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

Serer religion The Serer religion, or ''a ƭat Roog'' ("the way of the Divine"), is the original religious beliefs, practices, and teachings of the Serer people of Senegal in West Africa. The Serer religion believes in a universal supreme deity called Roog ( ...

worshipped by many Serers (an ethnic group found in

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

, the

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

and Mauritania). "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 Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

and

vengeance Vengeance may refer to: *Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Film * ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo * ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...

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

Encyclopædia Britannica The ( Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various ...

: 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, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

in the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

deemed to be

sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or godd ...

. The Serer priestly class play a crucial role in the evokation of the

demi-god A demigod or demigoddess is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the " divine spark" (spiritual enlightenment). ...

and the implementation of its laws that devotees adhere to.

Worship

The

Serer people The Serer people are a West African ethnoreligious group.

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 eclip ...

, the atmospheric spirits of the

air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

and

night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As view ...

are "conjured with mysterious

incarnations Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

". Offerings to Takhar are deposited at the foot of the tallest trees in the forest.

Cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quail ...

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 species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets ...

, 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 h ...

(singular :''Fangool'', the Serer saints and spirits represented by snakes), the holy feast takes place in the sacred forest. The

transmigration of souls Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

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 Serer may refer to: * Serer people * Serer language * Serer religion The Serer religion, or ''a ƭat Roog'' ("the way of the Divine"), is the original religious beliefs, practices, and teachings of the Serer people of Senegal in West Africa. The ...

, more specifically, in certain sacred places, 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 that is opp ...

Saloum The Kingdom of Saloum (Serer language: ''Saluum'' or ''Saalum'') was a Serer/Wolof kingdom in present-day Senegal. Its kings may have been of Mandinka/Kaabu origin. The capital of Saloum was the city of Kahone. It was a sister kingdom of Sine. ...

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, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

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 is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambr ...

(2011), p 49,

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

totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no 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 ...

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. These Serer high priests preside over all cases relating to

law and order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

, 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 e ...

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 or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

: 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 in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

", Forgotten Books, p 143,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takhar Serer gods Vengeance gods Justice gods