Tri-Finger and Birds in Afterlife Journey
Rock Art motifs such as birds, tri-finger, water birds, and anthropomorphic figures with wings and beaks are all depicted in Negev Desert rock art (see Fig.1). These rock art symbols suggest a sky-dwelling godlike being.
Birds’ symbolic significance across cultures relates to both life and death. In many cultures, bird symbols appear in afterlife scenes attached to a variety of mental tricks to soften death’s impending finality by associating it with renewal, transformation, and rebirth. Birds are awarded the symbol of transcendence due to their ability to travel freely between the underworld, earth, and heaven. This applies even more to water birds that live in the water or the underworld. As birds are capable of traversing the three realms, they have an extremely significant role in the afterlife myths.
Birds representation in Negev Desert Rock art
The depictions of birds in rock art may be partial (Fig.1), showing only the head, a mask, wings attached to anthropomorphic figures, or occasionally a complete bird. Nevertheless, these representations were sufficient to associate the symbol with a divine or godlike character. The full-bodied birds depicted in the rock art are often large species such as storks, cranes, swans, and even ostriches, implying their ability to carry heavy objects. In numerous instances of rock art, the sun is symbolized by a cross shape, which originates from the image of a bird in flight with its wings outstretched.
Fig.1 Negev Desert Rock Art birds symbolism:
1- sun – the cross above the ibex symbolized by a bird with stretched
wings, 2–an anthropomorphic figure with bird beak, 3–a hunter with
wings and bird beak, 4-a large bird, 5–an anthropomorphic figure with a bird head
The Tri-Fingered symbol
Another class of rock art represents a bird by a tri-fingered symbol. It symbolizes the bird’s feet and also may be related to the three realms, which only the birds are capable of crossing. In all cases, the bird figure or their symbol advocates a connection with a divine dwelling in the sky and by this association, it acquires the same transformative powers as gods. The tri-fingers birds carry the souls to the afterlife and also help the sun to enter into its cyclic circle. Although these are supposedly different tasks they share the same journey path and hurdles on their sky crossing toward heaven.
Fig.2 Tri-fingered rock art examples from the Negev Desert. 1–simple tri-fingered.
2–tri-fingered and the sun. 3–tri-fingered and the sun. 4–tri-fingered and the moon.
5–tri-fingered carrying a soul, the horizontal line.
The Sun divine helpers
The sun represents renewal since it dies and is reborn daily, it has the power of incarnation, immortality, and eternity. That’s the reason for its presence in burials with other symbols such as bird wings. By mythical thought, the sun and the soul had to travel vast areas, through the upper and lower waters, before entering the abode of the dead. The journey was assisted by a mythical boat, the water birds, the sun chariot, and the tri-fingered birds. They were all the divine helpers in the long afterlife journey, Fig.3 as attested by Egyptian and Indo-European myths and images2 from the Bronze age. In these cultures, birds, and especially water birds were associated with the renewal of life as can be seen in Fig.3.
Fig.3 Soul travel assisted by waterbirds in different cultures.
1–Swan boats in Tanum Rock Art (Ling 2014).
2–tri-fingered sun divine helpers (Kristiansen 2018).
3–Apolo, sun god, swan chariot (Bilic 2016).
4-Negev Desert swan (without feet shown, swimming in the water) with the tri-fingered symbol.
5–day and night ship with swan heads, Negev Desert rock art
According to (Kristiansen 2018) the tri-fingered symbols emerging from the sun (image 2 Fig.2) are the divine bird helpers. The same goes for the swans, in images2 1, 3, 4, 5, these divine water birds assist the sun’s or the soul’s journey in the lower waters. The task of bringing the soul to the afterworld was especially crucial when one lost his life in battle without the possibility of a proper burial. A known fact from myths in Europe and the Mediterranean from the beginning of the Iron Age as textual and iconographic evidence shows (Egeler 2009)..
tri fingered divine birds and a boat
In Fig.4, we can see examples of the tri-fingered symbol combined with a celestial ship. The ship is depicted upside down, which signifies a journey through the underworld during the night. The birds are aiding the ship in navigating and guiding it to the afterlife, which is considered a “land of no return”. This integration of the bird’s symbol with a ship is a well-known concept, and there are several examples (Fig.3 scene1) that attest to its purpose
Fig.4 Ship masts, head, and tail, adorned with the tri-finger symbol, Negev Desert rock art.
Fig.4 displays a rock art scene of a horse and its rider falling to the ground, symbolizing the common representation of death in battle. However, the presence of the tri-fingered bird symbols (4, 5, 6) suggests that the fallen rider’s soul is being carried by the birds to the afterlife realm. The depiction of the ibex under the horse, representing the fertility god, brings a sense of hope for renewal to the scene. This rock art is a testament to the belief in the transformative power of the divine helpers in facilitating the journey of the soul from this world to the afterlife
Fig.5
A Negev Desert rock art with tri-fingered symbols and its stick image.
1 – unknown meaning. 2 – ibex sign of fertility,
3 – a fallen horse with an anthropomorphic riding figure.
4 – The sun with a tri-fingered symbol attached. 5 – tri-fingered carrying a soul.
6 – a tri-fingered flying toward the sun.
Complete Soul Journey
Rock art from the Negev Desert, Fig.6, illustrates the entire soul’s soul journey, from the underworld through the upper waters. In this task, they are assisted by the bird and the sun boat that carry them to the afterworld and back. The interpretation of this rock art with its symbols is as follows:
Fig.6 A Negev Desert rock art: afterworld journey (photo razy yahel).
The soul travel begins at night, seen on the right side, as the moon below
(symbol 1 blue) indicates. The large bird (symbol 4) with long legs and strong
neck loads the sun boat with souls (the sticks figures in symbol 2). Then, the
boat travels to the afterworld, located much above the sun and the moon,
and offloads the souls into what looks like an egg (symbol 3). Now, the journey
continues with the sun boat (symbol 5) that travels empty during the day, as
the sun (symbol 6 red) indicates, for a renewed journey.
Fig.7 A Negev Desert rock art: Bird with the sun, baby, and a snake. (photo razy yahel).
Fig.7 is a fine example of the sun night journey and the bird’s role in the afterlife. The whole scene spans across the two rock faces. The lower rock face symbolically represents the underworld. The bird’s flat feet signify a water bird that dwells in the underworld. On the left, close to the snakehead we see the moon (blue color) implying nighttime. The snake (red color) winds through the underworld and earth, marked by the line across, obstructs the sun journey. A similar idea appears in the Egyptian Sun Journey myth. The bird holding a baby, transferring it to the sun (orange circle). The soul is reborn and appears as a baby carried by the bird toward the sun and afterlife.
Conclusion
We think of birds as creatures residing in heaven, the natural place befitting only the residence of gods. And, we think that their flying ability provides the bridge between the divine and earthly. Birds expedited communication with gods and also helped souls in their journey to reach the afterlife. Numerous images2 of birds engraved on Negev desert rock art testify to this belief.
The birds’ symbols in rock art and burial sites suggest widespread belief in the afterlife. It spans from Paleolithic time, 12,000 years ago as the grave in Hilazon Cave (Grosman 2008) suggests, through the end of the Bronze Age. These symbolic soul guides allowed the ancient mind to complete the afterlife journey. It provided hope, among the living, that the soul will reach its final rest. The emphasis on waterbirds indicates that underworld travel was part of this journey (Chernetsov,1963). Such ideas echo in many rock art engravings that illustrate the afterlife journey with large water birds.
Bibliography
Bilic T. (2016) The swan chariot of a solar deity Greek narratives and prehistoric iconography
Grosman (2008) A 12,000-year-old shaman burial from the southern Levant (Israel)
Egeler, M. (2009) Some Considerations on FemaleDeath Demons, Heroic Ideologies and the Notion of Elite Travel in European Prehistory.
Kristiina Mannermaa (2007) Birds and burials at Ajvide (Gotland, Sweden) and Zvejnieki (Latvia)
Kristiansen Kristian (2018) The winged triad in Bronze Age symbolism: birds and their feet
Ling and Claes Uhnיr (2014) Rock Art and Metal Trade
Moreman, C (2014) On the Relationship between Birds and Spirits of the Dead
Copyright © All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,
or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of negevrockart.co.il
