majority of Supyire remain outside the world religions and continue in the traditions of their ancestors. Many of those who do attend the mosque or the church are careful
to fulfil their traditional religious obligations too. Probably Muslims are more openly syncretistic, and would sacrifice a lamb during the traditional village festival to the
spirits. Church teaching would discourage Christians from active participation in the festival. Christianity is seen as a foreign religion. This is reinforced by the fact that a
majority of church leaders are from other ethnic groups, having immigrated into the region, and that worship services have been held in Bambara, the dominant trade
language. A further restraint on innovation is the fear of being different. Anyone who is
seen as getting ahead of one’s neighbour is in danger of being the object of jealousy. His neighbours will use sorcery or violence to reduce the gap. The story of Naba,
23
reputedly the first Christian in Kabakanha, serves as a good illustration. Va was a warrior renowned to have certain supernatural powers. It was said
he could predict the future and that no metal object could penetrate his body. He was also wealthy in cattle. Jealousy of his riches meant that he was chased from one
village to another, until he finally settled in Kabakanha. At that time Protestant missionaries were also having a hard time finding a
Supyire village which would welcome them and their message. Naba predicted that those who refused the whites would later come to admire them. Kabakanha then
converted and became a predominately Christian village. It is striking to note the ongoing effects of that decision today. Even though a
large number of Christians later reverted to animism, the stranglehold that the fear of change held was broken. Today the village has become the major market town in the
area, and boasts a dispensary, maternity, primary and secondary schools, and is seat of the new mayor’s office for the area.
There is an ongoing struggle over the Supyire identity: education in French, migration of other ethnic groups into the region from the north of Mali, outside
religion, development agencies introducing new technologies and modern communication have a tendency to squeeze Supyire language and culture to the
sidelines, especially in public life. On the other hand, the Supyire remain proud of their identity, culture and language. Local radio stations which broadcast
23
As recounted to the author by his grandson Pabara Sagoro.
programmes in the Supyire language and the continuing use of the language within the family mean that the struggle is by no means one-sided. While Supyire culture is
no longer as static as it once was, it is adapting to change rather than disintegrating.
2.5 THE SUPYIRE COSMOLOGY
The Supyire world is alive and teeming with unseen forces and beings, benevolent and malign to varying degrees. Religion has to produce results; its goal is
to harness enough power from what Joyce Carlson
24
describes as the “Supyire pantheon” to protect oneself from harm and make life a success. We shall see later
how sacrifices are so vital in appropriating this protection and power.
Deity
Kile, the Supyire name for God, is the same word they use for sky. Kile is the Creator God, the source of all life. It is Kile that is in control of all that happens,
good and bad, and is perceived more as a force rather than a person. In the face of a death, people will say fatalistically, “God’s will for him has arrived.”
As he is the source of all blessings, throughout the day, people will wish each other good fortune, health and protection invoking the name of Kile. There is a vast
variety of blessings which include: “May God give you strength.”
“May God make the rest of the day pass well.” “May God wake us up one at a time” a night greeting: only in an emergency would
everyone wake up at the same time. Nevertheless, Kile is seen as remote and inaccessible to humans. Escudero
25
notes the following current Supyire expressions: “Kile laaga a t››n.”
God is far away. “W… na j… a n› Kile na mî.”
Nobody can reach God. “W… na Kile cŠ mî.”
Nobody knows God. As Kile cannot be reached directly, people need to find intermediaries who do
have access to him. As we shall see, there is no shortage of these.
24
Carlson, Joyce “The Supyire Pantheon: A Comparison with the Central Senufo Pantheon”, Notes on Anthropology and Intercultural Community Work 10 June 1987 3-15.
25
Escudero, Emilio, La Célébration Senufo du Katyire et la Célébration de L’Eucharistie; Abidjan:
I.C.A.O., 1979, p.290f.
Supernatural spirits
There are different races of spirits who live in the bush country, outside of the villages. Those that commonly appear in folk tales are called the bush people. They
have long hair, often blond, have white skin and backward turning feet. In one tale, they return home to a baobab tree after a day cultivating their fields. They bring
firewood and put down their hoes. Then the hoes pick them up and put them down So mixed up with the magical elements of the stories is the mundane, everyday life
they lead. Living as they do in the wild, chaotic untamed bush, they are somewhat dangerous creatures, with potential for causing harm as well as good.
The Supyire have also adapted to the existence of jinas, which form part of the world of the neighbouring Bambara people, the majority ethnic group in Mali.
Appearing less often in traditional stories than the bush people, less is known about the lives of jinas. Still, they probably wield the greater influence on the course of
human life. One diviner said that the jinas need to talk with Kile before he agrees to send the rain. They choose certain people to be their instruments, and at certain times
will take possession of them and give them powers, such as the ability to perform divination or play musical instruments during religious festivals.
Another race that live in the bush, are the w•rokolobii,
26
known for their evil deeds. According to Joyce Carlson’s research,
27
they will shoot a person on sight, but fortunately they fall asleep very easily, and will sometimes even fall asleep
before they are able to discharge their arrow. If you construct a corral or house near
the home of one of them, they will eventually kill all your cattle or family.
Also hostile towards humans are the faraüi water spirits that can kill a person
who falls into a stream, the body being left to float on the water. The Bambara too know this spirit.
A more benevolent spirit is your guiding spirit nahafoo, otherwise known as your
mîlîgî, a word borrowed ultimately from Arabic where it means angel. It will protect you, but can also punish you if it is neglected and does not receive sufficient
sacrificial gifts.
26
A loan word from Bambara.
27
Carlson “The Supyire Pantheon”, p.7.
