So-Called 'Infibulation' in Rock Art

Willcox, A. R.

doi:10.2307/3888817

Cited by 2 publications

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“…This is expected, because the visions of the spirit world seen by San trancers and which inform the rock-art, just like our dreams, are often derived from every-day experiences. Some motifs, however, such as the socalled 'infibulation' (Breuil, 1948;Willcox, 1978; also known as 'penis emblem' (Garlake, 1995: 49-50) or penis additament (Walker, 1996: 89;Willcox, 1978)) lack material correlates. It is not useful to regard this motif as abstract because, to the San, it may have been a straightforward depiction of a metaphysically informed subject, as real as eland depictions.…”

Section: ■ a Different Approach To The Old Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultured Representation

Mguni

2004

Journal of Social Archaeology

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A rock-painting panel in the Matopo Hills, Zimbabwe, illustrates the distinctive features of the formling motif, a striking peculiarity of Zimbabwean San (Bushman) rock-art. The debate regarding the derivation and meaning of this motif has proceeded unabated until very recently. The motif has been interpreted variously as depicting natural and cultural material phenomena. In contrast to previous interpretations, this paper advocates an approach that considers San art imagery as cultured representations, which is a notion that foregrounds the understanding of San image-making principles, the San world-view and the concomitant knowledge system of beliefs. Finally, the paper provides a precise definition of the features of formlings that can be tied in with a particular subject.

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Section: ■ a Different Approach To The Old Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultured Representation

Mguni

2004

Journal of Social Archaeology

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“…Dorothea Bleek, in van der Riet et al 1940, caption to pl. 15;Pager 1971, 230;Willcox 1978;Solomon 1994;1997). In any event, there is of course no reason why seemingly naturalistic images should not be 'mythical'.…”

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confidence: 99%

From Illustration to Social Intervention: Three Nineteenth-century | Xam Myths and their Implications for Understanding San Rock Art

Lewis‐Williams¹

2013

CAJ

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This article addresses the relationship between southern African San myth and rock art. Three nineteenth-century | Xam San narratives, recorded verbatim, are shown to contain specifiable entities of meaning, here dubbed ‘nuggets’, that are easily misunderstood or missed entirely. Each performance of a myth developed or abbreviated the significances of these ‘nuggets’ as the narrator tailored the story to suit the social, political and economic circumstances of the moment. Similarly, San rock art contains painted ‘nuggets’ that, for the San, situated the panels in one way or another at the interface between existential realms. Each in its own way, certain tales and images both played a social role by emphasizing the functions of ritual specialists who were believed to move between realms as they healed the community of physical, economic and social ills, especially tension between affines.

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So-Called 'Infibulation' in Rock Art

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Cultured Representation

Cultured Representation

From Illustration to Social Intervention: Three Nineteenth-century | Xam Myths and their Implications for Understanding San Rock Art

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