African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

African Americans 809
invocations to protect himself or his property from the adverse consequences of sahir.
The audience, on the other hand, laughs at good similes, though they are not unaware of
the evil consequences that may result, or that the subject claims may result, from sahir.
Situations of Sahir
The sahhar may utter the sahir voluntarily, or he may be pressured into uttering it.
Understandably, sahhars concur that they are at their best in the former situation. People
agree that a sahhar wears on his face an expression that shifts between a smile and
suppressed laugh when he has finished mentally conjuring up his simile. Recognizing this
expression as a key to performance, the audience then urges him to utter his sahir.
Sahir emerges out of a variety of situations. A sahhar may be invited to speak sahir.
Occasionally people ask him to yashar (bewitch) persons or objects that look a little odd
or different. Furthermore, a sahhar may be provoked into saying sahir. One man with
curled, grey hair got on the nerves of a sahhar, who then said, “Get off my back with your
hair that looks like the vapor arising from hot porridge.” Those who are exceptionally
scared of sahir are the most exposed to this kind of sahir. Sahir may also arise from a
competition between sahhars called for by a leading practitioner of their art. People of a
village may also ask a visiting sahhar to compete in sahir with their local sahhar.
Interestingly, a victim may hire a sahhar to cast the Evil Eye on a sahhar who hurt him or
her before.
There are two typical situations in which a sahhar may disclaim his or her
performance. The first is when he has been asked by the audience to bewitch somebody
or something. The sahhar may begin by saying “Ashar layk or layh shinu” (What am I to
bewitch you/him/it for, a sahir would be wasted on you/ him/it), and then utter the sahir
metaphor anyway. The second situation in which disclaimers are used to preface sahras is
when someone, either in anticipation of sahir or because he is exceptionally afraid of
sahir, asks the sahhar in advance “Ma tasharni” (Don’t bewitch me).
Response to Sahir
The responses of the targets of sahir range from laughing to actually fighting with the
sahhar. A laughing response, however, does not mean that the subject may not later have
second thoughts about the effect of sahir. Occasionally, the subject can react with
violence. A sahhar may actually find it necessary to flee the scene to avoid retaliation. A
subject may choose to reprove a sahhar for making him a target of his metaphor. He may
tell the sahhar that he is genuinely scared of sahir and indicate to him the kind of miseries
it causes him, such as headaches and the like. Another possible tactic for victims is to
complain to the sahhar’s elders. Villagers may, however, impose unannounced sanctions,
such as “taking another road if they happen to meet with sahhars,” as it is usually
expressed. The magnitude of such sanctions may account for the decision of many aging
sahhars to quit this particular vocation.