Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

katana · 2nd January 2008, 08:24 PM

Hi Tim
interesting piece..... keep thinking 'African Ram dao', the coiled design (snake ?) adding alittle weight to the tip.

Chicken sacrifice is very common in Africa, both occurring in some of the indiginous religions and the Islamic population.

http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:F...nk&cd=14&gl=uk

http://books.google.com/books?id=frC...D8n1D2QxNVj32c

http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/w...in_the_gu.html

As to the spiral symbology perhaps

".... the spiral and its continuity has been used for thousands of years as a symbol of the Earth Mother…and of that cyclic nature of life.
By the same token, because snakes are often seen coiled in a spiral, in many cultures they have in fact been adopted as a symbol or representative icon of that concept of the ongoing cycle of life, death, and rebirth. In addition, there is the fact that since they crawl along the ground, they are in constant contact with the Earth Mother.
Because it sheds its skin, the snake has long been a symbol of death and rebirth, and in the few days before the shedding, it often takes on a deathly appearance where its eyes begin to cloud over and and its skin becomes dull. In many cultures, this indicates the snake’s ability to move between the realms of the living and the dead, of crossing over from life to death and then back to life again....."

Regards David

2nd January 2008, 08:24 PM	#2
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Hi Tim interesting piece..... keep thinking 'African Ram dao', the coiled design (snake ?) adding alittle weight to the tip. Chicken sacrifice is very common in Africa, both occurring in some of the indiginous religions and the Islamic population. http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:F...nk&cd=14&gl=uk http://books.google.com/books?id=frC...D8n1D2QxNVj32c http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/w...in_the_gu.html As to the spiral symbology perhaps ".... the spiral and its continuity has been used for thousands of years as a symbol of the Earth Mother…and of that cyclic nature of life. By the same token, because snakes are often seen coiled in a spiral, in many cultures they have in fact been adopted as a symbol or representative icon of that concept of the ongoing cycle of life, death, and rebirth. In addition, there is the fact that since they crawl along the ground, they are in constant contact with the Earth Mother. Because it sheds its skin, the snake has long been a symbol of death and rebirth, and in the few days before the shedding, it often takes on a deathly appearance where its eyes begin to cloud over and and its skin becomes dull. In many cultures, this indicates the snake’s ability to move between the realms of the living and the dead, of crossing over from life to death and then back to life again....." Regards David Last edited by katana; 2nd January 2008 at 08:48 PM.