Qu'est-ce que Yo dans la pensée bambara ?

Yo est, dans la pensée religieuse des Bambara du Mali, le principe créateur primordial : vide et plénitude à la fois, pensée, force et son originels dont procèdent l'esprit, la matière et les signes fondamentaux de la création. Antérieur à toute divinité, il fonde l'ordre du monde et le savoir des sociétés initiatiques.

Quel rapport entre Yo et les signes de la création ?

Selon les enseignements recueillis par Germaine Dieterlen et Youssouf Tata Cissé auprès de la société du Komo, la création se déploie à partir de Yo en 266 signes fondamentaux. Chaque être, chaque plante, chaque institution possède son signe, tracé avant même que la chose n'existe. La connaissance graduelle de ces signes constitue le cœur du savoir initiatique bambara.

Yo fait-il l'objet d'un culte ?

Non. Yo n'a ni autel, ni image, ni sacrifice : il est un principe, non une divinité personnifiée. On ne le prie pas, on apprend à le connaître par degrés au sein des sociétés initiatiques. Les puissances qui en émanent, comme Pemba et Faro, reçoivent en revanche cultes et offrandes, chacune dans son domaine propre.

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YO

ally

God

☥ SpiritBambara →Bambara — BambaraElder

Gender: MasculineSign: création

In the Essai sur la religion bambara, Germaine Dieterlen places Yo at the absolute origin of all things. Before the sky and the earth, before Pemba and Faro, there exists only Yo: a void that is also plenitude, thought without support, a silent force of which tradition teaches that it was created by no one. From Yo proceed the first sounds and the first movement, then the signs of creation, 266 in number according to the esoteric teachings collected by Germaine Dieterlen and Youssouf Tata Cissé from the officers of the Komo society: each being, each plant, each institution possesses its sign, traced before the thing even exists. From Yo likewise emanate the demiurgic principles that order the universe, Pemba master of the soil and the trees, Faro master of the waters and of the Word, and Ndomadyiri, the mythical blacksmith associated with remedies. Yo has neither cult, nor altar, nor image: one does not pray to him, one learns to know him. His doctrine belongs to the highest initiatory knowledge, handed down by degrees in societies such as the Komo or the Korè, where the elders teach that every word, every sign and every technique goes back to this single source. The ethnologists of the school of Marcel Griaule have likened this notion to other creator principles of West Africa, such as Amma among the Dogon.

Powers & Attributes

creation

Role in the ROHO universe

Founding presence. YO stands at the root of the world and sustains the weave since before the beginning. Bound to the Bambara pantheon.

Sacred Mask

An ancient ritual mask of sacred wood, old metal and black stone, engraved with symbols of creation, embodiment of the power of Yo

Era

Ancient cycle

Frequently asked questions

What is Yo in Bambara thought?

Yo is, in the religious thought of the Bambara of Mali, the primordial creator principle: void and plenitude at once, original thought, force and sound from which proceed spirit, matter and the fundamental signs of creation. Prior to any deity, it grounds the order of the world and the knowledge of the initiatory societies.

What is the relation between Yo and the signs of creation?

According to the teachings collected by Germaine Dieterlen and Youssouf Tata Cissé from the Komo society, creation unfolds from Yo in 266 fundamental signs. Each being, each plant, each institution possesses its sign, traced before the thing even exists. The gradual knowledge of these signs constitutes the heart of Bambara initiatory knowledge.

Is Yo the object of a cult?

No. Yo has neither altar, nor image, nor sacrifice: it is a principle, not a personified deity. One does not pray to it, one learns to know it by degrees within the initiatory societies. The powers that emanate from it, such as Pemba and Faro, receive by contrast cults and offerings, each in its own domain.

Related spirits

PEMBA FARO AMMA

Sources and references

Germaine Dieterlen, Essai sur la religion bambara (1951)
Germaine Dieterlen et Youssouf Tata Cissé, Les fondements de la société d'initiation du Komo (1972)
Solange de Ganay, Notes sur la théodicée bambara (1949)