Ndurbeele, the Primordial Hermaphrodite Cow
Fulɓe pastoral initiatory tradition · numen · Fulɓe pastoral initiatory tradition traditional religion; continuing · numen
Ndurbeele is the mythical hermaphrodite cow of Fulani cosmogony who represents creation itself. Emerging from the primordial drop of milk fashioned by Guéno — composed of the four elements and four directions — she is the ancestress of the twenty-two original cattle. Contact with this bovine hermaphrodite is among the mysteries encountered in the pastoral initiation, situating the sacred origin of the herds at the centre of Fulani religious thought.
Domains
- cattle and creation
Powers
- to bring forth the first herd of cattle
Relations
- subordinate to: Geno, the Eternal One
Sources
- Amadou Hampâté Bâ & Germaine Dieterlen, Koumen: Texte initiatique des pasteurs peul, Cahiers de l'Homme, Mouton & Cie, Paris, 1961.
- 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.