and manifests through the trembling gurri trance of her host.
Domains
- spirit possession
- affliction and healing
Powers
- afflicts then mounts a chosen woman
Sources
- Rahielo is a zar known to have possessed the Gondar healer Malkam Ayyahou; Leiris orchestrated a sacrifice offered on her behalf.: Michel Leiris, L'Afrique fantôme (Paris: Gallimard, 1934) and La possession et ses aspects théâtraux chez les Éthiopiens de Gondar (Paris: Plon, 1958). (primary)