Pemba and Faro: The Bambara Twin Creation
In Bambara (Bamana) mythology, the creator god Bemba (Maa Ngala) created the universe in three stages. In the first stage, Pemba, a grain that fell to earth and became an acacia tree, created Mousso Koroni Koundye from rotten wood and his saliva. She became the first woman, but her creations were disordered and chaotic. In the second stage, Faro, an androgynous being associated with water, light, and speech, brought order and equilibrium. Faro was sacrificed to atone for Pemba's sins, cut into sixty pieces that became trees, then restored to life as a human. Faro descended to earth in an ark c