Mai Gizo

Mai Gizo

Owner of the Matted Hair

ALSO KNOWN AS:

Yero

CLASSIFICATION:

Bori

Mai Gizo, son of Sarkin Fulani, renounced Islam and was banished from his father’s home. Adopted by Pagan Bori spirits, he is now considered one of them. He is volatile and unpredictable, considered among the most potentially dangerous of Bori, but that may reflect tensions between Islam and the traditional Hausa religion to which Mai Gizo reverted.

Mai Gizo is blamed when humans renounce Islam: that renunciation is considered one of his afflictions. Others include chronic headaches plus mental illnesses tenuously related to the compulsive rambling caused by his father, but intensified. Mai Gizo’s victims stop paying attention to cleanliness, hygiene, and personal appearance, not just a little but to the extreme. Their teeth rot. They stink. Others avoid them. They wind up wandering aimlessly all by themselves. A difficult spirit to propitiate and appease, Mai Gizo’s illnesses are difficult to remove, even for the trained shamanic healer.

ATTRIBUTE:

Hatchet

COLOUR:

Black

OFFERINGS:

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products

SEE ALSO:

Bori; Malam Alhaji; Sarkin Fulani

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses – Written by : Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.

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