Takhar or Taahkarr (in Serer and Cangin) is a demi-god in the

Serer religion The Serer religion or Serer spirituality (''Serer language, Serer:'' A ƭat Roog, meaning "the way of the Divine", "path of God", or "religious life"Kalis, Simone, ''Médecine traditionnelle, religion et divination chez les Seereer Siin du Sén� ...

worshipped by many Serers (an ethnic group found in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, the

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

and

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

). "Folk-Lore In The old Testament. Studies In Comparative Religion Legend and Law", Pubslihed by Forgotten Books, pp 317-8,

/ref> Takhar is the god of

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

and vengeance in Serer religion Kellog, Day Otis, and Smith, William Robertson, "The

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

: latest edition. A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature", Volume 25, p 664, Werner (1902) Newland, H. Osman; Lewin, Evans, "West Africa: a handbook of practical information for the official, planter, miner, financier & trader", D. O'Connor (1922), p 90 and worshipped at the foot of certain

trees In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only p ...

in the

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

deemed to be

sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

. The Serer priestly class play a crucial role in the evokation of the demi-god and the implementation of its laws that devotees adhere to.

Worship

The

Serer people The Serer people (''Serer language, Serer proper'': Seereer or Sereer) are a West African ethnoreligious groupGastellu, Jean-Marc, ''Petit traité de matrilinarité. L'accumulation dans deux sociétés rurales d'Afrique de l'Ouest'', Cahiers ORST ...

worship Takhar in order to appeal to him against the injuries, oppression or evil magic inflicted by other. Takhar is worshipped at the foot of trees, and in the

new moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

, the atmospheric spirits of the

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

and

night Night, or nighttime, is the period of darkness when the Sun is below the horizon. Sunlight illuminates one side of the Earth, leaving the other in darkness. The opposite of nighttime is daytime. Earth's rotation causes the appearance of ...

are "conjured with mysterious incarnations". Offerings to Takhar are deposited at the foot of the tallest trees in the forest.

Cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

are sacrificed and taken to the sacred sanctuary, along with

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

, fruits and vegetables. "Africa", Forgotten Books, p 143,

/ref> Like the offerings to certain

Pangool Pangool (in Serer and Cangin) singular: Fangool (var : ''Pangol'' and ''Fangol''), are the ancient saints and ancestral spirits of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. The Pangool play a crucial role in Serer religion and hist ...

(singular :''Fangool'', the Serer saints and spirits represented by snakes), the holy feast takes place in the sacred forest. The transmigration of souls is a strongly held belief in

as evident in Serer funeral rituals.

Place of worship

The god Takhar is worshipped in the

s in Serer country, more specifically, in certain

sacred places A sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, holy place or holy site is a location which is regarded to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through ...

, such as the

Sine In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side opposite th ...

Saloum The Kingdom of Saloum ( Serer: ''Saluum'' or ''Saalum'') was a Serer kingdom in present-day Senegal and parts of Gambia. The precolonial capital was the city of Kahone. Re-established in 2017, Saloum is now a non-sovereign traditional monarch ...

area of present-day

. Somewhat similar to the ''Pangool'', the Serer people believe that both Takhar and his adversary Tiurakh (''god of wealth and property'') reside in the tallest

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s of the forest. Laurent-Jean-Baptiste Bérenger-Féraud, "Les peuplades de la Sénégambie: histoire, ethnographie, mœurs et coutumes, légendes, etc", E. Leroux (1879), p 276-7 Keane, A. H.; Quiggin, A. Hingston; Haddon, A. C., "Man: Past and Present", illustrated, revised,

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

(2011), p 49,

/ref> It is partly for this reason why plants and animals are regarded as

totem A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While the word ...

s in the Serer-totemic and sentient worldly-view of nature in general, and afforded high spiritual status and respect, because these ancient trees are believed to be the sanctuaries of certain Serer entities.

Priests of Takhar

The high priests of Takhar are usually very old men from notable

Serer families Serer may refer to: * Serer people The Serer people (''Serer language, Serer proper'': Seereer or Sereer) are a West African ethnoreligious groupGastellu, Jean-Marc, ''Petit traité de matrilinarité. L'accumulation dans deux sociétés rurales ...

. These Serer high priests preside over all cases relating to law and order, i.e. theft, witchcraft, etc. In the past, these high priests (the

Saltigue The Saltigue (other spelling: Saltigué, Saltigui or Saltigi in Serer), are Serer high priests and priestesses who preside over the religious ceremonies and affairs of the Serer people, such as the '' Xooy'' (or ''Xoy'') ceremony, the biggest ...

s) would concoct doses of poison which they would administer to the accused witch, taken orally. However, these concoctions were deliberately never made fatal enough to cause death. These high priests mostly depended on the fear of Takhar as dispenser of justice and vengeance, than their poisons.

Patronage

As the god of

, Takhar is the perpetual patron of all those who work within the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

and pass judgement on legal issues. In Serer ancient history, that role was primarily reserved for the Serer lamanic class. Ngom, Biram, « La question guelwar et la formation du royaume du Sine », n''Éthiopiques'', n^o 54, nouvelle série, vol. 7, 2^e semestre 199

References

Bibliography

*Kellog, Day Otis, and Smith, William Robertson, "The

: latest edition. A dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature", Volume 25, p 664, Werner (1902) *"Folk-Lore In The old Testament. Studies In Comparative Religion Legend and Law", Pubslihed by Forgotten Books, pp 317–8,

*Newland, H. Osman; Lewin, Evans, "

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

: a handbook of practical information for the official, planter, miner, financier & trader", D. O'Connor (1922), p 90 *Laurent-Jean-Baptiste Bérenger-Féraud, "Les peuplades de la Sénégambie: histoire, ethnographie, mœurs et coutumes, légendes, etc", E. Leroux (1879), p 276-7 *Keane, A. H.; Quiggin, A. Hingston; Haddon, A. C., "Man: Past and Present", illustrated, revised, Cambridge University Press (2011), p 49,

*"

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

", Forgotten Books, p 143,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takhar Serer gods Vengeance gods Justice gods