Encyclopedia of Religion

IMAGES AND THE BODY

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION

Religious practices mine the human body for its rich

metaphorical significance. Olmec artists produced mar-

velous ceramic figures of infants (h), whose interpretation

remains inconclusive, but which have been linked to

funerary practices, shamanistic rites, and fertility ceremo-

nies. For example, small figures shown in the care of old

women have led some to believe that the infant figures

helped shamans perform rites effecting cures or healthy

births. Other forms of evidence associate the sculptures of

infants with sacrificial rites that transformed the infants

into rain and vegetation, thus procuring seasonal regen-

eration and agricultural fertility. One authority indicates

that the ceramic figures themselves may have been used

in such rites, or may represent the children who were

sacrificed. In either case, infancy meant rebirth and the

remarkable skills of Olmec artists at naturalistic rendition

of the infant’s gesture and fleshy forms no doubt enhanced

the efficacy of the rite.

If images of infants could assist with the renewal of

nature in ancient Olmec culture, a visual practice at the

beginning of the Common Era among Egyptians sought

to ensure an individual’s life after death. The practice

involved affixing realistic portrayals of individuals to

their mummified bodies in order for their spirits to rec-

ognize themselves and reside in the body after death (i).

These portraits were commissioned during the lifetime of

(h) TOP. An Olmec figure, 1200–900 bce, Mexico. [©Kimbell

Art Museum/Corbis] (i) RIGHT. A mummy case with a portrait

of Artemidorus, Hawara, Egypt, Roman period, c. 100–120 ce.

[©HIP/Scala/Art Resource, N.Y.]

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