Dagara Cosmology.
In the Burkina Faso Dagara Cosmology tradition, there are two terms both pointing to the same Earth, Tingan and Tenbalu; Tingan is male, and Tenbalu is female.
What is Your Dagara Cosmology Sign.
Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture.
Dagara Cosmology.
The Burkina Faso Dagara Cosmology tradition is similar in thought to string theory where it is the theory of everything. Every particle in the universe contains a vibrating string which leads to other dimensions, nothing dies; instead, Tingan and Tenbalu are continually reshaping into other forms of matter.
Dagara Elder Malidoma Patrice Somé explains in Dagara Cosmology, the masculine and the feminine have little to do with biology.
The masculine is Tingan similar to fire with an endless propensity to
consume. The feminine is Tenbalu because
of its nurturing and caring instinct.
Earth is therefore a man and a woman with
an endless capacity to generate and regenerate, to give and to bless.
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| Dagara Cosmology |
Tingan
appeals to the protective, administrative, regulatory part of Earth.
It implies a sense of dominion in which
identity is linked to a sense of belonging that is clearly deterministic albeit
fundamentally territorial.
Is this
possibly why the Tingan-sob - the person in charge of Tingan - is always a
male?
It goes without saying that if the
guardian of Tingan is a man and the latter is perceived as both the legislative
and the judiciary entity in whose hands every subject's fate resides, the
masculinity of Tingan is verified.
Theory of Tingan and Tenbalu are Everything
No one speaks to Tingan directly and no one crosses Tingan without being severely punished.Hence, if you have an issue
with Tingan, you're on your own.
There
is no safe haven anywhere to hide. This
apparent ruthlessness highlights the infallible supremacy of Tingan and
underscores its masculinity. Thus Tingan
governs.
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| Tingan + Tenbalu = Earth |
Tenbalu
is the Earth's nurturing and caring principle - the epitome of Mother. Literally it means soft earth or realm with
reference to the crust, or the rich top part that provides nutrients for growth
and nourishment.
Unlike Tingan that
requires a tending agent, someone like a priest or a mediator who most of the
time comes across like a king or monarch, Tenbalu needs no such dedicated
attendance.
Anyone can invoke Tenbalu
and everyone does it because Tenbalu listens to all her children. It is in this that her caring and nurturing
show the most.
Almost all invocations to
Tenbalu contain the statement, "it is your bountifulness that feeds us
all." This recognizes that Tenbalu
provides nourishment for everyone indiscriminately, like a true mother does for
her children.
What is your Dagara Cosmology sign
Water, Earth, Mineral, Fire or Nature - the last number
of your birth year equals your Dagara Cosmology sign. For example, if you were
born in 1987, the number 7 means you are Fire, born in 1953, the number 3 means
you are Nature.
Water 1 and 6
Water is
yielding, but all-conquering. Water tames Fire. Alternatively, finding itself
likely to be defeated, escapes as a steam and reforms. Water washes away Soft
Earth, or when confronted by rocks, seeks a way round. Water corrodes Iron until
it crumbles to dust; it saturates the atmosphere so that Wind dies. Water gives
way to obstacles with deceptive humility. For no power can prevent it from
following its destined course to the sea. Water conquers by yielding; it never
attacks, but always wins the last battle.
Earth 0 and 5
Earth
symbolizes the mother on whose lap everyone finds a home, nourishment, support,
comfort, and empowerment. Representing
the principle of inclusion, earth is the ground upon which we identify
ourselves and others. It is what gives
us identity and a sense of belonging.
Mineral 4 and 9
Mineral is
the storage place of memory, the principle of creativity, resources, stories,
and symbolism. In the cosmological
wheel, mineral is located in the west and is colored white. The elemental
energy allows us to receive messages from the Other World, and to remember our
origins and purpose in this life. In Dagara physiology, our bones, not the
brain, are the storage place of memory.
In the village, it is not uncommon to hear an elder say, "This is
in our bones as it was in the bones of our ancestors." In the West, there is a similar saying,
"I knew it in my bones," which refers to a deeper, more elemental
knowing than is possible through rational thought. To the indigenous person,
mineral is also equivalent to stone. As
they say, the bones of the earth are the stones and rocks we see. To know the true story of our earth,
including the story of ourselves, is to listen to the rocks.
Nature 3 and 8
The element
of nature signifies the principle of change.
It is transformation, mutation, adjustment, flexibility, cyclicality,
life, death, and magic. Nature is vegetative, therefore it is all plants and
landscapes; and it is all animals as well. In the cosmological wheel nature is situated in the east, opposite
mineral, and its color is green. Nature invites us to change consciously and to
welcome change. Just as mineral stores
information for our benefit, nature's complex paradigm is a library to those
who pay attention. The magic we crave and our attraction to the supernatural
are nature in their essence. This is
because the tree, plant, the landscape, and the serpentine river zigzagging
downhill on its way to the ocean are all golden hieroglyphs capable of bringing
a deep understanding to those willing to pay attention. Indeed, to the indigenous it seems that the
tree is the essence of consciousness.
Fire 2 and 7
Fire is the
original element of origin, the one that was present at the beginning. Its primal nature is combustion, warmth,
vision, and feeling as well as movement, transformation, connection to the ancestral realm, and the animating force in life-processes. Its position in the
wheel is the south, the underworld, and its color is red. Everything eventually
returns, the state of the ancestors coming from the underworld below us to the
state. Fire opens the doorway to the Spirit
World and allows our psyche to commune with other life present, past, and
future. Fire is like a connecting rod,
an open channel. In fact, fire is our psyche, the spirit part of us that knows
what has always been. It is our ability
to act, emote, and sense. A person on
fire is craving a connection. In this
person, fire is translated as restlessness, a great deal of emotion, and strong
dream experience.
The birth-year sign system (e.g., “7 = Fire”) is a teaching method found in certain contemporary guides and workshops, not necessarily a universal or ancient Dagara practice per se. It’s a popularized interpretation rather than something documented in historical Dagara texts — so treat it as cultural interpretation, not strict ethnographic fact.
