Popobawa also Popo Bawa, is the name of an evil spirit, or shetani who is considered by residents have first appeared in the Tanzanian island of Pemba. In 1995, the focus of a major outbreak of hysteria or panic that has spread from Pemba to Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar archipelago, and across the Dar es Salaam and other urban centers of the East African coast. Meaning of

Popobawa is a shapeshifter and described as having different forms, not just a bat as the name implies. It can take a human or animal form, and metamorphosis of one another. Popobawa typically visits homes at night, but can also be seen during the day. It is sometimes associated with the presence of a pungent odor, but this is not always the case. Popobawa attacks men, women and children, and can attack all members of a family, before moving to another house in the neighborhood. Their nocturnal attacks may include simple assault and / or Poltergeist-like phenomena, but is the most feared sexual assault and sodomizing of adult men and women. Victims are often asked to tell others who were assaulted and threatened with repeated visits by Popobawa if they do not. During panic Popobawa many people try to protect themselves against attacks agreed to spend the night outside their homes, often gathered around a campfire with other family members and neighbors. Panics occur more frequently in Zanzibar, across the island of Pemba in the north and west and Unguja (Zanzibar) island, including the town of Zanzibar. The episodes were also reported in Dar es Salaam and other cities of the mainland coast of Tanzania Origin and history