The Serer creation myth is the traditional creation myth of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. Many Serers who adhere to the tenets of the Serer religion believe these narratives to be sacred. Some aspects of Serer religious and Ndut traditions are included in the narratives contained herein but are not limited to them.
The Serer people have many gods, goddesses Kellog, Day Otis, and Smith, William Robertson, "The Encyclopædia Britannica: latest edition. A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature", Volume 25, p. 64, Werner (1902) and Pangool (the Serer saints and ancestral spirits represented by snakes),Gravrand, Henry, "La Civilisation Sereer - Pangool", pp. 180, 305–402 but one supreme deity and creator called Roog (or Koox in the Cangin languages Ndiaye, Ousmane Sémou, "Diversité et unicité sérères : l’exemple de la région de Thiès", Éthiopiques, no. 54, vol. 7, 2e semestre 1991 ).
Serer creation myth developed from Serer oral traditions, Serer religion, legends, and cosmogonies. The specifics of the myth are also found in two main Serer sources: A nax and A leep. The former is a short narrative for a short myth or proverbial expression, whilst the latter is for a more developed myth. Broadly, they are equivalent to verbs and logos respectively, especially when communicating fundamental religious education such as the supreme being and the creation of the Universe. In addition to being fixed-Serer sources, they set the structure of the myth.
The creation myth of the Serer people is intricately linked to the first trees created on Planet Earth by Roog. Earth's formation began with a swamp. The Earth was not formed until long after the creation of the first three worlds: the waters of the underworld; the air which included the higher world (i.e. the sun, the moon and the stars) and earth. Roog is the creator and fashioner of the Universe and everything in it. The creation is based on a mythical cosmic egg and the principles of chaos.
Common elements There are slightly different and competing versions of the myth. However, there are more similarities than differences, and the differences complement each other in the greater understanding of Serer creation mythology. They all posit that the Universe and everything in it was created by Roog (or Koox among the Cangin), and the creation of Planet Earth was a result of a swamp which the first tree grew within. The first three worlds created through a mythical egg and under the principles of chaos were: the waters of the underworld, the air including the higher world and earth. These three were the first primordial worlds created by the supreme being through thought, speech and action. Planet Earth was not created until long after the creation of these worlds. The contentious points are, which of the main sacred trees in Serer society (below) grew not just first, but also within the primordial swamp on Earth: 1. Saas (var: Sas) - Acacia albida 2. Nquƭ (var: Ngud or NGuƭ) - Guiera senegalensis 3. Somb - Prosopis africana a species of Prosopis 4. Nqual (var: Ngaul or NGawal) - Mitragyna inermis, part of the genus Mitragyna of the family Rubiaceae 5. Mbos - Gardenia ternifolia The importance of these trees are crucial to the formation of Earth, at least in the Serer worldview and their genesis are addressed in their relevant sections. Being the first tree does not necessarily equate to being the first living thing on Earth. In the creation myth, animals such as the jackal, hyena, the serpent and ostrich figure prominently in the competing creation narrative. In some narratives, trees and animals merge in order to justify their legitimacy. These mythical animals may be seen as sacred and totems, in the Serer totemic and sentient worldly-view of animals and nature in general. The significance of trees in the Serer creation myth does not mean the dwelling place of the supreme deity, neither do they mean the dwelling place of the devil. They are dwelling places for the sanctified ancestral spirits (Pangool). The cult of the tree is symbolic in Serer religion. The feminine world also played a crucial role in the creation process of the Universe and the first-humans.Gravrand, "Pangool", pp. 193−4 This is linked to the Serer philosophy of beauty Faye, Amade, " La beaute Seereer : Du modele mythique au motif poetique", [in] Ethiopiques, n° 68, revue négro-aricaine de littérature et de philosophie (1er semestre 2002) and Serer-numbers found in Serer religious symbolism, with number 3 symbolizing the feminine world, number 4 the masculine world and number 7 (3 + 4) representing balance and perfection, something the Serers try to achieve in their daily lives and the environment they find themselves in.
Before the existence of the Universe, Roog existed by itself.Gravrand, "Pangool", p 189 There was nothing but silence and darkness. The Serer notion of balance and perfection illustrates the creation of the higher spiritual order and corresponds to the motif of chaos. Its creation was the union of male and female principles, with Roog, the supreme transcendental principle entity, becoming the embodiment of an androgynous Godfather and Godmother. However, it is from the female component of the supreme being: "Noo tiig tew" ("out of a female womb" - ex utero), that the divine brought forth the ancestors of modern humans, with a female, being the first to be created. (Henry Gravrand, "La civilisation Sereer -Pangool") [in] Universität Frankfurt am Main, Frobenius-Institut, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kulturmorphologie, Frobenius Gesellschaft, "Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde, Volumes 43−44", F. Steiner (1997), pp 144-5, There was a mythical speech − the first word[s] uttered by the supreme being. All the competing versions attest to that. This myth is the general consensus and represents the absolute truth in Serer primordial time. A major competing myth, also based on chaos, postulates that, there was originally a series of explosions. However, it agrees pretty much with the accepted view that trees and animals were the first to be created. Explosion first arose in the vegetable kingdom and the first tree Somb, according to this myth, bursted, which the seeds of all the plant species in the world sprang out (from its trunk) covering Planet Earth with life. + Niangoran-Bouah, Georges, "L'univers Akan des poids à peser l'or : les poids dans la société", Les nouvelles éditions africaines - MLB, (1987), p. 25, In all versions, Roog appears as both the creator and demiurge.
Cosmogony Serer cosmogony is not as rich as the Dogon's. Religious and ethnic persecution of the Serers for several centuries had resulted in their migration to and fro. In spite of this turbulent history, the Serer people have the richest cosmogony of all the Senegambian ethnic groups.Gravrand, Henry, "La Civilisation Sereer - Pangool", vol. 2. Les Nouvelles Editions Africaines du Senegal (1990), pp. 125−6,
Creation of the Universe A nax and A leep The Serers relates the creation myth and the role of speech in the formation of the Universe. Two Serer terms expresses the mythical creation word: "A nax" and "A leep". The former is a short narrative for a short myth or proverbial expression and is equivalent to a verb. The latter (A leep) is more advanced and details the mythical creation word and the creation itself, introducing the myth with the phrase: "Naaga reetu reet" (so it was in the beginning), before narrating the event. From a global perspective, the two roughly corresponds to verb and logos, especially when communicating fundamental religious education relating to the supreme deity and the creation of the Universe. They form the structure and sources under which the creation narrative is based. "A leep", the logos, is fixed.
The creation of the Universe is based on several parts (see below): 1. the structure which sets the basis of the narrative and the significance of the mythical word cited by the supreme being (see above); 2. the creation process based on Serer-numbers; 3. the genesis of the Universe; 4. the prologue of the primordial myth based on three key elements: water, air and earth; 5. the primordial ocean and the formation of Planet Earth; 6. the rotational motion around the axis of the world, the creation of trees and plant life; 7. the creation of animals; 8. the creation of humans and the first male and female couple whose children and descendants went on to populate the world; 9. the crisis that befell Planet Earth and the separation of man and animal, and why the dog became man's friend; 10. intervention of Roog and the process of divine intervention in the various stages of the creation and after the initial disorder; 11. Serer representation of the Universe – the three worlds: the invisible world from above, the diurnal terrestrial world and the nocturnal world.Gravrand, "Pangool", pp. 194−218
Process of the creation (Serer-number 3) The source of the Universe is attributed to the feminine and maternal nature of Roog. In Serer symbolism, the number 3 is attributed to the feminine world. This number is the ingredient of the creation process. There were three essential elements, three parts of the cosmos and three worlds. This triple rhythm of Roog and the cosmos is also found in women as the Serer myth relates it: "Roog a binda adna noo tiig tew" (Roog has created the world of its feminine nature)." The phrase "Tiig Tew" is attributed to the feminine body of motherhood and is equivalent to the general saying of Mother Earth. The phrase "No tiig tew" translates to "out of a female womb" - ex utero. The language here is symbolic. The Serer religion and oral tradition confers to Roog some rather realistic aspects of the initial creation. There were three phases in the gestation of the creatures within the devine being: 1. by thought - within the living divine egg, Roog developed the forms and beings to create. It laid the foundations and signs for things to come. 2. by word - Roog started the gestation period and provided everything by word for the smooth realization of its plan. 3. by action - through its maternal nature, Roog opened-up and projected the embryo and placenta in a similar fashion as in childbirth. Roog did not create, nor did it engender all beings of all kinds. It simply created the archetypes, not the prototype of each species, but seven archetypes namely :''' the three essential elements (air, earth and water) and the top four seeds (the first tree, first animal and the first human couple - female, then male).Gravrand, "Pangool", pp 194-5
Genesis of the Universe (mythical words) The genesis of the Universe is found in "A nax" and "A leep". Which posits that: "In the beginning, there was nothing but darkness and silence until the pre-existent being, Roog, began the genesis of the worldGravrand, "Pangool", pp. 195−6" [the UniverseThe original source says "Adna fee", which translates to the Universe, see: Kalis, Simone, "Médicine traditionnelle religion et divination chez les Seereer Siin du Senegal", La connaissance de la nuit, L'Harmattan (1997), p 293, ]. The Serer oral tradition does not speak of Roog's gestation, probably due to cultural taboo, but only when the mythical word was uttered and what was uttered by the supreme being, which is found in A nax. According to A nax, the first mythical words spoken by Roog were:A leep details the scene of the primordial time in the following terms: "A leep à joon maaga a roxondox o maaga, a gad'wa roog, a saay'a lang ke."«A leep» [in] Gravrand, "Pangool", p. 195
Which translates to: The Words leap into space, He carried the sea on his head, the firmament on his shoulders, the earth in his hands.