Holy or sacred animal | tɛ̀nɛ/tàna

[esquith]

I found the bambara word for holy man ‘mori’. but what about a sacred animal like a crocodile? I couldn’t find holy or sacred in the dictionary. Steve

[coleman]

Hi Steve! If you by “sacred animal” you mean an animal that one cannot kill or harm, then you likely want to use tɛ̀nɛ/tàna, which is often glossed as ‘totem’ in French in West Africa.

PS - Thanks for using the “Not Found” feature of the dictionary You’ve just helped make it a little better for the next person!

[esquith]

Yes, that is what I saw in dogon country with crocodiles