Faro (mythology)

Faro - in the bambara mythology, the deity of water, a thunderbolt, a demiurge . According to the myth, Faro granted man conscience, order and cleanliness, as well as a sense of responsibility. Probably, initially in the mythology of the people, the Bozo acted as the spirit of the Niger River and only later acquired a broader meaning. The main location of Faro is Niger; but he is omnipresent, visits all waters.

Faro created the sky (seven heavens), gave rise to the air spirit of Teliko, in the form of water shed life on earth. When Faro spread on the ground and saw that the creation of the earth, begun by Pemba , was not completed, he filled the voids with water, forming sources. Fertilized by vibration, Faro on a deserted hill gave birth to two twins; with their birth, the first grass grew, scorpions appeared that were supposed to protect the twins.

Then abundant dew fell on a hill and formed a spring, a stream flowed out of it, the flow of which was directed by cocoon fish. Another cocoon fish carried Faro and his children on her back; the stream carried them into the water dwelling. Faro also created fish, inhabited the seas and rivers with reptiles and other animals, then ascended to heaven.

When starvation began on earth due to an excessively large number of people and their depletion was aggravated by the loss of blood during the Balanza sacrifices (Faidherbia albida, Whitish Acacia), Faro taught people to eat wild tomatoes. The first one they tried was a woman who fainted from hunger. The tomatoes eaten by her turned into blood, and her strength was restored. She went for a swim in Niger, and Faro, who was in the water, grabbed her, opened her stomach and ate red pulp from tomatoes. He counted grains of fruits - there were seven of them. In each tomato, there was blood and Faro embedded the main element of a human being (the principle of life), represented by the number "seven" (three and four: three - a symbol of the masculine principle, four - the female).

Faro identified the four countries of the world and established the boundaries of the universe, measured the height of the sky, the depth of the earth, the distance between the countries of the world; set the time, introduced the seasons and replaced the initial gloom with a regular change of day and night. He divided the earth into seven parts, which correspond to seven heavens; on the earth he created a sea abyss, dug the first wells, reservoirs, riverbeds; introduced the rainy regime. He taught people the word and language, gave them reason, a sense of responsibility, he also monitors the order and administration of justice ^[1] .

Faro classified animals and plants; people distributed by race and caste, starting with slaves. Assigned to each type of living creatures, to protect them from degeneration, the kind of food and food inhibitions.

Through the blacksmiths Faro gave the man eight grains of cereals, created simultaneously with people, but stored secretly in heaven. These eight grains are the basis of food and the foundation of the human being, people carry them in their collarbones. Representatives of Faro - spirits observe the general order; with their help, Faro leads all kinds of activities. So that people were fit for physical labor, Faro supplied them with joints.

Bambara was represented by Faro in the form of a naked woman (or androgyne ) with long breasts and hair, instead of ears - gills, instead of fingers - fins, instead of legs - a fish tail; the upper half of the body is painted white, and the lower half is red ^[2] .