The elder brother is one of the two primordial men whose story frames the Bagre, the great Dagara initiation recitation. He bears no personal name, being distinguished only by seniority. The White Bagre begins with his misfortunes: troubled by dreams, sickness and calamity, he turns to a diviner, and the diviner's prescriptions and the revelations that follow disclose how, through knowledge of the Bagre and membership in its society, a Dagara might attain greater well-being, harmony and understanding. In this way the elder brother stands as founder of the Bagre association and of the ritual path by which the community answers the afflictions that God's withdrawal left in the world. Recitations vary, and different performers assign the two brothers differing shares of the action.