Kokh Kox (or Koh, as pronounced in

Noon Noon (or midday) is 12 o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for meridiem, literally 12:00 noon), 12 p.m. (for post meridiem, literally "after noon"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24-hour clock) or 1200 ( military time). Sola ...

) is the

creator god A creator deity or creator god (often called the Creator) is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatris ...

of the Noon people.Tastevin, C. (R.P.), "La religion des Nones", Études missionnaires, t. II, no 2, avril-juin : 81-100; t. II, no 3, juillet-sep : 176-187. (1933, 1934) The Noon are members of the Serer ethnic group of

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

, the Gambia and Mauritania. Kokh Kox is one of the main deities in

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

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 The Noon people refer to the supreme being as Kokh Kox rather than

Roog 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 ...

, the name the majority of Serers refer to the supreme being in the Serer-Sine language. The name Kokh Kox derives from the deity

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 ...

, the name the

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 ...

regularly use to refer to the divine.

Noon Cosmogony

The Noon cosmogony follows a similar narrative to the Ndut especially in regards to how death began on Earth. In both myths, the

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

is believed to have been the first living thing to have died.Tastevin, C. (R.P.), "La religion des Nones" in Dupire, Marguerite, "Sagesse sereer: Essais sur la pensée sereer ndut", pp 85-8

Worship

Kokh Kox is worshipped through intermediaries (e.g. the

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 ...

). Like all the Serer group who adhere to the tenets of

, the sacred wood plays a crucial role in the religious affairs of the Noon.Deffontaines, Pierre, "Géographie et religiones", Edition 10, Gallimard (1948), pp 54-71, 369 The Serer-Noon sometimes refer to Kokh Kox affectionately as ''Tyagaye'' (grandfather). In times of great sorrow, the Noon people will evoke the name of Kokh Kox using the general Serer word ''Seen'' (variants : ''Sen'', ''Sain'', ''Sene'', etc.), which is also a Serer surname. Depending on the Serer sub-group, the deity's name will precede the word ''Seen'' e.g. ''"Koh Seen"'' (or ''Koh Sen'') used by the Noon in reference to Kokh Kox, or ''"Roog Seen"'' used by the non- Cangin-Serers in reference to Roog Seen, the name for the divine among the Serer- Sine.Société de géographie (France), "La Géographie, Volumes 61-62", Masson et cie., (1934), p 245 It is from this Serer religious heritage that the Wolof people (now islamized) borrowed the phrase ''"N'Daye San"'' from, also used exactly in that manner (i.e. to express great sorrow). The phrase is rooted in

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

, and has nothing to do with Islam.

References

Bibliography

*Tastevin, C. (R.P.), "La religion des Nones", Études missionnaires, t. II, no 2, avril-juin : 81–100; t. II, no 3, juillet-sep : 176–187. (1933, 1934) * Dupire, Marguerite, "Sagesse sereer: Essais sur la pensée sereer ndut", KARTHALA Editions, (1994), pp 85–86,

*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

, (1991), p 124 *"Religion en Afrique, Volumes 15-17", E.J. Brill (1985), pp 203–5 * Deffontaines, Pierre, "Géographie et religiones", Edition 10, Gallimard (1948), pp 54–71, 369 *Société de géographie (France), "La Géographie, Volumes 61-62", Masson et cie., (1934), p 245 * Louis Diène Faye, Faye, Louis Diène, "Mort et Naissance le monde Sereer", Les Nouvelles Editions Africaines (1983), {{DEFAULTSORT:Kokh Kox Serer gods Creator gods