Ritual Art: a Key to the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Bambara sculpture is a ritual object, in fact one of the dramatis personae of a ritual drama. The Civara, as it is called, is carried on the head during the ritual dance as a token of the presence of the mythical antilope which brought agriculture to the Bambara. Besides the male Civara there is...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Donner Institute
1996-01-01
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| Series: | Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67233 |
| _version_ | 1818023650341683200 |
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| author | Jørgen Podemann Sørensen |
| author_facet | Jørgen Podemann Sørensen |
| author_sort | Jørgen Podemann Sørensen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Bambara sculpture is a ritual object, in fact one of the dramatis personae of a ritual drama. The Civara, as it is called, is carried on the head during the ritual dance as a token of the presence of the mythical antilope which brought agriculture to the Bambara. Besides the male Civara there is also a female one, and in their dance, the two of them dramatize the fertilizing interaction of sun and soil. Without further exploring Bambara ritual, we may notice that a piece of pictorial art is here an integral part of a ritual. It is a mask, carried during the dance and designating its bearer as the mythical antilope. Also belonging to a ritual are the space and the surroundings in which it is carried out. It is well known how ritual places and temple rooms are often structured and decorated to make out the background and the framework of ritual acts. The place of ritual may be designed as an imago mundi, or it may be chosen or named according to mythical prototypes. Temple rooms may be decorated with mythological and cosmological motifs to identify the ritual acts that take place in them as mythical deeds and cosmologically significant events, exactly as the civara-mask identifies the ritual dance in its mythological and cosmological significance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T03:47:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-44e6bb2545e243f087379bc2903c6559 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0582-3226 2343-4937 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T03:47:41Z |
| publishDate | 1996-01-01 |
| publisher | Donner Institute |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis |
| spelling | doaj.art-44e6bb2545e243f087379bc2903c65592022-12-22T02:03:23ZengDonner InstituteScripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis0582-32262343-49371996-01-011610.30674/scripta.67233Ritual Art: a Key to the Ancient Egyptian Book of the DeadJørgen Podemann Sørensen0University of CopenhagenThe Bambara sculpture is a ritual object, in fact one of the dramatis personae of a ritual drama. The Civara, as it is called, is carried on the head during the ritual dance as a token of the presence of the mythical antilope which brought agriculture to the Bambara. Besides the male Civara there is also a female one, and in their dance, the two of them dramatize the fertilizing interaction of sun and soil. Without further exploring Bambara ritual, we may notice that a piece of pictorial art is here an integral part of a ritual. It is a mask, carried during the dance and designating its bearer as the mythical antilope. Also belonging to a ritual are the space and the surroundings in which it is carried out. It is well known how ritual places and temple rooms are often structured and decorated to make out the background and the framework of ritual acts. The place of ritual may be designed as an imago mundi, or it may be chosen or named according to mythical prototypes. Temple rooms may be decorated with mythological and cosmological motifs to identify the ritual acts that take place in them as mythical deeds and cosmologically significant events, exactly as the civara-mask identifies the ritual dance in its mythological and cosmological significance.https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67233EgyptologyArtRitualEgypt -- Religion -- Ancient PeriodMythology, EgyptianSymbolism |
| spellingShingle | Jørgen Podemann Sørensen Ritual Art: a Key to the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis Egyptology Art Ritual Egypt -- Religion -- Ancient Period Mythology, Egyptian Symbolism |
| title | Ritual Art: a Key to the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead |
| title_full | Ritual Art: a Key to the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead |
| title_fullStr | Ritual Art: a Key to the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ritual Art: a Key to the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead |
| title_short | Ritual Art: a Key to the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead |
| title_sort | ritual art a key to the ancient egyptian book of the dead |
| topic | Egyptology Art Ritual Egypt -- Religion -- Ancient Period Mythology, Egyptian Symbolism |
| url | https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67233 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jørgenpodemannsørensen ritualartakeytotheancientegyptianbookofthedead |