Ethnomusicological Analysis of Bori Spirit Possession Music Among the Hausa-Fulani in Katsina State

This study presents an ethnomusicological analysis of Bori spirit possession music among the Hausa-Fulani people of Katsina State, North West Nigeria. Bori is a pre-Islamic spirit possession cult that has survived syncretically alongside Islam in Hausa communities for centuries, centred on musical rituals performed to invoke specific spirits for healing, divination, and communal protection. The music of Bori ceremonies encompasses a distinctive repertoire of drumming patterns, melodic phrases, and vocal formulas associated with individual spirits. Despite the cultural and musicological significance of Bori music, it has been marginally represented in recent Nigerian ethnomusicological scholarship, partly due to the social stigma attached to Bori practice in predominantly Muslim communities. This research employs ethnographic fieldwork methods, including extended participation in Bori ceremonies in Daura and Dutsin-Ma local government areas, audio-visual documentation, and interviews with Bori spirit mediums, musicians, and community healers. Musical transcriptions of identified spirit-specific musical formulas are produced using Western notation supplemented by descriptive analysis. The study situates Bori music within broader literature on African spirit possession, trance music, and Hausa Islamic syncretism. Findings will constitute a rare and significant addition to the academic literature on Hausa musical traditions and African ritual music. Keywords: Bori music, spirit possession, Hausa-Fulani, Katsina State, ethnomusicology.