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Anobayifo is avampire/witch-like mythological creature fromWest Africa coming from the folklore of theAshanti.[1] In Ashanti folklore, obayifo are very common and may inhabit the bodies of any man or woman. They are described as having shifty eyes and being obsessed with food. When travelling at night they are said to emit aphosphorescent light from theirarmpits andanus. The obayifo is known as a similar entity to theasiman by theDahomey people, a creature that can shapeshift and fly, turning itself into a ball of light and hunting for prey in the night sky.
In AshantiTwi, the word used to describewitchcraft isbayi. Despite this, theetymology ofbayi is still uncertain. Another possible variation isoba meaning "child" andyi meaning to remove. "To remove a child" in this case highlights a close association ofinfant mortality andfertility to the likes of witchcraft. Alternatively,bayi also may have a history in representing blood or family lineage. People, typically women, who practiced bayi turned into the obayifo. Although obayifo is used to describe both the men and women who practiced bayi and turned into the monster, a distinction can be drawn between the men and women who practiced bayi, asobansam, meaning wizard, was a term used for the males exclusively as obayifo was sometimes only used for women exclusively.
citingThe Vampire Book, Second Edition © 2011 Visible Ink Press
Allman, Jean Marie, and John Parker.Tongnaab: The History of a West African God. Indiana University Press, 2006.
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