Text by Adetokunbo Abiola
February 2005
Abdullahi Amadu was 15 years old when he joined his father's business in a little town called Mullumpashi in Katsina State, Nigeria. Following in his father's footsteps meant that he needed his own hyena. After all, that's how his family made a living: they worked as entertainers - accompanied by hyenas, snakes and monkeys - and sold the fetishes and herbal medicines that are popular in Nigeria.
Abdullahi leant how to go to the caves and bushes of Bauchi, Yola, Plateau and Taraba States in central and northern Nigeria. At the entrance to the dark tunnels leading to the caves where a hyena lived, Abdullahi and his partners would blow in a whiff of traditional African tranquilizer, a powdery substance which intoxicates the animal and renders it senseless.
Next, they'd use a powerful torch to find their way through the tunnel and then drag the dazed animal from its hideout. Sometimes, the powerful light from the hyena's eyes would damage the bulb of the torch, but Abdullahi would still have his way.
"To be successful when hunting for hyenas and other dangerous animals," Abdullahi, 32, says, "we arm ourselves with various types of fetish charms, amulets and the tranquilizer. We also use hunting dogs to sniff out the hyenas' hideouts."
Abdullahi is one of a group of 10 entertainers who crisscross Nigeria with three hyenas, two rock pythons and four monkeys. In February 2005, they were staying in a ramshackle three-bedroomed apartment in Dei Dei Junction, a suburb of Abuja, the Nigerian capital. The animals were housed in specially constructed boxes.
Every member of the party had sores and scars on their faces, legs and hands - legacies of times when the animals suddenly turned hostile and pounced on their handlers with their teeth, fingers and claws.
"We use a heavy stick to hit the hyenas on the head when they misbehave," Abdullahi says. "We knock them down on the ground. All of us hold the sticks in case the animals become aggressive."
But one member of the group of animal handlers is six-year-old 'Mummy' Abdullahi, Abdullahi's daughter, and she plays with the various animals without showing any signs of fear. She even rides a hyena as if it were a miniature, slope-shouldered pony.
"She cannot be harmed," Abdullahi says. "It's the same thing with the snakes and monkeys. She has partaken of a potion of traditional herbs and has been bathed with it. So her safety from the animals is guaranteed for the rest of her life."
Most handlers of hyenas (and other animals such as goats and cows) make use of magic, voodoo herbs, juju concoctions, powders, amulets and esoteric incantations to train their captives - as well as build up their own confidence. The animal handlers also believe that human beings are capable of transforming themselves into animals such as hyenas, hence the need for powerful voodoo charms and incantations to protect themselves from harm. And then sometimes, especially when they haven't been fed on time, the hyenas turn aggressive and the charms and amulets are used as back-ups to the heavy sticks.
Charms and amulets are also placed into 'akayau', metal rings tied around the handlers' ankles that are meant to enhance their dancing skills. Also an important part of the troupe are drummers Nura Garuba, Abdulkarim Lawal and Sanusi Ahmed. But according to Abdullahi, tending to the animals is a tradition exclusive to his family. Non-family members are not admitted into the group or taught the secret of how to trap and take care of the creatures.
The animals are good for business: the family has sold traditional potions and charms for years, but trade increased dramatically after the acquisition of the hyenas and other creatures. "We parade the animals on the streets," Mallam Manteri, the owner of a 13-year-old hyena nicknamed Mainasara says. "They can be very funny and the public showers them with money."
Galadima Ahmadu, who controls a hyena nicknamed Jamis, explains that the handlers wear 'bante' dress and charms. "If we give onlookers the charms, they can play with the animals as well and they won't be harmed," he says. The concoctions sold to the public are meant to protect against snake, hyena or monkey bites, while the charms and amulets shield people from the antics of witches and wizards, which the majority of Nigerians believe are responsible for their misfortunes.
While the entertainers have fans across Nigeria and also sell their wares in neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Niger and Chad, they command less respect from the Nigerian police. They have been accused of using the animals to threaten or intimidate unwary members of the public, who are forced to pay them with money or possessions.
"What brought up the charge," Abdullahi says, "was what happened last year. Because we refused to stop at a police checkpoint, the police opened fire on us, killing two hyenas and two fellow policemen. To protect themselves, they fixed a charge of armed robbery on us. Thank God, the case has died a natural death."
A report in a local newspaper tells a different story: It claims that an armed "gang who used a hyena and a monkey to rob their victims" had a shootout with police. The paper claimed that two gang members were killed and four arrested, while a policeman ended up in hospital after being bitten by a hyena. The hyena and a monkey were shot.
Whatever happened, Abdullahi's family knew where to get more hyenas - and how to train them. The group spent "one or two" months in the mountains, carrying the supplies they needed, as well as a good selection of charms, chains and amulets.
"After bringing the animal out from the cave," one of the handlers says, "it will fight, since it's not familiar with humans. A traditional medicine is administered to its body, so it automatically becomes obedient to us. It begins to obey all our commands.
Handlers say that the animal is then subjected to one or two months of training. It must learn to accommodate other animals and humans, and to engage in different kinds of play without resorting to violence.
In return, the handlers' feed the hyenas with scraps purchased from abattoirs (a goat every three days or so also helps prevent the animals becoming aggressive). Maintaining good relations with the animals, Abdullahi says, requires both skill and tact.
"They're alert and any slightest sound keeps them awake," he explains. "They hate hot environments so they're kept in a cool place. When necessary, cold water is sprinkled on their bodies to comfort them. They're very sensitive creatures."
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE:
'Hyena, Monkey Robbery Gang Arrested'
This Day (Lagos), June 17, 2004
Four armed gang who used a hyena and a monkey to rob their victims in Katsina State have been arrested by the police after a gun duel in Bichi, headquarters of Bichi Local Government of Kano State.
According to a statement made available to newsmen in Katsina, the robbers who were seven in number went to Kankia market in Kankia Local Government of Katsina State to display with the animals while they robbed their victims of N66,000 during their operation.
Shortly after their operation, the statement added, the robbers took to their heels and they were chased by the police down to Bichi in Kano State where they engaged the police in a gun battle which led to the death of two of the robbers. During the battle with the police, the gang let off the hyena and monkey to fight with the police during which the animals bit one of the policemen who is now lying critically ill at the Katsina General Hospital. Two of the robbers were killed while four of them arrested on the spot. The police had however killed the two animals during the fight in Bichi.
February 2005
Abdullahi Amadu was 15 years old when he joined his father's business in a little town called Mullumpashi in Katsina State, Nigeria. Following in his father's footsteps meant that he needed his own hyena. After all, that's how his family made a living: they worked as entertainers - accompanied by hyenas, snakes and monkeys - and sold the fetishes and herbal medicines that are popular in Nigeria.
Abdullahi leant how to go to the caves and bushes of Bauchi, Yola, Plateau and Taraba States in central and northern Nigeria. At the entrance to the dark tunnels leading to the caves where a hyena lived, Abdullahi and his partners would blow in a whiff of traditional African tranquilizer, a powdery substance which intoxicates the animal and renders it senseless.
Next, they'd use a powerful torch to find their way through the tunnel and then drag the dazed animal from its hideout. Sometimes, the powerful light from the hyena's eyes would damage the bulb of the torch, but Abdullahi would still have his way.
"To be successful when hunting for hyenas and other dangerous animals," Abdullahi, 32, says, "we arm ourselves with various types of fetish charms, amulets and the tranquilizer. We also use hunting dogs to sniff out the hyenas' hideouts."
Abdullahi is one of a group of 10 entertainers who crisscross Nigeria with three hyenas, two rock pythons and four monkeys. In February 2005, they were staying in a ramshackle three-bedroomed apartment in Dei Dei Junction, a suburb of Abuja, the Nigerian capital. The animals were housed in specially constructed boxes.
Every member of the party had sores and scars on their faces, legs and hands - legacies of times when the animals suddenly turned hostile and pounced on their handlers with their teeth, fingers and claws.
"We use a heavy stick to hit the hyenas on the head when they misbehave," Abdullahi says. "We knock them down on the ground. All of us hold the sticks in case the animals become aggressive."
But one member of the group of animal handlers is six-year-old 'Mummy' Abdullahi, Abdullahi's daughter, and she plays with the various animals without showing any signs of fear. She even rides a hyena as if it were a miniature, slope-shouldered pony.
"She cannot be harmed," Abdullahi says. "It's the same thing with the snakes and monkeys. She has partaken of a potion of traditional herbs and has been bathed with it. So her safety from the animals is guaranteed for the rest of her life."
Most handlers of hyenas (and other animals such as goats and cows) make use of magic, voodoo herbs, juju concoctions, powders, amulets and esoteric incantations to train their captives - as well as build up their own confidence. The animal handlers also believe that human beings are capable of transforming themselves into animals such as hyenas, hence the need for powerful voodoo charms and incantations to protect themselves from harm. And then sometimes, especially when they haven't been fed on time, the hyenas turn aggressive and the charms and amulets are used as back-ups to the heavy sticks.
Charms and amulets are also placed into 'akayau', metal rings tied around the handlers' ankles that are meant to enhance their dancing skills. Also an important part of the troupe are drummers Nura Garuba, Abdulkarim Lawal and Sanusi Ahmed. But according to Abdullahi, tending to the animals is a tradition exclusive to his family. Non-family members are not admitted into the group or taught the secret of how to trap and take care of the creatures.
The animals are good for business: the family has sold traditional potions and charms for years, but trade increased dramatically after the acquisition of the hyenas and other creatures. "We parade the animals on the streets," Mallam Manteri, the owner of a 13-year-old hyena nicknamed Mainasara says. "They can be very funny and the public showers them with money."
Galadima Ahmadu, who controls a hyena nicknamed Jamis, explains that the handlers wear 'bante' dress and charms. "If we give onlookers the charms, they can play with the animals as well and they won't be harmed," he says. The concoctions sold to the public are meant to protect against snake, hyena or monkey bites, while the charms and amulets shield people from the antics of witches and wizards, which the majority of Nigerians believe are responsible for their misfortunes.
While the entertainers have fans across Nigeria and also sell their wares in neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Niger and Chad, they command less respect from the Nigerian police. They have been accused of using the animals to threaten or intimidate unwary members of the public, who are forced to pay them with money or possessions.
"What brought up the charge," Abdullahi says, "was what happened last year. Because we refused to stop at a police checkpoint, the police opened fire on us, killing two hyenas and two fellow policemen. To protect themselves, they fixed a charge of armed robbery on us. Thank God, the case has died a natural death."
A report in a local newspaper tells a different story: It claims that an armed "gang who used a hyena and a monkey to rob their victims" had a shootout with police. The paper claimed that two gang members were killed and four arrested, while a policeman ended up in hospital after being bitten by a hyena. The hyena and a monkey were shot.
Whatever happened, Abdullahi's family knew where to get more hyenas - and how to train them. The group spent "one or two" months in the mountains, carrying the supplies they needed, as well as a good selection of charms, chains and amulets.
"After bringing the animal out from the cave," one of the handlers says, "it will fight, since it's not familiar with humans. A traditional medicine is administered to its body, so it automatically becomes obedient to us. It begins to obey all our commands.
Handlers say that the animal is then subjected to one or two months of training. It must learn to accommodate other animals and humans, and to engage in different kinds of play without resorting to violence.
In return, the handlers' feed the hyenas with scraps purchased from abattoirs (a goat every three days or so also helps prevent the animals becoming aggressive). Maintaining good relations with the animals, Abdullahi says, requires both skill and tact.
"They're alert and any slightest sound keeps them awake," he explains. "They hate hot environments so they're kept in a cool place. When necessary, cold water is sprinkled on their bodies to comfort them. They're very sensitive creatures."
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE:
'Hyena, Monkey Robbery Gang Arrested'
This Day (Lagos), June 17, 2004
Four armed gang who used a hyena and a monkey to rob their victims in Katsina State have been arrested by the police after a gun duel in Bichi, headquarters of Bichi Local Government of Kano State.
According to a statement made available to newsmen in Katsina, the robbers who were seven in number went to Kankia market in Kankia Local Government of Katsina State to display with the animals while they robbed their victims of N66,000 during their operation.
Shortly after their operation, the statement added, the robbers took to their heels and they were chased by the police down to Bichi in Kano State where they engaged the police in a gun battle which led to the death of two of the robbers. During the battle with the police, the gang let off the hyena and monkey to fight with the police during which the animals bit one of the policemen who is now lying critically ill at the Katsina General Hospital. Two of the robbers were killed while four of them arrested on the spot. The police had however killed the two animals during the fight in Bichi.
