The Fulani Creation Story is a poem which tells the origin of creation from the point of view of the Fulani traditional belief.

In this short essay, we will look at the poem appreciation of the poem including some themes, form and structure and some literary devices.

Now let’s move on to the poem.

THE FULANI CREATION STORY

At the beginning there was a huge drop of milk.
Then Doondari came and he created the stone:
Then the stone created iron;
And iron created fire;
And fire created water;
And water created air.
Then Doondari descended the second time,
And he took the five elements
And he shaped them into man.
But man was proud.
Then Doondari created blindness, and blindness defeated man.
But when blindness became too proud,
Doondari created sleep, and sleep defeated blindness;
But when sleep became too proud,
Doondari created worry, and worry defeated sleep;
But when worry became too proud,
Doondari created death, and death defeated worry.
But when death became too proud,
Doondari descended for the third time,
And he came as Gueno, the eternal one:
And Gueno defeated death.

End of Poem

Poetry Appreciation

The Fulani Creation Story is an interesting creation myth.Here, Doondari who is the creator and God is portrayed as a very powerful being.

“At the beginning, there was a huge drop of milk.”

Milk serves as a staple food amongst the the Fulani tribe since they are a cattle rearing group that has benefitted immensely from cattle milk throughout from generation to generation.

The mention of milk in the first line shows how important the Fulanis think of it.

The stone is the first thing created on Doodari’s arrival. Among the Fulanis, the stone plays a major role in grinding millet to be added to milk.

It is interesting to know that Doodari’s creations which is stone, iron, fire, water and air gave birth to each other respectively.

“Then Doondari descended the second time”

The use of the word “descended” shows Doondari is in a higher place and can come and go as he pleases. He then made man with all the elements.

This makes man a unique and complex creature because he was formed by a mixture of elements.

But man was proud and Doondari had to do something about it.

He then plagued man with blindness, sleep, worry and death to humble man and establish his authority.

Unfortunately, all his other creations failed for the lack of humility.

“Doondari descended for the third time“

When he realised that none of his creations could bring the harmony he wanted, he had to intervene and defeat death. The ability to defeat death reaffirms the undisputed power of Doondari.

Form and Structure of the Poem

The poem is a free verse which has 21 lines with no rhymes. The language used is simple and easy to understand.

Literary Devices in the Poem

1. Repetition

The poem uses a lot of repetitions to create emphasis in many of the lines eg: words like ” created, proud, worry, sleep, and blindness” are repeated in the poem.

2. Alliteration

The use of alliteration is seen in the line 17 “death defeated” and line 18 “third time“

3. Personification

Personification is used in some of the lines eg

But when sleep became too proud, But when worry became too proud and But when death became too proud”

In the above lines, sleep , worry and death are all non-human but have been given a human attribute which is Pride.

Some themes in the Poem

1. Man is a complex creature made to serve his creator. Failure to do so can bring about negative consequences.

2. Doondari is all-Powerful as he was able to defeat death

3. Pride can bring about the downfall of man. (Read about the downfall of Satan In the Bible and compare)

Some Questions and Answers on the Fulani Creation Story

1. What is the subject matter of the Fulani Creation Story?

Ans: The fall of man and his struggles with his creator

2. What caused the fall of man?

Ans: Pride

3. What did Doondari use to create man?

Ans: Doondari used the five elements to create man. They are stone, iron, fire, water and air.

4. How many Stanzas has the poem?

Ans: One stanza

5. Gueno is also called……..

Ans: The eternal one

6. What does the milk symbolise?

Ans: The milk symbolises the life force which gives man strength and vitality.

7. What makes the poem interesting?

Ans: The poem is written in the form of a story. It has a beginning, conflict and a climax

Thank you for reading to the end. I would love to read your comment and views below😊