Female images in Trypillian ornaments: the problem of semantics

Yevhen Prychepii

Institute for Cultural Research, National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Kyiv.
ORCID ID 0000-0002-5363-1004

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37627/2311-9489-26-2024-2.8-25

Keywords: Trypilllian ornaments, female images in Trypillian ornaments, the Moon Goddess and Trypillian ornaments.

Abstract.

The semantics of female images in Trypillian ornaments has not been sufficiently studied in the scientific literature. This research can shed light on Trypillian ornamentation in general. The structural method is applied. The eight- and seven-part structures of Trypillian ornaments were considered, in which the symbols of the male and female phases (deities) of the Moon Goddess were highlighted. Female images formed from eight symbols were analyzed. It has been proven that the four arms or “ladders” of the so-called “Purusha” denote the four male gods (male phases), and the three parts of the body and the head denote the four goddesses (female phases). The analysis showed that the “Purusha”, whom the researchers saw as a god, is actually the Moon Goddess. It is shown that all female images constituted by eight symbols denote the deities (phases) of the Moon Goddess. This testifies to the identification of the Moon and the female Goddess in the mythology of the Trypillians. In a similar way, women’s images were studied, in the constitution of which seven or three symbols were used. They are also shown to symbolize the Moon Goddess, whose cycle has been transformed into seven or three phases. The place of the Moon Goddess in the pantheon of Trypilllian deities is considered. It was concluded that the Moon Goddess appeared as a hypostasis of the Goddess who embodied the cosmos.

Authors Biography.

Yevhen Prychepii, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Professor, Institute for Cultural Research, National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Kyiv.

sharapann@ukr.net

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PDF (in Ukrainian)

Published: 

Vol 26 No 2 (2024)

Section: THEORY AND HISTORY OF CULTURE.