THE SHILLUK'S CONCEPTION OF GOD 219 



SHILLUK IDEA OF CREATION 



"God has a prominent place in the traditional lore 

 of the Shilluks. They recognise Him as Creator. God, 

 they believe, first created two great level spaces, one 

 above, one below. These levels are the heavens and the 

 earth. He then created the plants and the trees. The 

 first animal created was the buffalo, and this was God's 

 favourite. Later, Man was made. God spake to the 

 buffalo, saying-, 'Come to-morrow and I will give you 

 a spear.' Man overheard, and so when the time came, 

 Man went to God and as it was dark, God could not see. 

 Man approached on his hands and knees, bellowing like a 

 buffalo. God said, ' Who is this ? ' and Man answered, 

 ' I am the one with the horns turned backwards.' God, 

 being deceived, gave the spear to Man ; and later, when 

 the buffalo came bellowing, God said 'Who is this?' 

 The buffalo answered, ' I am the one with the horns 

 turned backwards.' God said, 'Did you not receive 

 your spear a little while ago?' The buffalo replied, 

 'No,' and God said, 'Who got it?' The buffalo 

 answered, ' Man.' God said, ' Man, then, has got the 

 spear.' God, however, gave the buffalo his horns and 

 said, ' When you see a Man thrust your horn into him.' 



" The spear did not greatly improve Man's condition 

 as it had no handle and could not be thrown. ' Man's 

 friend, the vulture, perceived this and said to Man, ' Why 

 is your spear without a handle?' Man had to admit 

 he knew not how to make a handle. The vulture there- 

 upon made it and fixed it in its place, saying, ' I ask 

 no reward for this, but when you hunt I will watch, and 

 when you kill something I will come to feed on the blood 

 that is shed on the ground. Man then made war on 

 the buffalo, and sometimes Man was killed and sometimes 

 the buffalo was killed. When the buffalo was killed 

 the vulture got his blood ; but when Man was killed he 

 was buried by his friends. 



