An evil spirit believed to inhabit a child only to cause its early death, then return to torment the same family by being reborn again and again. The Igbo concept closely parallels the Yoruba Abiku, and both traditions developed elaborate practices to break the cycle, including the location and destruction of the iyi-uwa, a spiritual object that ties the Ogbanje to its life of return.
O
Mythology· Codex · Spirit
Ogbanje
Igbo (Nigeria) · West Africa
