ABIKU
West African Folklore
Evil Spirit who Posses Children
These are evil forest SPIRITS of the Dahomey and Yoruba people of West Africa. The ABIKU posses babies and small children, drawing away their life essence until the child dies. The spirits may enter a child in infancy or be permitted by the Creator, MAWU, to be born to a family. Once in possession of the infant, the ABIKU are increasingly hungry and thirsty. They devour all the food intended for the child, often providing for other ABIKU without a host. The host child, in pain and depravation despite the efforts of the parents, ultimately dies, whereupon the ABIKU seeks another host.
Parents may protect their children in different ways: They may adorn their children with bells, which the ABIKU hates; they may dedicate the child to a Vodu (a god); they may rub pepper into tiny cuts, as this may drive out the evil spirit; or they may disfigure the child’s appearance to be unrecognizable and unwanted by the spirit, which will go back to the forest. Sometimes, the infant is detained by iron shackles and bracelets with bells to prevent the ABIKU from taking possession in the first place.
Source: Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins Encyclopedia