The Popobawa is an evil spirit or shetani whose Swahili name translates literally as "bat-wing," from popo (bat) and bawa (wing). It is a shapeshifter that can take either human or animal form, and residents of Zanzibar believe it first appeared on the Tanzanian island of Pemba.
It attacks men, women, and children, and most feared is its sexual assault. In 1995 it became the focus of a major outbreak of mass panic, during which many people guarded against attack by spending the night awake outside their houses, often huddled around an open fire.