Egbere

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In Yoruba mythology, Egbere are a type of malevolent spirit or goblin believed to reside in the woods and active only at night. [1] [2]

Oxford's A Dictionary of the Yoruba language defines Egbere as a Yoruba word for fairy or goblin. [3] [4] According to William Taylor's 1898 account, written in a colonial and often condescending tone, Egbere inhabit graves. They emerge at midnight and return at dawn, similar to vampires. They delight in riding sheep, and also bring disease to sheep. [5]

Egbere are described as being short in stature [6] and are associated with a small mat. There is a belief that anyone who manages to take the mat of wealth from an Egbere will attain unimaginable riches. [7] They are said to constantly cry, though the sincerity of these tears is questionable. [8] [9] [10]

References

  1. ↑ Crowther, Samuel; Vidal, Owen Emeric (1852). A Vocabulary of the Yoruba Language. Seeleys. p.  80.
  2. ↑ "The Afro-American griot speaks : Afro-American names : Muñoz, Sharon R., 1945-". Internet Archive. 1995. Archived from the original on 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  3. ↑ "A Dictionary of the Yoruba language". Internet Archive. 2016-10-23. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  4. ↑ A Dictionary of the Yoruba language. Ibadan: University Press. 1985. p. 71. OCLC   1335925672.
  5. ↑ Taylor, William (1898). The Flaming Torch in Darkest Africa. Eaton & Mains. p.  237. Archived from the original on 2008-07-31.
  6. ↑ "American Anthropologist January-March 1948: Vol 50 Iss 1". Internet Archive. 2016-10-23. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  7. ↑ Tume, Tosin Kooshima (2019). "Yoruba folkore and Ifa narratives in Tunde Kelani's Agogo Eewo (2002) as cultural archetypes for national re-orientation" . Journal of African Films & Diaspora Studies. 2 (1): 23–41. doi:10.31920/2516-2713/2019/2n1a2 . Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  8. ↑ Dopamu, Ade. "The Yoruba Religious System". Africa Update 6.3 (1999): 2-17, p. 7.
  9. ↑ Jimoh, Shaykh Luqman. "The Yoruba concept of spirit husband and the Islamic belief in intermarriage between jinn and man: A comparative discourse". International Conference on Humanities, Literature and Management (ICHLM'15), Jan. 9-10, 2015, Dubai (UAE). 2015, p. 1.
  10. ↑ Fagunwa, D. O.; Soyinka, Wole (1982). Forest of a thousand daemons : a hunter's saga. New York: Random House. OCLC   1149232864.
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