Tafukt
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Tafukt (Tifinagh: ⵜⴰⴼⵓⴽⵜ) is a female solar deity[1] in numitheism worshipped by the Berbers during ancient times. The name Tafukt literally means "the sun" in Berber languages.[2] this deity of Antiquity (Numidia) often is represented as being the wife of Ayyur the lunar deity. The rituals and semantic associations with the sun clearly indicate that the sun has preserved the trace of the ancient divinity among the Berbers.
| Tafukt | |
|---|---|
| |
| Other names | tafukt, thafukth, tafusht, tafuyt, tafuk, tfukt, tfuyt, tfusht |
| Venerated in | Numidia |
| Major cult centre | Cirta |
| Artifacts | Torch |
| Symbol | Disk, Fire |
| Adherents | Berbers |
| Tree | Sun flower |
| Gender | Female |
| Festivals | Thafsuth |
| Genealogy | |
| Spouse | Ayyur (Mythology) |
| Children | Itran (the stars) Garamas |
| Equivalents | |
| Greek | Apollo, Helios |
| Roman | Sol Invictus |
History
Herodotus wrote in the fifth century BC that the Berbers sacrificed to the sun and moon.[3] In addition, Ibn Khaldun reports that at the time of the Arab invasion of their territory, "those of the Berbers who had not been converted to the Christian faith worshipped the sun and the moon, as well as statues of deities".[4] The name Tafukt appears in several inscriptions left by the Berbers of antiquity.
Mythology
In amazigh mythology, the world was founded from the fury of sun goddess Tafukt, when her husband the moon god Ayyur and her children the stars "Itran" were separated from their mother Tafukt to live in farther away skies.[5]
A famous little tale talks about how Tafukt was jealous of a small girl who was said to be as pretty as the sun herself.[1]
Association
This noun theme -fuk- was very early related to the pan-Berber root F(W), which refers to the notions of "light, day", and "fire", the attestations of which are very numerous and widely distributed.[6]
Words related to the name of the deity in berber are the following:[2]
ifaw, "to make day".
s-fiw, tifawt, "morning".
tufat, tafat, "light".
afa, "fire" which is a symbol of the deity Tafukt.
asafu "torch, torch" is often considered a tool associated with the deity Tafukt.
Alternative names
Apart from Kabyle, all the berber dialects without exception have a feminine form, the fundamental prototype of which is ta-fuk-t, with very diverse regional realizations, determined by local phonetic tendencies: tafukt, ṯafukṯ [θafuç θ], tafušt, tafuyt, tafuk(k), tfukt, tfuyt, tfušt...[2]
Festival of the spring equinox
Thafsuth or Tafsut is a festival very commonly associated with Tafukt, the spring Festival took place every year on a fixed date calculated on the solar calendar at the end of March when the sun enters the sign of Aries. First reported by Herodotus in Libya (IV, 180), these games are found under the name of Caterva, "armed band", in Saint-Augustine in Cherchell (De Doctrina christina, IV, 24, 53), and much later, in Fez, described in detail by Leo Africanus, It had nevertheless withstood two thousand five hundred years of upheaval since Herodotus speaks of a similar festival near Lake Triton.[7]
Prayer
This primordial, much-venerated mother deity Tafukt appears in certain prayers still in use at Figuig, they bear witness to this. During the baptism of a child—that is to say, on the seventh day after birth, a practice intended to introduce the newborn into the sacred sphere of the World and of society—the mother or the midwife who delivered the baby would take one a brazier with embers and incense and the baby, then she would go up to the terrace of their house (on top of the house) and address the wind, the rain, and the sun in these terms[1]:
"Ax as t, a mmiš ay du !
Here, your son, O wind!
Ax am, a mmiš a ṭṭisa !
Here, your son, O rain!
Ax am, a mmiš a ṭfuyt !
Here, your son, O sun!"
Ṭafukt also appears in another prayer, where she is asked for warmth during the cold days of winter when a cloud, tijenwet, veils her. The children protest by saying[1]:
"Taxewwant c tislit !
Cheese thief!
Manessen ?
Who is it?
D tijenwet.
It is the cloud.
Or they pray for the sun to come out by singing:
Effeγ dd ! Effeγ dd !
Come out! Come out!
A ṭfuyt, e wwar nnen !
O sun for the children!
Šra yezzaq, šra yessifif,
Some grind, some sift,
Šra yettayem dd
And others draw water
I teqlilin n buxbux.
Into the jars."