webPulaaku
Amadou Hampâté Bâ
Kaïdara
Translated by Daniel Whitman
With “Kings, Sages, Rogues: The Historical Writings of Amadou Hampâté Bâ”
Kaydara — Strophes 2355-2385
Hammadi mobbo maa oo ko waajinoo ma. 2355
A golliroyaali tuumo ndeen danyoy-ɗaa
faada e ɓiɗɗo moƴƴo e debbo laaɓɗo. »
— « Mobbo aan a homo de so anndu-ɗaa ɗum
hono aɗa wondunoo e amen e laawol
tawa aɗa anndi kala fu ko weemnunoo min ? »
— « Min woni ganndo ko'e Kaaydara nyalaaɗe 2360
jeeɗɗi gaɗaaɗe mehiraa sirru koode
jeeɗɗi puneeje kammu na keetti saahal
ommbude gunndoo kala Geno tagi yo jeeɗɗi
hono ɗii jeeɗɗi dow ɗee jeeɗɗi ley ley
omtaa jeeɗɗi dammbuɗe hoore neɗɗo 2365
dammbuɗe sirru noon miɗo anndi juuɗe
Kaydara kanŋe sappo e ɗiɗi ɗe lebbi
capan tati koyɗe makko yo cuuɗi lebbi.
Fade am wiide homo woni min mo ngon-mi
e wiide ma duu yo inndam mi nde wiyetee 2370
mi lamndete yalla won fuu ko ndaardataa kam ».
— « Uuhun mobbo! Kaydara karka laamu
koyde mbi'ii Henndu, Dimmbere-Leydi, Njoolam,
ɗe mbii Cumu kaalnoyaa kam homo daliilu. »
— « Nii nii koyde nay joopiima semmbe 2375
yuman semmbeeji nay ɗi na wuurna waroya
ɓikkoy Aada kala gootel hela dun-yaa. »
Hammadi wii:
— « Ndaa yoo abba am ee maaɗa mobbam,
hoko woni jom heɓaali e maaɗa miin oo! 2380
Mi anndaa dume ngadan-mi mi anndanoye ɗum. »
— « Neeɓii ko anndonoy-ɗaa kam wuliima
to ley kii mbantineewi a welliti e am
kala fuu jawdi jogi-ɗaa a hokkoyii kam.
Nde bur-ɗaa fuu jogaade e mayri haaju 2385
hono ndiin anninoyi-daa faa dunyaa kam.
Nde ngar-ɗaa daande caangol ɗum podoy-ɗaa
hono ley mbantineewi e daande yaame.
Annii jamma han duu a wii a hokkan
the advice your master gave you.
You did not act on suspicion; in return,
you were given a home, a son, and a pure wife.”
“Who are you, master, that you know this
as though you were with me the whole way
and knew all about what we went through?”
“I am he who knows that the heads of Kaydara
are derived from the secret of the seven northern stars
from the time of the mysteries
that hold within all the secrets Geno created in sevens,
like the seven (doors) above and the seven below, 164
and the seven openings in the head of man.
I also know the mysterious doors, and know
that the arms of Kaydara correspond to the twelve months,
and that his thirty feet are the hidden moon-cycles.
Before telling you who I am
and what my name is, tell me,
Hammadi, if you have anything to ask me.”
“Yes, master! The feet of the throne of Kaydara
said, ‘Wind, Earthquake, Flood, and
Conflagration.’ Tell me the meaning of this.”
“The four feet evoke the forces;
these are the four mother-forces that give life and death
to the sons of Adam, each of whom the universe will destroy.”
Hammadi said:
“Oh, father and master,
how much I owe you!
I don't know how to express my gratitude.”
“You did so a long time ago 165.
Under the tree you showed me,
by offering all your wealth
when you needed it more than I.
You also set your fortune aside for me
when you reached the river bank,
even more graciously than beneath the tree.
And now, this evening, you propose giving me
Notes (Lilyan Kesteloot)
164. The seven heavens and seven earths, according to the myth; seven doors: these are the openings of the head.
165. The old man here reveals that Hammadi had but one initiatory master, under the guise of different forms.