Sixth Clearing —
First Sun
“I am Koumen.
Tinki mbam, tinkaati
mbaam, jaati jaati mbaam, mbaam tongo rongo.[1]
O sentries!
Ready and on guard at the sixth clearing, I bring Silé. He has triumphed over
the faults that corrupt man penetrating through his eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth
and those that man catches through his sense of touch. He can see the colours
and warm himself by the rays of the sacred suns. He has passed through the five
clearings end to end. His senses have remained composed and he is ready to open
his eyes to see the sun with violet ray.[2]
He knows how to stretch out his arms, as he must, to make his three tempers
appear.[3]
Open up, open up:
jigin bantam bantam, bantam.”[4]
Koumen then
turned to Silé and said to him: “Shut your eyes to protect your soul from wandering
which can happen when entering this special clearing.” For several moments, Silé
felt his body lifted in suspended animation, but he did not know if he was
rising or falling.
Silé opened his
eyes and saw the sun shining through the trees, but he had no time to admire
it. Hideous beasts with strange movements were rushing upon him. Koumen, seeing
that Silé had taken fright and was on the brink of running away, whispered this
powerful spell to him: “Violet sun, you who directs your ray in the midst of
the groves, veil my eyes from the sharp teeth of your beasts. Stop the barking
of your dogs that have rage in their hearts. Let fly to me but a single ray of
your light which sends happiness and brings peace. I promise to graze cattle
and sheep in grasslands perfumed with kooli
flowers.[5]
Kooli jumaani; mulli jumaani; min tan, laamɗo tan”[6]
At the
enunciation of these last words, the violet sun shone with sudden splendour. Silé
saw a big dog come towards him, its tail wagging, squealing little yelps of
joy.
“I am the
shepherd’s companion,” said the animal. “I bark against the hyena and I warn
whenever the panther is on the prowl. Since the day when the shepherd made me
his friend and helper, I have not ceased from showing him my intelligence and
loyalty, which I owe to the emanations of the seventh sun. I stand on my hind
legs in front of the turf. I show my teeth which do not smile at strangers and
I say:
haw! haw! haw!”[7]
Koumen asked, “O shepherd dog! turf warden, what are these trees in
the midst of which you reside?”
“O Koumen, you
are more knowledgeable than I, but since I must speak: I live in the midst of
beautiful trees which transform blood into milk and protect the turf from evil-doers.”
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| Erika Pochybova, Tamed (Saatchi Gallery) |
[1] Although incomprehensible as a whole, baam means “mule”, and o tinki means “he will take care of”
(the mule), while tongo rongo refers
to the little fairies of the bush who are anatagonistic to Koumen.
[2] The ray of the first sun is violet (murfe).
[3] The “three tempers” correspond to the
“three forms” of matter: solid, liquid and gas. We conjecture they might also refer
to the three pillars of the Fulɓe moral code (known as Pulaaku): semteende (humility,
dignity, morality, to be without shame), hakkiilo
(sound judgment, wisdom, to be without falsehood) and munyal (patience, generosity, cheerfulness, equanimity, to be
without fear).
[4] The onomatopoeic jigin bantam etc. represents stepping through water with force. Koumen
knows that just a drop of this water would render one blind forever, never to
behold the light of the first sun, on which of course depends the possibility
of witnessing the light of all the other suns. This explains why he will order Silé
to shut his eyes.
[5] The kooli
is a fragrant flower that grows on river banks.
[6] “min tan, laamɗo tan” means literally “I alone, God alone” or “I alone
with God”.
[7] Even in Islam, which traditionally considers the dog to be an impure animal, the shepherd dog is nonetheless accepted as a loyal and
effective companion. Here it symbolises the guarding of knowledge. It
demonstrates to Silé that he must be vigilant and faithful, and must not turn
back even under adversity.
[8] As well as this being a reminder to Silé
to stay silent, it is also because Koumen’s “we” in what follows refers only to
himself. If Silé were to imitate the dog also, there would be the sound of
two dogs which would spoil Koumen’s disguise.
Text in French: http://www.webpulaaku.net/defte/ahb/kumen/
English Translation:
A. Hampâté Bâ & G. Dieterlen (1961)
Text in French: http://www.webpulaaku.net/defte/ahb/kumen/
English Translation:
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