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Introduction by Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju
This is the first (partial) translation known to me into English of Koumen : Initiation Text of the Peul Pastoral Fulani retold in French from the original language by Ahmadou Hampâté Ba and Germaine Dieterlen, central figures in the study of African mysticism and esotericism. The translation into English was done by the Google Chrome browser and Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju.
This translation contains the preface by Hubert Deschamps and the list of contents. The translation was done from the source text at webPulaaku, largely by the Google Chrome browser which automatically translates into English a page one opens in the browser in a range of languages. Having practically no knowledge of French, the language in which the work is written, my work has consisted simply in rendering the Google translation into smooth English, drawing slightly on my knowledge of the contents of the text gained from a summarizing translation of Germaine Dieterlen's "Initiation Among the Peul Pastoral Fulani" in African Systems of Thought edited by Meyer Fortes and Germaine Dieterlen. This translation is part of my on-going work on Ahmadou Hampate Ba,complemented by his collaborations with other people, represented by my earlier productions, "Fulani Mythology and the Unity of Classical African Systems of Thought" and "Quest for Ultimate Being : Invocation of Kaidara, Fulani God of Gold and of Knowledge", itself part of a larger project on developing the contemporary and timeless significance of classical and post-classical African creativity, within an overarching comparative exploration of cognitive processes and systems in a quest for ultimate meaning.
Preface by Hubert Deschamps
This collaboration of Fulani scholar Ahmadou Hampâté Ba and Ms. Dieterlen, demonstrating deep knowledge of the religions and myths of the Sudan, has given ethnographic literature a masterpiece.
This initiatory text transmitted by the master of initiation Arɗo Dembo , of Ndilli, in Ferlo (Senegal), is a kind of Pilgrim's Progress. It traces the progress of the pastoralist Sile Saajo through the twelve clearings of knowledge, guided by the bearded dwarf ancestor, Koumen , the mythical serpent Caanaba or Tyanaba , and his wife Foroforondu .
A series of tests ensues, all of which are introductions to the structure of the world and facilitate the development of control over oneself. The first four tests correspond to the four elements in the first clearing or initiatory space, then come the test of courage in the clearings of the seven suns, then contact with the mythical bovine hermaphrodite and the unknotting of the twenty-eight knots, the completion of knowledge. Left alone with the emblems of the pastoralist, the initiate will have to defeat a magical lion to return to the land of men.
The dramatic poetry of the story evokes the most beautiful pages of the Bible, and it took outstanding translators to keep it as fresh. The text is dense in symbolism yet its style is almost dancing in a rhythmic flow, even as no sentence, and hardly a word, is not rich in symbolism. These symbols are explained in the copious notes, placed next to the text, and with an introduction that clearly introduces us to the spiritual life of Fulɓe and its material support: family, cattle, cattle brands, milk, vegetables, altars, poles, cattle ropes, cattle whisk and cattle milk.
The reader is exposed to the degrees of initiation, to the role of the silatigi (the comprehensively initiated priest of the community) and the myth of the snake Caanaba who emerges out of the ocean at the mouth of the Senegal ,the ocean which runs through all the countries of Western Fulɓe and through Faguibine before disappearing into the lake.
The conclusion and accompanying pictures show how the myth of the snake, the coats of the cattle, the suns and clearings explain some paintings found by H. Lhote in the Sahara during his "Bovidian period" in which he depicted the ancestors of the Fulɓe. What he had projected imaginatively in visual art, the authors of this text demonstrate conclusively. The continuity of civilization and beliefs over five millennia thus unfolded is striking. Through the great human achievement that is this work we dive with Koumen into an ancient African space and experience its esoteric depth as it thrived in a natural and enchanting environment.
Contents
- First Clearing
- Second Glade
- Third Glade
- Fourth Glade
- Fifth Glade
- Sixth Glade
- Glade Seventh
- Eighth Glade
- Ninth Glade
- Tenth Glade
- Eleventh Glade
- Twelfth Glade
Conclusion
Glossary
Bibliography
Original French Text
Revue
La collaboration de l'érudit pullo Amadou Hampâté Bâ et de Mme Dieterlen, dont on sait la connaissance profonde des religions et des mythes soudanais, a doté la littérature ethnographique d'un chef d'œuvre. Ce texte initiatique transmis par le maître Arɗo Dembo, de Ndilla, campement du Ferlo (Sénégal), est une sorte de Pilgrim's Progress. Il retrace la marche du pasteur Sile Saajo à travers les douze clairières de la connaissance, guidé par le nain à barbe d'ancêtre, Kumen, auxiliaire du serpent mythique Caanaba ou Tyanaba, et sa femme Foroforondu. Une succession d'épreuves l'attendent qui sont autant d'initiations à la structure du monde et à la lutte sur soi-même. Les quatre premières clairières correspondent aux quatre éléments ; puis viennent l'épreuve du courage, les clairières des sept soleils, le contact avec le bovidé mythique hermaphrodite et le dénouement des vingt-huit nœuds, achèvement de la connaissance. Laissé seul, avec les emblèmes du pastorat, il aura à vaincre le lion magique pour retourner au pays des hommes.
La poésie saisissante de ce récit évoque les plus belles pages de la Bible, et il a fallu des traducteurs remarquables pour nous la conserver aussi fraîche. Texte très dense sous son allure aisée, presque dansante ; il n'est pas une phrase, presque pas un mot, qui ne soit riche de symboles. Ces symboles nous sont expliqués par des notes abondantes, placées en regard du texte, et par une introduction qui nous initie très clairement à la vie spirituelle des Fulɓe et à ses supports matériels : famille, troupeaux, marques du bétail, lait, végétaux, autels, bâtons, cordes à bétail, fouet à lait. Sont ensuite exposés les degrés de l'initiation, le rôle du silatigi (initié complet, prêtre de la communauté), le mythe du serpent Caanaba sortant de l'Océan à l'embouchure du Sénégal et parcourant tous les pays des Fulɓe occidentaux avant de disparaître dans le lac Faguibine.
La conclusion et les photos jointes montrent comment ce mythe du serpent, les robes des bovidés, les soleils et les clairières expliquent certaines peintures relevées par H. Lhote au Sahara. Sa « période bovidienne » nous présente les ancêtres des Fulɓe. Il l'avait pressenti, nos auteurs le prouvent. La continuité de civilisation et de croyances au cours de ces cinq millénaires apparaît frappante. A peine si le zébu a remplacé le bœuf à longues cornes et si le roi Salomon a été incorporé aux mythes. Nous plongeons, avec « Koumen », dans un passé africain dont l'antiquité et la profondeur ésotérique s'épanouissent dans un milieu naturel et charmant ; une belle réalisation humaine.
Hubert Deschamps
- Première Clairière
- Deuxième Clairière
- Troisième Clairière
- Quatrième Clairière
- Cinquième Clairière
- Sixième Clairière
- Septième Clairière
- Huitième Clairière
- Neuvième Clairière
- Dixième Clairière
- Onzième Clairière
- Douzième Clairière
Conclusion
Glossaire
Bibliographie
Also posted on
African Hermeneutic Systems blog
Scribd ( PDF)
academia.edu ( PDF)
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