Kolotyolo, the creator, and Katyeleeo, the ancient mother associated with the earth and with the Poro initiation society, among the central figures of Senufo religion in Ivory Coast, Mali and Burkina Faso in West Africa. Senufo religious life is closely bound to Poro, a graded men's initiation society that transmits sacred knowledge, carving and masking traditions across a period of years, and to the parallel women's Sandogo society associated with divination; the deeper stages of both remain closed to outsiders, and only their publicly documented outline is recorded here.
Facts
Structure
Structure of the PantheonA supreme creator above a working order of intermediary powers 1 Divine HeadshipA supreme creator who withdrew from active rule and receives little direct cult 1 Succession Between Divine GenerationsOne divine generation; no succession between generations is recorded 1 The Creator and the Ruling GodsThe creator withdrew after making the world and is seldom addressed in cult 1 Attestation
Era of AttestationHeld from the beginning in the tradition's own terms; documented in the outside record from the early 20th century 1 Veneration TodayActively venerated in a living tradition 1 Cult
Principal Cult CentreNo single centre. The sinzanga, the sacred grove of the Poro society in each village, is the place of observance 1 Organisation
Membership of the PantheonEvery place, clan and lineage adds its own 1 How Mortals Enter the PantheonAncestors and founders become objects of cult 1 Sources
Primary SourceOral tradition held by the Poro and Sandogo societies, with published ethnography. Poro initiation is closed. 1 Correspondences & Relations
Connections
Associated With
The Senufo people's largest population is in northern Ivory Coast, also present across the border in Mali and Burkina Faso.
Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)
Sources
1. Encyclopedia of Religion
Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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