Eine osmanisch überlieferte arabische Nachricht über zaqoqo, den afrikanischen Totengeist in der Flasche

Abstract

In the year 1262 / 1846, a book was published in Ottoman Turkey, which according to itself was the translation of a travel report of a Tunisian in southern Sudan written in Arabic. The alleged Arabic original remains untraceable until today. European research discovered discrepancies in content with regards to the supplied information, even doubting the authenticity of the author. Among the verifiable information of that book is the strange account of zaqoqo, a ghost rising from the body of a killed African, which is confined to a bottle through special witchcraft, nurtured with milk and has to protect the house of its buyer and owner. This short essay constitutes an introduction to this death ghost and attempts an interpretation of its problematic name. In addition, this article is pre ceded with some notes about the acceptance of black Africans in Ottoman society.