Copts and Rabbits

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Posted by Catherine Cartwright Jones on March 01, 2000 at 02:09:36:

In the Cleveland Museum, there is a Coptic tapestry from 6th c Egypt
.... and there are 3 people with raised hands that appear to
represent hennaed hands. It's #82.73 .... and it's very interesting,
historically . There are many pagan elements on the tapestry, a large
Tau cross that is a hybrid Ankh and Christian cross. There are 2 more
sorts f crosses, the P with the X through it's tail and an an IXOXC
fish. This tapestry shows the incorporation of hennaed hands and
other elements from Ancient Egypt and Canaanite religions into very
early Christianity in Egypt before the rise of Islam. Coptic use of
henna in weddings, circumcisions and suchlike is well recorded, ...
but I had wondered if the Copts adapted bridal use of henna from their
Muslim neighbors, or whether their use of henna predated Islamic
influence. This tapestry seems to indicate that very early
Christians, in Egypt anyway, used henna.

Coptic tapestries have wonderful rabbits on them .... from Greco Roman
influence. In the eastern Mediterranean, 500 BCE to 1500 CE, rabbits
were a symbol of intercourse, especially the free and abandoned hot
and sticky sort of date .... and were frequently used as courting
gifts from an ardent persuer to the desired. Most of the rabbits
before the Islamic era were accompanied by a Satyr and a Maenad, or
at least some fairly sexy babe figures. Lest you think that the
rabbit was simply a metaphor for it's namesake (derived from
"cuniculus" .... c**t), many of the "rabbit gift" images represent a
man seducing another man (lots of these are on Greek vases). Into the
Muslim world, the rabbits were still very sexy and animated, put in
metaphoric settings.

So ..... anyhow, it being spring and all ..... I put together a page
of rabbit and hare patterns from the arts of henna useing countries
for ya'll. Use them for Easter, or use them for Oestra, the fertility
deity.

Email me if ya want'em. Free as usual. Just ask.

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