Descrizione
In the last few decades, a surprisingly large variety of subjects and styles of rock art have been brought to light in northern Chad by scholars and passionate travellers. In the Ennedi region, relatively recent painted scenes of daily life occur, but also earlier human figures and rare events such as a leopard hunt. However, what is really characteristic of this region are the galloping mounted horses and camels, painted in original styles. Interestingly, the DStretch® plugin to ImageJ© has recently made it possible to see that in some cases the visible paintings are superimposed on older, faint images, very different in style and barely discernible to the naked eye. In some cases, paintings in an archaic style are revealed where just blurry spots appear on rocks. Farther to the east on the Ennedi plateau, the Niola Doa groups of intricately decorated human figures stand out as a superlative example of Saharan art. The focus of the volume is the most significant art, blended into the spectactular landforms of the region. We can only imagine the Ennedi landscape at the time the artists were decorating the rock surfaces with their pictograms and petroglyphs, but it must have been a sensational sight.
Sommario
In search of lost time Ennedi, landforms and art Exploring the unknown
- 1. “Grande Riparo”, the amazing chaos
- 2. Manda Guili, an elusive beauty
- 3. Archei, the gorgeous canyon
- 4. Baradergolo, a graceful ballet
- 5. Taolé Kokoli, beware of the leopard
- 6. Etakou, a crazy race
- 7. Cheré, a fashion show
- 8. Nohi and the phantom cow
- 9. Tegaou, naive portraits
- 10. Bamena, life in a small village
- 11. Goughi and the bird ladies
- 12. Kassala, the magic mountain
- 13. Breyala, the hidden labyrinth
- 14. Homechi, lively horses and lazy giraffes
- 15. Baba, the thousand-and-one gueltas
- 16. Terkey and the flying gallop
- 17. Tokou, the metamorphosis
- 18. Dibirké, the crowded hill
- 19. Chigueou, the “citadel”
- 20. Dahili Tili, a southern shelter
- 21. Deli, the mystery of the red heads
- 22. The enigma of Ga Kowrou
- 23. Achiwili, domes and pillars
- 24. Ovayké, the rocky maze
- 25. Sosola, the invisible men
- 26. Nabar, ephemeral fascination
- 27. Keymena, a surprising ceiling
- 28. Egmé China, the dog-headed people
- 29. Aroué, men and dogs
- 30. Elikeo, the treasure trove
- 31. Guili Dweli, the sun people
- 32. Douhé, cattle on the plateau
- 33. White elephants at Guerbé China
- 34. Ketara, an arduous passage
- 35. Sini and the white herdsman
- 36. Chebi, the acacia valley
- 37. Korokou, the bright cattle herders
- 38. Kernek, a narrow pathway
- 39. A ladder at Tamada
- 40. Hohou, cattle and other animals
- 41. Hohou Dahon, in the middle of nowhere
- 42. Ndou, the great valley
- 43. Gaora Hallagana, caves and labyrinths
- 44. Sivré, at the dawn of art
- 45. Delebo, a vanishing art gallery
- 46. Erichigué, the amusing farm
- 47. Fada, the talking mountain
- 48. Koko and the harp players
- 49. Djerta, the green valley
- 50. Bakabi, the oryx land
- 51. Hokoli and the dwarf creature
- 52. Ehi Tighi, the mountain home
- 53. Beijoua, into the wild
- 54. Erdebeché, on the rhino’s trail
- 55. Bodhoué and the highlanders
- 56. Soboro, one man in a boat
- 57. Kadarala, the silent sentinels
- 58. Kettebi, the wall
- 59. Samporo, the land of the arches
- 60. Bichagara, on the edge of the sky
- 61. Kurta, the cattle frieze
- 62. Anoa, the far-off landscape
- 63. Mogoro, off the beaten path
- 64. The cow and the circles
- 65. Tenebyela, the elephant hills
- 66. Diona, between sands and stones
- 67. Baffling grids at Azrenga
- 68. Guirchi, the procession
- 69. Niola Doa and the “dancing maidens”
- 70. Addendum. Koran, Sabi Niola, Broué, Kika, Arsa, Koboué, Latchi, Gobé, Howeli, Zegheranga, Sakila, Manda China, Eho Kouma, Owourtaile, Kaorkité, Adougou, Soro Kezenanga, Saodomanga (Nabara), Barakatra Maps
Site names and codes
Photo credits
References
In collaborazione con la SAMI, Società degli Archeologi Medievisti Italiani
