Tiurakh 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) (variations : ''Théourakh'', Laurent-Jean-Baptiste Bérenger-Féraud, "Les peuplades de la Sénégambie: histoire, ethnographie, mœurs et coutumes, légendes, etc", E. Leroux (1879), p 276-7 ''Thiorak'' or ''Tulrakh'') is one of the demi-gods of 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 ...

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, ...

. 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� ...

, Tiurakh is regarded as the god of

wealth Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an ...

"Africa", Forgotten Books, p 143,

/ref> or

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

. Frazer, James George "Folk-Lore In The old Testament. Studies In Comparative Religion Legend and Law", Published by Forgotten Books, pp 317-8, 1918,

/ref> Like his adversary Takhar (the god of justice), they are both venerated and worshipped at the foot of the tallest trees in Serer country.

Worship

Tiurakh is worshipped by the

for materialistic reasons i.e. to acquire and/or retain their wealth such as

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

(usually

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

, see Serer ancient history). He is also associated with success and may be evoked if one is starting a new project, for example : going through the Ndut rite, business start up, building a new home, undertaking an examination,

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 ...

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

farming, or venturing into a new contract, etc. 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>

Place of worship

Like some Serer Pangool, it is believed that the deity Tiurakh resides 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, ...

, particularly the tallest trees of the forest 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 ...

. As such, libations are made at the tallest

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 ...

found in the forest. The importance of trees in Serer society are found within the Serer creation myth, which posits that, trees were the first things to be created on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

by the supreme being. Offerings of

domesticated animals This page gives a list of domesticated animals, also including a list of domestication of animals, animals which are or may be currently undergoing the process of domestication and animals that have an extensive relationship with humans beyond simp ...

, fruits, vegetables, etc., are deposited at the foot of the tallest trees. The holy feast which is a public event in the Serer religious calendar, takes place at the appearance of 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. ...

Views of Serer religion

The views of

regarding the veneration of Tiurakh for selfish reasons is found within the doctrines of the Serer Jom principle. Gravrand, Henry :
''"L’HERITAGE SPIRITUEL SEREER : VALEUR TRADITIONNELLE D’HIER, D’AUJOURD’HUI ET DE DEMAIN"''
nEthiopiques, numéro 31, révue socialiste de culture négro-africaine, 3^e trimestre 1982 The ''Jom'' principle is a Serer

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

rooted in Serer religion which sets out the values and beliefs that Serer people must abide by. It encompasses, social, economic, personal and political values that every Serer who adhere to the tenets of Serer religion are required to follow. Personal growth is highly encouraged within the ''Jom'', but must not be to the detriment of the collective social group. The deity Tiurakh forbids his veneration or evocation if done for selfish reasons, but especially if done to the detriment of another.

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", Forgotten Books, p 143,

* Gravrand, Henry :
''"L’HERITAGE SPIRITUEL SEREER : VALEUR TRADITIONNELLE D’HIER, D’AUJOURD’HUI ET DE DEMAIN"''
nEthiopiques, numéro 31, révue socialiste de culture négro-africaine, 3^e trimestre 1982 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tiurakh Serer gods Fortune gods Abundance gods

Worship

Place of worship

Views of Serer religion

See also

References

Bibliography