Kanaan, Yasmeen (2022) Camel Imagery in Pre-Islamic Wadi-Rum Rock Art: Translating Social Identity Through Material Traces. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
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Abstract
My research employs ancient literary sources to help investigate carved she-camel imagery appearing on thirty-three rock faces located within the Jordanian desert of Wadi-Rum. Using excerpts from pre-Islamic poetry as an historical source, this thesis focuses on ancient north Arabian beliefs and practices that were shaped by the she-camel's symbolic and physical presence. The thesis draws on key lines drawn from the ancient rahil-journey, the Maysir, and the Baliyah. The first section introduces how the she-camel may have helped shape ancient Arabian perceptions of individuality. The second section draws on the desert journey of the prominent pre-Islamic poet, Labid, to investigate the spiritual nature and structure of his poem The Mu'allaqah of Labid. Exploring the she-camel as an ancient Arabian metaphor, the third section addresses the animal as a medium connecting the known and "unknown" realms within ancient north Arabian folkloric narratives. Referencing Mieke Bal's inter-disciplinary approach and guided by Erwin Panofsky's iconographic framework, this thesis suggests that she-camel carvings contributed in some way to the conceptualization and materialization of aspects of the north Arabian perception of the self as evidenced, in part, by the ubiquitous and extraordinary visual traces left behind in Wadi Rum.
| Divisions: | Concordia University > Faculty of Fine Arts > Art History |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
| Refereed: | No |
| Authors: | Kanaan, Yasmeen |
| Institution: | Concordia University |
| Degree Name: | M.A. |
| Program: | Art History |
| Date: | 1 April 2022 |
| Thesis Supervisor(s): | Duclos, Rebecca |
| Keywords: | #rock_art #pre-Islamic_poetry #interdisicplinary_analysis #rock_carvings #camel_imagery #Mieke_Bal #iconography #cultural analysis #material_traces #ancient_Arabia #middle_east #Wadi_rum #Desert_traces |
| ID Code: | 990424 |
| Deposited By: | Yasmeen Kanaan |
| Deposited On: | 16 Jun 2022 14:46 |
| Last Modified: | 16 Jun 2022 14:46 |
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