the Hyena
Hausa · deity · living Bori tradition; pre Islamic bush spirit roots · Recorded classification
Spirit-class figure entered as a deity (wild/bush iska). 'Kure'/'kura' = hyena. Hausa lore treats hyenas as witches in disguise, marking Kure's pre-Islamic bush-spirit pedigree. Sources: Besmer (1983); Tremearne (1914).
Domains
- wild bush predation
- witchcraft sorcery
Powers
- to range the night bush in the shape of a hyena
Sources
- Kure is the hyena-spirit of the Bori pantheon, a wild bush iska associated with predation and (in folk belief) witchcraft; he competes with Kuturu the Leper for the affection of Inna.: Fremont E. Besmer, Horses, Musicians, and Gods (1983) (secondary); Wikipedia, 'Hausa animism', on bush (daji) spirits and hyena symbolism (secondary)