Сотворение человека у племени шиллук (Белый Нил) 137 (67)
Жертвоприношение племени нуэр (Белый Нил, Судан) 197 - 202 (91)
Представление о Боге у племени нуэр 590 - 593 (299)
7. Ньясаленд.
Божественный царь 432 - 435 (211)
8. Африка.
Великие боги 13 - 14
- Philip Wilkinson and Neil Philip, "Παγκόσμια Μυθολογία", Σκάι βιβλίο 2009:
Мифы Африки. Субсахарские мифы 224 - 225
Антилопа Цагна. Сотворение антилопы. Смерть антилопы. ... И настала тьма. Наследие мифа 236
Происхождение смерти. Время до появления смерти. Безнадёжность опасна. Шаманы племени шан 237
Змея Радуга. Сотворение мира. Огромное множество вещей 240
Почти человек-обезьяна. Маву создаёт животных. Гордость пропадает последней. Искусство прорицания: Фа 241
Африканские боги в Новом Свете. Сохранение традиции. Геде на Гаити. Мятеж воду 242 - 243
Творцы и высшие боги: Олодомаре 282
Творцы и высшие боги: Маву-Лиза 282
Творцы и высшие боги: Амма 282
Творцы и высшие боги: Дзуок 282
Боги моря, неба и Вселенной 299
Боги судьбы и счастья. Эшу. Появление Эшу. Волшебное лекарство. Культ 323
Трикстеры (культурные герои). Ананси 329
Боги Нижнего мира: Геде 342
- "DK Illustrated Dictionary of Mythology. Heroes, heroines, gods, and goddesses from around the world", Philip Wilkinson, Dorling Kindersley Limited, 1998:
Африка. Мифы Африки. Перемены и континуус. Роль шамана113
Творение и Природа. Высшие боги и творцы. Вуду. Аданху и Йева. Грозовой баран. Земные божества. Калебаса. Творение у племени фон. Нана Булуку. Маву и Лиза. Айдо-Хведо. Шанго 114
Олокун. Боги кузнечного дела. Гу. Божественный кузнец. Огун. Речные боги. Богиня плодородия. Близнецы. Смерть 115
Животные и трикстеры (=культурные герои). Первое убийство. Проклятие птиц. Чуку. Черепаха и кролик. Ориша Нла. Оса-строитель 116
Ящерица и хамелеон. Цагн. Юругу. Легба. Эшу. Эхлаканьяна. Паук-трикстер. Ананси. Ньяме 117
_________________ Мой девиз: один против всех, и всем несдобровать...
Felix Guirand, "Παγκόσμια μυθολογία", изд. Παπαμάρκου, том 2, Αθήνα, 1998, стр. 287 - 307 (введение, юго-восточная группа (Мадагаскар, Мозамбик), экваториальная группа, группа Конго, группа Нила, суданская и вольтская группа, группа Гвинеи и группа Сенегамбии). Автор главы - M. Fauconnet _________________ Мой девиз: один против всех, и всем несдобровать...
Рудольф Константинович Баландин
«100 великих богов»
Редактор: Никифорова И. И.
Издательство: Вече, 2014 г.
Серия «100 великих»
Цитата:
ЦЕНТРАЛЬНАЯ И ЮЖНАЯ АФРИКА
О наиболее великих и знаменитых богах Африки мы уже говорили, когда шла речь о египетской цивилизации. Сейчас нам предстоит познакомиться с богами тех африканских племен и народов, которые значительно отстали в социальном, техническом и культурном отношении от индустриально и культурно развитых стран мира.
Может показаться странным, что на одном и том же континенте в сравнительной близости находились и одна из самых первых и процветающих несколько тысячелетий цивилизация долины Нила, достигшая необычайных успехов в культурном развитии, и как бы обреченные на вечную отсталость разрозненные культуры племен, сравнительно недавно переступивших рубеж бронзового века, а то и неолита.
Чем объяснить такую катастрофическую разницу? Расовыми особенностями, природными условиями или какимито иными причинами? Когда и почему началось сказываться преимущество одних народов (или обитателей одних регионов) перед другими? Можно ли говорить о какихлибо богах тропической Африки, которые почитались многими племенами (народами), или придется только сослаться на необычайную пестроту религиозных воззрений при огромном количестве богов, которым поклонялись сотни африканских родов и племен?
Самое интересное и удивительное, что семьвосемь тысячелетий назад в Африке действительно могла существовать передовая по тем временам цивилизация, охватывающая значительную часть континента, которую ныне занимает Сахара и прилегающие к ней районы – вплоть до зоны влажных тропических лесов. От нее сохранились только остатки стоянок времен древнего, среднего и нового каменного века, знаменитые наскальные рисунки Сахары, высохшие долины рек и впадины былых озер и величайшая пустыня в мире.
Еще тогда, когда в долине Нила были непроходимые леса и болота, на территории Сахары располагались, как надежно выяснено палеогеографами и геологами, преимущественно саванны. Это были места, благоприятные для обитания и культурного развития местного населения: разнообразие ландшафтов, обилие рек и озер, отдельные лесные массивы и заболоченные территории, обилие самых разнообразных животных.
Наскальные рисунки Сахары запечатлели многих представителей тогдашней фауны, охотничьи сцены, а в более позднее время – скотоводов со своими стадами, а затем колесниц и вновь примитивных – по одежде и вооружению – охотников. К сожалению, среди огромного разнообразия рисунков очень редки сцены, которые можно интерпретировать как мистические или религиозные. Это показательно. Судя по всему, люди тех далеких времен были преимущественно реалистами (что подтверждают и наскальные рисунки каменного века в Европе).
Если учесть, что в Африке не было встречено племен, не имеющих более или менее сложных религиозных представлений, то и во времена сахарской саванны, надо полагать, существовали у людей представления о богах. Однако изображать великих богов они или не желали, или боялись, или просто не могли по той простой причине, что боги эти были преимущественно абстрактными, во многом умозрительными. А вот более мелких духов, фантастических существ люди порой изображали. Это или мелкие рогатые фигурки, похожие на чертиков, или крупные массивные круглоголовые существа, похожие на людей, одетых в скафандры и с антеннами на головах (эти изображения содействовали утверждению современного мифа о прилете на Землю инопланетян). Возможно, это – люди в масках и ритуальных нарядах.
В общем, судя по этим памятникам далекого прошлого, люди не изображали образ Божий в виде человека. Это соответствует одной из характерных особенностей религиозных представлений африканцев: верховное божество для них было абстрактным или полуабстрактным понятием. Конкретными проявлениями высших сил были божества отдельных стихий, обожествленные предки или животные, духидемоны, присутствующие повсюду и постоянно вмешивающиеся в дела людей.
Приводить конкретные примеры в нашем случае – занятие неблагодарное и утомительное, ибо пришлось бы перечислять десятки племен и народов, множество имен богов. Но всетаки некоторых богов упомянем (в скобках – названия племен).
Очень распространено божество Земли – чаще богиня: Бунси (банту), Кловеки (кробо), Одудва (йоруба), Пемба (бамбара) и др. В некоторых случаях бог Земли является одновременно и творцом. Божество воздуха Телико (бамбара) могло олицетворять дыхание, а божество огня и железа Огун (йоруба) – войну. Оригинален Масапару (бобовуле), олицетворяющий животворную подземную или колодезную воду.
Обожествление животных исследователи связывают с пережитками тотемизма, когда название животного было именем обожествленного предка, а затем стало духовным покровителем рода. Часто обожествлялись змеи. В Дагомее небесный змей Дангбе отождествлялся с дождем и радугой. Хотя чаще плодородный дождь считался проявлением силы небесного быка: Джоука (шиллук), Ниалит (динка), Нуна (баи), Хеко (каффа), который нередко выступал и как богтворец. У догонов божественный змей Сиги считался и первопредком. У прибрежных племен на западе континента морскими божествами, покровителями рыболовства, считались Манийри, Манто, Нанзикра, выступавшие в образе морского животного ламантина…
Общим для народов Африки (в чем они, конечно, не оригинальны) является культ предков. Этот обычай с древнейших времен помогал людям сохранять стабильность общества, старинные заповеди, обряды, а также суеверия. Этот же обычай противостоял всяким новшествам, нововведениям, открытиям. Культ животных (часто насекомых, пауков) был свойственен племенам охотников и собирателей, тогда как земледельцы и скотоводы перешли к обожествлению природных стихий, Солнца, Земли, воды.
По свидетельству английского этнографа XIX века А. Эллиса, в Гане (прежде – Золотой Берег) «каждый поселок, деревня, округа имеют своих местных духов, или богов, повелителей рек и ручьев, холмов и долин, скал и лесов». Большинство таких духов считалось враждебным людям. Кроме того, распространен культ умерших вождей, правителей (или здравствующих, что накладывает на них обязанности порой поистине божественные, например, вызывать дождь), а также племенных богов и даже личных (фетишей), с которыми обращаются достаточно сурово, ожидая от них исполнения некоторых желаний, содействия в делах; а чтобы фетиш (обычно в виде деревянной фигурки) не забыл пожеланий, в него вколачивали гвозди.
ВСЕВЫШНИЙ БОГТВОРЕЦ
Несмотря на обилие племенных, родовых, семейных и личных божеств, разнообразных духов, почти повсеместно в Африке распространена идея верховного бога. В некоторых случаях ее утверждению способствовало распространение ислама, иудаизма, христианства, но чаще всего она не заёмная, а местная. Свидетельство и подтверждение этому – множество имен у этого бога, даваемых разными племенами: Адудва (бауле), Алуруа (ашанти), Амма (догон), Атана (тура), Велехакаба (вагусу), Вулу (мано), Вульбари (крачи), Гейи (бете), Гено или Дундари (фульбе), Дебвену (бобовуле), Ио (бамбара), Кулотиоло (сенуфо), Леза (ила, мамба), Калунга, Мулунгу. В большинстве случаев этот всевышний, сотворивший мир, не удостаивается культа, молений, восхвалений. Считается, что он слишком велик и далек от насущных нужд людей. Разумнее обращаться с просьбами к более близким и активным божествам.
Чаще всего об этом великом боге предпочитают не рассуждать, «мудрствуя лукаво», ибо речь идет о том, что несравненно превышает способности человека. Иногда даже его не считают творцом, потому что о начале мироздания нельзя сказать ничего определенного.
Если и существовал создатель мира, то он давнымдавно удалился от всяких дел и не участвует в управлении землей и небом. Правда, в одном случае бог Са выступает и как творец, и как повелитель подземного мира (тоже своеобразная форма ухода от дел текущих).
Еще одна особенность высшего бога: неопределенность пола или двуполость, как у НанаБулуку (эве, фон). И в этом тоже усматривается немалая мудрость, ибо откуда бы знать людям половую принадлежность верховного существа, тем более что оно – как первое и наивысшее – должно совмещать в себе самые разнообразные признаки.
В общем, великий бог далек, вездесущ или скрытен, вершит лишь немногими всемирными делами, которые не под силу понять человеку. Возможно, он милостив и добр, но до людей ему нет дела. А вот дьявольские духи злы, а потому ихто и следует умилостивлять.
Подобные представления о боге настолько глубоки, что советский ученыйафриканист В.Б. Иорданский высказал мнение, будто исследователи «превратили крестьянинаафриканца в изощренного философа – роль, которая тому совершенно чужда». Но почему же – чужда? Ведь подлинный мыслитель вовсе не обязательно должен получить высшее, а то и первичное школьное образование. А представления о богах людей далекого прошлого, которые умели размышлять самостоятельно, были близки к правде природы – и внешней (мироздания, земного окружающего мира), и внутренней природе человека. Кстати, и сам Иорданский в своей интересной книге «Хаос и гармония» раскрыл глубокие философские подтексты верований африканцев.
Надо признать, что представления большинства африканских племен о Всевышнем исполнены глубокого смысла и в то же время – простоты, естественности. Возможно, что это относится вообще к воззрениям на богов людей примитивной культуры, сознание которых не искажено теми идеями, которые привносятся в результате формирования классового общества, основанного на принципах господстваподчинения и стремления отдельных групп к неограниченной власти.
БОГ ДЕЙСТВУЮЩИЙ
Так условно можно назвать божество, которому поклонялись как сущности активной, от которой зависит судьба людей, текущий ход дел. Богутворцу отводилось место достаточно неопределенное – гдето высоко в небесах или, чаще, повсюду и нигде конкретно, причем он мог принять любую форму и реже всего – человеческий облик.
В этом отношении деятельный бог более определен и чаще всего связан с природными стихиями.
Например, у масаев Нгаи (Энгаи) – одновременно и небесное божество дождя, грома и молнии, и бог войны, от расположения которого зависит удача во время сражений, набегов. Масаи верили, что он одобряет их грабительские походы и захват у соседних племен скота и другой добычи. Ему молились перед набегами, что, повидимому, придавало им уверенности в правомерности разбоя.
Как олицетворение природной стихии Энгаи выступал под разными расцветками. В виде Нарока (Черного) он олицетворял добро и ассоциировался с ясным небом, дальними раскатами грома и небольшими благодатными дождями. А ЭнгаиНаньокье (Красный) был гневным и опасным, приносил с собой страшную грозу с молнией и громом. Порой они представлялись двумя братьями. Согласно другим версиям братьев три или даже четыре, из которых добрым всегда является черный, грозным – красный (кроме них – белый и серый).
У племени ашанти (Гана) как богтворец почитался Ньяме. Одним из его символов был трудолюбивый паук. Завершив свои земные дела, он удалился на небо. Его супруга Асаое Афуа осталась богиней земли и плодородия. Ньяме послал своего сына Тано (Тандо) на землю для того, чтобы вершить дела людей. Бога Тано связывали с рекой Агьентоа и считали покровителем племени. Ему молились перед военными походами. Однако, после того как англичане покорили ашанти, престиж этого бога упал.
У племени шона, живущего в междуречье Лимпопо и Замбези, деятельный бог Мвари является одновременно и громовиком и первопредком. Он может милостиво даровать дождь или покарать жестокой засухой. В то же время с его именем связывают и различные проделки, имеющие целью поучать людей.
Согласно представлениям племени фон, творец мира МавуЛиза, существо неопределенного облика, двуполое, породило несколько богов, которые стали повелевать природными стихиями, но главными из них были первенцыблизнецы Да Зоджи и Ньохве Анану (ставшая его женой). Именно им было предоставлено право повелевать всеми земными делами, населить землю людьми и управлять ими.
В то же время существует грозный боггромовержец Хевиозо, от расположения которого во многом зависит благосостояние людей: он посылает жару и сушь, ливень и бурю, но также дарует дождь, обеспечивая плодородие полей. Ему помогают его дети.
У племени шиллук верховное небесное божество Джуок, создавшее небо и землю, а из глины – людей, стал повелителем духов и дождя (в виде небесного быка). Однако его «представителем» на земле считался божественный предок, культурный герой Ньиканг.
В общем, деятельный бог может принимать различные формы, хотя чаще всего он фигурирует в образе громовника и человека, первопредка, продолжающего влиять на земные дела. И тот, и другой образы вполне оправданы. В первом случае речь идет о явлении, от которого зависит благополучие племени, но на которое человек не способен оказать влияние.
Почитание первопредка – характерная черта первобытных религий. Оно сопряжено с уважением к традициям и способствует стабильности общества (хотя и тормозит его технический и социальный прогресс). В этом смысле предки действительно остаются среди живущих и оказывают влияние на них.
ВЕЛИКИЙ ПЛУТ
Почитание богов и смиренное следование велениям предков превращает человека в угодливое безынициативное создание с душой раба. Такими представляли колонизаторы людей «первобытной культуры», утверждая тем самым закономерность своего господства над ними.
О том, что такое мнение не соответствует действительности, свидетельствует, в частности, существование в мифах и сказках едва ли не всех племен обожествленного образа насмешника, плута, озорника, который потешается над обычаями и традициями, высмеивает глупых.
«Среди обитателей африканского пантеона, – писал В.Б. Иорданский, – есть один, занимающий особое положение в окружении демиурга. Это плутоватое божество, проделки которого сеют смуту среди людей, – вечный нарушитель гармонии, которую общество стремится сохранить в отношениях с мифическим миром, в отношениях между людьми. Оно – создатель беспорядка в мире, к упорядочению которого направлены все усилия общественного сознания».
Хотелось бы только уточнить. Говоря об «окружении демиурга», исследователь преувеличил степень организованности пантеона африканских богов. Тем более, слишком часто демиург отрешается от земных дел. Например, в сказке племени эве вознесение демиурга Маву на небеса объясняется так. Некогда небо было очень низким, и одна женщина, мешая большой ложкой кашу, постоянно задевала за него. Рассердившись, она плеснула горячей кашей в небо и попала в лицо Маву. Тогда он, не стерпев оскорбления, решил навсегда покинуть мир людей, поднялся высоковысоко и небо вознес за собой.
В этой истории очевидна ирония по отношению к верховному божеству. Женщине оказалось по силам отправить его высоко в небо. Кстати, расплескавшейся кашей вполне мог служить Млечный Путь.
Сказка племени ламба раскрывает секрет власти колдунов и вождей. Хитрый заяц тайно посадил на большое дерево своего брата, а сам предложил зверям спросить того, кто царствует в небе, кому быть вождем на земле. Слон, лев, носорог поочередно вопрошали небеса – без ответа. А на вопрос зайца раздалось свыше: «Тебе, почтенный заяц, быть вождем на земле!» Так и стал заяц вождем.
Как видим, еще в древности «дикие племена» ясно понимали суть «демократических выборов». Здесь звучит насмешка не только над доверчивым звериным народом, но и над верховным божеством, роль которого может исполнять заяц, взобравшийся на дерево.
Коренным африканцам, как, впрочем, всем людям, близким к природе, был присущ здравый смысл в полной мере и, вдобавок, с элементами скептицизма и иронии. По свидетельству французского африканиста Б. Оля, некоторые мифы утверждают, «что мир – это несовершенное и даже неудавшееся творение; его создала некая неясная воля, своенравный гений, которому захотелось преодолеть свою скуку или, если хотите, монотонность хаотической инерции, и он просто позволил себе немного позабавиться, не заботясь о последствиях».
Как видим, в подобных случаях элементы озорства, игры, непродуманного развлечения предполагаются в самом творце мироздания. Но чаще всего в народных сказаниях присутствует персонаж, который, по словам советской африканистки Е.С. Котляр, «олицетворяет стихию юмора, находчивости, неистощимой изобретательности; он одурачивает всех, кто попадается на его пути, на хитрость отвечает еще более изощренной хитростью».
Так, в сказке племени ашанти животные заспорили, кто из них самый старший и заслуживает наибольшего поклонения. Они придумывали небылицы о своем происхождении (при этом подчеркивались характерные черты каждого зверя). Последним говорил паук Ананси: «Когда я родился, еще ничего не было. Мне даже негде было похоронить своего умершего отца. Пришлось его похоронить в своей голове». Всем пришлось согласиться, что он самый старший.
Легенда эта остроумна и в то же время исполнена здорового скептицизма в отношении любых версий о происхождений мира, которые неизбежно умозрительны (о чем следовало бы помнить и современным космологам).
В мифах бушменов главный персонаж – кузнечикбогомол Цгаан, или Цагн, Цгааген. Он поистине многолик: демиург, прародитель, бывший тотем, но еще и плут и озорник. Его семья состоит из животных разных видов (вне генетических аксиом), и некогда все они были людьми. А сами бушмены ранее были антилопами, а всемогущий Цгаанг превратил их в людей.
У ашанти сходный персонаж мифов – паук Ананси, с которым связывают сотворение мира. И эта способность» людей увидеть в малом великое, в пауке или кузнечике – творца мироздания есть проявление того философского мировоззрения, в котором отказывают племенам примитивной культуры некоторые образованные исследователи.
Мифы племени шона превозносят Мвари как верховного бога и первопредка, а также подателя дождя. Но и он не гнушается озорных проделок. Когда один человек отказался дать Мвари одеяло, тот сказал, что не уйдет из хижины. Тогда глупый человек сжег свою хижину, чтобы избавиться от гостя, но услышал его голос с дерева. Человек срубил дерево, но голос Мвари раздался из хозяйского быка. Человек убил быка и стал жарить мясо, но тут шкура, мясо и кости быка вознеслись на небо и голос Мвари произнес смеясь: «Я получил больше, чем одеяло».
…Озорное божество, порой вносящее хаос даже в среду богов, нарушающее законы природы и установления людей, обладающее не только умом, но и остроумием, находчивостью, а то и проявляющее плутовство, издевку, скептицизм – разве это не обязательная часть нашего человеческого мира? Без него жизнь, наверное, была бы более упорядочена и строга, но и скучна до невозможности.
_________________ Мой девиз: один против всех, и всем несдобровать...
Felix Guirand, "Παγκόσμια μυθολογία", изд. Παπαμάρκου, том 2, Αθήνα, 1998 г., стр. 287 - 307 (Поправки-уточнения к переводам в книге Феликса Гюйран(д)а по Мировой мифологии издательства Папамарку от 1998 года (димотика, перевод некачественный, многие фразы просто не имеют смысла), привожу по книге: FELIX GUIRAND.Παγκόσμιος μυθολογία.μετφρ. Ν.Τετενέ. Επιμ.έκδοδ. Μ.Πετρίδης, 1953; к сожалению, поправки даются не для всех статей - много лет назад я полностью конспектировал эту книгу с кафаревусы, переводя её статьи целиком, но к сожалению эти записи у меня сохранились лишь для небольшого числа статей книги):
Цитата:
INTRODUCTION
In Black Africa religion has nowhere reached a definitive form. Everywhere we find the worship
of the forces of Nature personified -sun, moon, sky, mountains, rivers. But the undisciplined
native imagination prevented the religion of Nature from expanding into poetic myths like those
of India or Greece. The Negroes are quite ready to accept a supreme god who, as some of them
think, created the first man and the first woman, while others think he created all things visible
and invisible.
The religion of Nature is more highly developed in north-east Africa than fetishism, and as you go
south fetishism gradually passess into idolatry.
Among the African sorcery is very powerful. Every medical treament has all the characteristics of
exorcism, since magic remains secret while religion is open to all. Amulets and gri-gris are the
usual manifestations of magic among the Africans. The object of those talismans is to protect their
owner against disease, wounds, thieves and murderers, or to increase his wealth - in brief, to
procure him everything profitable.
The African native thinks that the world and everything in it must be obedient to sorcerers,
magicians who have the power of commanding the elements. This belief is bound up with another
- the continuing existence of the soul after death. Magicians are able to call on souls to aid their
powers. The souls of the dead often transmigrate into the bodies of animals, or may even be
reincarnated in plants, when the natives think themselves bound to such by a close link of kinship.
Thus the Zulus refrain from killing certain species of snakes which they think are the spirits of
their relatives.
Africans attribute a spirit to every animate and inanimate object, and these spirits are the
emanations of deities. Moreover, they are distinct from another, for there are spirits of natural
phenomena and spirits of the ancestors.
Each family performs a regular cult to its ancestors. They represent demi-gods or the legendary
heroes to whom they attribute magnificent exploits. Their lives end up by becoming legends.
Owing to the different kinds of ethnic groups occupying African territory and also to the low level
at which the religious conceptions of the different peoples have usually become stabilised, it is
impossible to undertake a regular exposition of African mythology. We shall have to limit
ourselves to gleaning a few traditions or legends of a mythical nature among the various groups,
without blinking the fact that such a method is inevitably incomplete and imperfect.
j SOUTH-EASTERN GROUP
Madagascar. The Negroes of Madagascar believe in a supreme god, about whom are the razanes,
the souls of the ancestors, and also in an evil spirit whom they call angatch.
For the Malagasy the souls of their ancestors are the intermediaries between the deities and
human beings. The natives have a profound cult for them and make sacrifices to them. Among
Malagasy spirits we must note those of fishing, hunting, agriculture, and war. The souls of chiefs
transmigrate into the bodies of crocodiles, and those of the people into lynxes. There are idols in
which the natives believe as they do in amulets. The Malagasy credit Rabefihaza with the origins
of hunting, fishing with rod and line, and the invention of all snares.
i A legend of south-west Madagascar deals with the origins of death and rain among the
Malagasy, and at the same time explains the appearance of mankind on earth.
'Once upon a time Ndriananahary (God) sent down to earth
his son Ataokoloinona (Watcr-a-Strange-Thing) to look into everything and advise on the
possibility of creating living beings. At his father's order Ataokoloinona left the sky, and came
down to the globe of the world. But, they say, it was so insufferably hot on earth that
Ataokoloinona could not live there, and plunged into the depths of the ground to find a little
coolness. He never appeared again.
'Ndriananahary waited a long time for his son to return. Extremely uneasy at not seeing him
return at the time agreed, he sent servants to look for Ataokoloinona. They were men, who came
down to earth, and each of them went a different way to try to find the missing person. But all
their searching was fruitless.
'Ndriananahary's servants were wretched, for the earth was almost uninhabitable, it was so dry
and hot, so arid and bare, and for lack of rain not one plant could grow on this barren soil.
'Seeing the uselessness of their efforts, men from time to time sent one of their number to inform
Ndriananahary of the failure of their search, and to ask for fresh instructions.
'Numbers of them were thus despatched to the Creator, but unluckily not one returned to earth.
They are the Dead. To this day messengers are still sent to Heaven since Ataokoloinona has not
yet been found, and no reply from Ndriananahary has yet reached the earth, where the first men
settled down and have multiplied. They don't know what to do should they go on looking?
Should they give up? Alas, not one of the messengers has returned to give up information on this
point. And yet we still keep sending them, and the unsuccessful search continues.
'For this reason it is said that the dead never return to earth. To reward mankind for their
persistence in looking for his son. Ndriananahary sent raia to cool the earth and to allow his
servants to cultivate the plants they need for food.
'Such is the origin of fruitful rain.'
Another legend from the south of Madagascar shows how a man's fate comes from God:
Once upon a time, they say, there lived four men who could not agree, and each of them exerted
himself in his own way.
One always carried an assegai, and went in pursuit of every living thing he saw. killing those he
could catch, eating them or leaving them that was his affair.
Another set snares for birds and animals. He killed some of those he caught so as to read omens in
their entrails, and he kept the others to use at night as hunting gods that was his affair.
On the other hand, another of these four men was attracted by any shining object, mica, iron,
silver, fruit, anything of the sort. and when he saw it took up his abode there for the rest of the
clay -that was his affair.
And the fourth always carried a piece of iron to cultivate the earth.
Such were the circumstances of these four men.
As they could never agree, after some time they decided to make their way to God for him to
arrange their fates and enable them to agree. So they set out, and they came to God. and it so
happened that it was Friday, and God was pounding his rice. They told him their errand, and God
said: 'Yes. but today I'm pounding rice and haven't time.' Then he gave a handful to each of them
saying: 'Take this and keep it carefully, and on Monday I'll come to see you.' They said good-bye
and went away, each with his rice in his hand. Then they made for the desert, separated, and each
man went to his dwelling.
Soon after they had separated the man with the assegai saw a wild dog and went after it. and in
the pursuit he forgot about the rice and dropped it, One of the others happened to come to the
edge of a ravine cut out by a torrent. Seeing the glitter of something white, he put down his rice
and started to climb down, but it happened that his liamba brushed away the rice from the edge of
the ravine. and the torrent carried it away so that he lost it.
The bird-trapper went out at night, having heard the screech of an owl, and he went after it after
putting down his rice outside his hut. On his way back he decided to put the rice into his salaka,
but the rice had already been blown away by the wind and he could not find it. The fourth man
came to a marshy place and began to dig: putting his rice into his lamba, he left it on a large clod
of earth. When he had finished digging the wind overturned the lamba and with surprise he saw
his rice scattered. He picked it up grain by grain and recovered about a quarter of it, so that at one
and the same time he was pleased and sad, for if he had regained some of it the greater part was
lost for he considered as lost the rice which fell on the moist earth.
On Monday God arrived, called the four men together, and asked what had happened to the rice
he had given them, and each told his tale. God replied: 'Do you see that you can't change the fate
which God has given you? The fighting man is a fighting man. and that is the race of warriors. The
sorcerer is a sorcerer, and that is the race of sorcerers. The trader is a trader, and that is the race of
traders. And you, worker of the earth, you will be the race of workers of the earth, and of you I
make the principle (i.e. the source) of the food of all the others. God follows men in the evil they
do to lead them to the good. You tised to disagree because of your different circumstances, for
which you could see no reason. Henceforth, this is how yoti will arrange your behaviour." Thus
spoke God. And thereafter each of the men had his lot. which he loved.
Mozambique
The Negroes of Mozambique believe in the power of fetishes and amulets. But they recognise
some deities, among them Tib who, they think, is the god of the sky as well as a deity of thunder
and rain. They also believe in survival after death, if we may judge by their funeral rites, especially
the offering of food at graves, and again by the custom which used to be observed by the
Uanyamuezis, that when a chief died three living slaves were buried in his grave to keep him
company in the next world.
Many of these natives worship the sun and moon. A cosmogony myth of the Zambezi explains the
spots on the moon: 'Formerly the moon was very pale and did not shine, and was jealous of the
sun with its glittering feathers of light. She took advantage of a moment when the sun was looking
at the other side of the earth, and stole some of his feathers of fire to adorn herself. But the sun
found it out.
believed to have taken up its dwelling mere, us presence ucmg me tausc u
i and in his anger splashed the moon with mud which remains stuck to it for all eternity. Ever
since then the moon is bent on vengeance. Every ten years she surprises the sun when he is off
guard, and cunningly spatters him with mud in his turn. Then the sun shows large spots and for
some hours cannot shine, so that the whoje earth is sad, and men and animals are greatly afraid,
for they love the sun.' This myth indicates how the natives noticed eclipses and the various natural
phenomena which result.
In the same Zambezi region there are traces of a myth which suggests that of the Greek giants
attacking heaven. In this case men tried to kill the sun, Nyambe, by climbing up to it, but their
temerity was severely punished.
The Macouas and the Banayis believe in a supreme being whom they call Muluku, and place in
opposition an evil genius called ; Minepa. They have a myth of the creation of the first man and "
woman:
'In the beginning Muluku made two holes in the earth, and from one came a man, from the other a
woman. God gave them land to cultivate, a pick, an axe, a pot, a plate and millet. He told them to
cultivate the ground, to sow it with millet, to build a dwelling, and to cook their food in it. Instead
of carrying out Muluku's advice, they ate the millet raw, broke the plates, put dirt in the pot, and
then went and hid in the woods. Seeing that he had been disobeyed God called up the monkey
and the she-monkey, and gave them the same tools and advice. They worked, cooked, and ate the
millet. And God was well pleased. So he cut off the tails of the monkey and the she-monkey, and
fastened them to the man and woman, saying to the monkeys: "Be men!" and to the humans: "Be
monkeys!"' i In the northern part of south-east Africa, the Masai form an ethnic group which some
ethnologists believe is related to the Semites. Like the Hebrews of old, the Masai call themselves
God's chosen people, and their religious beliefs differ considerably from
those of the neighbouring peoples. They worship a single god, 'Ng ai, the creator of the universe.
This word 'creator' applies to the inhabited world, for the Masai, like all the other Africans, believe
the earth has always existed. 'In the beginning,' they say, 'there was only one man on earth, named
Kintu. The daughter of Heaven saw him and fell in love with him, and persuaded her father to let
him be her husband. Kintu was invited to Heaven, and thanks to the magic powers of the
daughter of Heaven, succeeded in passing the tests the great god imposed on him, and then
returned to earth with his divine wife, whose dowry included the domestic animals and useful
plants. They would have been perfectly happy, but for a blunder on the part of Kintu. In taking
leave of the newly wedded couple the great god had warned them not to retrace their steps. He
feared on their behalf the anger of one his sons, Death, who had not been told of the marriage, and
consequently had been absent.
'On the way, Kintu noticed that he had forgotten the corn for his chickens, and in spite of his
wife's entreaties he went back to Heaven, where the god of Death was at that moment. He
followed the man's steps, took his place near his dwelling, and killed all the children of Kintu and
the daughter of Heaven. In vain they entreated the great god, who in the end, however, sent one
of his sons to expel Death. But he was more nimble than his adversary, escaped all his devices,
and established himself as henceforth the lord of the earth.'
Another tradition which circulates among the Masai, gives a different account of the origin of
death. The great god wished to protect the race of men, and advised Le-eyo, his favourite, to say
when a child died: 'Man dies and returns; the moon dies and does not return.' Soon after a child
died, but as it was not one of his own, Le-eyo did not trouble to utter the formula. He did not
remember it until misfortune struck him in the person of one of his own sons. But the great god
told him when it was too late, and ever since then men have been subject to the law of Death.
Among the Masai the spirit of evil is represented by the demon 'Nenaunir, who is also the god of
the storm. The rainbow is also an evil power. One day he took it into his head to swallow the
world. Luckily the Masai warriors attacked him with their arrows, and forced him to restore his
prey.
Beside every Masai, 'Ng ai places a guardian angel who defends him against all dangers, and at
the hour of death carries off his soul to the next world. The Masai believe in a future life, with
rewards and punishments according to one's deserts. The wicked are doomed to wander for ever
in an arid desert, while the virtuous enjoy eternal peace in vast meadows giving pasture to
innumerable herds. However, it sometimes happens that the souls of the dead are reincarnated in
certain snakes, which in consequence must not be killed.
SOUTHERN GROUP
The Bushmen, who appear to be related to the Hottentots, hold mythological and religious beliefs
which are closely linked with their dances. Still, their use of amulets shows that they have a notion
of supernatural forces and spirits. Among the Bushmen magic is founded on the belief that the
world is peopled with invisible beings which can be seen only by the sorcerers. Among magical
practices we will mention the method used by the Bushmen to cause rain. They light large fires
which give off a black cloud whose colour resembles that of the rain-bearing clouds. The
mythology of the Bushmen is marked by the part played in it by animals, who are supposed to
beable to speak. Thus, the lion could speak by putting his tail in his mouth. In a neighbouring tribe
of Bushmen who live in Hereroland, there exists a creation myth. It includes a sort of Yggdrasil
tree, the tree from which men were born, and it is called 'Omumbo-rombon-ga'. Cattle also came
from it. The Bushman deity is Cagn, creator of all things. The natives do not know where he lives,
but the antelopes do. He has a wife: 'Coti'. Savages do not know how they came into the world,
such things being known only to the initiated. (As with the Greeks, the Bushmen had secret
societies for the conservation of beliefs and myths.) Cagn had two sons, 'Cogaz' and 'Gewi'. The
three of them were great chiefs. Coti gave birth to a fawn, and since she insisted on knowing the
character of her offspring and what its future would be, she made use of
various sorceries. This myth relates to the origin of antelopes and their wildness. Cagn's relatives
arrived and hunted the first eland too soon, which explains its timorous nature. One of Cagn's
daughters married the snakes who were also men; they became subjects.
According to the Bushmen, Cagn's strength lay in one of his teeth, ) This suggests Samson, whose
strength lay in his hair. Birds were his messengers, and told him all that was going on about him.
Cagn could change his sandals into dogs, and set them on his enemies. The monkeys who had
been men made fun of him, and he exiled them with curses to distant places.
He had the power to assume the form of an animal, such as the antelope. One day the thorns
which once had been men attacked Cagn and killed him, and then the ants ate him. Not long
afterwards his bones joined up again, and he returned to life.
Among the Bushmen of the western provinces, Cagn bears the name 'I Kaggen', a name which is
identified with that of the praying mantis. I Kaggen's wife is 'Hyrax' (Hyrax capensis) and their
adopted daughter is the porcupine, daughter of 'II Khwaihemm' (eat-all). She swallowed the
whole world of beings and then vomited up her victims alive. I Kaggen had a similar fate. )
The Bushmen pray to the sun, the moon and the stars. The moon belongs to the praying mantis,
who made it out of an old shoe!
The natives also pray to the chameleon, which has the power to bring rain.
In the southern group, the Hottentots or Khoi-Khoi, a pastoral people, are on a higher level than
their neighbours the Bushmen. The Hottentots had a cult of large stones, calling at the same time
on a supernatural personage named Heitsi-Eibib. Like their Bushmen neighbours the Hottentots
worshipped the praying mantis. The religion of the Hottentots seems to have consisted solely in
magic and the cult devoted to souls of the dead by songs and dances. ^ Heitsi-Eibib is more like a
hero or a dead sorcerer, willing to aid f the living. He had the power which is common to all
sorcerers of being able to assume the form of any animal he wished. According ; to one myth he
was born of a cow, and according to another of a | virgin who ate a certain herb. <
He did not create the animals, but he gave them their charac- i teristics with his curses. i
They say that once the lion lived in trees like the birds, and it was owing to Heitsi-Eibib's curse
that he came down and stayed on the ground. Heitsi-Eibib also cursed the hare, which escaped by
running.
Among the Hottentots, Heitsi-Eibib's personality occurs again in the cult rendered him under the
name of 'Tsui-Goab'. His enemy is a spirit by the name of 'Gaunab' who created the rainbow. The
natives worship a pile of stones under which they think he is buried.
In addition to these legendary personages we must note the water spirits, a sort of red men with
white hair; while the moon and the constellations are also worshipped.
Unlike the Hottentots, the Zulus are not very religious, but they do, like them, believe in the
supernatural powers which are the prerogative of sorcerers.
According to one myth of the origin of the world, men emerged from a bed of reeds called
'uthlanga'. The first man was Unkulun-kulu (the Very Old) who taught men their knowledge of
the arts, the laws of marriage etc.
The Zulus have a myth about death, where Unkulunkulu plays the part of the supreme being.
One day Unkulunkulu said to the chameleon: 'Go, and say
"Men shall not die!"' The chameleon started off, but he went very slowly, and stopped to eat the
fruit of a mulberry. Others say he climbed a tree to warm himself in the sun, and went fast asleep.
Meanwhile Unkulunkulu changed his mind, and sent a lizard after the chameleon telling him to
deliver to men a message very different from the first one. The lizard set out, passed the lazy
chameleon, and reached men first. He gave them the god's message, saying: 'Men shall die!' Then
he returned to Unkulunkulu.
Soon after he had gone the chameleon arrived among men with his message of immortality. But
men replied that the lizard had already been with them, bringing an exactly opposite, message.
'We can't believe you,' they said. 'The lizard said, "Men shall die!"' And ever since no man has
escaped death.
This legend may be found among other Bantu tribes, such as the Bechuana, the Basuto and the
Baronga. But the natives have no worship of Unkulunkulu. Among them live the iniangas,
magicians who have the power of making rain.
The iniangas also have the gift of being able to discover thieves and spell-binders. The sorcerers
communicate with the spirits by whistling. The rain-makers are known by the name of 'sky shep-
3 herds'. They look after the clouds as of the cows of a herd, and I prevent them from bursting
over the land worked by the tribe.
The Zulus think that clouds and lightning are just like living i creatures.
THE CONGO GROUP
The people of Angola are idolaters. They believe that their
fetishes - muquixis, little roughly carved statuettes of wood - can
protect them from evil spells and make them happy. In addition
� to this belief, the natives of Angola think that the sorcerers can
; cause the death of one among them. The crow of a cock or the
, barking of a dog in the night are both the signs of a death. The
people of Angola believe in a supreme being named Zambi, who
lives in the sky. He is considered as the supreme judge after death.
A myth of Lower Congo about the deluge says that long ago the
sun met the moon and threw mud at it, which made it less bright.
When this meeting happened there was a flood, and men then put
, their milk sticks behind their backs and were changed into monkeys.
' The present race of men is a recent creation. Some natives say
that during this flood men were changed into monkeys and women
into lizards. In another myth the flood is supposed to have been
caused during the formation of lake Dilolo, when a whole village
perished with its inhabitants and domestic animals.
In the Congo group, the Fan or Pahouin profess a belief in the immortality of man in his bodily
appearance. According to them, a man does not die, he is killed either by supernatural powers or
by an accident. And the accident is usually attributed to an evil spirit or to an evil spell cast on the
victim. When such cases happen the sorcerers take out the viscera from the corpse to find out
whether j the deceased was poisoned or whether someone 'ate his soul'. According to the Fan
belief, the man or woman who ate the soul of the dead person will in turn fall ill and confess his
crime.
Among the Fan the oldest traditions make mention of a single god, Nzame, whose name may be
found very little altered among most of the Bantus.
This god is a vague being, he is invisible, and no image can be made of him.
According to a Pahouin myth, God formerly lived in the centre of Africa with his three sons, the
White, the Black and the gorilla. He was very rich, with numerous wives and children. Men lived
happily near God. But after the disobedience of the Negroes and the gorillas, God retired to the
West coast, taking with him his white (son and all his wealth. The gorilla went off to the recesses
of the forest, and the Negroes were left to poverty and ignorance. So they are irresistibly attracted
to the West which holds God, his white son, and his wealth. Apart from this conception of God,
the real religion of the Pahouin is an animistic religion, the religion of spirits.
Spirits are ranged in two categories - the good and the bad. The worship of the Fan goes mainly to
the latter, for all misfortunes come from them, and they must be placated by sacrifices of animals
or by invocations to fetishes.
Spirits wander in space, leading a life with no other interests than terrifying the living, doing them
harm, and taking vengeance on the beings who caused their death. They kill the living, and eat
their hearts.
After death the soul does not approach God. Either it is reincarnated in the body of a crocodile or
a snake, etc., or it dwells among trees, rocks, rapids, the tops of hills or mountains, which then
become sacred. Mountain vertigo is explained by the presence of a spirit. The Pahouin think that
souls are ruled by a very ugly, very wicked king, who can condemn a spirit to the supreme
punishment of a second death. His name is Ngworekara. According to a native, spirits have very
long hair scattered on their skulls, their eyes are asymmetrical, their gaze shame-faced, their ears
are full of dirt and drooping, they have long noses, their mouths are like elephants' trunks, and
they eat stinking ants, nitotol. Dances are arranged to frighten away the spirits. The Pahouin have
idols which they paint red; most of them are female, but they attach less importance to them than
to fetishes. As with most black tribes, fetishism has a very important place in Fan beliefs. The Bieri
plays the biggest part among these fetishes. He is invoked in hunting and in war. Before praying
to him, the native feeds him.
Here is the Pahouin explanation of the creation of man: 'God created man with clay, first in the
shape of a lizard which he put
in a pond and left there for seven days, after which he ordered him out. A man came out of the
pond instead of a lizard.' The Yaunde of the Cameroons say that Zamba (God) created the earth
and then came down to it, and had four sons: N'Kokon the learned, Otukut the idiot, Ngi the
gorilla and Wo the chimpanzee. Zamba taught the Yaunde how to avoid troubles, and allotted
duties to each one.
Among the Ubangui there is also belief in fetishes. If the native returns unsuccessful from hunting,
he thinks his bad luck is due to an evil spell cast on him.
Diseases and death are never attributed to natural causes, they are the work of an evil spirit's
vengeance. The fetish-doctors have considerable influence and practise as specialists. A native
going out to hunt goes first of'all to the fetish-doctor of hunting, who gives a fetish or a charm.
There are fetish-doctors for whirlwinds, for alligators, for panthers, and for pregnant women.
Among the Kakar, a tribe of the Likuala region, there exists the 'man-panther' fetish-doctor. He is
especially consulted to detect the committer of a crime or misdemeanour.
The Bomitaba, neighbours of the Kakar, also believe in spirits and in the immortality of the soul.
When a native dies his Mokadi (spirit) wanders beside the family river where the spirits of his
ancestors and relatives are already established. The Mokadi has power over men, to punish the
living who caused his death. The fetish-doctors are also specialists among the Bomitaba, as they
are with the other natives. There is even a fetish-doctor who receives communications from the
dead in his dreams.
The Bomitaba have a cosmogony myth about the moon and its creation:
'Once upon a time there were two suns, the one we have and the moon. It was very tiresome for
mankind, which being constantly in heat and light could not rest comfortably. One day one of the
suns suggested to the other that they should bathe, and pretended to jump in a river; the other
threw itself in and was quenched. Since that time there is only one sun, and though the moon
lights men it no longer warms them.'
Among the Upotos of the Congo there is a myth relating why the immortality intended for men
was given to the moon: One day Lihanza (God) summoned before him the inhabitants of the
moon and of the earth. The first immediately answered the call, and Liban/a said to the moon: 'As
a reward for coming at my summons, you shall not die, except for two days each month, and then
only to rest, after which you will re-appear brighter than ever.' When the earth's inhabitants
arrived much later, Li ban/a was angry and said to them: 'You did not come at my summons, and
to punish you. you shall die one day, and never live again except to come to me!'
The Bambula of the Congo have a myth which says that men wanted to know what the moon is.
They set a long pole in the ground, and a man climbed up it holding a second pole which he tied
to the first. A third pole was added to the second, and so on. When this "tower of Babel' had
reached a considerable height, it collapsed, bringing down with it the whole population working
at its construction who thus perished, victims of their curiosity.
A legend about the origin of death is to be found among the Negroes on the shores of lake Kivu.
After creating the first human beings, God told them they would never die. And so it was. In time
men became very numerous, and Death tried to pick a quarrel with them, but God was on the
watch and Death went under ground. One day God was not there, and Death sei/ed a victim. A
grave was dug, and she was buried in it. Some days later the earth on the grave began to rise as if
the dead person was returning to life. The dead person was an old woman, who had left several
children and daughters-in-law. She was about to rise from the dead, when one of her daughtersin-
law noticed it. She ran olf for boiling water which she poured on her mother-in-law's grave.
Then, making a pestle she kept beating the ground saying: 'Die! What is dead should stay dead!'
Next day, the earth began to rise again, and she went on hitting it, saying: 'What is dead should
stay dead!' And the mother-in-law who was returning to life, then died. And then God returned to
the earth, and found that one woman was absent. He was told that she was dead. Seeing that
Death had caused it, he said to the survivors: 'Stay here and remain in your dwellings, for I am
going to pursue Death so that it makes no more victims.' They obeyed, and God went to look for
Death. One day he discovered it, but it tried to escape and fled away at top speed. Just then an old
woman came
out of her hut to hide in the bush. She came face to face with Death who said: 'Hide me, and I'll
reward you.' The old woman, who was not very bright, lifted to her armpits the skin which
clothed her, Death slipped beneath and entered her belly.
At that moment God arrived, saw the old woman, and asked her if she had not seen Death go by.
Before she had time to utter a word God threw himself on her saying: 'What use is she since she
can have no more children? The best thing is to kill her, take Death out, and then kill it.' God had
barely finished killing the old woman, when a young woman came out of her hut and surprised
God cutting the old woman's throat. Death instantly fled from the old woman's body and hid in
the young woman's. Seeing this God said: 'Well! Since they keep thwarting my efforts, let them
take the consequences and die!'
In the Congo group are the Mundangs who lived beside the river 'Mayo-Kebbi'. They recognise
three gods: Massim Biambe the creator, the omnipotent immaterial God; Phebele, the male god;
and Mebeli, the female god.
Phebele and Mebeli had a child, Man, to whom Massim-Biambe gave a soul (tchi), breathing, and
the breath of life. The Mundang thinks that animals have souls just as men have. Every time a
living thing dies, its soul goes down a deep hole. Then the soul enters the body of a woman or of a
female animal to create another being; but men's souls can only create men, and animals' souls
beings of the same species.
God's ministers are the fetishes. Among them is one so constructed that a man can slip into it and
make it move. This would suggest that the Mundangs have a demon.
The Bushongo, who live in Belgian Congo, to the east of Kisi and Loango, worship a god Bumba,
who, so they say, created the universe by vomiting forth the sun, moon, stars and eight species 'of
animals from which the others are derived. According to the traditions of this same people,
heaven and earth at first lived united like husband and wife; but one day heaven went off in
displeasure, and from that moment dates the separation of heavenly and terrestrial elements.
THE NILOTIC GROUP
Fetishism seems to dominate in this group as it does in the foregoing groups. The natives believe
in metempsychosis and have a respectful cult of snakes. Among the Shilluk of the White Nile we
find a creation legend, in which they explain the different colours I of the human race by the
choice of colours of the clay from which they were formed.
Juok was the god who created all men on earth. In the land of the Whites he found white earth or
sand, and made it into men of the same colour. Then he came to Egypt where he made brown men
from the Nile mud, and then to the Shilluk and created the Black from black earth. Then Juok said:
'I shall make man, but he must run and walk, so I shall give him two long legs like those of
flamingoes.' That done, he said: 'Man must be able to cultivate millet, so I shall give him two arms
- one to use the hoe and the other to pull up weeds.' Then he said: 'I shall give man two eyes to see
with.' And so he did. Then he said: 'I shall give him a mouth to eat his millet.' And then he gave
him a tongue and ears so that he could shout, dance, sing, speak, and listen to noises and
speeches. Thus man was made perfect.
^ In Uganda the Nandi have a story which attributes death to a dog's bad temper. The dog had
been told to bring men the news of their immortality, but thought he was not received with all the
respect due to a divine messenger. So by way of revenge he changed the tale and condemned men
to death, saying: 'All men will die like the moon, but you will not be re-born like the moon unless
you give me food and drink.' Men laughed him to scorn and gave him drink on a stool. The dog
was furious at not being looked upon as a man, and said: 'All men shall die - only the moon shall
be re-born.'
The following tale belongs to the same part of Uganda. The Sun
and the Moon one day agreed to kill all their children. The Sun
carried out his part, but the Moon changed its mind and spared its
descendants. So the Sun has no children, but those of the Moon
(are innumerable - the stars.
The Gallas have this myth about the origin of death. One day God sent a bird to men to tell them:
'You shall be immortal, and when you are old and feeble, all you have to do to be young again
is to strip off your skins.' To show that the message was authentic God gave the bird a crest as a
sign of its divine message. The bird set out, but on the way came upon a snake which was feeding
on carrion. The bird looked longingly at the carrion, and said to the snake: 'Give me a little of that
meat, and I'll tell you God's message.' 'It's of no interest to me,' said the snake, and went on eating.
But the crested bird urged it to listen so much that the snake gave way. The bird then said: 'When
men grow old they will die, but when you are old you'll change your skin and regain your youth.'
To punish the bird for having so treacherously altered his message, God afflicted him with a
disease so painful that he utters his lamentations, perched on the top of a tree.
SUDAN AND VOLTA GROUPS
In the Sudan group most the Mandinga have become Mohammedans, but still retain their old
animistic beliefs. Like the Senufo, they believe in a certain number of evil spirits, to which they
must make sacrifices. They also believe in amulets and gri-gris. The same beliefs may be found
among the Negroes of the Volta group, the Mossi, the Gurusi and the Bobo.
The Negroes of this group pay great attention to the cult of the dead. Among the Senufo, when an
old person dies, his death is attributed to the will of the 'Master of all spirits,' while among the
neighbouring tribes it is supposed to have been caused by malevolent supernatural powers.
Among the Mossi the earth is thought to be a great moralist and avenging deity who is angered by
crime. Thus, among the Bobo, a murderer had to make expiatory sacrifices to the earth which had
been angered at seeing human blood shed. The sacrifices were carried out by a priest whose title
was 'Chief of the Earth'.
The Gurmantshi of the Volta group are almost all fetishists, like most of the Mossi, Takamba and
Bariba, who are their neighbours.
There is much superstition among them and a gross abuse of fetishism. Everything unexplained or
inexplicable is referred to the idea of God. The native communicates with God through spirits as
intermediaries, some of which have vast power which extends over the entire land. They have
familiar spirits who protect the family's fields, and whose favour is obtained by making offerings.
Each clan possesses its own gri-gri, the Suanu (Maneater) which the natives put above their doors
to prevent the evil spirits from entering the house. The 'Man-eater' is the spirit of a man who died
suddenly. Before undertaking anything of importance, the Gurmantshi consult the spirits through
the sorcerers who are able to predict the future.
South of the Niger, the Menkiera offer sacrifices to rocks and stones which are the dwelling places
of spirits, who exert their activity either for good or ill.
GUINEA AND SENEGAMBIA GROUPS
Among the Agni of Indene and Sanwi, religion derives fundamentally from animism and appears
as a polytheism which has assimilated Mohammedan influence, and, since the end of the 15th
century, Christian influences. The result of these influences was to modify the attributes as well as
the powers of the chief deities. Such is the case with Nvamia, the supreme god, placed by the
Blacks above all other gods since they came under Mohammedan influence.
Originally in fact Nyamia was in no way superior to Asia, the goddess of the earth, nor to Asia-
Bussu, god of the bush, nor to Pan, son of the earth and of cultivation, but was equal to these
important deities.
He represented the god of the sky, or the spirit of the sky, of the atmosphere, that is, the god of
storms, rain, clouds, lightning etc.
Alongside these deities of the first rank were Evua, the sun, who received sacrifices and a worship
similar to that given by the Blacks of the Volta group, the Mossi, the Gurusi, etc., and Kaka-Guia, a
bull-headed god whose duty is to bring the souls of the dead to the supreme god, Nyamia. He in
turn communicates with the living through spirits attached to such and such a place, which
protect such and such a village.
These spirits are represented by different objects or fetishes possessing their protective power.
In exchange for the fetish's protection, its possessor or its representative is supposed to carry out
the rites and ceremonies more or
less reserved for the spirit invoked.
Thus, Guruhi, a terrible god, exacts sacrifices on his altars from his believers, has the power to
poison people and to torture those suspected of sorcery, and he gives his followers a greater
power than that of the great chiefs themselves.
He is represented as a stool supporting an iron ball which is supposed to have fallen from heaven.
This god must not be looked upon by women, children or the uninitiated, under pain of the most
severe punishment. In addition to these spirits, there are a certain number of deities derived from
the tribes adjoining the Agni which have been incorporated into their belief.
First, we have Famien, who comes from Kitabo, and is represented as a rock-cave. Like Guruhi he
exacts sacrifices from his believers. In exchange he takes care of the sick, drives away evil
sorcerers, makes women fertile, etc. He has no particular dwelling, but stays with his owner, who
thus becomes his fetish-doctor. The person who becomes the owner of Famien receives as a fetish
a bag containing two knives, one of which is Famien, while the other is meant to make. sacrifices
to the gods, as well as two kolas, the deity's favourite fruit.
Another spirit called Nampa is made material by means of three balls made of roots and pounded
leaves. He also is forbidden to women, children and the uninitiated.
Sunguin, like the preceding, is a foreigner. His materialisation includes a vase of black clay, a ball
also in clay, and a roughly carved doll.
Sakarabru, the most important of these deities, is also alien to the Agni. Once upon a time he was
the very powerful god of the village of Yacasse. In the hut reserved for fetishes at the entrance to
the village, the walls are decorated with paintings of coiled snakes and alligators. A collection of
wreaths, dried seeds, eggshells and bones is enclosed within. That is the den of Sakarabru, the
demon of darkness. He is represented as a ball made of grains of maize. Like other spirits, he
administers justice and is a healer. Moreover, he appears during the changes of season and
renewals of the moon. At such times an actor impersonates the god, and dances a wild round.
Sakarabru is a just god, but also a terrible and bloodthirsty one and much feared.
In the religion of the Agni we come on the cult of water, of streams, rivers, brooks, rivulets etc., a
cult which originally required human sacrifices. In addition to these cults we must mention those
relating to caves, rocks, hills and trees, as well as to certain sacred animals,
such as the leopard, the elephant, the snake, etc. The cult of the dead is particularly devoted to the
double (eoume) of the deceased, which must be appeased. Like the other peoples of West Africa,
the Agnis believe in the survival of a spiritual principle after death. The person who dies in a
conspicuous way is afterwards re-incarnated in the womb of another woman of his tribe.
The dead are represented by little clay statuettes.
Before going on to the next group, we must mention an Ashanti legend which seems to show that
the supreme god, Nyamia, had originally only a limited power, since this legend demonstrates
that he could do nothing to change the social condition of anyone, because it is fixed by fate.
'A servant of the king of the Kumasi had a plantation which he visited every day. All the way
there and during his work he complained of his lot and his poverty. One day he was lamenting as
usual when he saw a large copper basin on a chain come down from heaven containing a white
child with big ears. He recognised a Nyamia ama, a son of heaven, who said to him: "My father
Nyamia sent me to look for you."
The heavenly child made the man sit down beside him and the people of heaven hauled them up.
The journey lasted a long time. At last they reached a door, which opened for the son of heaven.
The man found himself in a large village, filled with a great many people who were talking, and in
the midst of this space an old man dressed in a fine lion-cloth was seated on a throne of gold. He
beckoned to the king of the Kumasi's servant to come forward, and said to him: "You are always
complaining that I have made you one of the unfortunate. It isn't my fault. This village is occupied
by the families of all men on earth - choose the dwelling you would like to stay in."
'God gave him a guide, and 'the man explored the village which was very large. He saw splendid
houses occupied by people who did no work and had many servants. He saw wretched huts
where the poor carried on the same occupations as poor human beings. In one of the houses he
saw his parents and said to the guide: "There's my house." They returned to Nyamia, who said:
"Look at your courtyard, you can see you have nothing, and you know that the child of poor
parents can never become rich. If he gains some wealth, the money slips through his fingers.
However, I am giving you a present. Here are two sacks, a large and a small, one of which is for
you and the other for your master. You will not open yours until you have delivered my present
to the king of the Kumasi." ' 'The child came for the man and took him back to earth. On the way
the servant thought to himself: "Nobody knows that God has given me two sacks. I'll hide the big
one and give my master the little one.
'When he got back to the plantation, the son of heaven left the man and went back to his father.
The man then dug a hole and hid the big sack in it. He went to Kumasi where the king greeted
him with joy, for he had thought the man was lost. The servant told his story, and handed over the
little sack. The master opened it, and found it full of gold dust. In great joy the man who had been
to heaven said to himself: "I'm rich." He ran to his field, dug up the big sack, and found it full of
stones.
, 'Thus was verified the word of God - the poor man can never become rich.'
The religion of the people of Dahomey includes a fetishist cult. Mahou or Mao is the superior
being, the good spirit. The Rainbow Snake, servant of Thunder, is also considered as a beneficent
spirit. Thunder, who dwells in the clouds, is a dreaded spirit, whom the natives try to placate with
offerings made by fetish-doctors.
The sea is a power surrounded by a large family - the splashing of the water, sirens, the python.
Alongside these spirits there are personal spirits who are particularly venerated. Such for the
people of Dahomey are Legba and Fa.
Similar ideas may be found among the Baramba. With them the Wokolo is a little devil who must
be avoided if you don't want to receive his treacherous arrows. Wokolo likes trees and the banks
of streams. The Baramba have a special cult for trees, sacrifice domestic animals to them and
smear the blood of the victims on the trunks, while praying to the spirit dwelling there.
The tribes speaking the Ewe language, who live in Togo, think that to this day God still makes
human beings out of clay. When he wants to make a good man he uses good clay, and for a
wicked man he uses bad clay. In the beginning God made a man and set him on earth, and then a
woman. The two looked at each other, and burst out laughing. After which they wandered over
the earth.
The same natives of Togo have a myth about death.
One day men sent a dog to God to ask that they might be reborn after death. The dog went off to
carry his message. On the way he felt hungry, and went into a house where a man was boiling
magical herbs. Meanwhile the frog had started off to tell God that men preferred not to live again.
Nobody had told him to take this message. The dog who was watching the soup on the boil saw
the frog go past, but thought: 'When I've had something to eat I can soon catch him up.' However,
the frog arrived first and gave its message to God, and then along came the dog who explained his
mission. God was extremely embarrassed and said to the dog: 'Really, I can't understand these
two messages, but as the frog got here first, I shall grant its request.' And that is why men die, and
never return to life.
In the Senegambia group, the 'Serers', who divide the Uolofs of the north from those of the south,
are a very superstitious and fetish-ridden people. They believe in metempsychosis and are afraid
of sorcerers, who are supposed to cause death. The Serers are primitive men, and have a
superstitious belief for every natural force. They believe in one god, Rock-Sene, who shows his
anger by thunder and lightning, and his kindness by rain and good harvests.
The Serers worship the spirits of the ancestors and the family spirits which they think live in
baobabs or near burial places. The natives give offerings to them since after God they are the
masters of good and evil. They have a cosmogony legend of the sun and moon. 'One day, the
Sun's mother and the Moon's mother were bathing naked in a little waterfall. The Sun turned his
back so as not to see his mother naked, but the Moon looked very keenly at her mother. After the
bath the Sun was called by his mother who said: "My son, you have always respected me, may
God bless you! You did not look at me in the waterfall; and as you turned your eyes away from
me I pray God that he will allow no living being to look steadily at you." The Moon was called in
turn by her mother, who said: "Daughter, you did not respect me in the waterfall, and you stared
at me as if I were some bright object, so I want everyone to be able to look at you without ever
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