"The cooperation of man and woman, in storing the seeds, sowing and growing the cotton, has the same meaning as spinning and weaving , symbols of love.
"Spinning cotton and weaving clothing is exactly the same as a man and a woman entering a house to sleep together and produce children.
"The weaver, representing a dead man, is also the male who opens and closes the womb of the woman, represented by the heddle. The stretched threads represent the act of procreation. The cotton threads of the weaver and the numerous men in the world are all one. The making of cloth symbolizes the multiplication of mankind.
"'The craft of weaving in fact ,' said Ogotemmeli in conclusion, 'is the tomb of resurrection , the marriage bed, and the fruitful womb.'"
P.73, CONVERSATIONS WITH OGOTEMMELI by Marcel Griaule (1975)
Thursday, November 23, 2017
OGOTEMMELI
"The cooperation of man and woman, in storing the seeds, sowing and growing the cotton, has the same meaning as spinning and weaving , symbols of love.
"Spinning cotton and weaving clothing is exactly the same as a man and a woman entering a house to sleep together and produce children.
"The weaver, representing a dead man, is also the male who opens and closes the womb of the woman, represented by the heddle. The stretched threads represent the act of procreation. The cotton threads of the weaver and the numerous men in the world are all one. The making of cloth symbolizes the multiplication of mankind.
"'The craft of weaving in fact ,' said Ogotemmeli in conclusion, 'is the tomb of resurrection , the marriage bed, and the fruitful womb.'"
P.73, CONVERSATIONS WITH OGOTEMMELI by Marcel Griaule (1975)