There is another hyena man who is not as well documented as the hyena men of Nigeria. His name is Yusuf and he lives in a farmhouse next to the town dump that is located on the outskirts of Harar, Ethiopia. Unlike the hyena men of Nigeria, Yusuf does not use his connection to the animals to make money, for he simply enjoys their company. Every night the hyenas come to his home, and he feeds them from a bucket of mule and camel meat. He treats them like he would treat a pet dog. If they misbehave he shoves them away and disciplines them. He does not fear the animals whatsoever. In fact many people in Harar actually worship hyenas for they believe that the hyenas have the ability to rid the area of evil spirits known as djinn. There are low doorways in Harar’s city walls that allow the hyenas to come and go as they please. Many people of eastern Africa believe that one can actually become possesed by djinn. Some travel to Harar to feed the hyenas because they believe that the animals can take the evil spirits away. When a Harai passes a hyena in the streets, he’ll often great the animal by saying darmasheik, which means “young wise man”.
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From the article it seems that Yusuf lives a very modest life, so it is a mystery as to why Yusuf does not try to use his gift in a similar way that the hyena men of Nigeria use theirs as a way to make money. It is possibly because his culture views the hyena as a sacred animal and using the them as a prop in a street show would be sacrilegious. The answer could simple be that he has not considered training a hyena and then putting on a street show.
Below are a few questions that I have regarding the Hyena Man of Harar. If you have visited him, studied him, or know anything about him that was not mentioned above please feel free to leave a comment.
1. Is Yusuf aware of the hyena men of Nigeria and how they use hyenas as a part of their street shows? Would he be against using hyenas in this manner?
2. Since they are sacred in his city, would Yusuf be against the capture of hyenas?
3. What is Yusuf’s financial situation like? From the article, it seems that he lives a very modest life.
4. Has Yusuf considered using the hyenas as a way to make money? Tourists are beginning to visit him, he could charge them if they want to feed the hyenas on his property. Or he could copy the business model of the hyena men of Nigeria. Does he not do this because they are sacred?
5. Even though there have been reported attacks, why are the hyenas still allowed to freely roam around the city?
6. Are there people in Harar who are against the hyenas being able to freely roam the city?
7. If the people of Harar are worried that without the hyenas, there would be an increase in the evil spirits, djinn, could there not be handlers who periodically walk the hyenas around so they can “eat” the spirits?
8. Is there not a fear that because the hyenas are allowed to roam around the city and interact with people, they will lose their fear of humans? If they stop fearing humans, could there be an increase in the number of attacks?