The Serer are an ethnic group of Senegambia related in language to their fellow Atlantic speaking ethnicities such the Wolof, Fulani, and Toucouleur peoples. They have particularly close ties with the Diola ethnic group whom they have a “joking relationship” with.
Their rich cosmology once shared with the Lebou Wolof and Diola has survived into the modern era owning to the long and valiant resistance to foreign proselytists such as Islamic jihadists that characterized their history. The Serer find their origin along the Senegal river close to modern Mauritania. Many of them were driven further south during the collapse of the Soninke ruled Ghana empire as fundamentalist Almoravid berbers and their Toucouleur allies demanded they submit by the sword. From there they intermarried with various Mande, Wolof, Fulani, and Diola peoples. This blending of cultures resulted in a dynasty called the Guelowar that assimilated Mandinka noblewomen into the Serer people, as well as Serer nobility being assimilated into the Jolof kingdom. The pagan Serer maintained stiff resistance against the Fulani well until the eve of colonization by the French.
The Serer believed in a single supreme deity called Roog who presides over a pantheon of lesser deities known as Pangool. Today the Serer are mostly muslims and christians, but traditional belief is very fresh in folk memory. Roog is used for god as frequently as Allah or Jesus. Many traditions have simply been absorbed into the Abrahamic faiths.
Serer mythology provides examples of the following tropes:
- Adam and Eve Plot: Yaab and Yop came down to earth on a heavenly ark and spawned the rest of the human race.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Roog brought death into the world because humans cried over a dog’s death. His attitude was “I’ll give you something to cry about!”.
- Elemental Powers: Water, air, and earth were the primordial substances. Water defined the lower world, air defined the heavens, and earth defined its namesake.
- First Of Its Kind:
- The Somb tree contained the masculine and feminine aspect of all future trees. When Roog planted it, all plant life spread from it and beautified the world.
- Jackal was the first animal in the world. He was sent down by Roog to explore the world and prepare it.
- In other tales Mbocor was the first creature and all other animals save Jackal were born from it.
- Garden of Eden: Humans and beasts once lived together in harmony.
- Geometric Magic: Ostrich was ready to lay her eggs but was troubled by the hungry beasts waiting to feast on them. She drew a five pointed star in the dirt, laid her eggs on it, and prayed to Roog for help. This created a protective barrier that prevented anything from coming near the eggs. A shepherd watched the hatching and discovered the star. For this reason the Serer draw it as a symbol of protection and invoke the ostrich.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Monkeys are the product of sexual relations between the lion and a human girl.
- Interspecies Romance: A lion and a human girl slept together, leaving her pregnant.
- Journey to the Sky: The Mbos tree once grew until it reached heaven. Roog was displeased by this intrusion and cut off its head, demanding it stay closer to earth. The tree was ashamed and intertwined its branches so nobody could climb it. The first humans took refuge under it.
- "Just So" Story:
- Humans aren't giants because Roog wanted to punish us for our part in the war. Trees are dumb, blind, and immobile as punishment. Animals were driven insane as punishment.
- Dog became man's best friend because he snitched on Lion to us.
- The Rik clan was led to water by a monitor lizard during a drought, and they adopted it as their totem.
- Last of His Kind: Jackal will be the final animal on earth after humans and other creatures are long gone.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: The lion and the maiden refused to confess who the father of their child was.
- Mêlée à Trois: Humans vs Animals vs Trees. Lion was not happy about being exposed as the rake.
- Numerological Motif:
- 3 represents femininity in this tradition while 4 represents masculinity. Together they form 7 which is the complete being.
- 5 is shared between the five pointed star and the human form with limbs outstretched. The four points are the cardinal directions while the fifth is Roog.
- Our Ancestors Are Superheroes: The first humans were giants before being reduced in size by Roog.
- The Power of Language: Roog spoke the world into existence.
- Primordial Chaos: The first rain was a terrible pandemonium of lightning, thunder, tornadoes, and flooding.
- Reincarnation: The souls of the dead fly through the night world of Jaaniiw to the world of the living so they may reincarnate.
- The Stool Pigeon: Dog is the one who ratted out the lion as the father of the monkey.
- Treants: Nqut trees were once able to walk and talk just like people. They lived as nocturnal beings, underground by day but active by night.
- Wise Tree: Saas trees loved humans. Good luck, healing, fertility, longevity, and hugs were all things they were willing to offer us.
