Boo-da ! – the Ethiopian WereHyena !!!
- by Hénock Gugsa -
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Yes, Halloween is approaching, and children are trembling with mock fear because all the monsters they know are fake. And whose fault is that? – Why, the parents' of-course! They keep telling their kids that frightful dreams are just nightmares – they’re not “real.” So the children grow up dismissing and disavowing bad things, evil things.
Well, boys and girls, young and old! Perk your ears and listen well.
In Ethiopia, there is a monster nobody dismisses … and he has been around for eons. Ethiopians don’t disbelieve the unimaginable, the unheard-of, or the truly horror-filled. You’ve heard of Ethiopia, haven't you? .... The land of myths and fables. Aesop (Aethiop) was from there, dontcha know?!
Ethiopia’s traditional lore is rich in both good tales and in horror stories. In my blog, I have already written about a demon called, Meganya. He is literally a scary slapper whom nobody should want to encounter.
But today, here, I’m going to give an account of an entity simply known as a “boo-da”. The name is spelled phonetically, and you should have no problem pronouncing it.
Now, boo-da is not the same as Buddha (the kindly Prince Gautama). Far from that! A boo-da is far from compassionate and actually belongs in the realm of evil. He is not unlike the werewolf (the wolf-man) because they both lead double lives. But the Ethiopian monster’s alter ego by night is the hyena, not the wolf. However, unlike the werewolf, a boo-da is not self-conflicted or complicated. He accepts himself as what he is, and has no qualms or conscience about his deeds.
As told to me, the story of the boo-da is one that will keep children up all night from fright. A boo-da is a cursed human who is doomed to live a double life alone as a social pariah. Except for the three rainy months during a year, a boo-da transforms himself into a fiendish hyena every night during the hours of darkness. Each night, his legs would shrink to half their length, his arms would elongate, his shoulders get hunched, and he would almost appear to have a hump on his back. His body is suddenly covered with short mangy brown hair from head to toe. And fleas appear out of nowhere to attack his lean body. So he jumps around hooting, wailing, and making shrill, screaming sounds. Then he furiously kicks and breaks up the ground under him. He naturally prefers red clayey ground, and of-course there is plenty of that where he lives. A red dust billows up on his body as he throws himself on the ground and twirls and rolls around killing his enemies, the fleas. All during the dirt bath, the cacophony of the noises he makes have graduated to hyena squeaks and cackles mixed in with snorts and grunts.
Eventually, he stops everything he’s doing, gathers himself up by his short hind legs. He emerges from his abode, and he is very hungry … ravenous, really. Naturally, he is a dedicated carnivore … but, he is not discriminatory in his diet, he will eat anything when he is hungry-hungry. Of-course, a boo-da has night vision same as a hyena, and he accurately remembers where the pre-selected prey lives. Humans are his enemy, but most importantly for him, they are also his meal.
At night, households in the countryside lock their doors, stables are secured with the animals safe inside, and guard dogs are at their posts. Families hold their dear children tight and near. Fires are kept going, and dark corners are lit well. Nothing is left to chance.
Outside, no person travels alone. Everybody has his spear or his sword by his side!
Day or night, children are normally safe because their parents make them wear tiny leather pouches (talismans) around their necks for protection. These magical potions are specially prepared by the head shaman in the community, and they are not exactly cheap. A family with four children may have to give the shaman a cow for four talismans. The ingredients in the talisman as well as the written words on the little leather pouch render a child invisible to a boo-da. No wonder villagers always warn: woe be to the careless child who loses his talisman!
As you may have surmised, a boo-da reverts to his human form during the day. People who think they have seen him in person usually describe him as shifty-eyed and unsociable. He always appears to be spying on people and their belongings. No doubt, people are convinced that he is the one with the evil eye. That is why they know better than to eat or drink outside in the open and neither would they bathe naked in the river. If a boo-da happens to be nearby and catches sight of you in a vulnerable state, he will mark you in his memory and you will not be long for this world. Either the boo-da will get you, or you will suffer and die from a sudden incurable disease.
As has been pointed out earlier, a boo-da is very crafty and stealthy, and no one knows the location of his residence. His animal instincts, and especially his sense of smell and hearing alert him to humans if they accidentally come anywhere near his abode. He then quickly relocates to a new place, and his solitary life resumes. A boo-da can live to a ripe old age. And when he dies, it will usually be from starvation because he is too weak from old age to go out and hunt humans anymore.
~~~~~~~~~~ Any doubters ? ~~~~~~~~~~
