Who was the Master of Animals? A view from (and into) the margins

CAMPAGNO, MARCELO Y MAYDANA, SEBASTIÁN

Archéo-Nil

Society for the study of pre-pharaonic cultures of the Nile Valley

Lugar: Paris; Año: 2023 vol. 33 p. 31 - 42

1161-0492

Most discussions involving the Master of Animals motif in the late Predynastic Period of Egypt have dealt primarily with its origins and diffusion, almost invariably stressing its ties to Mesopotamia. In this article, the authors examine the corpus of representations of this motif as a whole, concluding that the Master of Animals motif belongs to a larger tradition or ?cultural substrate? that encompasses the macro-area of Northern Africa and the Levant, and suggesting that each instance of the motif served different purposes and had different meanings and interpretations depending on the setting. In the Nile Valley, the period in which this motif appears is also when new forms of leadership arises, and the known examples mostly comes from the contemporary seats of power. An analysis of the specific features of the Master himself reveals that he is depicted as a solitary man who completely controls the non-human world, a world with which he has a special and unique relationship. From this analysis stems the conclusion that his ?otherness? is stressed, not just regarding animals, but also the rest of society, as it happens within the context of African sacred leadership. The sacred leader is such because he is stripped of his kinship ties, becoming an Other regarding his original community. In a similar way, the Master of Animals is an Other with respect to the animals he controls, but for that very reason he can be an Other, a marginal being capable of controlling people of a community to which he does not belong. Thus, the motif of the Master of Animals in the late Predynastic context can be understood as a visual expression of the aspirations of emerging elites to control both the human and the non-human worlds, or at least of presenting themselves as being capable of such undertakings.