THE STORY OF THE CREATION IN THE KUNAMA BELIEF. Part 3 (RKPHA 2000)
The following piece of writing on the Kunama belief is based solely on concepts gathered from various elderly Kunama.
It is therefore, a simple translation, from the Kunama into the English language, of the content of their ideas, discussions, argumentation and a straightforward story-telling:
on the creation of the world and of human beings;
the multiplication of human race;
the first human failures, quarrels and misunderstandings that had led to the social and religious divisions as well as the relationship between God and the human beings..
According to Addalla Udi, the oldest of the elderly Kunama interviewed, "the story of the creation of "Adum and Haua" (Adam and Eve) is believed also in the Kunama society".
He goes on to explain that, "God first created only Adum”.
After he had been created, whatever Adum ate, drank or dwelt in had all been provided by God.
As our ancestors had told us, Adum did not have to do anything.
Because Adum did not have any companion, he went up to God to claim he would be given one.
God told Adum that he had given him every power so he could take a companion out of his own rib and God blessed him so Adum went to sleep.
When he was asleep, Haua was created from Adum's left rib so two human beings spent the night.
When they woke up, they had begot male twins.
Isa and Musa were twins.
Haua always gave birth to twins so that the human race could multiply itself and that was God's plan
After Isa and Musa, Haua gave birth to many twins..
From the first born-twins, Musa was younger and Isa was older.
Musa being younger, would make mistakes verbally or in his actions.
Isa, as an older brother would rebuke and correct him and try to lead him into the right ways, but Musa, being a mischief-maker, would not listen to his older brother.
Not knowing what else to do, Isa took a lash thinking by whipping him Musa would listen to him but Musa began to flee instead. Isa then chased him.
As they both kept running, Isa realised the chased was getting longer so he called his brother and promised he would not whip him but Musa would not stop.
Fearing his brother might get lost, Isa told Musa that, since he hated his own brother, from that day on, they would part company. Isa left Musa and returned back.
This explains the fact that, we human beings though children of the same woman, call ourselves as Christians and Moslems.
Wherever Musa went to settle down, he procreated his own offspring.
From his original name of "MUSA" he was then called "MUSE".
I have heard say that Isa and the prophet Mohammed, who was born after them, had a common root.
God had created us through our forefathers Adum and Haua.
If we consider the fact that, we human beings call for and revere God and, at the same time, we bow before our other fellow-human beings, we have regard of, call for and respect them because, from their birth, these people are good-mannered, have clean hearts and pure thoughts.
If one asks what God had done for mankind, he had sent each human race a book from above by which human beings believe in God's word.
God has sent the kind of people we refer to as Sheiks and Prophets.
Some of these people, using the powers they had been given, help mankind with their medicines; some others, having a pleasant mouth, utter words of grace thus inviting God's blessing over us.
It is because of this fact that we believe that some Kunama persons too had been given special powers by God.
God bestows his grace on those whom he loves which means that nothing is accomplished without his help".
|
