Baessler-Archiv: Baessler-Archiv, 46/47=71/72.1998/99

Baessler-Archiv, 46/47=71/72.1998/99

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Zeitschrift

Strukturtyp:: Zeitschrift

Werks-URN (URL):: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-714814

URN:: urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-714814

Persistenter Identifier:: BV044347945

Titel:: Baessler-Archiv

Untertitel:: Beiträge zur Völkerkunde

ISSN:: 0005-3856

Erscheinungsort:: Berlin

Verlag:: Reimer

Erscheinungsjahr:: 1910

Sammlung:: Zeitschriften und Zeitungen > Zeitschriften zur Ethnologie

Wissensgebiet:: Sozial- und Kulturanthropologie > Allgemeines

Zeitschriftenband

Strukturtyp:: Zeitschriftenband

Werks-URN (URL):: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-711540

URN:: urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-711540

Persistenter Identifier:: 1501143206107

Titel:: Baessler-Archiv, 46/47=71/72.1998/99

Erscheinungsjahr:: 1999

Signatur:: LA 1255

Sammlung:: Zeitschriften und Zeitungen > Zeitschriften zur Ethnologie

Zeitschriftenheft

Strukturtyp:: Zeitschriftenheft

Titel:: N. F. Bd. 47, 1999, Heft 1

Sammlung:: Zeitschriften und Zeitungen > Zeitschriften zur Ethnologie

Zeitschriftenartikel

Strukturtyp:: Zeitschriftenartikel

Titel:: Tree Altars, Spirit-Trees, and "Ghost-Posts" among the Luluwa and Neighboring Peoples

Sonstige Person:: Petridis, Constantine

Sammlung:: Zeitschriften und Zeitungen > Zeitschriften zur Ethnologie

Baessler-Archiv, Neue Folge, Band XLVII (1999) 115 TREE ALTARS, SPIRIT-TREES, AND “GHOST-POSTS” AMONG THE LULUWA AND NEIGHBORING PEOPLES CONSTANTINE PETRIDIS, Gent* Abstract. Tree altars are the focus of prayers and offerings to the ancestors among the Luluwa and many other peoples in sub-Saharan Africa. They consist of trees and shrubs which are thought to be inhabited by spirits. Among the Luluwa, tree altars and other forms of ancestor worship are in many ways related to charms, and some types of tree altars can be paired with charms that include figurative sculptures. Tree altars called buyanga and cyahu are shared by the Luluwa and a number of other peoples in Central Africa. Whereas buyanga is specifically affiliated with the hunt, cyabu is concerned with general well-being. Sometimes, the cyabu tree altar comprises one or two rudimentary carved posts or stakes topped with a human face. Such carvings are widely distributed throughout southern Congo and adjacent regions, and represent a cultural tradition of considerable age. Indeed, a Janus-faced post excavated along the Cuango River in northern Angola, which is very similar to carved posts observed in recent times, was dated to the first millenium A.D., or the beginning of the second millenium. There are reasons to assume that the figurative sculpture of various peoples in Central Africa goes back to cephalomorphic posts which in turn are derived from trees considered to shelter spirits. Many peoples in sub-Saharan Africa accord cultural importance to trees and plants. Shared by different ethnic groups throughout West and Central Africa, tree altars are one of many forms of ancestor worship among the Luluwa. Perceived as a passageway to the otherworld, these tree altars are the focus of prayers and offerings to the ancestors. Frobenius (1898:163-164) already noted the widespread veneration in Africa of trees that are believed to harbor spirits. More recently, Robert Farris Thompson’s exhibition catalogue Face of the Gods (1993) explores tree altars and “tree- surrogate altars” in both West and Central Africa. Regarding the Pygmies of the Equatorial forest regions, Thompson (1993: 36) writes that “the forest - and such miniaturizations of its precincts as a twisted branch, the fork of a tree, or a single leaf - becomes their altar and their shrine.” He further notes that “Ituri Postdoctoral Fellow of the Fund for Scientific Research - Flanders (Belgium) (F.W.O.). Universiteit Gent, Vakgroep Kunst-, Muziek- en Theaterwetenschappen, Blandijnberg 2, B- 9000 Gent.

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