Kopé Tiatie Cac
(also Koh
and Koope; in
Ndut language
Ndut (''Ndoute'') is a Cangin language of Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senega ...
, meaning ''god grandfather'' or ''god the grandfather'') is the Supreme Creator in the
Serer religion
The Serer religion, or ''a ƭat Roog'' ("the way of the Divine"), is the original religious beliefs, practices, and teachings of the Serer people of Senegal in West Africa. The Serer religion believes in a universal supreme deity called Roog ...
.
[ Ndiaye, Ousmane Sémou, "Diversité et unicité sérères : l’exemple de la région de Thiès", Éthiopiques, no. 54, vol. 7, 2e semestre 199]
/ref>[ Éthiopiques, "Issues 55-56", Fondation ]Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80).
Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician o ...
, (1991), p 124 Kopé Tiatie Cac is the name used by the Ndut people
The Serer-Ndut or Ndut also spelt (''Ndoute'' or ''N'doute'') are an ethnic group in Senegal numbering 38600.
They are part of the Serer people who collectively make up the third largest ethnic group in Senegal. The Serer-Ndut live mostly in cen ...
to refer to the Supreme being
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
. Among the Ndut and followers of Serer religion, Kopé Tiatie Cac is associated with death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
and plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
(''pisti'').[ Echenberg, Myron J., "Black death, white medicine: bubonic plague and the politics of public health in colonial Senegal, 1914-1945", Heinemann (2002), pp 139, 160-161, ]
Ndut cosmogony
The Ndut people who adhere to the tenets of Serer religion refer to the supreme god as Kopé Tiatie Cac in Cangin-Ndut. The name Kopé Tiatie Cac probably derived from the god Koox
Roog or Rog (Koox in the Cangin languages) is the Supreme God and creator of the Serer religion of the Senegambia region. Thiaw, Issa Laye, "La Religiosite de Seereer, Avant et pendant leur Islamisation". Ethiopiques no: 54, Revue semestrielle ...
(var : Kooh). Ndut cosmogony posits that, the first humans did not die. The human species were not meant to die following the initial creation. The dog was the first to die at that primordial time. Having witnessed the death of the animal, the Ndut people gave the animal a sacred
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
burial at the foot of a baobab
''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Trop ...
tree, and mourned its death. The women crying and wailing in sadness for the departed dog, attracted the attention of Kopé Tiatie Cac (or ''Koh'') God of death. The god angered by the mourning women unleashed death to human kind in the following terms:
Worship
The deity is worshiped through Serer ancestral spirits and saints. Various matrilineages (both on the paternal and maternal line) play a key role in its invocation. The name ''koh'' a variant of the god's' name, is the feminine form. The masculine form is ''ala''.[ Dupire, Marguerite, "Sagesse sereer: Essais sur la pensée sereer ndut", p 6]
/ref>
See also
;The people
* Serer people
**Saafi people
The Saafi people, also called Serer-Safene, Safene, etc., are an ethnic group found in Senegal. Ethnically, they are part of the Serer people but do not speak the Serer language nor a dialect of it. Their language Saafi is classed as one of the ...
**Palor people
The Palors also known as Serer-Palor, (or Waro in their own language) among other names, are an ethnic group found in Senegal around the west central, west southwest of Thiès. They are a sub-group of the Serer ethnic group found in Senegal, the ...
**Ndut people
The Serer-Ndut or Ndut also spelt (''Ndoute'' or ''N'doute'') are an ethnic group in Senegal numbering 38600.
They are part of the Serer people who collectively make up the third largest ethnic group in Senegal. The Serer-Ndut live mostly in cen ...
** Laalaa people
**Serer-Noon
The Serer-Noon also called Noon (sometimes spelt ''Non'' or ''None'') are an ethnic people who occupy western Senegal. They are part of the Serer people though they do not speak the Serer-Sine language natively.
Territory
They are found primar ...
**Niominka people
The Niominka people (also called Niuminka or Nyominka) are an ethnic group in Senegal living on the islands of the Saloum River delta. They are currently classified as a subgroup of the Serer.
Population
The territory of the Niominka is called ...
;Languages
*Cangin languages
The Cangin languages are spoken by 200,000 people (as of 2007) in a small area east of Dakar, Senegal. They are the languages spoken by the Serer people who do not speak the Serer language (''Serer-Sine''). Because the people are ethnically Ser ...
**Saafi language
Safene (''Saafen''), SafiWilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. or Saafi-Saafi, is the principal ...
**Palor language
Palor (Falor, Paloor) is a language spoken in Senegal. The speakers of this language - the Palor people or Serer-Palor, are ethnically Serers but they do not speak the Serer-Sine language. Like the Lehar, Saafi, Noon and Ndut languages, thei ...
**Ndut language
Ndut (''Ndoute'') is a Cangin language of Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senega ...
**Lehar language
Lehar or Laalaa (in their language) is one of the Cangin languages spoken in Senegal in the Laa (or Lehar) region, north of Thies as well as the Tambacounda area. The speakers (the Serer-Laalaa) are ethnically Serers, however just like the Ndut ...
**Noon language
Noon (''Non, None, Serer-Noon, Serer-Non'') is a Cangin language of Senegal spoken in the Thiès region (14°47'0"N / 16°55'0"W). There is an estimated population of 10,000''-'' 50,000 speakers worldwide, rendering this language to be vulnerab ...
*Serer language
Serer, often broken into differing regional dialects such as Serer-Sine and Serer saloum, is a language of the kingdoms of Sine and Saloum branch of Niger–Congo spoken by 1.2 million people in Senegal and 30,000 in the Gambia as of 2009. It i ...
;Serer religious articles
*Serer religion
The Serer religion, or ''a ƭat Roog'' ("the way of the Divine"), is the original religious beliefs, practices, and teachings of the Serer people of Senegal in West Africa. The Serer religion believes in a universal supreme deity called Roog ...
*Roog (Serer deity)
Roog or Rog (Koox in the Cangin languages) is the Supreme God and creator of the Serer religion of the Senegambia region. Thiaw, Issa Laye, "La Religiosite de Seereer, Avant et pendant leur Islamisation". Ethiopiques no: 54, Revue semestrielle ...
*Koox
Roog or Rog (Koox in the Cangin languages) is the Supreme God and creator of the Serer religion of the Senegambia region. Thiaw, Issa Laye, "La Religiosite de Seereer, Avant et pendant leur Islamisation". Ethiopiques no: 54, Revue semestrielle ...
*Serer creation myth
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 a ...
*Lamane
Lamane or laman (also ''laam'' or ''lam'') means "master of the land" in the Mandingue, Wolof, and Serer languages. The name was also sometimes the title of chiefs or kings of the Serer people of the Senegambia region which includes modern day S ...
*States headed by ancient Serer Lamanes
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
*Saltigue
The Saltigue (other spelling: Saltigué, Saltigui or Saltigi in Serer), are Serer high priests and priestesses who preside over the religious ceremonies and affairs of the Serer people, such as the ''Xooy'' (or ''Xoy'') ceremony, the biggest ev ...
*Ndut initiation rite
The Ndut is a rite of passage as well as a religious education commanded by Serer religion that every Serer (an ethnic group found in Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania) must go through once in their lifetime. The Serer people being an ethnoreli ...
*Timeline of Serer history
This is a timeline of the history and development of Serer religion and the Serer people of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. This timeline merely gives an overview of their history, consisting of calibrated archaeological discoveries in Sere ...
;Related articles
*Faro (mythology)
In Mande mythology, Faro purified the earth by sacrificing himself to atone for his twin Pemba's sin.Sproul, Barbara C. (1979). "Primal Myths", HarperOne
HarperOne is a publishing imprint of HarperCollins, specializing in books that aim to "t ...
*Nommo
The Nommo or Nummo are primordial ancestral spirits in Dogon religion and cosmogony (sometimes referred to as demi deities) venerated by the Dogon people of Mali. The word Nommos is derived from a Dogon word meaning "to make one drink." Nommos ...
* Traditional African religion
*List of African deities
This is a list of African spirits as well as deities found within the traditional African religions. It also covers spirits as well as deities found within the African religions—which is mostly derived from traditional African religions. Add ...
References
Bibliography
* Dupire, Marguerite, "Sagesse sereer: Essais sur la pensée sereer ndut", KARTHALA Editions, (1994), pp 61–86,
*Ndiaye, Ousmane Sémou, "Diversité et unicité sérères : l’exemple de la région de Thiès
Thiès (; ar, ثيس, Ṯyass; Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population officially estimated at 320,000 in 2005. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St- ...
", Éthiopiques, no. 54, vol. 7, 2e semestre 199
*Éthiopiques, "Issues 55-56", Fondation Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80).
Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician o ...
, (1991), p 124
*Echenberg, Myron J., "Black death, white medicine: bubonic plague and the politics of public health in colonial Senegal, 1914-1945", Heinemann (2002), pp 139, 160-161,
*Dupire, Marguerite, "Totems sereer et contrôle rituel de l'environnement", p 39
Further reading
* Louis Diène Faye, Faye, Louis Diène, "Mort et Naissance le monde Sereer", Les Nouvelles Editions Africaines (1983),
*Dione, Salif, "L'APPEL du Ndut. ou l'initiation des garcons Seereer", Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire, Cheikh Anta Diop
Cheikh Anta Diop (29 December 1923 – 7 February 1986) was a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, physicist, and politician who studied the human race's origins and pre-colonial African culture. Diop's work is considered foundational to the th ...
(2004)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kope Tiatie Cac
Serer gods
Plague gods
Death gods