Predynastic Egyptian rock art as evidence for early elites’ rite of passage
People express in ritual what moves them most, and their ritual behaviour reveals what moves the group. Rites of passage accompany almost every change of place, state, social position and age (Van Gennep 1909). In potentially identifying rites of passage in prehistoric Egyptian rock art the role of...
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN FR |
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OpenEdition
2016
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| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/7d023c446d324071a8d85248b59f60ef |
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| Sumario: | People express in ritual what moves them most, and their ritual behaviour reveals what moves the group. Rites of passage accompany almost every change of place, state, social position and age (Van Gennep 1909). In potentially identifying rites of passage in prehistoric Egyptian rock art the role of the liminal zone of the Eastern Desert is crucial. In this area, betwixt and between the normally ordered social world and the supernatural otherworld, the traveller engages with the transcendental, experiencing timelessness, sacralisation and connecting with the sublimity of the cosmos in an area overwhelming the human scale. It constitutes a sacred domain where the usual rules are suspended and monstrous, minimised and/or exaggerated forms can be generated. We can place the petroglyphs in the process by which early Egyptian were legitimised by journeying out there into the desert, returning as transformed and heroic figures. Thus, we can explain exaggerated features in animal depictions and the unrealistic integration of boats into hunting scenes. |
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