Primordial Ark Koro Na

The first Nommo, the first ancestor who came down to earth, obtained permission and thanks from God Amma to embark on his journey. To do so he built an ark in which he introduced everything necessary for his journey as well as the tools, seeds and all kinds of tools that he would need when he arrived on earth. The ark came down fastened by a thread of copper. As the ground was dry, the Nommo became a horse to pull out of the ark until the rains arrived. The ark was floating aided by horses to the place where they are currently implanted Dogon.

We observe in this small reproduction of the ark the four pairs of twins, are the Nommos, the primordial ancestors, born of a mud pair modeled by Amma. But first Amma joined the Earth, to which she became his wife, and from this union was born an imperfect son the Pale Jackal, Yurugu, with the appearance of men and serpent. The Earth gave him a second son, Nommo, at the same time male and female, master of the word, who passed on his teachings to the eight primordial ancestors, who in turn went down to earth to pass on their knowledge to men. The eight Nommos are at one time male and female.

We also see the serpent, which is the seventh Nommo, who was killed and transformed into the Lebe serpent whom he has since worshiped. Lebé was in charge of transmitting the word to men and thus communicating with the spirits. Lebé protects the fields and regenerates the earth, its molts are a sign of renewal.

And there is also the crocodile, a mythical dogon animal, represented in the pilasters of Toguna (the House of the Word), in the barn doors and in numerous sacred or utilitarian objects. The crocodile represents Binu Seru, one of the primordial ancestors who, like the others, represents one of the four elements of nature, water, as Lebé Seru represents the earth, Diogu Seru the fire and Amma Seru the air.