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Psychological Phenomena

Popobawa

Social Biases and Group Effects

Popobawa, also Popo Bawa, is the name of an evil spirit or shetani believed by residents of Zanzibar to have first appeared on the Tanzanian island of Pemba. In 1995 it was the focus of a major outbreak of mass hysteria or panic that spread from Pemba to Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago, and across to Dar es Salaam and other urban centres on the East African coast.

Facts
Partially Attested
First Described Year
1965 1
Parkin states that the first reports date back to 1965 on the island of Pemba. (w-bbfill-psychology6-0926)
Classification
Type of Phenomenon
Social or Interpersonal Phenomenon 1
Sources
1. Popobawa (Wikipedia)
  • Wikipedia Popobawa lead paragraph (w-bbfill-psych-diag-0926, keyword classification against phenomenon-kind enum definitions, hand-checked)
  • Wikipedia article text
    Parkin states that the first reports date back to 1965 on the island of Pemba.
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