Ilo Yaladi, the First Herdsman

Ilo, son of Yaladi, is the primordial first herdsman of Fulani cosmology, paired in tradition with the serpent Tyanaba as his brother. When the cattle followed Tyanaba into the depths of Lake Debo, Ilo tapped and drove them out in the darkness, founding the pastoral vocation of the Fulani. He stands at the head of the line of herders whose sacred knowledge the initiatory tradition transmits.

Domains

• cattle herding

Powers

• to drive out and tend the first herd of cattle

Relations

• subordinate to: Tyanaba, Primordial Serpent and Ancestor of Cattle

Sources

• Amadou Hampâté Bâ & Germaine Dieterlen, 'Les fresques d'époque bovidienne du Tassili n'Ajjer et les traditions des Peul: hypothèses d'interprétation', Journal de la Société des Africanistes, vol. 36, no. 1, 1966, pp. 141–157.
• Amadou Hampâté Bâ & Germaine Dieterlen, Koumen: Texte initiatique des pasteurs peul, Cahiers de l'Homme, Mouton & Cie, Paris, 1961.