Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 2.-3. 1961-1962 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1963)

Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Makkay János: An Important Proof to the Prehistory of Shamanism. II–III, 1961–62. p. 5–10.

AN IMPORTANT PROOF TO THE PREHISTORY OF SHAMANISM The interpretation of the masked human portrait of the cave Les Trois Frères The investigation of the cave-paintings and rock engravings of the Upper Palaeolithic Age has led to several astonishing discoveries in the recent years. As an example of these, more than one portrait was successfully compared with observations made in our age

; nay the customs of peoples stuck at a low degree of economic and social life. First of all the fully authentic interpretation of the bird-masked man of the Lascaux Cave as a Palaeolithic shaman,

1 and the comparison of the human figure discovered in the Lascaux Cave equally, enveloped in a grass-like material falling from the head to the body, with the costume of the sorcerers in French Guinea

2 has been of outstanding importance. In course of research also the later, Epipalaeolithic rock engravings have found their much younger analogies.

3 We intend to point out a further striking analogy, aindeavouring to give a novel interpretation of the hitherto most problematical and at the same time most interesting specimens of prehistoric cave-paintings. We are dealing with the generally known masked figure of the cave Les Trois Frères (Ariège)'. (Fig. 1.) Owing to the lack of its first publication in this country, we are giving its detailed description after H. Breuiil in the footnote.

4 In the following we only intend to draw attention to some especially important details. The outlines of the body are marked by definite incisions Parallel to the deeper coherent incisions, shallower and shorter scratches want to represent dense and strong hair. This hair is stronger than that of a human figure; it is standing for animal hair presumably. Between the incisions we may observe specific painted shapes. These represent the human body already, inclusive of the lower exteriors. It is to be emphasized that the incised outlines represent the human body expressedly. So we may state that the artist has marked a man in two different ways and separately in the framework of the same portrait. It is of decisive importance that the left knee-cap is represented by a painted patch corresponding to the real form of the knee-pan, visibly quite independent of the painting. The feet are especially well painted to life. We may state the following: All details of the head are covered by an animal mask Through this only the eyes and the nose are transparent, or retaining human features respectively. There were holes for the eyes and the nose in this mask. The person wearing it must have seen and breathed continually during his movements or dance. Down from the neck, the investigation of the body offers two possibilities : Fig. 1. 1. Let us suppose that the incised outlines are the real contours of the human body. We may imagine this only if the man was clad in comparatively tight animal hides, tailored the body, from head to foot. So it was in fact, nay he assumed the typical forms of more than one animal. His head is decorated with a mask with stag-horn, his face reminds us of an owl perhaps, his 1 H. KIRCHNER, Ein archäologischer Beitrag zur Urgeschichte des Schamanismus. Anthropos 47 (1952) 244— 286. - H. BREUIL, Quatre cents siècles d'art pariétal. (Montignac (1952). — J. MARINGER, Vorgeschichtliche Religion. Religionen im steinzeitlichen Europa. (ZürichKöln 1956) 190. 3 V. MÜLLER, The Prehistory of the „Good Shepherd". Journal of Near Eastern Studies 3 (1944) 87—90. 4 H. BREUIL, op. cit. 176—177: „Elle est entièrement gravée; la peinture cependant en est inégalement répartie: la tête n'en porte que quelqes traces aux yeux, au nez, au front et à l'oreille droite. .. . Les orielles dressées sont celles d'un Cerf; sur le bandeau frontal peint en noir émergent deux fortes remures épaisses sans andouillers frontaux, avec un seul andouiller court déjà assez élevé au-dessus de la base, après lequel chaque branche se coude vers l'extérieur pour se diviser à nouveau en deux à droite ou trois à gauche. Il n'y a pas de bouche, mais une très longue barbe striée tombant sur la poitrine. Les avant-bras sont relevés et joints horizontalement, se terminant par deux mains juxtaposées, à doigts courts et tendus; leur couleur est délavée, presque disparue. Une large bonde noire cerne tout le corps, s'amicissant à l'ensellure lombaire et s'éténdant aux membres inférieurs fléchis. Un point marque la rotule de gauche. Les pieds, orteils compris, sont assez soignées et marquent un mouvement analogue à celui de la danse du 'Cakewalk'. Le sexe mâle accentué."