Koumen

spirit · Mali · West Africa

Koumen is the primordial shepherd of the Fulani, custodian of pastoral initiation, who appears as a child of three to eleven. With his wife Foroforondu he passes the secret knowledge of cattle to initiates (Sile); those who complete the cycle gain mastery of ritual speech as Silatigi. Documented in Griaule and Dieterlen's The Pale Fox.

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