Further Readings
Ephirim-Donkor, A. (1997).African Spirituality:Of
Becoming Ancestors. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
MacGaffey, W. (1991).Art and Healing of the Bakongo.
Stockholm: Folkens Museum.
Pradel, L. (2000).African Beliefs in the New World.
Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
ANIMALIMAGES
All animals are sacred in African religious tradi-
tions. They play vital roles in the creation of the
heavens, Earth, and people. They bring messages
of life, death, social order, customs, and practices.
Some are regarded as deities, whereas others rep-
resent deities. On a practical level, animals pro-
vide food for humans and are a source of social
wealth and standing. Through totems, they also
distinguish relations among members of a partic-
ular community. For this reason, the images of
animals, whether it be in stories or on textiles,
houses, temples, shrines, pots, containers, drums,
and sculptures, impart a sense of the sacred to the
everyday and ritual life of Africans. This entry
examines the background of African attitudes
about animals and then looks at some specific
beliefs and practices.
OriginsMany African stories hold that long ago people
and animals could communicate and that individ-
uals in some cultures were able to become one
with specific animals. Over time, this ability was
lost to most people except for select specialists
such as hunters, healers, shaman, priests, or
priestesses. Although communication was no
longer possible, reverence remained.
Animals, because of their complex human-like
activities, were early teachers of humans, in the
sense that humans learned from watching animal
behavior. By observing their behavior, Africans
were able to discover in-depth information about
themselves and their world. These animals then
became symbols, and their images were used to
convey important information. People of the Nile
Valley have a deity of language and writing called
Djehuty who is represented as a baboon. Baboons
have a language consisting of clicking sounds.
Perhaps these early inhabitants made the associa-
tion of language with baboons based on this
observation.
Another early example of the use of animal
images is among the San of South Africa. A paint-
ing of a dying eland, with zigzag lines emanating
from it, depicts the potency of eland, which the
San believe to be a source of their shamanistic
power. Another image shows the emptying of an
eland’s bowels, perhaps a crucial indicator that it
is the energy release at the point of death, not just
death itself that releases this power. The images
are painted with a mixture containing the blood
of an eland. Other images depict a combination of
an eland and human, or a bird or lion and a
human. These therianthropes appeared in rock
shelters scattered throughout southern Africa and
often overlapped, making it difficult to distinguish
scenes. These “theaters” were vital to the life
of the San people because they were the places at
which the shaman could gather and communicate
information obtained from their experiences with
and as animals in the spiritual world.Some Examples
Ancient Kemetan culture makes extensive use of
both animal images and related therianthropes.
The written language, Mdw Nt_r, contains dozens
of images of animals and birds that act as letters
in their writing system. Sometimes they are read
phonetically, sometimes they are read ideographi-
cally. Egyptian deities appear as both animal
images and therianthropes. The sun deity, or neter,
Ra is shown as a falcon or wings, just as the neter
Horus. The falcon is a bird of strength and aggres-
siveness that soars high, like the sun and with the
sun. The falcon would also be drawn with kings
to reinforce their god-like powers and attributes.
The neter Hathor is a cow or, in earlier times, a
hippopotamus or water cow, both ancient mater-
nal symbols of strength. Sobek is imaged as a
crocodile.
The crocodile represents the monster that sym-
bolically devours the day: darkness or night. The
depiction of a crocodile with a falcon head shows
that it is Heru, or the sun, that is being devoured
or doing battle with the forces of darkness. The
Khepera, the ever-becoming neter, image is the dung54 Animal Images