Njeddo Dewal, Mother of Calamity
Fulɓe pastoral initiatory tradition · numen · Fulɓe pastoral initiatory tradition traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Njeddo Dewal is the great malevolent sorceress of the Fulani initiatory cycle, the first and framing tale in the sequence that includes Kaïdara and The Radiance of the Great Star. Aroused by the supreme god Guéno as a scourge upon a corrupted people, she embodies destructive, devouring evil; her seven daughters, each beautiful as a female genie, entice suitors and drain their blood for their mother. The narrative dramatises the eternal struggle of good and evil, and her downfall at the hands of the wonder-child Bâgoumâwel carries the initiatory lesson of the pitfalls to be avoided on the path of self-conquest.
Domains
- sorcery and calamity
Powers
- to unleash plagues, drought and misfortune upon the land
- to lure and destroy young men through her seven beautiful daughters
Relations
- subordinate to: Geno, the Eternal OneNjeddo Dewal is raised up and set loose by the supreme god Guéno as an instrument of chastisement against the Fulani for their sins.Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Njeddo Dewal, mère de la calamité: conte initiatique peul, Nouvelles Éditions Africaines, Abidjan/Dakar, 1985. (secondary)
- enemy: Bâgoumâwel, the Miraculous ChildHer destined nemesis is the miraculous child Bâgoumâwel, the only being able to overcome her sorcery.Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Njeddo Dewal, mère de la calamité: conte initiatique peul, Nouvelles Éditions Africaines, Abidjan/Dakar, 1985. (secondary)
Sources
- Njeddo Dewal is the monstrous sorceress and 'mother of calamity' of Fulani initiatory tradition, raised by God to punish the people and finally defeated by the miraculous hero Bâgoumâwel.: Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Njeddo Dewal, mère de la calamité: conte initiatique peul, Nouvelles Éditions Africaines, Abidjan/Dakar, 1985. (secondary); Ismahan Soukeyna Diop, African Mythology, Femininity, and Maternity, Pan-African Psychologies, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2019. (secondary)