Takhar or Taahkarr (in Serer and Cangin) is a demi-god 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 (o ...

worshipped by many Serers (an ethnic group found in Senegal, the

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

and

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

). "Folk-Lore In The old Testament. Studies In Comparative Religion Legend and Law", Pubslihed by Forgotten Books, pp 317-8,

/ref> Takhar is the god of justice and

vengeance Vengeance may refer to: *Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Film * ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo * ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...

in Serer religion Kellog, Day Otis, and Smith, William Robertson, "The Encyclopædia Britannica: latest edition. A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature", Volume 25, p 664, Werner (1902) Newland, H. Osman; Lewin, Evans, "West Africa: a handbook of practical information for the official, planter, miner, financier & trader", D. O'Connor (1922), p 90 and worshipped at the foot of certain trees in the forest deemed to be sacred. The Serer priestly class play a crucial role in the evokation of the

demi-god A demigod or demigoddess is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "divine spark" ( spiritual enlightenment). A ...

and the implementation of its laws that devotees adhere to.

Worship

The

Serer people The Serer people are a West African ethnoreligious group.

worship Takhar in order to appeal to him against the injuries, oppression or evil magic inflicted by other. Takhar is worshipped at the foot of trees, and in the

new moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

, the atmospheric spirits of the air and night are "conjured with mysterious incarnations". Offerings to Takhar are deposited at the foot of the tallest trees in the forest. Cattle and poultry are sacrificed and taken to the sacred sanctuary, along with

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

, fruits and vegetables. "Africa", Forgotten Books, p 143,

/ref> Like the offerings to certain

Pangool Pangool (in Serer and Cangin) singular: Fangool (var : ''Pangol'' and ''Fangol''), are the ancient saints and ancestral spirits of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. The Pangool play a crucial role in Serer religion and hist ...

(singular :''Fangool'', the Serer saints and spirits represented by snakes), the holy feast takes place in the sacred forest. The transmigration of souls is a strongly held belief in

as evident in Serer funeral rituals.

Place of worship

The god Takhar is worshipped in the forests in Serer country, more specifically, in certain sacred places, such as the

Sine In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side that is oppo ...

- Saloum area of present-day Senegal. Somewhat similar to the ''Pangool'', the Serer people believe that both Takhar and his adversary

Tiurakh Tiurakh Kellog, Day Otis, and Smith, William Robertson, "The Encyclopædia Britannica: latest edition. A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature", Volume 25, p 664, Werner (1902) (variations : ''Théourakh'', Laurent-Jean-Baptiste Bér ...

(''god of wealth and property'') reside in the tallest trees of the forest. Laurent-Jean-Baptiste Bérenger-Féraud, "Les peuplades de la Sénégambie: histoire, ethnographie, mœurs et coutumes, légendes, etc", E. Leroux (1879), p 276-7 Keane, A. H.; Quiggin, A. Hingston; Haddon, A. C., "Man: Past and Present", illustrated, revised, Cambridge University Press (2011), p 49,

/ref> It is partly for this reason why plants and animals are regarded as totems in the Serer-totemic and sentient worldly-view of nature in general, and afforded high spiritual status and respect, because these ancient trees are believed to be the sanctuaries of certain Serer entities.

Priests of Takhar

The high priests of Takhar are usually very old men from notable

Serer families Serer may refer to: * Serer people * Serer language * Serer religion *Rafael Calvo Serer (1916-1988), Spanish historian {{disambig, surname Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...

. These Serer high priests preside over all cases relating to law and order, i.e. theft, witchcraft, etc. In the past, these high priests (the Saltigues) would concoct doses of poison which they would administer to the accused witch, taken orally. However, these concoctions were deliberately never made fatal enough to cause death. These high priests mostly depended on the fear of Takhar as dispenser of justice and vengeance, than their poisons.

Patronage

As the god of justice, Takhar is the perpetual patron of all those who work within the judiciary and pass judgement on legal issues. In

Serer ancient history The prehistoric and ancient history of the Serer people of modern-day Senegambia has been extensively studied and documented over the years. Much of it comes from archaeological discoveries and Serer tradition rooted in the Serer religion." ...

, that role was primarily reserved for the Serer lamanic class. Ngom, Biram, « La question guelwar et la formation du royaume du Sine », n''Éthiopiques'', n^o 54, nouvelle série, vol. 7, 2^e semestre 199

References

Bibliography

*Kellog, Day Otis, and Smith, William Robertson, "The Encyclopædia Britannica: latest edition. A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature", Volume 25, p 664, Werner (1902) *"Folk-Lore In The old Testament. Studies In Comparative Religion Legend and Law", Pubslihed by Forgotten Books, pp 317–8,

*Newland, H. Osman; Lewin, Evans, " West Africa : a handbook of practical information for the official, planter, miner, financier & trader", D. O'Connor (1922), p 90 *Laurent-Jean-Baptiste Bérenger-Féraud, "Les peuplades de la Sénégambie: histoire, ethnographie, mœurs et coutumes, légendes, etc", E. Leroux (1879), p 276-7 *Keane, A. H.; Quiggin, A. Hingston; Haddon, A. C., "Man: Past and Present", illustrated, revised, Cambridge University Press (2011), p 49,

*" Africa", Forgotten Books, p 143,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takhar Serer gods Vengeance gods Justice gods