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The Serer creation myth is the traditional creation myth of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. Many Serers who adhere to the tenets of the Serer religion believe these narratives to be sacred. Some aspects of Serer religious and Ndut traditions are included in the narratives contained herein but are not limited to them. The Serer people have many , goddesses〔 Kellog, Day Otis, and Smith, William Robertson, "The Encyclopedia Britannica: latest edition. A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature", Volume 25, p. 64, Werner (1902)〕 and ''Pangool'' (the Serer saints and ancestral spirits represented by snakes),〔Gravrand, Henry, "La Civilisation Sereer - ''Pangool''", pp. 180, 305–402〕 but one supreme deity and creator called Roog (or Koox in the Cangin languages〔 Ndiaye, Ousmane Sémou, "Diversité et unicité sérères : l’exemple de la région de Thiès", Éthiopiques, no. 54, vol. 7, 2e semestre 1991 ()〕). Serer creation myth developed from Serer oral traditions, Serer religion, legends, cosmogonies.〔〔 The specifics of the myth are also found in two main Serer sources: ''A nax'' and ''A leep''. The former is a short narrative for a short myth or proverbial expression, whilst the later is for a more developed myth.〔 Broadly, they are equivalent to verbs and logos respectively, especially when communicating fundamental religious education such as the supreme being and the creation of the Universe. In addition to being fixed-Serer sources, they set the structure of the myth.〔 The creation myth of the Serer people is intricately linked to the first trees created on Planet Earth by Roog. Earth's formation began with a swamp. The Earth was not formed until long after the creation of the first three worlds: the waters of the underworld; the air which included the higher world (i.e. the sun, the moon and the stars) and earth. Roog is the creator and fashioner of the Universe and everything in it. The creation is based on a mythical cosmic egg and the principles of chaos.〔〔 ==Common elements== There are slightly different and competing versions of the myth. However, there are more similarities than differences, and the differences complement each other in the greater understanding of Serer creation mythology.〔〔 They all posits that, the Universe and everything in it were created by ''Roog'' (or ''Koox'' among the Cangin), and the creation of Planet Earth was a result of a swamp which the first tree grew within. The first three worlds created through a mythical egg and under the principles of chaos were: the waters of the underworld, the air including the higher world and earth. These three were the first primordial worlds created by the supreme being through ''thought'', ''speech'' and ''action''. Planet Earth was not created until long after the creation of these worlds. The contentious points are, which of the main sacred trees in Serer society (below) grew not just first, but also within the primordial swamp on Earth: :1. Saas (var: ''Sas'') - Acacia albida〔 :2. Nquƭ (var: ''Ngud''〔 or ''NGuƭ''〔) - Guiera senegalensis〔〔 :3. Somb - Prosopis africana〔〔 a species of Prosopis :4. Nqual (var: ''Ngaul''〔 or ''NGawal''〔) - Mitragyna inermis part of Rubiaceae family of the genus Mitragyna〔〔 :5. Mbos - Gardenia ternifolia〔 The importance of these trees are crucial to the formation of Earth, at least in the Serer worldview and their genesis are addressed in their relevant sections. Being the first tree does not necessarily equate to being the first living thing on Earth. In the creation myth, animals such as the jackal, hyena, the serpent and ostrich figure prominently in the competing creation narrative. In some narratives, trees and animals merge in order to justify their legitimacy. These mythical animals may be seen as sacred and totems, in the Serer totemic and sentient worldly-view of animals and nature in general. The significance of trees in the Serer creation myth does not mean the dwelling place of the supreme deity, neither do they mean the dwelling place of the devil. They are dwelling places for the sanctified ancestral spirits (''Pangool''). The cult of the tree is symbolic in Serer religion.〔 The feminine world also played a crucial role in the creation process of the Universe and the first-humans.〔〔Gravrand, "Pangool", pp. 193−4〕 This is linked to the Serer philosophy of beauty〔 Faye, Amade, " La beaute Seereer : Du modele mythique au motif poetique", () Ethiopiques, n° 68, revue négro-aricaine de littérature et de philosophie (1er semestre 2002) ()〕 and Serer-numbers found in Serer religious symbolism, with ''number 3'' symbolizing the feminine world,〔 ''number 4'' the masculine world and ''number 7'' (3 + 4) representing balance and perfection, something the Serers try to achieve in their daily lives and the environment they find themselves in.〔 Before the existence of the Universe, Roog existed by itself.〔Gravrand, "Pangool", p 189〕 There was nothing but silence and darkness.〔 The Serer notion of balance and perfection illustrates the creation of the higher spiritual order and corresponds to the motif of chaos. Its creation was the union of male and female principles, with Roog, the supreme transcendental principle entity, becoming the embodiment of an androgynous Godfather and Godmother. However, it is from the female component of the supreme being: ''"Noo tiig tew"'' (''"out of a female womb"'' - ex utero), that the divine brought forth the ancestors of modern humans, with a ''female'', being the first to be created.〔 (Henry Gravrand, "La civilisation Sereer -''Pangool''") () Universität Frankfurt am Main, Frobenius-Institut, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kulturmorphologie, Frobenius Gesellschaft, "Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde, Volumes 43−44", F. Steiner (1997), pp 144-5, ISBN 3515028420〕 There was a mythical speech − the first word() uttered by the supreme being. All the competing versions attest to that. This myth is the general consensus and represents the absolute truth in Serer primordial time.〔 A major competing myth, also based on chaos, postulates that, there was originally a series of explosions. However, it agrees pretty much with the accepted view that trees and animals were the first to be created.〔 Explosion first arose in the vegetable kingdom and the first tree ''Somb'', according to this myth, bursted, which the seeds of all the plant species in the world sprang out (from its trunk) covering Planet Earth with life.〔 + Niangoran-Bouah, Georges, "L'univers Akan des poids à peser l'or : les poids dans la société", Les nouvelles éditions africaines - MLB, (1987), p. 25, ISBN 2723614034〕 In all versions, Roog appears as both the creator and demiurge. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Serer creation myth」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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