Bouda
Encyclopedia
Werehyenas are mythological or folkloric creatures capable of assuming the shape of hyenas. They are present in the stories of several Africa
n and Eurasia
n cultures. Like the werewolves of European folklore, werehyenas are depicted as therianthropic shapeshifter
s, though unlike werewolves and other therianthropes, which are usually portrayed as being originally human, some werehyena lore tells of how they can also be hyenas disguised as humans.
of the former Borno Empire in the Lake Chad
region, werehyenas are referred to as bultungin which translates into "I change myself into a hyena". It was once traditionally believed that one or two of the villages in the region was populated entirely by werehyenas, such as Kabultiloa.
In Ethiopia
, it is traditionally believed that every blacksmith
, whose trade is hereditary, is really a wizard or witch with the power to change into a hyena. These blacksmith werehyenas are believed to rob graves at midnight and are referred to as bouda
(also spelled buda). They are viewed with suspicion by most countrymen. Belief in the bouda is also present in Sudan
, Tanzania
and Morocco
where the Berber people
regard the bouda as a man or woman who nightly turns into a hyena and resumes human shape at dawn. Many Ethiopian Christian
s characterize Ethiopian Jews
as being bouda, accusing them of unearthing Christian corpses and consuming them; the commonality of blacksmithing as a traditional profession for Jewish men in Ethiopia may be a reason for the connection between the two beliefs.
In the folklore of western Sudanic peoples, a human-hyena hybrid creature is depicted as a cannibalistic monster who nightly transforms and terrorizes people, especially lovers. The creature is often portrayed to be a magically powerful healer, blacksmith, or woodcutter in its human form, recognizable through different signs such as a hairy body, red and gleaming eyes and a
nasal voice.
Members of the Korè cult of the Bambara people in Mali
“become” hyenas by imitating the animals behaviour through masks and roleplays. These are evocative of the hyenas' reviled habits, and may also be used to invoke fear among the participants into avoiding such habits and traits in their own lives.
A Persian medical treatise written in 1376 tells how to cure people known as kaftar, who are said to be “half-man, half-hyena”, who have the habit of slaughtering children.
The Greeks, until the end of the 19th century, believed that the bodies of werewolves, if not destroyed, would haunt battlefields as vampiric hyenas which drank the blood of dying soldiers.
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n and Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n cultures. Like the werewolves of European folklore, werehyenas are depicted as therianthropic shapeshifter
ShapeShifter
ShapeShifter is an Application Enhancer plugin for Mac OS X developed by Unsanity that allows the user to make system-wide modifications to the appearance of the operating system's graphical interface by applying GUI skins through “injection” into running code and without modifying system files,...
s, though unlike werewolves and other therianthropes, which are usually portrayed as being originally human, some werehyena lore tells of how they can also be hyenas disguised as humans.
African cultures
In the Kanuri languageKanuri language
Kanuri is a dialect continuum spoken by some four million people, as of 1987, in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, as well as small minorities in southern Libya and by a diaspora in Sudan. It belongs to the Western Saharan subphylum of Nilo-Saharan...
of the former Borno Empire in the Lake Chad
Lake Chad
Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Africa, whose size has varied over the centuries. According to the Global Resource Information Database of the United Nations Environment Programme, it shrank as much as 95% from about 1963 to 1998; yet it also states that "the 2007 ...
region, werehyenas are referred to as bultungin which translates into "I change myself into a hyena". It was once traditionally believed that one or two of the villages in the region was populated entirely by werehyenas, such as Kabultiloa.
In Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, it is traditionally believed that every blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
, whose trade is hereditary, is really a wizard or witch with the power to change into a hyena. These blacksmith werehyenas are believed to rob graves at midnight and are referred to as bouda
Buda (folk religion)
Buda , in Ethiopian folk religion, is the power of the evil eye and the ability to change into a hyena. Buda is generally believed to be a power held and wielded by those in a different social group, for example among the Beta Israel or metalworkers...
(also spelled buda). They are viewed with suspicion by most countrymen. Belief in the bouda is also present in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
where the Berber people
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
regard the bouda as a man or woman who nightly turns into a hyena and resumes human shape at dawn. Many Ethiopian Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s characterize Ethiopian Jews
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
as being bouda, accusing them of unearthing Christian corpses and consuming them; the commonality of blacksmithing as a traditional profession for Jewish men in Ethiopia may be a reason for the connection between the two beliefs.
In the folklore of western Sudanic peoples, a human-hyena hybrid creature is depicted as a cannibalistic monster who nightly transforms and terrorizes people, especially lovers. The creature is often portrayed to be a magically powerful healer, blacksmith, or woodcutter in its human form, recognizable through different signs such as a hairy body, red and gleaming eyes and a
nasal voice.
Members of the Korè cult of the Bambara people in Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
“become” hyenas by imitating the animals behaviour through masks and roleplays. These are evocative of the hyenas' reviled habits, and may also be used to invoke fear among the participants into avoiding such habits and traits in their own lives.
Eurasian cultures
Al-Doumairy, in his Hawayan Al-Koubra (1406), wrote that hyenas were vampiric creatures that attacked people at night and sucked the blood from their necks. Arab folklore tells of how hyenas can mesmerise victims with their eyes or sometimes with their pheromones.A Persian medical treatise written in 1376 tells how to cure people known as kaftar, who are said to be “half-man, half-hyena”, who have the habit of slaughtering children.
The Greeks, until the end of the 19th century, believed that the bodies of werewolves, if not destroyed, would haunt battlefields as vampiric hyenas which drank the blood of dying soldiers.
See also
- Blood libelBlood libelBlood libel is a false accusation or claim that religious minorities, usually Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays...
- CrocottaCrocottaThe crocotta , is a mythical dog-wolf of India or Ethiopia, linked to the hyena and said to be a deadly enemy of men and dogs.-Ancient Accounts:...
- GnollGnollA gnoll or gnole is a fictional humanoid creature - a cross between a gnome and a troll. They first appeared in Lord Dunsany's story in The Book of Wonder: How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art upon the Gnoles and subsequently reappeared in Margaret St. Clair's, The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles...
- Skin-walkerSkin-walkerSkin-walker and Skinwalker may refer to:* Skin-walker, a human/animal shape-shifter from Native American legend.-Books and comics:* Skinwalkers , a 1986 mystery novel by Tony Hillerman....
- ShapeshiftingShapeshiftingShapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
- TherianthropyTherianthropyTherianthropy refers to the metamorphosis of humans into other animals. Therianthropes are said to change forms via shapeshifting. Therianthropes have long existed in mythology, appearing in ancient cave drawings such as the Sorcerer at Les Trois Frères....
- Lycanthropy (disambiguation)Lycanthropy (disambiguation)Lycanthropy is the ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a werewolf.Lycanthropy may also refer to:* Clinical lycanthropy, the delusional belief that a person can transform into a wolf or other animal...
- WereWereWere and wer are archaic terms for adult male humans and were often used for alliteration with wife as "were and wife" in Germanic-speaking cultures ....
- WeregildWeregildWeregild was a value placed on every human being and every piece of property in the Salic Code...
- WereratWereratA wererat is a fictional lycanthropic creature akin to a werewolf, but shapeshifting into the form of a rat instead of a wolf. This type of therianthrope is rare in historical legends, but has become common in modern role playing games and fantasy fiction inspired by them...
- WerecatWerecatA werecat is a therianthropic creature of folklore, horror, and occultism, described as being a shape-shifter similar to a Werewolf....
- WerewolfWerewolfA werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
- The Pack, an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that featured creatures similar to the werehyena
External links
- Book Review: The Hyena People: Ethiopian Jews In Christian Ethiopia