Post by Tukuler on Jul 12, 2017 1:17:12 GMT
This particular fresco which, though strictly Saharan, has a Chadic or
maybe central to east Africa feel about it. Some say she is Auset
(Isis). The provence of this art piece is Inaouanrhat, Tassili N Ajjer in
the middle of the Sahara of southeast Algeria. A larger size repro is in
Henri Lhote
The Search for the Tassili Frescoes
New York: EP Dutton, 1959
Me, I think the figure is of a legendary or mythological
woman or goddess. Her pose suggests she may be
fleeing. More likely she is, perhaps, in a ritual dance.
She appears to have no hands or maybe her hands
are covered. Whatever. Toward the wrist end of her
forearms is some kind of meshed and woven covering.
They are tied, clamp-like, at the ends. The right hand
covering has a single long thread. The left hand covering
has four threads 2/3 as long as the right hand thread.
She also has meshed anklets. Her armlets have fiber threads
hanging from them and her skirt likewise is composed of
fibrous threading, not at all appearing to be a cloth.
Between the skirt and the belly are two strings of beads(?).
Her knees are wrapped in a material similar to that of the
armlets but without any strand attachment. The left knee
wrapping does has something attached to it that extends in
length down to the anklet. It appears to be solid and may
be cloth or leather.
That the figure is female is attested by the slightly
protuberent rounded belly, no hint of a penis seen
behind the skirt, and two long thin breasts. The breasts
are profusely scarified. Scarification is also evident
on the shoulders, the sides or chest to the stomach, and
the right leg. There is some stratified marking on the
right thigh that doesn't appear to be raised bumps of
scarification. The left leg may be missing scars because
they were only raised on the outer side of the leg.
The absence of hands or their covering is one piece of
evidence of the legedary or mythological significance
of the figure. Even more so is the prescence of horns
either growing directly from the head or as part of a
headress. Then there is some sort of aura looking part
of the drawing of the head that composes part of the
forehead nose and upper lip. This "aura", mask, or
headressing completely surrounds the short Afro style
hair and sits up over the crown of the head above the
hair. It's possible that what's taken for horns, actually
represents something else that is associated with what looks
like a field of grain or grass stretched between them. This
"field" adds to the legendary/mythological interpretation and
has something represented by medium sized dots under it that
fills up the space between the "horns", borders the bottom of
the "horns", and borders the face, neck, and collar of the figure.
The painting was executed on the wall of a completely
isolated shelter indicating a sacred space. There are
other figures superimposed on, in front of, and under
the raised right leg of the main figure. These smaller
figures drawn above the knee level of the main figure
appear to be mostly male. The vast majority of them have
a bushy Afro and a goatee beard. Two of them have very
short hair or are bald. Four of them, though in a
fleeing stance, are headless! One set of three men are
armlocked in perhaps a dance step? Alongside them are
three bushy Afro figures with broad hips, thick thighs,
and possibly small breasts, most likely they are female
and a part of the dance. All these little figures are
nude.
Below the knee level is another scene. Another female
depicted in larger size than those already described
but smaller than the main figure, also appears to be
a legedary or mythological personage. Only her head,
arms, and torso are drawn. She has a skirt, breast, side
and stomach scars, armlets, strands dangling from the
right arm, and a headress or nimbus. Surrounding her
is what looks like a rainbow. She is approached by
two small figures, a female walking with the right arm
upraised, and a goateed male in a position of obeisance,
legs spread, proffering a bowl, perhaps containing an
offering of some type.
The entire scene may relate a single motif or story or
set of beliefs held at least 6000 years ago. The paintings
are executed in the style of the Masks period. There are
paintings very similar in style to the "Horned Goddess" in
Sefar. One such has a waistband with clothlike or leather
material hanging from it like the Horned Goddess has on her
left knee. It also has the same type anklets. Another shows
pubescent females with body, thigh, and leg scars.
__________________________
This photo shows clearer details that make
some of my earlier comments in error. I
guess I should redo the write up, huh.
